The Sun.
London, England, 1845-03-29 00:00:00

TR IDES' DELEGATES CON-
FERENCE.

The delegates from the united trades of the country
met y.•sterclay. at half-past nine, at the Parthenium
Rootu, St. Martin's-lane ; T. S. Duncombe, Esq., in the

chair.

Let'ers were read from Worcester, Birkenhead, and
Edinburgh, expressing their concurrence in the objects
of the conference and their determination to support
those objects.
Mr. Fiirra, delegate from the plasterers of London,
moved that the names of deleg,atcs on each division be
published.
Mr. FLEmrxc was of opinion that it would answer no
useful purpose to publish the names of delegates voting
on al.l occasions. Such a course might be useful on
eertaiu occasions, but not indiscriminately.
Mr. FIRTH, seeing the sense of the meeting against
his motion, withdrew it.
Mr. WHITE proposed that the names of the delegates
who voted on the fourth resolution (yesterday) be
printed ar.d entered on the minutes.
The motion was seconded, put, and carried.
The CHATRSIAN +aid the next point the delegates had
to co. sitter was whether-
6. The Central Committee should be instructed to
carefully prepare a constitution for concentrating the
energies, legalising the proceedings, and giving practical
effect to the growing &sire for location in the land, and
other measures for the profitable employment of the
funds of such unions as might be desirous of thus
using them.

Mr. FLEMING, in supporting the resolution, said that.
be thought it would be much better, in the present state
of public opinion, to avoid consolidation, and make the
Committee a medium for collecting useful information,
and upon that information to prepare the best constitu-
tion they could for the support of the trades, and then
to put that constitution in practice.
Mr. PASQUIL (miners) moved an amendment-to leave
out the wards after the words " desire for,"; and to
insert the words, " and, therefore, giving practical effect
to the growin,g• desire for a general trades' union."
Afttr some discussion the amendment was withdrawn.

Mr. GEORGE WHITE then proposed a second amend-
ment, " That the consideration of the 6th resolution b
postp fined ; and that a Committee of seven persons
be app Anted to collect the views of the delegates
present on the 6th paragraph, for the purpose of founding
a resolution thereon, so that the opinion of the Conference
be c)ntlenscd, and placed before the country."
The CHAIRMAN put the amendment, which was
negatived

On thi original resolution being put,
Mr. TAYLOR moved an amendment, which was subse-
u:.ntly ithd Town.
Mr. DUNNING then moved en amendment to the same
(fleet, but

The CHAIRMAN said it would be unfair to receive that
amendment ulster the other delegates had withdrawn
theirs, especially after guarantee had been given that the
subject would be fully discussed in another stage of the
proceedings.
Mr. Duseiso would not withdraw his amendment.
The question was pet from the chair, whether an op-
portunity would be given to that delegation to discuss
the question, and it was-decided by the Conference that
the subject was introduced prematurely, and should not
therefore be discussed.
Mr. PRIOR was sorry and astonished that the dele-
gates should so long delay the discussion of the real
question fur their consideration. He believed the best
effects would be produced from different trades forming
themselves into unions to protect themselves. He be-
lieve d that labour might be created if' there was
only a proper understanding among the trades, and that
would create the means of consumption, which was the
great object they had in view.
The . CHAIRMAN suggested that the word " plan "
should be substituted for " constitution."
The resolution was put in the amended form and
carried.
Mr. \Vetere: begged that, as the delegates from the
country were put to much trouble, and to considerable
expense, by a residence in town, that the addresses of
members of the Conference should be as brief and as
mush to the pint as possible. Too much time
hal been wasted by delegates listening " to their own
sweet voices," and he trusted that, for the future,
eloquence would be discarded, and business attended to.
There were no less than thirty-four of the London dele-
gates absent that morning, and that certainly furnished
bet little encouragement for the country delegates to re-
main in town.
Mr. WHITE,. in order that the Central Committee
might be in possession of the opinion of all the delegates,
would make the following motion :—" That it be an in-
struction to the Central Committee to recommend the
trades to adopt the principle of endeavouring to become
proprietors of their own labour, by forming local
societies for that purpose, on rules to be here-
after placed before them, a portion of which
rules for the establishment of stores for the benefit of
the members, and manufactories for their employ, thus
enabling them to apply the profits arising from their
labour and the stores above-mentioned to the rental or
purchase of land for the use of the members of such trade."
He felt confident that the trades of England if' they
wanted to raise themselves from the slavish position
they ocgapied, they might do so—(Cheers)—and they
!eight depend Kon it if they made the attempt
they. would occupy next year a very different
position to what they did at present.—(Cheers.) What,
be would ask, was the position of the working-classes
now ? Why, nothing but machines, for the benefit of
others—(Cheers)—who had capital while they had not.—
(Cheers.) if they all joined together they would have capi-
tal to preserve themselves from being cheated by others.
Ile wished the delegates, before they separated, to give
a pledge to c ach other to support one another, and thus
prevent them from being the slaves of the profit-
makers.—(Cheers.)
Mr. SKELTON, in seconding the resolution, adverted to
theincompletenese of trades' unions for the purpose of
protecting the labourer, because machinery was brought
to such a state of excellence, that half the labourers
were unemployed. The delegate went into a number of
statistical details to show that. while manufactures
had increased wages had diminished ; and he argued
that strikes had only wasted the strength of the work-
men, without in the Least degree improving their con-
dition.
Mr. EvAN said that some hundreds of years ago the
working man could command any price for his labour,
- and there were enactments upon the statute-book
limit-
ing the remuneration for that labour, but now there was
a power in this country created by machinery equalling
in amount that of 600,000,000 persons, while it
was well known that the three kingdoms only comprised
a population of 30,000,000. With this extraordinary
poser to compete with, it was no wonder that the
working man was obliged to succumb. What was
the remedy ? lle would point out as the first, and
of most imp irtance, that of emigration. There
were lands in America to be purchased at a
very low calculation—why should the trades of England
not invest some capital of their own in this species of
property ? They might also obtain land in Venezuela
without any sinking of capital, because the ruling powers
there wished to people their land. There was at present
only a population of some one million there, while the
serf to was three times that of this country. The
speaker compared the reitility 'of the American soil with
that of Egnd, and eulogised the former, RS returning
its riches. without any labour on the part of the husband-
men. There they had also do pay scarcely any taxes,
while in England they were charged at least 10s. an
acre. tie trusted that the Conference would come to
eeriest decision in this matter Wore it finished its delibe-
rations ; and when they became possessed of
some 12,000 acres of land, which he hoped
would be before the year was out, they would
be enabie:l to sat the power of the employers at defiance,
and instead es; as heretofore the workers returning to
their labour. after :.he funds had been exhausted which
had supported their StrPees, they would bo enabled to
withdraw the workers altogether, to plant them upon
those lends, and so to neutralise the influence possessed
by the capitalists of the country.
Mr. fleWitlitinses, of Sheffield, said the present propo-
sition was thee which his trade had directed him to sup-
port. That which prevented consumption in their line
of business was the exorbitant prices the seller demanded
for the work of the artisan. He discarded the prin-
ciple as onwise of buying in the cheapest and
selling in the dearest market. He most cordially
supported tile proposition. All they wanted was better
eeentineration for the it lab Our. The cutlers of Sheffield
had been prevented from going into the Atm rican market
in consequence of the spurious articles that were con-
tintrilly being brought into the market and represented
as being manufactured in Sheffield. The operative
cutlers of that place, with the &termination of putting
a stop to this, had adopted the plan of stampine their
work with the words " Shen Id Operative Cuth rs'
Company."
• After some further discussion, the Conference ad-
jeu7ned till two o'clock.
The Conference resumed at Two o'clock.
The resullition, or recommendation rather, was then
put to the meeting and carried.
Mr. DENCOMBE (in '6ference to a very thin meeting)
said that he ~rtes punctual, and he trusted the delegates
would be !tie). As it was, he should certainly go on
with the business before them.
Mr. Borssost then proposed that it be an instruction to
the Committee to recommend to the tracks—first, the
payment of a weekly sum, as may suit the circum-
etancei of each trade, to be used for the' purpose of en-
ebling such member to become possessed of land sufficient
to raise him from the fear of poverty, under which the
working (lasses now labour; and for the better elucidation
of Cie principle, the follbeing recommendation be put
forth to show the capability of the trades to emancipate
thstioelves froen their present thraldom: when the funds
amount to len her member, they can be so applied as to
earry out the proposition, the details of which can be
placed at the service of the Central Committee.
Mr. Sem-mica seconded the resolution.
Mr. SIIF.RRAnn advocated the principle Of home
colonization, as tending to improve the condition of the
providing for the surplus labourers.
working classes by
Mr. FLEMING was desirous before entering on this
subject of hearing the prevailing Opinions of the dele-
gates, for though nominally the representative of a secs
tion favouring the idea of home colonization, he was yet
vii tually the medium through which a large body of
men associated into a society five and a hats
years ago to carry practically into effect these prin.
ciples—a body of men who bad purchased their 1,200
or 1,300 acres—a body of men who could look out on
their own vales, and woods, and hills—who could hear
the lowing of their own cattle, the bleating of their own
sheep, and see the smoke of their chimneys curling
from their own homes—he was the medium through
eidefc ie. men made known their principles. That
as formed in consequence of a strike among
- e Ora o Sheffield, Manchester, Ashton, Stockport,
regiea.'"TZ-s--e)lsits 'ejia)vS-44 other places, in the year 1841.
Thel ',406-01- that a strike did not answer
-*se-n/11411444K it was intended for, and they
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