The Sun.
London, England, 1859-11-25 00:00:00

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spoke the attention of the pain eokar .
elucidating one of the most promigOlt geeettio. of
the day—namely, the extent to which, under the
existing law, the proceedings of Trades' Unions in
their attempts to regulate the terms of labour might
fairly be carried. The tendency of cur legislation
on this subject has recently been all in favour of the
operative classes. They were not only protected
in the privilege of voluntary combination,' bat were
allowed to exercise influence with those of their
trade who had not combined, provided that such
interference did not exceed the limits of peaceful
and reasonable suasion. - Unionists on " strike," for
instance, might recommend non-rie ionists to follow
their example, on condition only that no iutiruida-
tion or molestation entered into their proceedings.
• The object of the law, in fact, was to give the
workmen the greatest amount of - freedom com-
patible with tire rights of individuals. Any num-
ber of them might agree among themselves
to -enhance by concerted action the value of
their labour, and they might • lawfully also
persuade others to their own way of thinking,
and so increase-the power and effect of their combi-
nation, • but they were not to molest, threaten, or
terrify those who chose .to follow a course of their
own. - These doctrines seem tolerably plain, and
are certainly not wanting in consideration for the
.claims of labour. The questiou, however, which
arose more than once out of transactions connected
with the Builders! Strike was, what constituted the
intimidation forbidden by the statute ? How far
might ' men go in the way of persuasion without
passing the bounds of reasonable and peaceful argu-
ment ? It soon became evident that masters and
mereheld different views on this point, arid the ques-
tion was brought to issue in a case of some note.
Mr. William Perham, a stonemason by trade, and
also Secretary to the Masons' Union, and one of the
delegates of the Strike Committee, was prosecuted
by Messrs. Piper, the, builders, as having trans-
gressed the law. For his alleged offence he was
brought before Mr. Corrie, at the Clerkenwell
Police:court, was there convicted, and sentenced to
two months' imprisonnient. Against this decision,
however, an appeal was entered, which was duly'
heard at the Middlesex Sessions on Tuesday. last,
and the report of which appeared In our columnS of
the day following. The ease was clearly regarded
as a decisive one on both sides. Perham was de-
fended by the Builders' Society, and the services of
Mr. Edwin James were engaged on his behalf;
while Messrs. Piper disclaimed all vindictive or
personal feeling; and sought only to establish- a
principle. There was a full bench of magistrate;
and the question, which happened to be very per-
spicuous in its form, was fairly argued. About the
facts, indeed, there eseis little or no dispute. The
foreman of Messrs. Piper, Robjohn by name, had
been sent out in September last to look for masons,
in the place of those who had discontinued work-
g.
l had hOn
the
Ist of
of October
rhe Devonshire,hetrabirioi ti,:ethr.tadudping.lB.
workmen of this class from Devonshire, but no
sooner
Padding-
ton than an emissary of the Strike Committee ap-
peared on his track, and by the time the men
had been taken to their lodgings for the night
Mr. Perham presented himself, and claimed them
as his own. He pursued his object by dogging
their footsteps, and making them offers of various
kinds, till, in the end, he actually succeeded in in-
ducing 14 out of the IS to forego their agreements,
and return to the country. It was not, however,
on these acts that the charge was, founded. All this,
it seems, Mr. Perham was held at liberty to do, but
"-with this he was not content. He told the men, in
the course of his proceedings, that if they disre-
garded his arguments, and persisted in their design
of going to work for Messrs. Piper, they would be
considered as " blacks," an expression perfectly
understood, but which he himself explained at the
time by adding that they would be all "struck
against" by the masons of the union, until they
were turned out. In other words, these men were
warned that unless they did as the unionists desired
they would, as far- as the unionists could effect such
a purpose, lee deprived of that work by which they
got their bread. The masons in combination would
" strike against them," that is to see-, would refuse
to work in their 'company, so that the masters might
be compelled, for the sake of their business, to refuse
them employment. This was the conduct which
was formally defended as peaceful and lawful
within the meaning of the statute.
Dismissing. the exceptions incidentally taken by
Mr. Edwin James to the original conviction—one
of which has been already overruled—we find that
experienced advocate basing the defence of his
client on the rules in the trade. After contending
that the statute was- directed against " overt moles-
tation," " violence," and "personal injury," he argued
that it could not apply to the case of Perham, who,
in amicable discourse with the men, and in the-het:fir-
ing of Robjohn himself, had merely " told them that
if they went to work in the room of men who had
struck they would be regarded as 'blacks,' and
struck against throughout the trade. How could
that be construed into violent intimidation ?
It was a rule in the trade. 'Was it a case to
which it was ever contemplated the Act should
be applied ?'"ro this inquiry the magistrates
replied by a prompt and unanimous decision that
the Act did apply to the case in question,and that
Perhana's words amounted to a direct menace cal-
culated to deter the men from performing the work
they had undertaken. From that conclusion few
reasoning people will be found to dissent. The men
under Robjohn's- charge were distinctly threatened
with the loss of their subsistence, or, in other words,
with utter destitution, such penalty being visited
upon them by combinations of others for that special
purpose. If such threats do not constitute intimi-
dation it is hard to see how intimidation could be
employed at all.
Accordingly Mr. Corrie's decision was duly con-
firmed, and so far, therefore, we may assume it as
ruled that it is not lawful for any set of workmen
to coerce othei workmen into their opinions by
threatening to strike against them ; but we must
now follow but this principle a little, and apply it
to those standing rules and by-laws of the Masons'
Union, which the masters have desired to see modi-
fied, and which the men so stoutly defend. Mr.
Edwin James in this very speech asserted that
"the rules of the Builders' Societies had never been
impugned as ille gal ; it had been offered to sub-
mit them to the highest legal authority in the
country, to see if there was any regulation or prin-
ple contrary to the spirit of the law of the land
and to the free rights of the artisan." Yet he had
also asserted, in • the words before quoted, that
" blacking" a man, though a non-unionist, for non-
compliance with the laws of the Union, was a
" rule in the trade;" and we should imagine that
the " free rights of an artisan" were coneiderably
interfered with when he was told that he could
not go to work with the employer of his own
choice, but must, on pain of practical outlawry,
take his orders from a set of men with whose con-
cerns he had no kind of connexion. One of two
things is clear,—either that this threat of proserip-
' Lion and rain constitutes no intimidation whatever
—a proposition which we do not suppose Mr. Janes
would maintain,—or that intimidation enters essen-
tially into those' Union laws which he thinks
cannot be impugned. This, in fact, is the truth
of the whole matter: Trades' Unions arc worked by
coercion from first to last—coercion directed not
merely against employers but against workmen
themselves. In the former case it is so far lawful
that .the pressure put upon. masters by voluntary
combinations of men for the purpose of enhancing
the price of labour is allowed. by statute; but iu
the.latter case it is wrong altogether, wrong when
exercised directly by individuals, and wrong there-
fore when inculcated by the regulations of a society.
It.was argued with much ingenuity it this casethat
the threats charged against Perham were not
threats proceeding from himself, or intimations of
his own purposes or principles, but merely repre-
sentations
friendly
woatil
nfihnegt
A conveyed According
nbgy
this
simply told the men what would happen if they
ran counter to the views of the Unionists, the ad-
monition being plainly to their advantage. Such
in the way
het'
a view of the matter was too subtle for the magi-
strate 3, who- rejected it decidedly, but if it could
have been sustained the result would only have
been the tranfer of the blame from the :shoulders of
Perham himself to the Union which he represented.
There was plain intimidation in the case, where-
ever it originated, and, as Mr. Perham has been
thus held accountable for using a menace which,
according to Mr. James's own admission, enters as
a standing rule into the regulations of the trade, we
are at a loss to see how these regulations them-
selves can be defended any longer.— Times.

PIKE 4'). S VAMPED, SD•

l'ul effect of organisation,as compared with the effect
of having isolated bodies of men not trained to act
together. It is not long since a terrific tempest
passed ever Great Britain. It was a tempest so
violent that it strewed with wrecks the shore of
the country. - It trial • to' the utmost the-beams of
the Great Eastern, the greatest
,vessel that ever
breasted the waves; it broke into a thousand pieces
the Royal Charter, which had sailed safely through
the Southern Ocean. But, gentleinen, in-that ter-
rific storm, when the storm was scattering every
navy in Europe, the Channel Fleet nobly breasted
the gale, the Admiial hung out the signal," Put in
order of battle,'! they went directly in the teeth
of the wind, and, in the eloquent words of the per,
son who described it in the 1 imes, they sped like
dolphins beside the Eddystone' Lighthouse, the most.
dangerous position of the channel, and they rode
moderntrillmpi itainnilleys" s"suege t:
llierofunostl gale
here tine (li fferetillicaet
between organised efliwts • of brave men, and iso-
lated efforts of men equally brave, it may be equally
skilful, but not trained by organisation and dilci-
pline. When I look around inc at this moment,
when I contemplate similar meetings in every part
of the country, I see the nation, which has been
weakened for ,a long time, consolidating its
strength, and supporting bodies which have the
might of armed men. And I trust that the omen
of the Channel Fleet surmounting all the dangers
of that terrible tempest is an omen of the correspond-
ing victory that will accrue to the British empire if
the same spirit which I see around me, and which
animated those brave men on that occasion, is
shared by the people in other parts of the country,
and that, in the words of Homer, " It is an omen in
the cause of God." (Enthusiastic applause.)
The resolution was carried amid great accla-
mation.

Sheriff BELL moved the second resolution :
" That the organisation, on a wide and extensive scale,
of volunteer corps in aid of her Majesty's regular forces,
ought to be promoted among all classes,, the defence of the
country being thereby largely intrusted to the loyalty and
patriotism of people."

We all remember that Rot many months have
passed since. one of our Government Ministers pub-
licly declared that the question of peace or war with
France was•only a question of a few hours. That
crisis we have most fortunately passed over; but
it will not do for this country to lie on its oars, and
pooh pooh the danger, saying we will be ready to
meet it when the time comes. (Loud cheers.)
-This is the first time in the history of the world.
that our steam navy has been so low as to be on an
equality with France. Now, it is not an old
woman's tale that in this state of matters it is pos
sible, were any question of war to spring up—it is
not an old woman's story that it is perfectly pos-
sible that 100,000 French troops could be landed
in one day. on the shores of Great Britain. Cer-
tainly no old woman, but the greatest man that
ever set foot on British soil, the late Duke of Wel-
lington, who, in April, 1846, in a celebrated letter,
addressed Sir John Burgoyne, in which he admitted
as an imperative necessity the existence of a force
in this country of 150,000 men. He says :

"As wo stand now, our fleet is not enough to provide for
our defence. We are not safe for a week. I am an old

soldier of 77 years of age—years which I have passed in
honour; and Y pray that the MU-light-3r will not permit me
now to see what I cannot prevail upon my contemporaries
to take means to prevcnt.'

General Shaw Kennedy, who has consulted with

many of our best admirals, says :--
"An important view has been taken by Admiral Sarto-
tins, in a letter to the Times, of the possibility of a landing
being effected in this country by a hostile force, in which
is pointed out the means now g,iren to France, by the power
of steam, to direct upon any named point of the coast of
Britain or of Ireland steam vessels from any number what-
ever of the ports of France, so as to arrive at the named
point at almost the same hour."

If we are to suppose the possibility of this invasion,
the possibility of this landing, it is impossible we
can have imaginations to conceive the result to this
con n try. ( Loud applause.)
Principal BARcLAv, in seconding the resolution,
said—Our duty is to be prepared in the most effec-
tual and economical manner that can be conceived.

tear, hear.)
The Rev. Dr.:NORMAN 11PLEors, of the Barony,
_ .

moved the third resolution. It was as follows :1--
" That Glasgow, from her population and public spirit,
and from the vast interests she has at stake iu the preser-
vation of peace, is called upon to place herself in the very
(rout rank of such a movement ; and this meeting views
with the highest satisfaction the enthusiasm which has
already led to the formation of so large and efficient a body
of volunteers, and which is weekly adding to their number."

Mr. LAURENCE OLIPHANT, who seconded the
motion, said--.410re than two years have elapsed
since I left England to proceed to China, and at the
time of my departure not a word was heard of this
great volunteer movement ; but when I now come
back I find the volunteer spirit animating-my coun-
trymen from one end of the kingdom to the other.
And why P When I look across the Channel and
see the great and growing navy, and the mighty
armaments in France and along the French coast,
I do not wonder any longer at the enthusiasm
which I see prevailing all around me. But•having
been part of those two years on board a man-of-war,
at times in conjunction with French war-ships, and
having actually seen them going through their
naval operations, if it is any satisfaction,' may state
—and in this every British officer who was present
will bear me out—that we had ampte proof of the
inferiority of the French war-ships to our own in
seamanship and skill. (Hear, and applause.) As au
illustration, I may state that going. up the Peiho
little more than a year ago I-was accommodated
in an English gunboat, and in going round one of
the narrow sharp corners of that river we saw a
French gunboat on a sandbank—as French gun-
boats often .were—and our Lieutenant, who was
a good fellow, determined to go and help her
off. The French- officer, who spoke English
pretty well, came on board to explain his difficul-
ties; and at this moment the
.British Admiral came
by. " What are you doing there, sir ?" he ex-
claimed. To which my friend, the lieutenant, re-
plied in' his kindly, rough, bold voice—" I am tak-
ing care of this Frenchman, sir." (Laughter and
applause.) And when I look across the Channel to
France and see the man who fills the throne of that.
empire, I say; though in a very different sense,
'" Take care of the Frenchman." I say it is impos-
sible to regard the attitude which this country
holds on the continent of Europe, and without re-

fleeting on the policy of our Government—and
without saying that this attitude can be avoided, I
think it must be plain to all of us that our position
in reference to the kingdoms of Europe is a dan-
gerous and an anomalous one. We are the cham-
pions of liberty—we are wedded to that sacred
principle, and yet we are allied with !a man who
is kept on his throne by hundreds of thousands of
bayonets. This is an inconsistency, and, like all
other inconsistencies, it will in the course of time
work out evil consequences. In the meantime we
are doing our best to keep on friendly relations with
France, and we are right in so doing ; -but every-
body knows that it would be better to carry on the
war in China by ourselves. But. in order to please
our ally, we are obliged to join our forces to those
of the Emperor, or at least we are obliged to wait
for them. At the same time we may not say what
we think, or do what is right in reference to the
Spanish affair, because the Emperor supports the
policy of Spain as regards Morocco. A Congress,
we are told, is to assemble, and we are to be invited
to join it ; but it is easy to see what will be the
consequences—it is easy to see that we will be in
a minority amid these despotic nations, and
that their counsels will be predominant. And
under these circumstances it is not difficult
to note that the position of things is preg-
nant with consequences serious to this country.
It is said that the Emperor knows what are the
feelings of this country as to an invasion ; but I
will say it is impossible for any one but a, freeman
to feel what the consequences of an invasion really
are. No one but a freeman can experience that
feeling which thrills the heart and tingles to
the finger ends at the prospect of the invasion of
his country. I thank God it is so. It is that feel-
ing which makes us well know that it is not until
the head is in the lion's mouth that one feels the
strength of his jaws. @rear, hear.) Let us all be
impressed with the truth of the fact that it is ne-
cessary to have a regular army to meet a regular
army.
Sir J. 17,11: CAMPBELL moved the fourth resolu-
tion to the following effect :
" That a subscription-list be immediately opened to pro-
vide funds in furtherance of this movement, and in supple-
ment Ogle Government supply ; that a general appeal be
made to the citizens to aid it to the utmost by contributions
or personal service; and that a committee be appointed to
superintend the management and distribution of the fund."
Captain W. S. DIXON seconded the resolution,
which was carried.
• Captain W. J. MACQUORN RANKINE proposed
the fifth and last resolution as follows :
" That as a volunteer organisation, to be thoroughly
effective, must.bo general over the country, the resolutions
of thismeeting be published; in order to incite other locali-
ties to a similar course of action."
The resolution was agreed to amid cheering.
On the motion of Bailie CourEn, the thanks of
the meeting were Voted by acclamation to Bailie
Clouston for presiding. The immense assemblage
then dispersed.

Is • CONSUMPTION INCURABLE Invalids labouring
under Consumptive 3laladiei, and families who have
suffered frcm the ravages of Consumption (and what
family in the empire is there who has not to deplore a
loss caused by this scourge of the human race ?) will find
a satisfactory answer to the question, " Is Consumption In-
curable," in an original article by Dr. DENIS CRONIN,
31. D., 35, Bruton-street, Berkeley-square, W. Published in
the "household Physician," in numbers, one penny each,
by G. Berger, 19, llolywell-street, Strand. From Ito 9 now
ready.
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