The Sun.
London, England, 1861-05-18 00:00:00

THE 11141 LS.

MAILS DUE.
Australia, Ceylon, and Mauritius (via South-
ampton) .. • • . • May 19.
Do. (via Marseilles) May 13.
Brazil and Cape Verds
.. June 4.
Buenos Ayres, Monte Video, &c.
Cuba and Mexico .. . .. May 29.
Canada, &c. (via L'derry) .. May 15.
Cape of Good Hope, &c. .. June 1.
China, Penang, and Singapore (via' S'ampton) May 19.
Do (via Marseilles) May 27
Gibraltar (via Southampton) .. May 19.
India(Calcutta), Ceylon, &c. (via Southampton) May 19.
Do. (via Marseilles) May 27.
India (Bombay), (via Southampton) .. May 26.
Do, (via Marseilles) .. May 20.
r.iabon • • • . • • • • • • May 19.
Malta, Egypt, and Aden (via Southampton) .. May 21.
Do. (via Marseilles) .. June
Vigo, and Oporto .. May 21;
United States, California, &c. .. May 23.
Western Coast of Africa, Madeira, Teneriffe .. June 10.
West Indies and Pacific, Carthagena, Cuba, &c. May 29.

21IE DISPUT,r;S Illy THE BUILDIVG
TRADE.
__

There is very little news to report of this dispute
beyond that the masters who have adopted the hour
system of payment have nearly all their full corn-
plemeit of men, and some who have their shops
full are obliged to turn away numbers of good
hands seeking for employment under the new re-
gulations. The opposition of the Trades' Unions
to the movement gets worse and worse each day.
At a recent meeting of the trades on strike against
the hour system the men themselves proposed a
sort of compromise, by which they said they were
willing to return to work under the increased
scale of wages if the payment was calculated by
the day instead of by the hour, and if the masters
would consent to let them leave off work on Satur-
days at twelve o'clock instead of at one. As a
matter of course, these terms were at once rejected,
for the masters saw clearly that when the mon had
once secured their increased wages and reduced
hours, six months would not elapse before the old
agitation for the nine hours' movement would re-
commence with greater force than ever. The de-
putation was therefore informed that no proposi-
tion would be listened to which did not recognise
the hour system of payment as br:st for both mas-
ters and men. As a proof of this fact, we may
mention that some of the workmen in Messrs.
Lucas's yard came the other day to the foreman,
and asked that, as the evenings were long and the
nights fine, they might be allowed to work 12
hours. To this Messrs. Lucas replied that they
had adopted hour payment to enable the men to
work eight, nine, or ten hours as they might choose,
and that their yards should always be kept open
ten hours, but not beyond that, unless the majority
of their workmen wished. The men, however,
proved to be unanimous in their desire to work
twelve hours, and accordingly they now leave at
five for tea, and return at six to work till eight,
thus raising their weekly earnings from
335. to 395. Unfortunately, this step has only
exasperated the Trades' Unions to the very utmost,
as the pickets and union men show by increased.
demonstrations of hostility to the men employed by
Messrs. Lucas as they enter and leave their works.
Mr. Myer's yard is exactly opposite Mr, Lucas's,
and the former gentleman unfortunately has in his.
employ all ultra Union men, who sometimes turn
oat to hoot and jeer at those of Messrs. Lucas as the
latter go to work. Of course, Mr. Myers power-
less to prevent this, and, in fact, there are few, if
any, great contractors who have suffered more loss
and inconvenience from the yoke of the Trades'
Union than Mr. Myers himself. As, however, there
is a larger body of men at work at Lucas's than at
Mr. Myers's, nothing has ever been attempted in
the way of violence till yesterday morning, when a
mason of Mr. Lucas's, named Kitchen, who was a.
few minutes later than his comrades, and therefore
alone, was set upon by some of the Union men, andt
so fearfully beaten and kicked as he lay upon the
ground that he was obliged to be removed at once
to King's College Hospital, when it was found:that,
besides other slighter injuries, his ribs were badly-
fractured from the kicks. The chief actors in this
cowardly outrage were a mason in the employ of
Mr. Myers, and another man, name yet unknown,
who was supposed to be one of the Trades' Union
pickets. The mason in Mr. Myers's employ wore e
large beard and moustache, but, sheltered, by his
brother Unionists, he retreated to Mr, Myers's
yard, when he ent off his beard aril whiskers,
and was then put over a back waVt. by his com-
rades just as the police were er:tering the yard.
So far, therefore, he has ir,anaged to escape,
but Messrs. Lucas are determined to spare
no trouble or expense in their endeavour
to apprehend and punish him. It is only surprising.
that such an outrage as this has not occurred before.
The Union men and the paid pickets sent by the
Trades' Union collect in such numbers round the
works of Messrs. Lucas, and, indeed, all works from
which the Union men are on strike, as quite to
crowd and obstruct all the foot-ways. At Messrs.
1 Lucas's they remain thus nearly all day, taunting
3 the non-Union men as they enter and as they leave
2 work, sometimes hooting at them, and using all
1 sorts of taunts and insults. Now, when scarcely a
1 month passes without some poor orange girl or
miserable costermonger being taken up and fined. ; for obstructing the footway in their attempts to
gain an honest living, it is not too much to expect
3 that the police might also show their vigilance in
2 the case of these pickets. In their case no conceal--
4 merit is attempted as to their object. They are sent
4, by the Trades' Union, paid by the Trades' Union,
and loiter and crowd the pathway all day round the
entrance to the works openly with an attention to
annoy or intimidate the worknen who do not belong
to the union. This is, we think, a case where the
rather ill-defined powers of the force as to making
loiterers move on might with the utmost propriety
be exercised. It is to be regretted, though we can
hardly be surprised at the feeling, that Messrs.
Lucas's men are so angry at the attack on their
comrade, that a collision between them and the
union men is feared. No precautions should b
neglected to prevent such a disastrous occurrence,e which, if it did take place, would amount to a serious
riot.

.310NEY MARKET AIVD CITY irE Tvs.