Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-08-07

in speech at Newbury on the 18th
of July, Joseph Arch, the distinguished
English laborer, says, eff my life is
spared until August, | shall visit the
States of America" and after explaining
his purpose in crossing the Atlantic, to
be to ascertain the condition of the la
borer i'll America, he continued eff |
find America is the true home for the
working man, where the son of the poor
man can sit down by the children of the
rich, write on the same slate, and read
out of the same book, and can have full
electoral powers, [ will stand on her
shores until | have drained the laboring
serfs out of England, in order that they
may settle in the fruitful fields of Amer
lea, with her ninety millions of acres yet
untitled, and l will do this until the
farmers of England bite the dust, if they
refuse to treat their laborers like men"
If any person is inclined to look upon
these words as idle, or the rantings of
an enthusiast, they don't know the man.
Joseph Arch wields a stronger power in
England to-day than Mr.. Gladstone, and
the wealthiest peers of the realm grow
pale at the mention of his name. He is
about forty-tive years of age, and begun
life as farm laborer, was married when
twenty-five, and has two children.
About fifteen years ago he found that he
could not support his family on his pay
of Is. Sd. per day, and he struck, being,
probably, the first recorded instance of a
strike by a farm laborer, in England.
For years he wandered through the
country, working day times at such jobs
as he could get, and with piece of can
pie he studied his bible AMI newspaper
under a hedge row at night. After
while he commenced preaching, and was
ordained as a local preacher of the
Primitive Methodist Church As a
preacher, he had great power among the
farm laborers.. In February, 1872, he
organized the first farm laborers' union
at Wellesbourne, and by the universal
suffrage of the unionists, he was APP
pointed their general to inaugurate a
movement for the relief of the laboring
class, and he has proved himself mas
ter of the situation, and he controls the
most powerful organization in England,
with the hand of Wellington. If Joseph
Arch goes back to England and says to
the farm labOrers, go with me to a
new home I have prepared for you in
America, whole counties would be de-
serted of every agricultural workingman
that could get away. He has the full
confidence of those he leads, and while
he is bound up body and soul in the
cause of which he is the chosen leader,
he is moderate and conservative in his
modes of action, and always pays the
highest respect for the rights of others
Any scheme of violence or 1awlessness
is at once subdued by his calm negative
The ''unionists" have a rallying song,
which they sing at their meeting, that
shows the power of their leader over
them. 1t consists of six stanzas, of
which the last runs as follows:
So here's success to Joseph Arch, that
truthful, fearless man
May he carry on the noble work. at Weiles-
bourne Oak began
He's honest, manly, in the Right, and hard
he hits the nail -
Has the cause in hand of the Union Band,
and we know he will prevail.
And know he will prevail
Has the cause in hand of the Union
Band,
And we know he viii prevail