New-York tribune., 1871-10-07

LatlOn CAlleu iOufs LcaRuc.' AZ the Bunder
land men had been blamed for acting hastily Mr. Bur
nett and his comrades resolved to proceed cautously
They therefore addressed circular TO the employers
couched the most courteous terms, making II evident
that their desire for friendly settlement. This
the which the employers repaled by lawyers
letter winding up with I'VE decline TO aceede TO your
request" Nevertheless, the persevered feeling"
says Mr. Burnett that were In duty bound to make
good the position gained by the men OF Sunderland for
It will be readily seen that hal not we made deter
mined effort 10 gain the same terms FOR ourselves, the
men OF Sunderland would soon have been reduced 10
their former condition" They asked for en- In
terview between six Of the employers ana SIX
Of Themselves and to this rs to the former they got
lawyers negative The incident Of the premature strike
which served pretext for The employers REFUSAL Is
fully explained by Mr. Burnett The In that shop,
one OF the smallest in Newcastle had struck contrary 10
the wishes the League and 1t question IN con-
sequence after the general strike had begun, whether
they should taken under the protection OF the League
The without notice." which Sir William puts In ltancs
was simply in pursuance Of rule In that shop that no
notice was required either side, 80 that says Mr.
Burnett dryy the italics were really not needed"
Mr. Burnett points out that, by Sir Williams admission
this was only q pretext Even now he does not go
beyond saying that but for the strike written commu
nicaton would have been suggesed and you perceive
that in any case interview would not have peen
granted. about 300 men had, unfortunately, been
have anxious for settlement, determined to visit
the sin Of 800 upon the heads Of the 1900 or 5000 who as
vet had done nothing" The beginning OF the actual
strike is thus described by Mr.. Burnett;
"Up to- and indeed after this period there Tas every
chance of peaceable solution Of the difficulty had our
employers unbent a little. This last refusal was the
straw which broke the Gamers DacK anI we let enaC
shefe saT sS %Ss o anyhns At our next meeting
resolved that the Of eight shops be 10
give egal notice. only end OF hJr Williams WORKS
were uded to act III this maLner Part OF tue
In the other end, however did not IKE 10 pe iet m
and gave their notices; but great many VINO dd not
give their notices kindly informed tnat Us many
had given notice their services M aOS WOULD a De o no scb
trihing fact that 1t doubtless escapeu OH "nIla"
memory"
Then came the attempt of the Mayor OF Newcastl" to
bring about settlement. all mention Of which Sir Will
liam omitted although 1t fully reported In the pa
pcrs the themselves reprinted the whole OF the
proceedings In pamphlet, which did not look as II they
thought they were to blame for Its failure:
lone of the passages in this pamphlet. he continued
tratIon Of the Mayor OF Newcastle There to have
been great deal in reference to IT.
II speaks itself however and ought to convince tne
ost preudccd that the did not want to proceed 10
extremes win say nothing Of the manner IN Ecs %nlGf
TO say that they rejected or ignored the proposal Wcn
had empowered him to make ana al hopes VI
friendly settlement were at an end
letter from the Mayor himself, appears by good lor-
tune side by with Mr. Burnets, iii which MT san-
(the Mayor, after conceding what BIZ "iliam
had stated, that the had not authorized him to
speak in their name, goes on to say:
81 stated further that had reason to believe that H.
at my request the masters willing that five OF six
Of their should meet many OF the representa-
snch proposal acceded to, provided 1t anated from
myself as third party. Twas asked, | believe Dy tne
chairman Sir william Armstrong, whether was authOr-
zcd by the representatives Of the men to make such
fSF that
proposed both snsy %oua oa
Wien retred and shortly after received the
cation. which has already appeared In your columns
The communication referred to in the last sentence
was like all others emanatng from the same quarter
refusal 1t ia true the Mayor, who Is himself an en-
poyer bames the men for sticking to hard and fast
line and for haste in beginning the strike las to which
Mr. Burnetts answer above sufficiently. lie never
theless says:
But was then and am stll OF opinion that even with
both uartes equally Tpsolute in their own views con-
ference OF EXPLANATION, undertaken at the request
through myself Of influential inhabitants OF the towh,
might have ended in modification on one or both
sides brought this conflict sad III every az
pect end and 1t was with this view proposou H.
Then came Mr.. Pamer's effort for compromise, which
fell through the employers refusing in efeet TO
recognize the authority OF the League or its officers In
sisted that the men should vote by ballot On their
proposal with the clear belief that even large minority
vote would weaken the strike, and that pecuniary and
other influences could be brought to boar with effect on
individuals impatient Of the long continuance OF INC
struggle. Mr.. Burnett remarks:
Of the concession offered by the employers II Is un
necessary to say thing further than that they kept us
on strike ten weeks and then offered the same terms
as the men on the Clyde have enjoyed and as were re,
jsced by Mr. Stephensons at the commencement OF
The strike In reference TO what Sir William says about
Mr. stephensons letter to his 1t may be observed
that our employers condeseended TO give us any
reasons their refusal Their conduct looks
very black indeed compared with the action py
Mr. ste ephenson Into the arguments contained in Mr.
sephensons letter it is my intention TO enter 1t
was the old story OF foreign competition Nothing was
sad about the fact that the average wages In London are
los or l2 per week higher than In Newcastle ana 6s OF
S. higher In many other parts OF the country.
Very possibly many Of the facts above given nave been
stated before in my letter the srke but no matter
II IA desirable they should be put record as the
authority of the man position made him necessar
uv familiar with all that done. Mr.. Burnett OF
writes from the workingmens point OF view as
Sir william wrote from the employers The statements
in my previous letters were derived from
nearly with Mr. Burnett's. o. W."