The Sun.
London, England, 1861-05-08 00:00:00

TILE DISPUTE IN THE BUILDING

TRADE.

The system of hour payment at increased rates,
which was forced on the masters in reply to the
strike for the nine hours' movement, appears to be
rapidly extending. Messrs. Trollope have adopted
it with their workmen, and have found the system
work so well that they are about to extend it to
all the men in their employ. Two other contrac-
tors, Messrs. Clements and Messrs. Gammon, also
now pay the men by the hour, and before the end
of the weak it is expected that some important
additions will be made to the list. The statement
put forth by a contemporary, that the four great firms
which were first compelled to adopt this course,
Messrs. Kelk, Lucas, Peto, and Smith are almost
without workmen, is quite devoid of foundation. Not
only are all the works of Messrs. Kelk and Lucas in
lull activity, but in the case of the latter firm they
have more applicants for employment than they can
find work for. All the works of Messrs. Peto and
Messrs. Smith are likewise in full employ. In the
face of these facts, and in the increasing satisfac-
tion of the men now that they can see the merits
of the new system in fair work, it is thought im-
probable that there will be any general strike.
Each day diminishes the chances of such a disaster
to the workmen, and it is earnestly to be hoped
that their own good sense and independence of the
illegitimate influence of the trades unions will
be soon shown by their frank acceptance of
the concessions of the master builders. The great
cheval de bataille of the trades' unions is a reitera-
tion of their statement that, as the men are only
employed by the hour, the works will be stopped
for an hour for any cause of trivial delay, and the
pay consequently diminished to that amount. But
it cannot be too much impre-sed upon the men that
in thus taking advantage of the term " hour pay-
ment" the agitators are only making stock out of a
verbal quibble, and deceiving them to their own de-
struction. Take, for instance, the two firms, Messrs.
Kelk and Lucas. Either of these would guarantee
full work to good men for two years. They still
make their engagements by the week, but, as
the trades' unions and some of the men have said
that it is imperative that they should only work
nine hours, the hour payment is simply adopted
that the men may work eight, nine, or eleven hours,
as suits their own convenience or necessities. Under
this system the men get a half-holiday from one
o'clock on Saturdays without any reduction of wages,
—a concession which is granted to no other class of
operatives or tradesmen in the United kingdom. In
a recent notice on this dispute we inadvertently con-
veyed the impression that the whole body of plumbers
and painters were going out on strike. We hasten
to correct this. Only the plumbers and painters
employed at the firms which pay by the hour have
struck against the system, by which they get an
increase of Bd. a week in their wages. As, how-
ever, all the chief builders are likely to adopt this
plan in a few days, these trades, if they persist in
their shortsighted opposition, are likely to be all
out of work, and permanently so. We have been
requested by Rome or the master builders against
whom the strike was first made to state that the
paragraph which appeared in a contemporary on
Monday last, announcing that the masters were
about to yield and compromise matters with the
trades' unions, is entirely untrue from first to last.
—Times.

THIS DAY'S MARKETS.

CORN EXCHANGE.

The supply of English wheat on offer here to-day was
on a very limited scale, and, for the most part, of poor
quality. Fine samples met a steady sale at full prim/ ;
otherwise, the trade was in a sluggish state, at irregular
currencies.

For foreign wheat there was a fair consumptive demand,
and the quotations were supported. The show cf samples
was rather extensive.

The inquiry for floating cargoes of grain was by no mean*
active ; ngvertheless prices ruled tolerably firm.
All good and fine qualities of barley were in steady re•
quest, at quite previous rates. Inferior sorts, however,
were neglected.

Fino malt moved off steadily, at full prices; but in other
kinds a very moderate business was doing.

The oat trade ruled firm, and the value of good and fine
corn was well maintained.

Beans and grey peas realised extreme rates; white peas,
however, were very ditllcuA to move.

The transactions in fiJUr were of a limited character, at
about Monday's currency.
ARRIVALS TILTS WEEK.
Wheet. Barley. Malt. Oats. Flour.
170 ( 290 3,190 --I 520
Irish —— 1,150 _
Foreign ........ 8,680 1,730 , I
8,040 — sacks
390 brls.