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 West 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 thewages, thus shelving
the subject for a period. 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 opin ion that 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 believe 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 members of the association as well as those who
were—so important did they think the subject.
The result of that meeting 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.
" Gentlemen,—At a large meeting of the Building Trades,
held in Exeter-hall on the 18th inst., your resolution w
ere
to
discussed, and, after deep consideration, we were
u 1 unable _
see that you have answered our letter of March 9t_ e_nde
we are unwilling to believe that you seriously entertain th
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
feeAplinril.
ne, therefore, being influenced by the most friendly
gs w ,
oce more appeal to you to consider our claim, and
we respectfully request a decisive answer from your meet-
ing. on the Oth 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,
" GEORGE POTTER, Secretary.
The answer, dated the 10th of June, amounted
simply to a refusal to entertain the question. After
that the Conference of the United Trades, not know-
ing how to act on their own responsibility, appealed
aieshthtahteya
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Thelarge result aas to
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decided in favour of their
tendea-
vouringmajor y
the trades at
wrest the nine hours from the masters;
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