Morning journal and courier., 1891-08-08

ference in its hand to wipe 1t out. - Then one lone woman also arose. This one lone woman, almost unaided, defeated Ehe entire efforts of the entire trades un- ions of England, conquered the opposition pr indifference of two home secretaries, childers and Matthews, in succession, moulded public opinion to the cause of the pit-brow lasses; and achieved one of the most remarkable social and labor victories sver won in Great Britain. r
 It is pleasure to make such woman better known to Americans. Her name is Mrs. Margaret Park, late mayoress of Wi gan. Her husband, deceased in Novem- Der, 1900, was leading iron merchant there, and perhaps the most popular indi- vidual in Lancashire-the one exception being his wife. He was elected to the for five successive terms, be- tween 1882 and 1888, the same being counted an extraordinary honor, as wigan Is the oldest borough in Lancashire, hay ing municipal history dating from the days of chivalry and the crusades The city is the center of the Lancashire coal and iron trade. It is a district of collier ics and coliers. Mrs. Park is Lancashire lady by birth, and had all her life striven for the betterment of the lowly. She is a shining example of thoroughly cultured woman of wealth making use of her gifts and means in her own neighborhood, with out requiring mission" or the recogni- tion of the Sunday papers in order to reach the highest fruition of her genius for good. She consequently knew these Lancashire folk in their everyday toll and in their homes. Naturally she was be- loved and almost idolized And she knew too, possibly because woman, and be- cause of intelligent studies and practical ministrations, the merits of the pit-hrow woman question perhaps better than any other living man or woman
 These six thousand helpless women had no defender. She instantly became one. By clear and truthful presentations of their morality, their healthfulness. their need and that of those dependent upon them, and the injustice of the proposed depriys- tion of their only means of subsistence, with her ringing urgency upon the influ- ential women of England of the principle that all avenues for voluntary labor by women should be expanded rather than re- stricted, such noted women as Emily Faithful, Lady Latham, and Lydia Becker, of woman's rights fame, gave the pit brow woman's cause their support instead of opposition. Intelhgently presented facts and clear, cogent logic on the sub ject were at once supplied to Home Secre- tary Childers and to members of parlia- ment. With the enthusiastic cooperation of Vicar Mitchell of Pemberton, an impor- tant colliery town near Wigan, where a large number of women work at the pit brow, great meetings of the pit-brow wo- men themselves were held, and these were followed by like great gatherings in York shire and Wales. This class of women are noted for their integrity and bluntness "They are jannock right through" " as they say in Lancashire. They not only have ready tongues, but there was a, to them, terrible conviction and necessity behind their rude speech. Petition after petition was dispatched to London These extra ordinary gatherings of extraordinary wo- men, with an extraordinary woman as their leader interpreter and deliverer, had an electrical effect throughout Britain. A complete revulsion of feeling and convic- ton was the result.
 Not content with this, Mrs. Park insist ed that now as the pit-brow lssses had been heard at home they should also be heard in London; within the awful silences of the home secretary's office, if needs be But MT. Childers had heard such tales of the "Amazonsn in the press, read such tragedies of them in the shilling shockers, and seen such Lh;Ssouc- representations 2. them in the illustrated prints, that this was too much. No Brobdignagisn, sooty heroines, armed with shovels, spades screens, clogs and perhaps picks, for him The hint of their readiness to swoop down upon him, with what had already been done, and the press of England now being unanimous against the measure, were seemingly sufficient The prohibitory clause was withdrawn, and the pit-brow lasses of England and Wales were des- tined to remain permanent British insti- tuition.
 But their first victory was a temporary ons. The trades unions, appearing to gra- ciously accept defeat, were only awaiting better opportunity. Just a year later, early in the spring of 'S7, word came to Mrs Park from London that the clause against pit-brow women's work was again being pressed, secretly but powerfully, by trades union and other political influences, and that there was great danger of the government recommending the measure, through the then new home secretary, MT. Matthews.
 Mrs. Park at once determined that the pit-brow women should go in person be- fore parliament and the home secretary. She wrote and telegraphed mine owners employing women to call meetings, ex- plain the threatened danger, and ask the women at the mines to elect by ballot two of their number from each mine to join the deputation. This was done, the lasses bearing their own expenses by subscrip tion, so that no taint of mine-Owner's in terest could be charged. 4 special train was secured, and away sped the unique deputation to the great city.
 A continuous ovation greeted them all the way to London. Mrs. Park had mean time secured permission from Secretary Matthews to present the deputation- The women were lodged at the Girls Club and Home, Soho Square. Their arrival created the greatest interest and excitement. Roy alty itself never attracted greater crowds They were taken to Parliament House, anC were also granted peep st the House O Lords. The lawmakers of Great Britain were won over in a body.
 The next morning the entire London press rang with their praises, patheticall. told the story of their toll, and denounce' those who had threatened the prohibition | of their arduous and honest labor. Thel
 came the memorable parade, or demon
 stration, through Regent street, Oxfor,
 street, along Pail Mall, across St. lame
 Park and Whitehall. and on to Westmins
 ter Hotel, where four of the girls wer
 robed in their odd pit-bIow costumes | Then the procession moved on the hom l d SHeCiAAs NAcA
 as they went Here Mrs. Park laid thei
 claims before NIT. Matthews in a few ring
 ing sentences, which literary critics hay
 asserted comprised the briefest yet mos
 spiendidly logical and powerful addres
 ever pronounced by EDglishwoman in an
 cause. Nor were the lasses themselve
 slow of speech. Their ignorance of th
 sedate formalities of the place led to il
 numerable vociferous and pointed intel
 ruptions. They "Cam oop to Lunnun t
 speak oot, m speak oot tha wudi"
 The home secretary listened and ques
 toned, finally dismissing the unique deI
 utation after assurance that they shoul
 not be interfered with, and the hope ths
 their representations "would so iniuenc
 public opinion that they would hear n
 more in many years of an attempt to ir
 terfere with an honest and praiseworth
 industry" And so the pit-brow lasse
 won. But have often thought it pit
 that some great painter could not hay
 caught this splendid scene, where th
 hopef of the six thousand women-whos
 work and home life I shall describe in
 succeeding article-were centered: Tn
 home secretary of a mighty government
 with all the austerity and insignia ot stat
 surrounding him, reserved, puzzled, ye
 thoroughly kindly; one woman, accompa
 nied by famous women lords and common
 CTS, standing before him as petitioner, he
 face-the prototype of that noble one tn | artist has given us in Isabella betor | .-L1., NoJrnbua is uruinU his cause-