The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1833-06-14 00:00:00

TO THE INHABITANTS OF LIVERPOOL.

THE MASTER TRADES MEN connected with the
1 BUILDING DEPARTMENT have hitherto abstained
from obtruding themselves or their concerns upon the public
notice, notwithstanding the Placards which have appeared from
the various Operative Clubs, but whatever the ostensible motive
of these Placards may havet;rignally been, it is now apparent
that their ulterior objects ha , a mischievous and most injuri-
ous tendency.
Of this the Public will be able to judge from the following
statements :
Trade Clubs are of ancient date, and have been invariably
supported by Masters as well as Workmen for the laudabfe
object of insuring their tools against fire, providing for the
sick, and furnishing the widow with the means of decently in-
terring her husband; together with various contingencies
incidental to the promotion of trade and the general comfort
of the Workman.
But these objects, laudable in themselves, and which Masters
have ever supported rather than repressed, are now subverted
and overwhelmed by the general establishment of Trade
Unions, corresponding with each other in Leeds, Liverpool,
Manchester, Bradford, Bolton, and other large towns, promul-
gating doctrines of the most dangerous tendency—establishing
a system of dictation to Masters and Employers, which breaks
down all distinction, and subverts all control.
These Unions have been long and secretly forming amongst
the whole of the branches connt-vted with Pu,lding. and appa-
rently with the same avowed object. Nearly the whole of the
working classes by threats, intimidation, or enticement, have
been virtually compelled to join them. AN OATH IS AD-
MINISTERED UPON THE SACRED SCRIPTURES
to every member upon his entrance, binding him to obey the
mandates of the Club, to pay an entrance fee and a weekly con-
tribution to its funds, and each Club is bound to assist the
others, individually or collectively, in this and other towns.
Many of the Masters, desirous of ascertaining the wishes of
the men, and anxious and wining to redress any real grievance
which might have borne hard upon the Workman, met a depu-
tation of the Union in a spirit of conciliation. They were as-
sured that the only object of the Union, was to extinguish whole-
sale contracting, and they pledged themselves that they con-
templated nothing. farther.
Several respectable Masters, although they could not recog-
nize the legality of such a combination, actually gave up their
Contracts, and declined entering upon any new general en-
gagements with their employers.
But to their surprise, a new system of dictation was imme-
diately acted upon.
The Private Contracts between Tradesmen and their employers
were demanded to be sent to the- ClUb-rooms, " to be examined by
Committees of Workmen appointed for that purpose." Demands
were daily made of such an outrageous and dictatorial nature as
to be tantamount to a total suspension of trade. Many build-
ings, both public and private, were stopped, either by mandates
from the Clubs, or by the men employed upon them declaring
that they dare not work any longer upon them ; and threatening
letters of such an audacious nature have been seut by the Com-
mittees to many of the Masters, that it can no longer be tole-
rated, and there is no resource left but a total suspension of all
work, until a combination so fearful to the well being of society,
and so injurious to the interests of the men themselves, be en-
tirely broken up.
The Master Tradesmen have never had any desire to influence
Gentlemen in the mode of contracting for their work, nor the
least objection to the different Trades being employed separate-
ly; it would rather be an okiect of desire than otherwise • but the
fact is, they have been led into the system complained of by the
Workmen, by the almost universal wish of persons and public
bodies who had buildings to erect, to enter into Contract wail one
responsible person rather than several.
The Master Builders cannot discover what material benefit
to themselves the Journeymen expect flora these proposed re-
gulations, as the system Y. Contracting has never tended to re-
duce Wages. In all branches of building the price of Journey-
men's labour has remained stationary, or with a tendency to
rise, for the last twenty years, whilst that of all branches of
manufacture, as well as the price of the necessaries of life, have
been for some years on the decline.
THE MASTER TRADESMEN DESIRE TO STATE
MOST DISTINCTLY, THAT THESE UNIONS HAVE
NOT ARISEN FROM ANY DESIRE ON THE PART
OF THE MASTERS TO INTERFERE WITH THE
RATE OF WAGES PAID TO THE MEN, OR IN ANY
WAY TO DISTURB THEIR COMFORTS OR CURTAIL
THEIR PRIVILEGES. _ .

The Master Tradesmen cannot deny themselves this oppor-
tunity of reminding the Public that the Workmen are paid
weekly, and that at the end of the week every man considers
himself at perfect liberty to quit his employer, notwithstanding
the Master may have had them occupied upon work which may
require months or years to complete. This being evidently a
compact on the one part of short duration, and certain remu-
neration, and on the other contingent upon circumstances be-
yond the control of the Workmen, the Masters therefore re-
spectfully place this question before their employers and the
public, viz. :—Whetlier or not the dictation of the 'Workmen
to circumscribe their business, and interfere in the liabilities in-
cidental upon the pecuniary arrangements of the Master-
Tradesmen with their employers, is a state of things that should
be submitted to, whilst all that is required by the Master is the
faithful performance of an honest week's work, upon the com-
pletion of which the Workman is duly paid his wages, and re-
specting which not a shadow of complaint has been provoked or
exists on one side or the other?
Notwithstanding all this, mandates have been issued by the
Unions, suspending some Masters from doing any business for an
indefinite period, because they have retained in their employ
men who did not belong to the Union, or because they have re-
fused to comply with their dictatorial commands.
Gentlemen who are building are by their laws obliged to sub-
mit their private contracts to the inspection of the Unions before
they are allowed to proceed, and if the Contract be a general
one, they are not allowed to proceed at all.
Under these extraordinary and painful circumstances, the
Master Tradesmen have no other resource than to throw them-

selves with confidence upon the public support, satisfied that the
desire to maintain subordination and the due performance of re-
lative duties between the Master and his workmen will meet
with their zealous co-operation, as it must be plainly seen that,
unless this desirable object can be obtained, it will be impos-
sible for any future engagement to be fulfilled between the
tradesman and his employers.
Whilst they offer their thanks to those Gentlemen who have
had their works suspended, for the patience they have mani-
fested, they. beg respectfully to suggest, TO ALL WHO
HAVE THE IN FENTION OF ERECTING ANY BUILD-
INGS, THAT THEY WILL SUSPEND SUCH EREC-
TIONS, SO LONG AS THIS COMBINATION IS IN
EXISTENCE.
Liverpool, June 12, 1833.