The Shropshire Examiner and all round the Wrekin advertiser. — 1874-07-25 (Wenlock, Shropshire, England)

NOT TOO BOLD."  THE POSITION OF THE MINERS IN NORTH AND SOUTH STAFFORD.  On the whole, it may be considered that, in accepting the terms recently arranged at Birmingham, the miners of South Stafford have acted with that wise discretion which is proverbially known as "the better part of valour." It is not an agreeable thing, we admit, to have to submit to a reduction in one's wages, and especially so when those wages, at the best, are no more than is sufficient to meet the ordinary requirements of life. The pill is undoubtedly a bitter one to swallow, and while we lament the necessity for its being taken, we think it useful to draw attention to the fact that, in this life, it is our lot to endure many things that are unpalatable and disagreeable, in order to avoid the acceptance of alternatives still more obnoxious and bitter. Reduced wages are bad enough in truth, but utter poverty, destitution, and domestic misery and ruin are ten thousand times worse than even the much-hated " drop." It is a good thing to know when to commence striking, and an equally good thing to know when to cease striking. To -.take up arms against a sea of troubles" is a noble and courageous procedure in most cases, but to continue to bear them on high, and be miserably drowned while in the act of doing so, is not true courage, but something very nearly approaching to madness. To prolong the struggle in South Stafford in the face of a rapidly falling market, would have amounted to simple suicide upon the part of the men; but to make the best of a very bad case, to cease struggling when I struggling was worse than useless, was an act of prudence and wise foresight, that we are sure the miners will have no cause to ultimately regret. The reduction, which would have been manifestly unfair and unjustifiable four months ago, became, through the lapse of time and the deplorably depressed state of the market, an inevitable necessity; and when the odder were so clearly against them, the best thing the men could do, under the circumstances, was to resign themselves to their fate as philosophically as they could. The result of the battle is apparently against them, but the miners of South Stafford must not conclude that the fight has been altogether unproductive of benefit to themselves; nor must they be too hasty and eager to lay all the blame of defeat upon the Union of which they are part. The Union in the past has bravely stemmed the torrent of reduction, and prevented the masters from easily 1 snatching from the men the short hours and high wages which the Union during the last few years has been the means of procuring. And even in the recent struggle on which we are commenting, there has been won from the employers, by the power of the Union, a recognition of the existence apd authority of the Miners' Association, and an acceptance of the agents as representatives of the men. If the Union be deserted by the men, on account of recent events, if the miners turn round on the hand which has protected and fought for them so long, then, indeed, the result of the strike will have been a real defeat and calamity. But if this should not take place, then, we shall be of opinion that, though the principal result has been what it has, the men have not fought and struggled in vain. Instead, then, of giving way t ) blank despondency and indifference, let the agents, the officers, and the rank- and file of the association gather fresh strength and inspiration from the contest, and show a determination stronger than ever to do what they can in the great cause of industrial progress. The North Stafford miners, too, would have been guilty of an act of great folly had they not listened to reason, been governed by the advice of their agents and committee, and submitted to the compromise of a ten per cent, reduction, that the deputation which waited on the masters in Hanley thought it wise and prudent for them to submit to. The North Stafford Miners' Union is a strong and influential one, it is, perhaps, equal to any other in the Amalgamation or the National, its officers are honest, earnest, moderate men, and it would most assuredly have surprised us had the district refused the reasonable terms which were on Monday last proposed for its acceptance. The masters, it is evident, are anxious to enforce a reduction wherever there is an opportunity of getting it submitted to, and to resist this aggression is obviously the duty of the Union; but, if an abatement can be made in a reduction which is not altogether without reason or justification, and which seemed certain to be enforced sooner or later, it were unwise and imprudent to resist it and resort to all the calamitous consequences of a strike. From the full and graphic report of the recent meeting of the North Stafford miners, which we publish elsewhere in our columns, it will be seen that the men quietly listened to the advice of their agent and officers, and that they were sensible enough to arrive at a decision, fully justified by reason and facts. It is lamentable to note, however, that some of the men had so far forgotten themselves and their union principles as to give vent to silly threats of violence against their officers. The position of the leaders of a body of miners is not the most enviable office in the world. It is not a "bed of roses." and, so long as men will act in this reprehensible manner, it never will be. When officers of an association dc the best they can for those who employ them, it is, to say the least of it, rather hard that they should be abused and threatened by the very persons whom they have striven to the best of their ability to serve. Miners' agents have to encounter difficulties and obstacles in the path to high wages which no talent, energy, or wit on their part will enable them successfully to override. They cannot extract high wages out of low selling prices, and while the market is rapidly falling, they cannot safely and honestly advise their' men to plunge into all the misery and disaster of a strike. It is useless and senseless to expect impossible things  from the union or its officers. The union is a powerful engine for good, and as such ought to be universally supported and upheld; but there is a limit to its power, as there is a limit to all things, and none but the thoughtless and ignorant will desert it because it fails to accomplish that which is beyond its power.