The workingman's advocate., 1870-12-03
FROM THE OLD WORLD.

ponding Secretary, Washington, d. @.
FROM THE OLD WORLD.
THE PROGRESS or the LABOR MOVEMENT
Mr.. George Potter, under date Of
Nov. 10th, sends the following summa-
ry Of news to the Edinburgh Rsfornser
At Leeds the workingmen have held
a meeting, and resolved to erect a
Trades Hall IN which trade and friend
ly societies can hold their meetings. A
conference, to consist of delegates
from the trades, friendly, and other So
cleties, is to be held at once to devise
means for raising funds. The trades
at birmingham aremoderatively active,
and the demand for goods in all trades
is if anything somewhat better At
Nottingham and Leicester there is an
average amount of trade being done
and in most of the trades there is q fair
demand. In the iron trade there is a
manifest activity in some districts, but
IN others the trade is depressed. The
failure Of the negotiations for an armis-
tice IS believed by the lronmasters TO be
The tore-runner of inactivity for the re
naming part Of the year. The coal
trade is brisk, and orders continue to
arrive from foreign countries. The ex-
ports from the United Kingdom in Sep,
tember amounted to $4,000 tons, the
value being G467,O 900 In the nino
months of This year ending with the
3Qth Of September, the total value OF
the coal exported amounts to f4,l3l,-
sos, being f346,OOO more than the cor
responding period Of 1859 Trade III
London is not so good. As we walk
about we meet many honest workmen
of all trades seeking work, and, from
inqures frequently made, there i grave
apprehension that there is to be anoth
er bad winter. When the altered plans
of the new Law Courts were finally
settled II was understood that the work
would be pushed on at once. But it l.
not so several months have passed,
and the large piece OF ground stand>
i'll the midst of London in all its desc
lation, whilst thousands Of workmen in
the building trades are heartbroken for
want OF employ. The dockyards are
now IN active operation. Last winter
they were closed, this winter they will
resOund with the clank OF hammers and
the forge. This will be great reliet
to the engineers, boilermakers, iron
shlPbullders, shipwrights, and some
other trades.
From the London Bee Hive. Nov. u.
MINERS ASSOCIATION.
The Miners Confident Association Of
Northumberland published their bal
ance-sheet for the quarter ending Sep
tember some time since. The report
intimates to the members that they
have now at their credit the sum Of f7 !
322 los. I'd. In the quarter, among
other items Of expenditure, they had
given to the men on strike in West
Yorkshire the sum of 900. It may be
noted that the men of this country had
neither fall nor a rise of wages in the
crisis of 66, when all others went down
10, Is, and some as much as even 80
per cent. when there was no union. All
honor to the men of Northumberland.
They have proved themselves worthy
Of the consideration they meet at the
hands of their employers. How diff
ferent to matters IN Scotland, where
scarcely the rent of hall can be paid
where bill-stickers and all suffer, with
the bellman and others, if they do the
work without being first paid. The
various unions now forming would do
well to see TO it that they accumulate
funds in the same way.
STRIKE IN THE BUILDING TRADE
A large contractor in Edinburgh in
tImated last week that he would reduce
the rate of wages from 64d. to 64d per
hour--equal to about ~. 4d. per week
The masOns, on receipt Of this intima-
ton, held meetings, at which the matter
was discussed, and the result Of the de-
liberations Of the trade was that the
masons employed by the firm reducing
the rate of pay should strike. We be-
lieve that there are two OF three hun
dred masons. who a few days ago were
in receipt OF wages, that have struck
THE LACE TRADE.
A meeting of the lacemakers Of Not
tingham was held on Saturday in that
town to consider the case of their Calais
fellow workmen who had been thrown
out of work by the war, and had been
compelled to come from Calais to Not
tingham. After some discussion it was
resolved to make a levy among the Not
tingham lacemakers for the relief of the
Calais workmen.