New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1870-06-03
TIE BATTLE or TIE BRICKS

THE Battle or TIE BRICKS
Not to be OutdOne by the Yankees in any
thing, England has treated herself to a civil
war, to which she points us with a good deal
of complacency. 1t has taken the form of a
siege The Brickmakers' Union is the attack
ing force the besieged ga party by the
"name of Johnson" The siege of Troy and
the long investment of Jerusalem pale their
Intellectual horrors before the remarkable de-
tails of this modern Disagreement. 1t is true,
the bloody conflict is cOmpacted within small
space, but it has gone on now tor twelve
month, and is fully endued with all the pOmp
and panOply of glorious war There are the
two independent, belligerent powers; there Is
Mr.. johnson, fortified in his back dining room;
there are the briclimakers, like the fiery Huns,
deploying under their sulphTOus canopy )"
there are perpetual pale sentinels of chamber
maids and stable-boys upon the ramparts
there are bombs; there are internal ma
chimes and there certainly will be human
gore A heroic constable such as he who erst
descended like avenging Fate upon Gen.
O'Neil and bore him off by the breeches from
amid the deadly host, would probably put
summary end to this carnage; but England
declines to form any alliance either with the
scrred ranks Of the brickmakers or with Mr.
johnson.
The history of this first year of the Battle
of the Bricks is as follows: Mr.. Johnson is
builder and Brton. Being like all Britons
an eptome in miniature of the pluck and dog
gedness of John Bull, he was resolved to build
in his own way, and that the most direct way
to furnish him with bread and butter. The
Manchester Union issued an edict forbidding
the shaping of stone in the quarries or the
manufacture of brick by machinery. Mr.. john
son disregarded the ordinance, and went on
quietly with his business in these two methods
as usual Upon which he was denounced and
placed under the ban. For more than a year
he has lived in dread of assassination. He Is
compelled to steal from place to place like
convict, under cover of the night. have
not dared,n he says, to go home in my own
carriage for twelve months. No one, at pres
ent, knows where | sleep. My servants dare
not remain in my house my friends are
afraid to come near me. If | go to bed, it
must be for dog-sleep, and always on
"the alert" His timber yards have been
fired daily attempts are made to assassi-
nate him bottles filled with explosive ma
terals, and packed in clay, are thrown into
his premises; train of powder, about month
ago, was laid under his house, which, if it had
not been accidentally discovered, would have
blown it and his family to atoms. So extraor-
binary is the whole affair, and so closely allied
to an actual siege, that the police refuse to
Interfere, unless paid for work outside of
"their duty.n Mr.. johnson, "before proceed
ing to hire armed men, under his own con-
"trol," appeals to the Home Secretary for pro-
lection, but so far without effect. The press
denounce violently the inactOn of the Gov
eminent, and compare the recent outrages OF
the Trades Unions in Sheffield and Manchester
with the brigandage in Greece but brick
makers and police continue calmly on their
course, without interfering with each other.
"Truly," says Mr.. johnson, "my case is
"hard one,r which is at least a mild way of
putting it.
Joking apart, the affair is a most remarkable
one and affords us curious glimpse into the
action and reaction Of the English Government
and people against each other. That any body
of men should be permitted for year to thus
make open war upon an individual for legally
pursuing a legal business seems incredible to
symptoms VI NtdhHcsS sutH dS
this will soon lead us to doubt whether John
Bull is not stronger everywhere else than at
home. When he makes war against the Rus
slams, the Indians, or Chinese, he moves as a
unit; the son of "a peer commands the regi-
ment, and builders and brckmakers fill up
the ranks; the glory of Old England incites
the whole body But it is curious ques-
ton whether Old England at home is not in
the condition of that body of which Esop tells us
when legs, arms and stomach fell into dis
sension, and cOnspired against the head.
"Why should it rule over lis ~ said they.
whatever brains it had once are worn out
"now." We would be 10th to suspect paral-
lei case on the other side of the water. But
the shifts of contempt with which royalty is
put to the test now and then, as in the Nor
daunt case, are Ominous and so was the
haste with which the House of Lords lately
got out of the scales into which they had
placed themselves to be weighed. But the as
founding respect which the Government pays
to the belligerent brickmakers is a more sig
niiicant sign than all, and one which he who
runs may read.
We see no reason in the news from italy TO
look for serious Republican rising against
Victor Emanuel, but the friends of the Italian