The Potteries Examiner : — 1874-01-31 (Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England)

LETTERS OF " ELECTOR" AND THEIR IMPORT.  To the Editor of the "Examiner." Sie.,—Now that the excellent letters of "Elector" are concluded, by your permission I will take • brief view of them as a whole—to review them as I could wish, and tol quote useful extracts woald occupy too much space. IN the first place I would invite attention to their force and truthfulness as bearing upon what our members have failed to do. Secondly, their weight neon existing evils atd wrongs, and marking out distinctly and wisely the way our future members should go ; and surely to observant eyes and good hearts it is straight and clear enough. Besides, of late it has been repeatedly pointed out. Not that the letters of "Elector" are simply strictly critical, or es severe as they might have been ; on the contrary, they am replete with information and advice it will be unfortunate to forget or negleot. The strangest thing to ma is that eight such weighty letters—letters of such tell.tale significance that general interest should have failed to briug out some one in • fighting attitude. Oenerally, for the love of spite, argument, or pastime, somebody enters the arena of war. A man can seldom be munificent even with. out some strange motive being imputed to him. lam at a less to solve the matter only in this way—that no one could get at them more than we canal the root of existing evils, cons,quently they stand palpably and painfully miserable in the disfavour of those whom they affect, telling an unpleasant story of sterling in. terest shamefully disregarded, and of misplaced confidence. Their truths, by no amount of ingeniously arranged sophistry or bye-play can be controverted, shame 4 or denied. The wish is far from no that our members, present or future, should lender give themselves to little party matters, or, indeed, all great ones ; but when affairs of national concern—the general welfare of the nation— (by which I mean the people) they should be in their places and use their best endeavours, and this "Elector has unmistakably shown our members have not done. In my humble opinion a great merchant, agent, landowner, manufacturer, or lawyer, whose vast per. sone' interests one can hardly expect them to forego, are not the class of men—the practical class of men— to represent us : and I affirm there are men equally conversant with trade, commerce, political and domestic economy and equity who would go to their work in • , fashion impossible for such men at present in Perimment.  We want men, and must get them, whose hearts are not bound up in their own particular interests, and are unmindful of us while their own greed remains unsatisfied.  We are thankful for all extended privileges, hot there is much to be done by knnebody. I admit our power to return to the Commons House of Parliament a ma, jority of the calibre I hint at ; and why, I ask, lath, name of heaven, do we not rightly use that power? Or why, after selling our souls, do we through seven long years grumble aud growl, and pretend to sicken at hope deferred? Fellow-men ! are we to have another seven years in the purgatory of political suicide ? Will a trial of a different stamp of manhood kill us ? I sal, No; and let us have it. The others, you will admit, we have given many trials, and they have fooled us.  They know what they are going to do! Beware ! Why consider an employer than simply as suehf What obligation is a workman under P Why be thankful for labour given by a particular man? To send a man to St. Stephen's simply because he is an employer of labour is excessively absurd. As well send him because he speaks the language of King Coffee's land. This is where we have keit a deal of ground. We have thought that capital and labour were dissimilar things—that the former was a god we might be proud to worship—the workman's shrine ! They are not what we have believed them : and by peaceful organisation, and those laws by which we should ever he guided in our actions, it can be shown that labour in a sense is capital, in another sense immeasurably above it. Who is superior to a honest skilled artisan. Look at his accomplishn.ents over the focus of the earth and answer.  We are thankful for hard-earned wages! Cannot at this day the vast commercial world, with a little steely-arranged machinery. place the old system of things in sad dlecount ? That machinery is organization, not hostility. The laws we want, the things we wish, require not the genius of a Chancellor to work out. We require men that understand the vexed questions of to-day, who will grapple with, and give as justice and equity, which to all right-thinking, striving men are as sweet as the bread they est. I should !remark before concluding that our candidate, Mr. Walton, besides varied knowledge, experience, and aptitude, will bring into the work a warm and brave heart—things foreign to many members or wpirants for fame. He isa thorough Reformer ; but, mark ! nothing revolutionary—far from it. Elector.! many thanks. Yours truly, Longton, 1873.