, 1872-10-22

tegrity, are unquestionably the leading Demo-
cratic statesmen Of the country.
|
THE ENGLISH C0AL-FAMINE,
: A despatch, printed in oux last issue, statea
that orders have already been received at Ba1ti.
more for the purchase Of coal for the English
market. which indicates that there is little pros
| pect at present Of any abatement Of the coal
| famine in that country. The latest English
malls give anything but 3 cheerful account Of
the coal business. The dearth does not grow
out Of any exhaustion Of the supply, but out Of
| the miners' strikes, which have wrought serious
| consequences, not only in the extraordinary rise
in the price Of coal, but in the iron business,
which Intimately 'sympathizes with coal. The
strike Of the miners waa followed by strike Of
the iron-worke1s, and this WAS followed
by 3 strike Of. the wives Of both
against the butchers, while the General public is
indignant against the employers for raising the
price of iron and coal, which tho policy OF their
men rendered inevitable, The effects of the
rise in England have been felt in France and
Belgium, where the dealers have not only been
selling at very remunerative prices, but have
stepped in and taken away part OF the English
iron trade because they could undertake con-
tracts at lover figures. The French dealers in
coal have ahrewdly taken advantage Of the rise
across the channel, and, giving as an excuse that
the coalwas all being sent to England, hare raised
theprice from ten to twelve francs per ton for
household purposes, while, in reality, the home
production has not diminished. the importations
are equal to former years, and the quantity in
bond is unusually large. a Acorrespondent Of the
London Daily Neacs, who has beon travelling
through the coal districts, gives some interest,"
ing details Of the condition OF the miners, which
led to the strikes and the subsequent rise in
prices. He represents that, hitherto, the miner
has been as much at the mercy Of the employer
as il he wore collar and chain. He ia not citi-
zen, having neither municipal, parochial nor
Parliamentary vote. He is dumb in every coun-
Gil. He lives in the pit -village, near
the mouth Of the pit-must live there,
as there is no other place for him-and lives rent
Free house accommodations being part Of his
wages, which makes the employer responsible
for the manner in which he lives, aud for the
vice and squalidness which make the miner reck-
less of all the obligations he owes to society.
The correspondent in question draws the follow
ing picture OF the miners novels in the district
OF Durham
The wallis inside are Tie those outside-dssured.
honey-combed, rottiug. The sky is visible through
49, %-.o n1o H.. ~
place, tho vestge Of scrap Of furniture. In
cornar resting four stones, is the door between the
front and back room, which has been taken of its
hinges and with the dirty bundles Of rugs upon It, is
made to serve as bed for the family. There are six
children, aud haggard, w1etched mother; not
Of the family is clad as to comply with the
di1nontary requirements of deeency, nor ia there
1no1Bel Of food in the pare We pass up and down
more close~pnckod rowB, back-to-buclz, Of squalid
b1oknn-roofed novels, whose walls rotten and
Wondering, whose floors damp, and the Wretehed
mesa Of whose interiors, Bpie Of good furniture In
many cases, is only exceeded by the abject
misery ind foul horrors Of the e1terior surround
ings. The haggard women beset my companion IS
pass md pray to be removed into better houses
Have wo como to nbout repairs? ave Gamma live
in COT hoose, measter!" God knowa do not wonder
st 1T; who but pigs could? Homo love, aobriety, do
mestc comfort, nodesy, godlinesB,-is 1t not bitter
mockery to imagine the possibility Of Buch things in
holes and a1nil surroundings at which savage would
Rhudder7 The p1ivies in Co1hoe may reckon
i1y his fingers. The njght-Botl is cast upon tho
ground around the houaes, first to saturae 1t with
SEWAGE then to percolae into the adjoining beck and
finally to be drunk by the people Of Durham. The
solid garbage accumulates on the ash-heaps; th fah-
bones, cabbagebades and aahes make up the mounds
which in lean against the walls never are
mauY steps distant from the doors.
The coal proprietors assert that the present
dearth ia attributable to the miners preference
for and scottish recreation, rather than for
making large and steady wages BY continuous
work, without stopping to consider that, if this !
be true, then they directly responsible for it
by neslecting the social elevation Of the miners'
condition. The remark Of squalid woman, in
one Of these hoye1s, to :the correspondent from
the proprietors :' II webs treated like beast
esses, then TIE acts as beastosses." The very
strike Of these miners shows the falsity: Of the
assertion. It is protest against this bad hous-
ing,. and. shows that the: miner wants
something better. The coal minerB'
strike in England is the fierce,
.ungoveruable revolution against wrong, which
has grown out Of every species Of sertdom the
world over, the assertion Of Independence, the
craving for better things, and the determination
to have them, which are the inevitable out
growths Of slavery. If, than, the coalahd iron |
employers want to retain their business, and not
find. the United States filling their customers
orders for coal, and France and Belgium con7
peting sutceastul4y With them: in iron
work. thetA eou.se.: is ~::plain IenousRh TO