The Sun.
London, England, 1861-12-03 00:00:00

STRIKES.

But when strikes are immediately successful, the after-
fruits to the workman are even worse than at other times.
A calico printing firm near Glasgow yielded, in 1835, to a
compromise with their workmen who had struck a few
months before. Six months later the firm became bank-
rupt, and of the 2,000 men who had just been drawing 30s.
a week and upwards, only a few were afterwards able to
find employment at Bs. a week. Like results have happened.
elsewhere. Ireland has been especially famous for success-
ful strikes, and where now are the trades among which they
happened ? "The shipwrights and sawyers," says Mr.
Smiles, " carried every point with their masters ; and in
the course of a few years there was not a single master
shipwright in Dublin." The manufacturers of flannel,
silk, lace, and gloves have decayed from a like cause. The
blanket trade of Kilkenny, and the iron trade of Dublin,
have been wholly or nearly destroyed by the tyranny that
workmen wielded over their masters. Many a capitalist
and numbers of able workmen have been driven from time
to time to seek elsewhere the fair opening refused them in
Ireland. In short, we may lay it down as a general rule,
that strikes of every sort, got up on whatever grounds, and
marked by whatever show of immediate success, are sure
in the long run to bring defeat, if not always utter ruin on
those who carry them out.
In conclusion, it is observed that—

We fear that time alone and hard experience will open the
eyes of the working man. Through various channels the
light will gradually force its way, but we must neither hope
too much nor give up all hoping, because the signs of im-
provement may long remain so few. Whatever may lead
him to think for himself, to look beyond the present, to deny
himself aught for the sake of others, to desire the comforts
of a decent home, to enlarge the sphere of his sympathies,
and sharpen his perceptions of right and wrong, will do
more to hasten the desired result than the longest array of
unimpeachable arguments addressed to his intellect alone.

We fear that " Stray Leaves of Irish Satire" is
an elaborate sketch of quaint old ballads, which are
most curious, and will well repay perusal. "A Mt lo-
drama in a First-class Carriage" is a most strange
and peculiar affair, it is told with great ability, and
we cannot help being entertained with the mixture
of horror and absurdity. " Austria and the House
of Lords" is the political article, which gives a good
summary of the state of affairs in that country, and
will be of interest to all admirers of Italian inde-
pendence. " Ultor de Lacy" is a very terrible tale,
and will pease those who like the horrible, it is
romantic in its way, and replete with incidents of
an eventful kind. " Mr. Dicken's Last Novel" is the
subject of a paper which contains some rather severe
strictures on that author's style and merits and de-
merits. However, the critic found " Great Expec-
tations" beyond what his "small expectations" had
foreboded, and he declares at last," if the author must
keep on writing novels to the last we should be quite
content to guage the worth of his future essays by
the standard furnished to us in " Great Expecta-
tions." " Ceylon and the Eastern Archipelago"
pays a just tribute to the merits of Sir E. Tennent's
work recently published on the subject, and thus
appropriately declares " The sketches constitute a
delightful volume, written in an excellent spirit,
and are profusely illustrated with beautifully exe-
cuted plates, which add greatly to the value of the
book, both to the professed natural historian and
the general reader." "The Story of the First Earl
of Tyrone" is a very interesting sketch, which is
well adapted to Irish tastes, and we meet with a
very entertaining programme in the contents of
this number of the Dublin.