The Sun.
London, England, 1861-09-14 00:00:00

ARMY CONTRACTS.

COMMISSARIAT, SOUTH CAMP, ALDERSHOT,
SEPT. 5. 1861.
TENDERS will be Received at this Office until
Noon on the 3d of OCTOBER, from Persons who may
be willing to enter into Contract for the Supply of
FORAGE,

in such quantities as may be required from the Ist of Novem-
ber, 1861, to 31st of October, 1862, for the use of her Majesty's
Land Forces stationed at Aldershot Camp, and within the
command.
The Tenders must be properly filled up and signed, and
delivered at this Office, under Closed Envelope (marked on
the outside "Tender for Forage "), before Noon on the 3d
of October next, and no Tender will be noticed unless made
on PRINTED FORMS, obtained from this Office.
ALFRED SAL WEY,
Deputy Coirnissar.y.General.

TEE PAPER TRADE.

The papermakers of this country have the satis-

faction of finding that their own 'Predictions have
been signally verified. To be sure, the satisfaction is.
rather a gloomy one, inasmuch as their forebodings
implied the ruin of their trade, but it is something,
still, to find one's-self in the right. It has been said
that even calamity may have its agreeable side so
long as it is exceptional, distinctive, and altogether
without parallel. Victims of misfortune delight in
describing their fate as unprecedeuted and unique.
It gratifies them to dilate on the peculiar and ex-
traordinary features of their case, and to represent
themselves especially as suffering from a visitation
which they had always foretold, though nobody
would believe them. Our readers can hardly have
forgotten the protests which were put in from the
paper trade during the recent legislation upon that
subject. Nothing could be more reasonable than these
expostulations, but unhappily there was a presump-
tion against them too strong to be overcome. What
the papermakers were saying all kinds of people had
said before them. Every trade in turn had repre-
sented its own position as "unexceptional" and
" peculiar." Nobody denied the abstract truth of
Free-trade doctrines, but all rules have their excep-
tions, and here was the exception to Free-trade.
" Competition in all other callings, but protection
in ours," was invariably the demand, and when
it came to the papermakers' turn, and they
set up the same cry, they were not believed. So the
Acts were passed and the papermakers were non-
suited ; and now appears the report of a select com-
mittee confirming in all important particulars the
allegations of these unlucky traders, and declaring
the injustice with which they have been treated.
The paper manufacture is pronounced upon this un-
impeachable authority to stand in" a peculiar and
exceptional position." It cannot really be classed
with the other staple trades of the country. The

doctrines which applied to other manufactures are
not applicable to this. The illused papermakers
are really in a bad way, and, for once, all that was
said about the " untaxed foreigner" and destruc-
tive competition has turned out to be true.
That paper, or at least that class of it which is
used for literary purposes, is principally made from
rags, is a very elementary proposition, though it
would have been as well if our authorities had
borne it a little better in mind. This raw material
on which a great manufacture depends is of a
character altogether peculiar. It is not a production
of industry in any way whatever. It is nothing but
a refuse, and the consequence is that the supply
cannot be increased or extended to meet a demand.
When a piece of linen or cotton has answered its
original purposes it becomes a rag ; but, as the rag
can never be so valuable as the linen itself, nobody
would ever think of deliberately turning linen into
rags. Rags therefore are produced involuntarily,
and the producers indeed are interested iu limiting
the production, for the longer a man can wear his
clothing before throwing it away the better will it
be for his pocket. The raw material, therefore, of
paper cannot be sown or grown. So much of it,
and no more, comes into the market according to
the numbers or other conditions of any particular
population, nor is there any method of increasing
the available amount except by greater care in the
process of collection. This being the case, the
papermakers urged that if England allowed free
exports of rags and free imports of paper, while
other countries prohibited or taxed the exportation
of the raw material, the foreign paper manufacturers
would enjoy such an advantage as would give them
the command of the English market to the ruin of
the home trade. France, for instance, and Belgium
would have the raw material of paper artificially,
cheap. They would keep their rags at a compara-
tively low price by shutting out foreign purchasers
from their rag markets, and, having thus got a start,
would send their manufactured paper over here
duty-free, and undersell the British papermaker by
virtue of the advantage which they had themselves
created. " So," said our manufacturers, " let us
have fair play and free trade on both sides. Give
us access to foreign rag markets and we will meet
foreigners in our own paper markets, but it you
allow them to have the benefit of Protection when
they are buying their material, and Free Trade
when they are selling their manufactures, we
cannot stand up against such competition as that."
However, the collective wisdom of the nation
thought otherwise. The appeal was unsuccessful,
and when the Customs duty on foreign paper finally
expired our manufacturers were left exactly in the
position they had predicted.
The Report of the Committee, in recapitulating
the actual results of this legislation, confirms the
predictions on which the Papermakers had ven-
tured, while it shows that the prophecies uttered
on the other side had not been realised. The
"equalisations" anticipated from sundry influences
have not talien effect, so that the disadvantage
under which the British papermaker labours "ap-
pears to be permanent." The substitutes said to
be forthcoming for rags have not been found. The
relief expected from the French Government has
not been fully experienced, inasmuch as the prohi•
bition, instead of being removed, has only been ex-
changed for a duty, while in Belgium the absolute
prohibition exists still. When, therefore, under
these circumstances the last penny of import duty
was removed on this side the Channel, and paper
manufactured from this protected material admitted
freely into our markets, thq effect was to reduce the
value of British paper about 10 per cent , " so as to
entail a loss on the working of some mills and
drive others to go upon half time, while the foreign
makers have been able to secure an enhanced price."
In tact, the Report speaks as roundly to the point
as a meeting of the trade could do, affirming that
"the most disastrous consequences must ensue to
the British paper manufacturer unless some steps
are speedily taken to place him on terms of fair
comp-tition with those of the Continent."
fac t t hhaatv
eF ree
their T r asdpee
chiaasl t
eosn. done ilt‘sr
On the other hand, it is impossible to overlook
spAinll
countriestheewecarkn.
cotton and manufacture hardware better than any
people. We are getting the command of the
French market at this moment in a variety of
articles notwithstanding the cost of transport,
and, if the French or any other people can
outstrip us in the manufacture of paper, we
should be content to have it so, provided we
meet them on equal terms. All this is ~lain sailing,
but all this, it must be confessed, does not touch
the point on which the Papermakers insist. They
concur unanimously, as the report observes, in re-
pudiating all desire for protective duties. They
profess themselves ready and willing to contend
against " any natural facilities or advantages which
foreign nations may possess." What they ask is
that those countries which desire the benefit of
free admission to our market should not be allowed
to create for themselves an artificial advantage by
shutting their markets against us. If the raw
material were of a less unique and extraordinary
nature they could easily procure supplies; but where
the whole amount available is limited by such in-
superable restrictions they cannot make head
against the superiority which a protected supply
confers upon the manufacturer.
We do not see bow it can be denied that this is
a bard case for the British Papermakers. Parlia-
ment has sanctioned a treaty which virtually taxes
the raw material of our Paper makers quite as much
as if the same duties were v le ied at Southampton

Last evening a numerous meeting of the opera-
fives in the silk trade was held at Crown and
Anchor Tavern, Cheshire-street, Waterloo Town,
Bethnal green, "in consequence," to use the words
of the bill calling the meeting," of a fearful reduc-
tion of wages which had been offered to the opera-
tives by an association of silk manufacturers; to
hear the report of the various deputations which
had been sent to the employers, :o remonstrate
against the most extravagant and uncalled-for re-
duction that had ever been offered to the already
starving workman ; and also hear the report of the
conference which had takeia place on_ the subject at
a meeting of employeri and wbrkmen."
Mr. Walker was called to the chair.
The CHAIRMAN briefly stated the object of the
meeting, after which
Mr. PERRY, who formed one of the deputation
that waited on the associated masters in connec-
tion with this matter rose to explain the circum-
stances of the case. He commenced his observations
by saying that that was not a meeting of velvet
weavers alone, to whom the reduction in wages
was to be made, but it consisted of members of all
branches of the silk trade, who desired to do all that
in them lay to assist their brother workmen in the
velvet branch of the trade. He might now observe
that 12 months ago the velvet silk weavers con-
sented to a censiderable reduction of wages. Some
masters at the time said it would not be possible to
reduce the wages of the operatives lower, yet they
now associated with other masters who had pro-
posed to reduce the wages still lower. (Hear.) The
proposition was unprecedented, not only as regarded
the period of the year at which it was made, but
also to the extent to which it was intended to go,
for it was actually proposed to make a reduction
in some instances even as much as 25 per cent. In
consequence of this proposal on the part of the mas-
ters meetings of the operatives took place, the result
of which was a deputation to the Associated Mas-
ters. A meeting between the masters and the depu-
tation took place on Tuesday last. There were eight
out of the ten associated masters present. The state-
ments made by the masters in justification of the
proposed reduction were of a most conflicting cha-
racter—some said they were suffering from the
effects of foreign competition because the foreign
silk manufacturer mild, owing to the rate of wages
which he paid being less than that paid in this coun-
try, undersell the English manufacturer here. Other
of the associated masters, however, attributed the
difficulty with which they had to contend to home
competition—namely, that some masters could get
their work done cheaper than they could; and a
third portion of the masters said that they only
kept their workshops open nut of sympathy with
the men, as the prices they received for the manu-
factured article did not remunerate them. Now,
with respect to the first ground stated by the mas-
ters, namely, that they were not able to compete
with the fereigner because of the rate of wages
which they paid, the deputation of the working
men showed the English velvet weaver was receiv-
ing less wages than the weaver at Cranfeldt, in
Rhenish Prussia. They showed this from the book
of wages agreed to in 1859, with the sanction of the
Government, and which rate of wages would be in
force for four years from that time. The masters
professed to follow the principle carries out in Ger-
many, but the deputation fully established the fact
that the rate of wages was higher in Germany. The
deputation also proved that the home competition
referred to by the masters was equally without
foundation ; and that as to the subject of sympathy
the deputation thought it would be better for the
masters to close their workshops for the present
rather than a permanent reduction of the wages of
the operatives should take place; so that when the
shops opened again they could do so at the old rate
of wages. Now he (Mr. Perry) thought it would be
better to let the masters close their shops, if they
chose to do so, but they had no such intention, than
for the workmen to take out work at the newly pro-
posed rate of wages, and if there was no other way '
of meeting the difficulty they must only have re-
course to the Poor Law. (Hear, hear.) The masters
seemed determined to abide by the proposal, and
the consequence was that it became necessary for
the general body of the operatives in the silk trade
to take some action in the matter. (Hear,)
Mr. WHITER then begged to move the following
resolution :—" That having heard of a most un-
called-for and unprecedented reduction of wages just
made by some of the masters in the velvet branch of
the silk trade in Spitalfields, this meeting, consist-
ing of workmen in all branches of the silk trade, is
determined, when the opportunity arrives, to assist
the velvet weavers to drive as hard a bargain with
their employers as the employers are now driving
with them.'

Mr. WATTS in seconding the resolution showed
that the effect of the proposed reduction in wages
would be equal to 25 per cent., and said that the
masters in Spitalfields were many of them making
rapid fortunes at the expense of the operatives.
One house that had commenced with very small
means was now said to be worth £lOO,OOO. (Hear.)
It ought to be made known that it was not the city
masters, but the Spitalfields masters, that were the
persons who proposed the present reduction of
wages.

The resolution was then put to the meeting and
was unanimously adopted.
Thanks were given to the Press and to the chair-
man, and the meeting separated.