The Sun.
London, England, 1859-08-17 00:00:00

MEETING OF TRADES DELEGATES.

Last night a delegate meeting from the various
trades of the metropolis was held at Shaftesbury-
hall, Aldersgate-street, for the purpose, as by cir-
cular expressed, of taking into consideration the
best means to be adopted in consequence of the
peculiar position in which the tradesmen were
placed " by their employers locking them out."
At 8 o'clock the attendance was rather scant;
but there were then delegates present representing
the ropemakers of the port of London, the block-
coopers, the stove-smiths, the Tailors' Labour
Agency, of Newington-causeway ; the Silver
Spoon-makers' Society, the tin-plate workers the
french polishers (east end of London), the cabinet-
makers, the cork-cutters, the second society of City
shoe and bootmakers,the i7'est end ladies shoemakers,
the plumbers, of the Hole-in-the-Wall, Chancery-
lane; the boilermakers,the London Society of Com-
positors, the executive council of Amalgamated En-
gineers, the zinc workers (of Clerkenwell), the
bookbinders (of Racquet-court, Fleet-street), the
umbrella and parasol silk weavers, the boot and
shoemakers (White Hart, Fetter-lane), the Masons'
Society, the joiners and carpenters, the plasterers,
and the other branches of the building trades and
labourers.
Mr. GREY, a mason, having been called to the
chair, read the circular convening the meeting.
Mr. POTTER, secretary to the Conference of United
Trades, then proceeded to explain the position of
the movement down to the present time. The pain-
ful struggle which was now raging, he said, arose
from attention being once more called to the rela-
tive claims of capital and labour—a question which
he ventured to think was second to none in all our
social relations. In this position the building trades
called for the advice and sympathy and pecuniary
aid of the trades of London in what was now being
done. They knew that by the capital and influence
which the master builders were able to bring to
bear upon the educated classes they would try to
crush those who were endeavouring to carry this
movement to a successful termination. During the
winter of 1852 and 1853 the agitation was com-
menced by the masons to shorten the hours of la-
bour. That movement was met by the masters giving
an addition of 6d. a-day to the wages, thus shelving
the subject for a 13eriod. It being time, however, to
take it down again, the trades met in their societies
and discussed the question, and subsequently the
carpenters and joiners assembledin Exeter-hall, and
drew up a memorial to the master builders. That
was presented in June, 1858. On August 26th the
masters refused to received a deputation from the
carpenters and joiners, admitting the creditable man -
ner the question had been brought forward and dis-
cussed, but expressing their opinion tbat no sufficient
case had been made out. In the interim the masons
had begun again to agitate the same question, and
they were soon joined by the bricklayers and the
members of the other building trades. They all met
in conference in September, and on the 7th October
they presented a conjoint memorial to the masters,
in which they suggested that employers should in

future make Their contracts with reference to the
nine hours, because the men were sanguine enough
to believ? that their efforts would be crowned with
success. To that memorial they received no answer,
although a copy was sent to every master builder in
London. The Conference of the Trades wrote to the
masters to know if they would receive a deputation
from the United Building Trades. The answer to
that, dated December 10, 1858, was simply to the
effect that, in the opinion of the masters, no new
facts or statements had been brought forward which
had not been thoroughly argued in the conference
of the previous August. On the 26th January the
Building Trades held another meeting in Exeter-
hall, and a letter was agreed upon on the 19th of
March, calling for a definite answer from the em-
ployers in the following April. This led to the
masters calling together those builders who were
not mnnbers of the association as well as those who
were—so important did they think the subject.
The result of that 2r.eeting was the passing of two
resolutions, refusing to acquiesce in what the men
demanded. On the 11th of May another meeting
of the trades was called, and they were again in-
structed to appeal to the master builders. This they
did accordingly in an ultimatum dated the 26th of
May, which was in the following terms :

"AN ULTIMATUM TO THE MEMBERS OF THE MASTER
BUILDERS' ASSOCIATION.
held ''Gi
ne nEt Ixe me t
ee
rn :Ira
lAt l
ona largeth elmBte eh tiinnsgt. o, fytohuer B
resolutionsn i l d i n g Trawdeerse,
discussed, and, after deep consideration, we were unable to
see that you have answered our letter of March 19th, and
we are unwilling to believe that you seriously entertain the
intention of taking on yourselves the responsibility of
causing the public disaster which was threatened by
several of your body at your meeting. on the 20th of
April. We, therefore, being influenced by the most friendly
feelings, once more appeal to you to consider our claim, and
we respectfully request a decisive answer from your meet-
ing on the 9th of June next, whether you will concede the
nine hours as a day's work.
" I remain, gentlemen, yours respectfully,
" On behalf of the 'United Trades,
" Gnonor. POTTER, Secretary.
The answer, dated the 10th of June, amounted
1 to a refusal to entertain the question. After
that the of. the United Trades,. not know-
ingst
ot
fo theth that
tcourse
appeal
how to act on their own responsibility, annealed
should t tke.
hours from the masters.
to the trades atT hlaerrgeesual
great majority decided in favour of their endea-
vouring to wrest the nine

They then selected' three firms to whom deputations
should be sent personally to request that the nine
hours should be conceded in their case. Instead of
meeting these deputations with courtesy or reason,
a member of the deputations in each of the three
cases was pitched upon by the masters and dis-
charged. Thus were the men taunted, and the,
Conference of the Trades insulted. With the pro-
gress of the events from that time every one was,
no doubt, acquainted, and he should not, therefore,
dwell upon it. In conclusion, Mr. Potter called
upon the trades of London to aid in the present
movement. The promoters of it believed that it
was founded on right and justice, and that they
asked for that which could be conceded without any
detriment to the masters, and with great benefit to
the public at large. He hoped that the day was
not far distant when the operatives of the kingdom
would form one great phalanx to oppose the tyranny
of the masters. His belief was that if the master
builders carried their present point the men would
begin to retrograde. All the trades of the kingdom
were ready now to take a step in advance, and. if
the other trades would assist the operatives in the
Building Trades they would assist others in o',tain-
ing the same object. (Cheers.)
The Delegate from the Amalgamated Engineers
asked whether if the master builders withdrew the
declaration the men would return to their employ-
ment at Messrs. Trollope's.
The CHAIRMAN said that as at present advised
the men would not return to work at Messrs. Trol-
lope's without the nine hours were conceded. They
were on strike there for that movement ; they had
begun it, and they must have it.
The Delegate then proceeded to oppose the " de-
claration," but he expressed his belief that all such
documents were utterly futile. 'What had its effect
been in the case of the Amalgamated Engineers?
It was adopted by the men with a mental reserve,
and was regarded as of no value afterwards. So far
from the Amalgamated Engineers Society having
gone down since their last great struggle 62 years
ago, their numbers had increased from 9,800 to
nearly 87,000 and they had expended in direct re-
lief no less'than £139,000. The London Building
Trades had always been most liberal in supporting
other trades in their disputes, and he thought that
they should be assisted now. (Cheers.)
Mr. EDWARDS, from the Tailors'Labour Agency,
expressed his horror of strikes, because he had seen
and felt how futile had been many of the efforts in
that direction. His advice was that the men should
return to their work if the obnoxious document,
which every one must be opposed to, were with-
drawn. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. DUNNING, from the Bookbinders, followed in
the same direction. He thought that the nine hours
movement was injudicious. It was a thing that could
never be carried, except by moral suasion, and in
his view the men were wrong in resorting to a strike
to achieve their object. (Hear`, hear.)
Another Bookbinder, the Delegate from the
Horseshoe Society, the Tinplate Workers meeting
at the Black Jack, and the Delegate from the
Ladies' Shoemakers supported the building opera-
tives in the present movement.
The Representative from the London Society of
Compositors Committee concurred in condemning
the " declaration."

The Delegate from the United Flint Glass
Cutters stated that their members in all parts of
the United Kingdom had been communicated
with, and that they had unanimously resolved to
support the nine hours' movement, and to make
a weekly payment to the Builders' Trades as long
as they remained " out."
After some further discussion,
Mr. W. ALLEN (secretary to the Amalgamated
Engineers) moved—
" That in the opinion of this meeting the trades of the
United Kingdom are in duty bound to support the building
trades in the present struggle."
Upon this Mr. EDWARDS moved, as an amend-
ment,—

" That the representatives of the various trades in the
metropolis here assembled desire to express their sympathy
with the operative builders in their present unhappy con
test with the employers. But, looking at the whole bear-
ing of the case, they would earnestly recommend that the
claim on the part of the men for nine hours daily labour,
instead of ten, be laid aside, in the hope that it may here-
after be amicably and satisfactorily adjusted ; and that a
deputation from this meeting be appointed to wait on the
committee of master builders and respectfully urge upon
them the immediate withdrawal of the offensive docu-
ment."

This amendment was received with hisses, and,
not meeting with a seconder, the resolution as pro-
posed by Mr. Allen was carried unanimously.
The meeting then adjourned for a week.