The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1850-08-20

twenty years of age.
Aristocracy In Trades Unions.
From the London Times, July 20
Any uBisn OF working men requires certain
number Of active and instructed men to act for
them de their guides The instruction needed in
this case is OF de scrption not very common among
working men OF their class. To be useful secre-
tary, man must be ready withjhis pen, must be
accountant and speaker; but man in this sta
ton who has devoted himself to the attainment
of these requirements, and who has for
short time employed these faculties for his
comrades, soon begins TO dread return
to the daily toll of the operative, and his wits,
when he is once made secretary of union, are di-
rected to the means Of making his existence a
secretary, matter Of absolute necessity TO his fell
lows. To this end, he finds a constant agitation
amongst men and masters Of the first Importance
goodwill and confidence between these classes, he
believes, would render his position precarious; he
therefore nds for his interest 10 and keep
up illwl between the masters as a class, and the
men as their natural opponents. Every proposal Of
accommodation hDds In him an astute and bitter
opponent, and peace between these classes becomes
hopeless, because there has been a new class
created, whose interest IL IL TO prevent all compro
mise, and keep the quarrel constantly open.
This interest on the part of their leaders has led
to consequences most disastrous to the working
men themselves, as thereby their unions with
objects ostensibly beneficial have been rendered
means OF unmixed evil both to employers and EN-
ployed. The power which combination has in any
instance given to the operatives has been used un-
fairly to coerce the masters-ferce attempts have
been made To regulate profits by the arbitrary will
of the trades union eaders-the free play Of capital
has been seriously checked and its beneficial in
| iuenc.s materially diminished. Most erroneous
and mischlevous doctrines with respect TO the pro-
duciion OF wealth have been promulgated as so
| mdDy gospel truths. The workmen have bsen
| told thai they alone are the producers of wealth
Skill and capital have been deemed either useless
which afforded chance Of rendering Of M avail
both the one and the other. II these attempts had
| proved successful, the masters would have with
drawn their capital from Improbable employments,
and the men must have starved In place of being
what they profess TO be, the unions and combina-
tons Of the operatives have been thus converted
into weapons Of offence against the masters; and
thus, instead Of rendering any service TO the men
themselves, they have, in ss far as they have been
al oil elective, done nothing but evil, tending ss
they do, to debase the character of the working
man, end TO restrict the earnings Of honorable
industry
r, marhable illustration Of this state of things
has been afforded by the late trials at York. The
first case was that OF two men who h id throwa
canister Of gunpowder At the bedroom window of a
Sheffield manufacturer. Luckily the attempt was
not succe ssfu IN its mischief. The canister was
thrown at the window, fell without doing much
injury, created alarm, and led to the detection aud
capture OF the perpetrators VI the crime. When
these men were appreheDdcd, 4 confession not
sufficient for lei gal purposes elected not sulli
cient for legs, but quite adequate for moral con-
viction. The criminals, who have been condemned
were hired TO dc this horrId deed. Five pounds
was offered for the atte mpf-twenty pounds, they
say, Was TO have been the reward Of their success
full vilisny. Had the master manufacturer been
made victim-had his death been the result, this
sum Of twenty pounds was to have been the fewau
Any man who makes such confession renders
himself by the very Confession unworthy OF belief
This is evident; but circumstances have occurred
which lend couRtenancc TO the confessions OF
these williams. A sor Of minor tragedy, as re-
CARDS the offence, was being enacted while this
tlS
occurred, q quarrel took place between masters
end men, In which, as Tar we learn. the
masters were not altogether free from blame.
But The terrible suspc'on has arisen that certain
OF the leaders OF the working men, IN 2rder to
venge Themselves on the masters, hired the ms
creants above spoken II TO come from a distance,
and persuaded them, for the wretched reward al
ready mentioned, to attempt the life 81 the obnox-
ious master. This in England at the present day
appears almost impossible. Yet the evidence in
support OF the opinion almost irresistible, II u be
not quite sufficient for legal conviction. The
necessary result from such q state Of things IN
most disastrous. II the belief become prevalent
among the masters that such a spirit exists
among the men, capital viii 20 from In place Of TO
this trade. The unions OF the workmen OF Shef-
field. may he truiopbat IN their attempts upon the
masters, but they will ruin the workmen who have
attained and who crsbrste The triumph. The very
ccmbnsiicn that is successful Will sound the knell
| Of the working mans hsppiDess We shalt have
introduced he habits of the lrish tenant into Eng.
| lsL life, and our fewlrd will be the misery, IN.
security, and DEGRADATION Of the lnsh PEASANTS
existence. The good sense and good feeling OF
| the English srtizsn vill. we would hope. prevent
this great evil The master may, also, on his part
do uch 10 avert the mischief II he will not seek
| fra triumph, but cndravor to make his interest,
md those 81 the many thousands whom his capital
employs, idenlics-if he will labor with aah Ol his
| soIkInen, instead Of against them-if h s.ll not
| uke undue advantage OF opportunities wnch me
fluctuations OF trade give him, TO fsisly coerce
| the laboflng man, we may hope tn tbe spnt Of
| combination directed to the well being of all
| classes, In place OF being made, az 10 now is the
active instrument Of III will and bitterly hostile OPP
| petition.
| Coon NKws PROM AURIcA.-About twenty one
| yeats ego, MI. Jsbn shaw, a native Of kiottram,
| but who had been In business near Glossop, emf
grated, With his wife, TO America, leaving one
| youns dsughtr, the oAsynaa Of former marriage,
~nb her nothsr's relatives After amat variety
of upe and downs, and several times hsvisg TO be-
| GIN the world sgsn, in various parts Of the United
states, he has now settled Tor some time si 81.
Louis, where fortune Of late seems to have smiled
| uton him. He has sl~ays maintained CORES
lobdepce with the relatives OF hts former wife.
| sccsunt OF his daughter, and often expressed him.
| sn that he should be well pleased N she would
cfoes the vide Atlantic, for q new home In Ame-
rca. During the last spring, he wrote 70 cousin
| ~ HE tMr Rober shaw, ~ the Dog aud Psruidsc
nD) mex og iFquiuss about CERTAIN vfsis relatives
| u they were lvit 1, and what were Their circunt
| sisnces lie wss lrcmJtly Informed thersoi, and
| aEt ,sesf p .s ~ / ~ rTaflftfttfu 70 A..