The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1833-06-28 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

mends, that they are to dictate the number of apprentices
to each employer in this thickly populated country, tak-
ing care, of course, " that the sons of club members are
to have- the preference ?" Are they to tell a fellow-
workman the exact price at which he is to sell his labour,
so that it may be tithed to support the dignity of the
chair ? And are they to forbid the hard-working me-
chanic to earn a little extra money in the summer, to
maintain with greater comfort his family in the winter ?
Are they to suspend the master who refuses to crouch to
their audacious mandates, "at their pleasure." And are
they to dictate to the public, generally, the terms on which
they are to make a contract with their tradesmen? We
have stated, previously, that these unions have some-
thing else in view than the prevention of contracts. In,
Oldham and Manchester a curtailment of time and an
advanCe.of wages have been contended for, and in some
instances obtained; and there is no doubt but the two
great objects of a. general rise of wages, and an assump-
tion of all power and authority, are kept steadily in view
by the great body of the unions.

Now, as it is our firm opinion that this is not a dispute
essentially confined to masters and workmen, but is one
which materially affects property generally, we propose
to look at it in that light.

That the employment of capital by those who possess a
superabundance, and the return made for that capital in
the labour of the artizan, in such an equitable proportion
as will yield a fair interest to the employer, and a fair re-
muneration to the employee, are advantageous to both
parties, is too evident to require a comment.

Bat, if the employer were to demand an exorbitant
return for the capital he embarks, or the artizan were to
refuse the proportion of labour requisite to give a fair
and adequate compensation for the wages paid him,—in
either case the equilibrium necessary to the well-being
of both would be destroyed, and confusion and discord
must ensue.

It is unfortunately the case, that the artizan is too often
taught to look upon the capitalist as his oppressor—as his
enemy. The reverse is the case. The artizan has no-
thing to dispose of but his labour, and it is of no use to
him to take it to a market where there is no money to pay
him. If. the wealthy employer, exacts nothing from him
but a fair return for his money, he is his friend, and his
best friend too. The working classes cannot employ
each other, because they have no funds to pay each other
must therefore look to those for employment
who possess surplus funds, and they must offer some in-
ducement to the Capitalist before he will venture to em-
bark that surplus. Now if, by a combination which is
legal and unobjectionable, the operatives in a certain
department were to resolve upon raising the price of la-
bour, and demand that which is inconsistent with the
value of clothing, food, and the other necessaries of life,
the thing in a short time would cure itself.
Men cease to embark capital in those speculations
which do not yield a fair return, or upon which foolish
restrictions are laid. The demand for labour ceases ac-
cordingly, and the operative soon finds himself the dupe
of his own folly when lack bf employment and consequent
starvation have overtaken him. But, •if combinations,
like the insane unions lately established, become general,
and if by the argument of force a man will neither work
himself nor suffer others to work who are willing, unless
'a fixed rate of wages be paid, and demands be acceded to
which outrage common sense and propriety, then the
effect will he speedy; society itself will cry it down, and
.starvation and contempt will be the fate of those who
established it. Rail-roads and public worki which have
been estimated at a certain sum (taking the present price
of labour as the standard of calculation) must cost much
more than the estimate, if combinations are to force up
wages, because the free exercise of labour is impeded,,
and men dictate the, terms not only of their own but of
other men's labour. We think the holders of shares un-
der such circumstances must become sufferers, for we
have reason to know, upon the best authority, that had
not the firmness of some,of the masters given a check to
these unions, an addition of 20 per cent. would have been
laid upon the price of-labour. Labour must, therefore,
be left unshackled and disenthralled, and railway direc-
tors must let their works by public competition. If.not
so, what must our dock trustees and corporate 6ody do
in future ? Why, they must send for a-deputation of the
great unwashed to be sure, who will, by.trieir president,
or by a placard on the walls, inform the said corporate
body, or dock trustees, whether they will be permitted
to let their future works by contracts or not, and whe-
ther to one man or to several, or to the club ! And
should the said trustees not choose to obey their com-
mands, and send their contracts to be inspected by the
unwashed president of this unwashed union, a strike is to
be the punishment, and the works are to be suspended
until their contumacy abates, and till they succumb to
those commands which the operatives are.resolved upon
having strictly obeyed. And what effect is all this likely
to have upon private work? What, but that the spirited
and independent merchant must spurn with indignation
such infamous demands—must reject with contempt the
dictation of those, who so impertinently seek to pry into
their concerns, who forget that the hands can never be-
come the head, and who step aside from the paths of
honesty and industry to meddle in matters which do not
concern them.

We ask again—ls the whole of society to be disorga-
nised by a junto of idle vagabonds who entrap the indus-
trious mechanic into their net—who hold him in a sort
of mystic bondage—plate to him about injuries and
wrongs, and then inflict a thousand times as many upon
him by the- tyranny with which they encircle him, by
robbing him of that pittance which belongs to his wife
and children, and by causing him to identify his interest
with theirs, to the prejudice of his moral character, and
the loss of his constant employment. We repeat, that
great numbers of honest well-meaning men are now
walking about in a state of starvation, who would gladly
quit the union of they were sure if personal safety.
Government, therefore, ought and must interfere, and
the representatives for large towns must speak out and
trifle no longer. Of this we are quite sure, that if such
is to be the practical working of mechanics' institutes,
the sooner the respectable classes cease to support them
the better.

Perhaps it is worth while to consider how the opera-
tives themselves will be affected by these unions. We
do not stop to inquire whether contracts are injurious to
the workmen or not. We think they are not injurious,
-because we cannot see how a workman can be a loser by
a contract so long as his wages are punctually paid him,
and as be is only engaged by the week, if his money is
not then forthcoming, the remedy is in his own hands.
Me can refuse to work any longer for such a master, and
the recovery of a week's wages is simple and summary.
If master builders are such fools as to take contracts too
low, they, and not the men, are the sufferers, so long as
the men receive a fair rate of wages. Trade must not
be restricted; there must not be unnecessary trammels
imposed. Water may be forced out of. its level, but it
must be kept at an elevation by force, and force alone.
And if the free exercise:of trade be impeded, either by an
unwise act of the legislature or by an absurd combina-
tion of workmen, it must be an unhealthy state of things,
and cannot remain in such state without the exercise of
force, and, in returning to its natural level, it involves
numbers in misery. Now, these unions, we perceive
by the Manchester and Preston newspapers, have caused
numbers of persons to abandon buildings in contempla-
tion rather than countenance these proceedings. We
know this to be the case in many instances here, and it
is the determination of the public bodies to suspend their
works whilst the union is in existence. The buildings
at present on hand will be finished by strangers, and few,
if any, for a time will succeed them ; for the independent
wifi not build--the 'timid dare not, and' the public bodies
are not justified in going on under the circumstances.
There is not one portion of the press in this or any other
town who attempts to justify the conduct of these unions;.
they are a public nuisance, and ought to he dealt with
accordingly.

, Now comes the important question. What are the
workmen of the building department to do next winter?'
We leave them and their sbpient committees tq digest an
answer, being sure that it will be the only thing they
f.
will have to, digest before long.