The Warwickshire Herald. — 1894-09-20 (Birmingham, West Midlands, England)

THE LABOUR MARKET.  INCREASE OF TRADE DISPUTES.  The Labour Department of the Board of Trade (says the Bard of Trade Journal) reports that there is at the present time a fractional increase in the proportion of work people unemployed, owing in part to some disputes of long standing, and others which had been progressing during the past month. A considerable number of disputes have arisen out of the settlement arrived at by the Miners' Conciliation Board, and have materially affected the coal' mining industry in some of the federation districts. The continuance of the Scottish coal dispute is also seriously affecting the Labour market in Scotland. Fifty-three trades unions, with an aggregate membership of 380,578, have gmade returns to the department, strewing the total nurpber of unemployed members at the end of August tole 27,728, or 77 per cent., compared with 7•4 per cent. for July, and 7.1 in societies making returns for August, 1893. With some few exceptions employment in the steel trade is only moderate. The engineering and metal trades are still seriously affected by the ironmoulders' dispute on the north-east coast and the Scottish coal dispute. The shipbuilding trades have been depressed in all branches. On the whole, a slight improvement is observable in most branches of the building trades.  The number of new disputes in August shews a considerable increase upon the previous month, 86 having been recorded as compared with 66 in July and 59 in August, 1893. This increase is chiefly due to the numerous disputes that have followed the enforcement of a general reduction in wages in the districts comprised within the Miners' Federation. Of the 86 disputes, 30 occurred in mining and quarrying, 16 in the textile trades, 12 in the building trades, five each in the clothing and shipbuilding trades, four in the metal trades, three in connection with dock labour, and the remaining 11 in miscellaneous industries. Particulars received respecting 60 of these disputes shew that 25,988 persons were involved, and it is known with respect to 19 disputes tint upwards of 2,500 persons were still "out" at the end of the month, in addition to 72,000 persons involved in 31 other disputes (including the strike of Scottish miners). Fourteen disputes, however, involving about 3,900 persons,were brought to a close in August, including the strike of ironmoulders on the north-east coast.  Captain A. E. J. Cavendish, of the Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders, who has been appointed British Military Attache with the Chinese Army in Corea, has been in the army since 1880, and attained the rank of captain in 1888. He has seen no previous war service. His regiment has lately been stationed at Hong Kong, where he had ample opportunities of studying Chinese. Captain N. W. H. Du Boulay, of the Royal Artillery, who has been appointed to stuffier duty with the Japanese in the field, served in the Nile Expedition of 1884, and was present at Abu Klee, Abu Kru, and Metammeh. He joined the army in 1880, and obtained the rani of Captain in 1888. Maude "And you are positive they are marrien What makes you so sure?" Mabel: "I heard her tell him she thought it was foolish for him to spend his money for ice cream."  Departed fame.—" You don't seem as well known in this city as you were at home," said the visitor. "I'm not," answered the young man proudly. " I don't owe anybody here a penny."  The wife (examining her present): "You say this is a diamond, dear. For a diamond it seems to be rather dull." The husband: " Yes, dear; but you know everything is dull just now."  POISONED BY  A murder of an unusual character was perpetrated at Troyes, on Sunday. A widow lady named Adabski, 30 years of age, received a box ol chocolates by the morning's postal delivery, and, on opening it, picked out one of the sweets, and ate it. She was immediately seized with intense pains and died shortly afterwards. It appeared upon examination that the chocolates contained a large amount of strychnine. Suspicion at once fell upon a chemist with whom the woman had at one time been on very intimate terms, and who had deserted her for someone else. He was arrested, and on his premises being searched a number of chocolates similarly poisoned were found bidden behind some books in his sitting-room. The desire to avoid a scandal and prevent unpleasant revelations is supposed to be the motive of the crime. As the result of further inquiries the police, later in the day, arrested a woman on suspicion of having acted ae the chemist's accomplice.