The Sun.
London, England, 1861-04-11 00:00:00

advantage to the company ; and [the proceedings
terminated,

BISHOP'S CASTLE.

An Friday, Saturday, and Monday public meet-
ings were held at Montgomery, Chnrchstoke, Chir-
bury, Bishop's Castle, and Craven Arms, to con-
sider the propriety of supporting the proposed line
of railway.
Mr. Piercy, the engineer, explained that the rail.
way would commence at the Montgomery Station,
near Caerhowell, passing through Chirbury,
Churchstoke, Lydham, and forming a junction with
the Shrewsbury and Hereford Hue near Craven
Arms. There would be a short spur from the main
line to Montgomery, and a branch from Lydham to
Bishop's Castle of a mile and a half in length. The
entire length would be about 16 miles, and the cost
£lBO,OOO. The line would connect two important
districts and open up lime and coal districts.
A large number of shares were taken, and a peti-
tion to the House of Lords in favour of the bill was
numerously signed.

RAILWAY BILLS.
Yesterday the Committee appointed to inquire
into the question of the proposed new railway docks
for Hull decided that new and extended dock
accommodation for the port of Hull was necessary,
and approved of the Bill the Kingston-upon-Hull
Dock Company, which proposes to effect that object.
In the committee on the Leeds, Bradford, and
Halifax Railway, the preamble of that bill was
declared proved, and that of the Dewsbury, Batley,
Gomershal, and Bradford Railway withdrawn.
The hearing of the Great Northern Railway
Company's Bill for proposed purchase of the Hert-
ford Branch Railway, together with the bill of the
Barnsley Coal Railway, was postponed, the parties
not being ready.
The case for the promoters of the Oswestry,
Ellesmere, and Whitchurch Railway was closed,
and Mr. Burke, Q.C., opened the case on behalf of
Ole Shrewsbury, Oswestry, and Ellesmere Railway,
and called general evidence in favour of that line,
and the committed adjourned.
CITY RAILWAYS AND THE Pooß.—ln his evidence
before the Committee of the House of Lords ap-
pointed to inquire into this question, Dr. Letheby,
medical officer of health of the City of London,
deposed that with regard to the removal of the
courts and alleys occupied by the poorer classes in
Long-alley, by Broad-street, city, to make way for
the proposed station of the North London Railway
there, their removal would be highly advantageous
in a sanitary point of view, seeing that the city
authorities had no means of breaking in upon these
densely populated districts and improving their
sanitary condition without some such means as rail-
ways afforded of relieving the over-crowded loca-
lities. One of the best things that could happen
for the city of London would be the adoption of
means whereby the poorer classes might be taken
out into the suburbs at evening and return to their
daily labour by cheap trains. It would be a great
boon and advantage to them. At the present mo-
ment the localities were closely crammed with dwel-
ling-houses, the removal of which would give open
spaces for the circulation of air, and do away with
the outbreak of fever and disease. One shilling a-
week would pay the fare, and it would pay the rail-
way companies to carry poor people at the same
rate as they carried the same weight of goods.
As there were upwards of 1,000,000 persons in the
city daily, it was desirable to have it fully venti•
lated, and the railway would give the poor of the
city the same opportunity of going out of town as
the rich. He had not considered how the country
parishes would like this extradition of the poor, but
the question was a large and difficult one, and one
of which no practical solution had yet been found.
The route of the North London line towards Kings-
land was not at 'present thickly populated, and
small houses to accommodate the poorer classes
might be conveniently constructed, and, at present,
the poor in the city paid on an average 2s. 6d. per
week for a single room, and as low as ls. 6d. He
did not know that the Stockton and Darlington
ran trains for the poorer classes at 6d. per head per
week, bat thought that at is. per head per week
trains would pay commercially.

TEE BUILDERS' STRIXE.

The trades unions connected with the masons,
bricklayers, and plasterers now out on strike have
decided, in the face of every argument and expostu-
lation to the contrary, to continue firm in their
determination not to return to duty till the masters
concede the nine hours' work with ten hours' pay.
Yet,in spite of this decision, we are very glad to
think that virtually the strike is at an end, as the
men, in fact, are beginning to assert their indepen-
dence of the unions, and are already day by day
returning to work. During last week several trades
meetings were held, at which it was evident, from
the manner in which numbers of the men spoke in
favour of accepting the present liberal terms offered
to them, and taking the half-holiday which was
given to them for nothing, that they were averse to
continuing the contest longer. On Friday night a I
very large meeting was held, and from the proceed.
ings there it was evident that the leading agitators
in the trades unions had taken steps to prevent the
expression of opinions adverse to their own particu-
lar views. Any workman who rose to propose that
the trade should close with the high terms now
offered them by Messrs. Lucas and Kelk was, we
are informed, at once coughed and hooted down. A
mason who wished to explain the reasons why he and
45 more of his fellow-workmen would not continue
the strike was not allowed to say a word, so continued
were the noises and interruptions. The upshot of
the whole affair was that the resolution in favour
of continuing the strike for nine hours' work and
ten hours' pay was eventually carried, and a large
number of the men previously stanch unionists
left thoroughly disgustedwith the whole procedings.
During Monday and yesterday a great many of
these men returned to work at Messrs. Lucas and
Kelk's and the other contractors, where they had
been on strike. Messrs. Lucas have now four-fifths
of the hands they require, and applications daily
come in from mechanics of all. trades and from all
parts of the country for engagements under the
hour system of payment. In fact, the men now at
work under payment by the hour system—which,
of course, if they do not choose to take the half-
holyday, enables them to earn more—now assert
that they would strike against any return to the
old system of weekly wages. So numerous, indeed,
are the applicants from the country that Messrs.
Lucas and Kelk could at once take up their full
compement of men, enough even to go on with the
works at the Exhibition. They are averse, how-
ever, when tne building trade is so depressed, to
depress it still further by the introduction of addi-
tional workmdn into the metropolis, as they feel
convinced that before a week is out all their old
hands who are worth employing will have returned
to their labour. Since this change has taken place
in the opinions of the men the number of pickets
stationed round Messrs. Lucas's works and Messrs.
Kelk's, but more especially the former, have in-
creased tenfold. During part of yesterday and
to-day there were at one time between 200 and
300, who, as the men issued from the yard to
their dinner, saluted them with yells and hoot-
ings, following them a considerable distance down
the streets. Upon this the men remonstrated with
Messrs. Lucas's foremen, and said they ought to be
protected from such outrageous insult and annoy-
ance. This request Messrs. Lucas at once ap-
proved, and procured the assistance of the police I
to protect the men while going to and from the
works, and in every case where an attempt at in-
timidation or annoyance can be proved they have
determined upon prosecuting the offenders to the
utmost. The chief argument which the pickets use
with the working men is, that they had better go
when the Union can get them permanent employ-
ment elsewhere, for that if they—the old hands—
choose to return, all those who have lately come in
will be dismissed at once. Now, in this matter,
those on strike are sadly deceiving themselves, for
Messrs. Lucas and others have, with the concur-
rence of the whole trade, decided that if the strike
lasts for a twelvemonth they will not dismiss a
single man, unionist or not, who has come to their
assistance in their struggle. Another important
point in which the Unions are deceiving the la-
bourers is in the continual assurances they are
giving that the four great firms from which the
men have struck are themselves undecided as to

enforcing the system of payment by the hour. On
this matter we can most solemnly assure the men

that not the least uncertainty prev-ails. 'Whatever
happens, their employers are determined to pay the
increased scale of wages, but to pay by the hour
only. If it could have been possible that there
was ever any doubt about carrying out an
arrangement which at once sets at rest the
question of the nine hours' movement, and

allows every man to work as much or as
little as he pleases, it would have been removed
long since by the hundreds of letters received from
bodies of working men, all imploring Messrs. Lucas
to stand fast to the scheme of hourly payment, and
expressing their willingness, under such an arrange-
ment, to work any time they chose. Fortunately,
these offers are so numerous that there is no longer
any necessity for resorting to the plan of getting
workmen from abroad. Twenty thousand might
be got in England in a week without difficulty.
Thus, in spite of the mischievous influence of the
trades unions, the men themselves have averted an
evil which would have proved the ruin of their
calling for the next generation to come. Yet, 1
tough they have not actually ruined themselves,
hare nevertheless by their present strike doing
1, whole trade a most material injury, as we will ,
B+4OW. A.
"17 large portion of the proposed Inter- 1
.