New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1859-09-02
ruE LONDON sTRIIkF.

al NElci We D1Fc Ehfu NJ o-S'H"'
The last sdvices. This is dinereoce' oe'"een
parties whose interests well understood are ioen'
teal. which canoot be too much depiored- Nocca-
Il rs harm 10 both parties-bsnsrnptcy' perhaps
10 The ore cruel want almost certainly 70 the o'nef'
When oLe of the speakers at the great oPen'air
uee,ine in London said that such strike as tois
in n. North of England bad brought most OF the
masters iha. stt cd out sga;Lst the Workmen ino
The Ga.ftts. the statement was received VIII
,lesrs This nav have been true but the speaker
DID not 81, how many of the workmeo had been
brpppbt by it into the Work House, il not to So'se
t,b,tstiop.. from the restitution aud tee ldeness
copseouent on the strike. When the oaiance oi
m schief done is fairly struck, the heaviest amount
If loss must be found to remain with the party
which brings only manual labor to tho JOINT stock
&c r,oductiou. He that has capital and business
connection. thoush seriously Injured by such an
interruption Of his business, has still something 10
fail back upcu--s reserved force which his antag'
opists can reckon upon IN very muco smalef
measure. Ii is therefore that such breaches be
tween parties who should be allies with cortia'
understanding Of their common iateresI, are 10 o.
deprecated and regretted the most.
Not that there may not be cases where no other
remedy lies for tyrannical conduct on the part Of
the masters. in which stake is not Only Jnsct'
sole. but praiseworthy. But it ia case that ar 8
almost as .edom as anecessary wal oil sei''e'epce'
Yf-y are rare occasions when duty may 'mand
III. sacrifice of ease, interest, and lite itself i'r the
fbsl security Of them all on q sura basis. k'gh'iy
viewed, there is no necessary antagpnism between
The Good Of tie masters and the men-though selfish
less, always sbortshghted, may sink imaginary
sby sses be,e cen them The masters csnnot live
without the men, it s .Iue but then, 1t is equally
true that the men cannot live without the masters-
And the masters can live the longest Of the two
without the help Of the other But This London
case does not seem to be one of those extreme
cases which Justify resort to extreme measures
The workmen do rot complain Of ther wages, nor
demand a direct increase OF them. What they
ask is 10 be paid for nine hours work, the same
cum that they now receive for ten. Ihsis OF
course, the same thing as asking an increase OF
their wages by one-tenth, which the masters are
lot inclined TO grant They affirm th't such
dlminuion in the hours of labor while the pay re-
uIai1s the sane, would just make the d'feence
between prosperity and ruin. At any rate, they
apprehepd should this concession be made, that 1t
viii only prepare the way for more grievOus ones
ID the future.
The disturbance in the building business of Lon
don is rot occasioned directly, bya united strike
Of oil the operatives engaged nit IL exists in
ts present extent from counter strike on tue part
of the masters, as an act of self-6efense Ii was
only the woikmen Of one particular firm, Messrs
Tro,lope. that struck of work on this issue. All
The rest of the men engaged in building remaite ed
at work as usual But the masters, foreseelDg, as
they thought, that il the plan Of the campaign
10 take them in turn and cut them of in detail, re-
fused to continue any men in their employment who
would not sign declaration that they belng ed to
20 association which pretended to interfere be-
tween the master and the man, and to di'tate the
t.Ims Of the contract between them as to the price
to be paid By the one for the labor of the other.
This war, Of course, blow levelsd at the Trades
Unions, and 10 consequence of il very few men
renamed at their work, gatdng il as tyranncal
Interference with their right to combine for their
own protection. This is the attitude in which
two oppostes stand with regard to ono
another, and it is question of very universal inter
est how they are to get out of the dead lock in
hlch they find themselves For, all other masters
aud al other men throughout England regard this
battle as one, the result of which may affect them
al equally with the London combatants.
Tue dspute must arrange itself By some KIDD of
compromise before long. For the grievance Of the
operatives is not heavy enough to excite that ex'
tensye sympathy in the general mind which COM
pei. redress in cases Of obvious Injustice. The
1T siist people, especially, warm lovers Of fair
play, aud when clear case of hardship is made
out, il is pretty sure to be remedied. Bot this is
not such an one Ten hours labor is no more than
"a fair days work for fair days wages" Hardly
CT body that has to work at all for bis living, in
tie tigher professions or Otherwise gets of With
lees than that And the indirection of the process,
BY which rise Of wages is engineered for, with
out az open declaration Of the purpose, is not
what will commend the measure TO the English
COMMON O. use and fair.mihdedness. II isa matter
which the masters and the men must settle be-
tw &c ID, mseiyes, snd will. II is not case 10
which Government can interfere, as Sir Corn
VAL Lewis gave the deputation OF master builders
to understand when they laid their case before
him, a. Home Secretary. TIE men have q right
to agree among themselves as to the wages for
which they will work; but if they attempt 20 CON-
pei any one 10 jon their combination or ~ hinder
bis tskrg work at less wsges than they haze fixed
upon, they are then punishable for conspiracy.
AID or the other hand, the masters have the cor