The Sun.
London, England, 1868-01-27 00:00:00

THE UNEMPLOYED 1N LONDON.

An aggregate meeting of the unemployed of the ship
yards of Cubitt-town, Millwall, Limehouse, and Poplar,
was held on Saturday afternoon, in Burdett Hall, Lime-
house, for the purpose of adopting means for remedying
the distress at present existing in these localities. Mr.
Green, jun., having been called to the chair, proceeded to
explain that the meeting had not been called by the
relief committee, but by the men themselves, for the
purpose of considering what they should do, and whether
they could adopt means for bringing work back to the
neighbourhood mentioned. The chairman went on to say
that he supposed the men would pass resolutions stating
that they were willing to meet the hard times by
accepting work on a new scale. If they did, those resolu-
tions would do a great deal of good or a great deal of
harm. When it became known that they were willing to
work if they could get it, gentlemen would enter into
speculations, for there were many ready to do so if they
could only get their work done cheaper, and on a sliding
scale. It was, he said, a great mistake to imagine that
the employers were making large profits, and equally a
mistake for the employes to ask for high prices while times
were so bad and money so scarce. This was not an
attempt to reduce wages, but to enable the shipbuilders
of London to compete with the firms of Scotland and those
abroad. There was, he said, plenty of work to be had,
but the high price of wages kept it away from London.--The
Rev. Mr. Whitmore said the future prospects of the men
depended upon their vote that day, for this was not a
question of trades unions, but a question as to whether the
trade should be driven away from London.—Mr. Filter
said that a gentleman whom he knew had been compelled
to have a vessel built in Glasgow, because wages were•too
high in London.—Mr. Ronced, a workman; denied that
the workmen of London received higher wages than the
men in Scotland. On the contrary, the wages of London
were less per hour than those paid in Glasgow.—The chair-
man said the employers were quite willing to listen to any,
one who would throw light upon the " knotty point,'
namely, " how to get the work back to theneighbourhood?''
--Mr. Gibson said, undoubtedly there was more work at
Glasgow, Greenock, and other places than at Millwall and
the Isle of Dogs. He had been informed that work which
cost 6s. 6d. in London could be done on the Clyde for 4s. 6d.
In addition, the London employers had to bring coals and
iron to London. and therefore they could not compete suc-
cessfully with the North. He would, therefore, ask the
men to look the matter in the face and reduce the wages,
so that their employers might compete with other parts.
(Cries of " No, no.")—Captain Campbell said that one
I great cause of the want of work in the London ship.
building trade was the system of net contracts.—Mr.
Bullivant would shew where the work had gone to. The
orders on hand in Glasgow for the present year amounted to
141,595 tons, while last year the number only amounted to
78,000 tons, chewing how iron shipbuilding had increased
in Glasgow. If they could build a ship at anything like
the price per ton as on the Clyde he could put two ships
of 2,000 tons.. in hand immediately. The question was
were they prepared to work for less wages ? (Noise, and
shouts of ""No.")—After the meeting had been addressed
by other speakers, Mr. Beckett moved the appointment
of a committee of workmen to meet the employers, and to
report tae result of their interview at a future meeting.
The .nlotion having been seconded was carried unani-
mously, and a vote of thanks to the chairman closed the
business.

Ennny Kemble is to begin a series of readings
in ,:rJew York about the Ist of -March, and afterwards to
via it Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington.
It has been determined at the annual meeting of
the Leeds Liberal Registration Association, to memo-
:rialise the mayor to call a public meeting in favour of the
',ballot and the repeal of the ratepaying eauses of the
:Reform Act. The meeting, it is suggested, shoul be held
early in February, and Mr. Baines, M.P., will be invited
its, 'Mad.