Year: 1874

THE AGRICULTURAL LABORERS OF
ENGLAND.


Joseph Arcl,'s Work.


| From London Correspondence Of the Toronto
Globe.


For months past we have heard
little or nothing of Mr.. Arch or hit
cause. The organization of agricul


tural lab0rers has ceased to be the topic
of tho day. These reformers of tht


"thoughtful liberal" class have drop


ped away from the movement, and tht
agitation is left to shift itself without
the aid of special correspondents, phi


lanthropic members of Parliament, and
Broad Church patronages. The time


in fact, has come when the true charac


tor of the movement must he tested by
experience. As you know I have never


been very sanguine in its success. Al


this moment-and for some time past


struggle is being waged which will,


fancy, decide to some extent the fate


of the whole movement. Some couple


of thousand laborers in the district


called the Isle of Ely have formed


themselves into union, and struck fol


an advance of wages. As far as my
observation goes I should say that thu


condition of the agricultural laborer.
are really worse in this district, which
lies between Cambridge, Newmarket
and the Fen country, than any Other
parts of the United Kingdom. Wages
are possibly lower in Dorsetshire and
Wiltshire than they are in Cam.
bridgeshire, but in the former coun.
tries there is a large and wealthy resi-
dent squirearchy, who, to some extent,
directly, and still more indirectly, do
much to mitigate the hardships of


laborer's existence. But in the flat,
bleak, sodden places of the Isle of Ely
there are hardly any resident gentry
except the clergy, few of whom are
wealthy. The administration of the
parishes falls, therefore, almost entirely
into the hands of the farmers, whose
natural interest it is to keep down rates,
and get the maximum of work out of
the laborer for the minimum of wages.
Only few weeke ago I was taveling
through the eastern counties in COM
pany with a number of farmers Just
coming home from market. They were
shrewd, intelligent specimens Of the
school Of modern farmers, who go in
for high farming, and look on their
pursuits as mere matters of business.
After some time the conversation turned
upon the question of poor relief, and
the expense caused to the rates by the
requirements of the poor law author
tiles. Thereupon my fellow-travelers
began exchanging notes as to the sal
aries paid to the relieving officers, and
avowed with perfect candor to each
other that it was the best plan to keep
the officer down to salary just suf-
ficient to enable him to live upon, as,
if he was not entirely dependent upon
the Board Of Guardians, he was apt to
be too liberal in giving to the poor.
In fact, if you wished to see English
agricultural life under it's worst and
harshest aspect, you should study it in
Its eastern counties, and where the gent
~ are few, the ague is universal, and
the consumption of liquor enormous.
It seems, then, that acting under the
instructions of the Central Union at
bennington, the laborers at the villages
of Exning and Alderton, numbering
some three hundred, struck for an
advance of wages from thirteen to four.
teen shillings week. The idea of the
promoters Of the strike was that the
men on strike should be supported by
the contributions of the members OF
the union who remained at work, an d
thus the farmers should be brought to
terms, village by village. To counter
act these tactics the farmers formed an
association and bound themselves to act
together. A meeting was held, and it
was resolved by a large majority to
discharge all laborers belonging to the
Cambridgeshire Union until the men
ON srike at Exning and Alderton gave
in. The resolution was carried out,
and the agricultural operations have
been virtually suspended throughout
the whole district. Both farmers and
men are pledged not to yield, and the
issue of the contest must be decided by
the relative power of endurance of the
two contestants. To the farmers the loss
of labor at this season of the year is
almost ruinous; but they have capital
to fall back upon, and believe they can
hold out longer than the men. The
Union laborers are supported by con-
tributions from the head union at Lean
ington, and up to this time some two
thousand men on strike have been re-
ceiving eleven shillings per head a
week, and the question is, how long
can this drain be supported? The
dispute is embittered by the unpopu
larity of the Cambridgeshire farmers
amid the laboring class, and by the al
most vindictive feeling entertained by
farmers toward the union leaders.
Monster meetings and professions have
been held on the part of the men on
strike. But, as have said, our news.
paper readers have got tired of the sub:
ject of agricultural trades unions, and
80 but little account of the agitation
appears in the papers.