The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1868-08-08

The Right Honorable Sir VIZ. EKLk. Presiding.
The Right Honorable the EARL or LlrcayIKLD
Lord ELcHo, NJ p.
The Right Honorable Sir EpxusD Waller HEAr
Hart, K Q. B.
Sir DANIEL GoocH, Bart, MP.
HERNAE NERHTvALE, Esq, c. B.
jams BOoTH. ESQ, @. b.
Tso2As HueREs, Esq, M P.
FREDEEIoK HARRIsos, Esq.
Mr.. ALEx ANDER MCDONALD, examined.
Lord Elcho-The first time think saw
you was In consequence Of my being toll
that there was q miner who wanted to Sc
me in the lobby Of the House came ou
and saw you, and you introduced y9ursel
to me As President of the Miners Union
and asked me to present petition from tn,
miners Of your district with regard to certai;
changes n the mines to be effected by legis
lat;on. Those changes were with referenc,
"a weighing. to employing women at th,
pits mouth, to education, and to the tint
Of employing boys IN pits, is not that 50
Yes.
And YOU told me that Scotland had beer
divided into districts, and that petitions from
the different districts had been presented b.
the different members, and was asked a,
member for East Lothian 10 present peti.
ton for nv district That isso.
The result Of that movement was, that .
member of Parliament, Mr.. Ayrton, moved
the appointment of Select COMMITTEE
which inquired into these very subjects
and that that committee reported | think las
year. recommending certain changes which
had been advocated by the miners in thest
petitions That is so.
That is what took place in one instance
and that the most recent Is that a correci
statement Of what occurred That is so
Nav we from that recent instance conclude
according to your view and what you wish
the Commission to understand, that that Of
something similar has been the course adopt
ed by the unions in these other legislative
changes, and that it is in that way that these
unions take an active part in bringing about
legislative changes by influencing members
Of Parliament aud getting them to take
these questions upf That is so. My state.
ment is made for the purpose Of showing
that it was quite incorrect to say that
miners uniJns had no other object than that
OF raising wages.
AS far as those legislative changes are
concerneI, you maintain that in those res
poets they have been Of great advantage,
and we been a social, moral, and physical
benefit to that class Of persons they repre-.
sent Yes.
You say that at the same time the masters
have resisted these attempts at improvement
say so.
What proof can you give Of that ? can
give the proof of the continual attendance
ir 1859 Of Mr. Nicholas Wood and Mr. Day
San give the proof of the continual attend
ance in 1860 of large deputation, including
Mr.. Pease and Mr.. Mathews (who appeared
at the head Of the association; or was a
member Of the association, | cannot exactly
say which, but he appeared at some Of those
periods the representative of Earl Dudley,
the representative Of the Earl of Ellsmore,
and the representative of the Mineowners'
Union Of Scotland all those men appearing
to advocate the view that certain things that
were in tbs Bill should be removed. The
Bill Of 1860 was a very excellent Bill, as we
looked at it, drawn up by Sir George Corn
wall Lewis. They appeared thea in the
strength have referred to, and succeeded in
mutilating the Bill and again they appear
Wood stood side by side with me In
the House Of Lords, and | heard him and
heard others speaking to the members, en-
forcing their views as against my own views,
and the other delegates accompanying me in
the same way.
But the masters may have opposed some
of these measures on the principle that Mr.
Mathews did, that they thought them class
legislation and unfair in particular, without
offering any opposition to the principles n
the measures themselves, which might be
considered as principles which would bene-
fit not merely the mining class and those
with whom they were connected. Very
possibly. | do not mean to attribute TO
them that it was desire to maintain igno-
rance. 1t may have been the class legisla-
ton they were opposed TO-.
Chairman-The funds were 10 be taken
By compulsion from the workmen, under
stand That the workmen themselves
wanted.
The workmen at TIL head Of the unions,
the intelligent men would be willing for thats
Fifty thousand workmen, adult miners,
within eight days on one occasion, petit
toned to that effect. In any other class Of
the community am satisfied that you would
not ind III the same number mcu so unan-
inous.
Lcrd Elcho-I may lake the most recent
actual change in the law with reference Ia
these matters OF workman and master, be-
cause ! do not believe there has been any
legislation as yet, has theIe. upon the re
port Of that Mines Committee There has
been no legislation on the Committee o.
lS66.67.
But to take the case Of the law Of master
and servant, that change in the law oil
master aud servant was in the main brought
about, was it not, by the same means tC
which you have referred as having beer
brought to bear for the other legislative
changes ! Our Union, the Miners Nationa
Association, were the first "a committee haC
been formed in Glasgow, but the Miners
National Association were the irst as an as
sociated body) to suggest political course
From resolution come to by as, it was re
solved that meeting Of delegates from al
the trades who deemed the last Act op
pTessiye should assemble in London, whicl
they did, and an executive committee wa
appointed, the object being to get the lat
AT Fcptatou
/ thought that the general committee wa
appointed ut Sheffield? No, 1t was appoint
ed in London. Having met frequently wit
Sir john Morgan Cobbett, then member 70
Oldham, personally, I solicited him 70 tak
the charge Of Bill on behalf Of the miner
and all the trades who were acting in ccr
nection with as ct the time. Mr.. CobbeI
consented to take charge Of Bill, and the
II was deemed prudent by your Lordship m
others that . Select COMMITTEES should !
appointed, and Me-. Cobbctt and yourse
very kindly on our representations took Ii
matter up and that wss another matt,
which, through yeur Lordship, We succseds
In having made law, that is, the abolishin
Of the penal part Of the law of contrnc
That is another instance clearly that Il
unions are not devoted exclusively TO wag
strikes or lock-outs.
| Have you ever found on the part or me
Of either house Of the Legislature the Sigh
est objection or difficulty in the way of fal
ling up questions ssverally affecting ii
working classesf think fhat there il a
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