_seriatim_. The first was not in the least unexpected. At that time
Capital and Labour were looked upon as being natural enemies, and all
their relations were on that principle. We see now how foolish is that
idea. Then conflict and doubt formed the atmosphere which surrounded
the two great parties in the industrial world. If men having common
interest joined themselves, in order that they might act for the
common welfare, the leaders were to be dealt with harshly, and if
necessary banished. It was no infrequent occurrence, when the spirit
of Union was abroad, for men to be driven away from localities they
loved and from associations endeared by years of enjoyment. This was
done with the view that terror might be struck into the hearts of
others. The principle was: Drive away the shepherd and the sheep will
flee. So much was that spirit abroad that in many places the
establishment of the Permanent Relief Fund was treated coldly,
obstacles thrown in its way, if not bitterly opposed, because it was
regarded as the thin edge of the Union wedge. What more natural than
for fierce opposition to rear itself, with threats for the braver
spirits, and bribes and allurements for those whose nature was
susceptible to such influences? Ale-houses were used as a means for
preventing Unionism taking root and spreading. The sorrow of it is
there have always been spirits who are ready to act meanly when
required.
This opposition was, therefore, to meet and bear down and convince
that a trades organisation was not an institution prone to evil, and
set up for no other purpose. The men who are alive to-day, and who
took part in that opposition, would, we may assert with confidence,
confess their mistake if they were interviewed on the subject.
Then the law was against the Trades Unionists. We complain now, but
they had more reason in those days. We must lift ourselves into the
condition of things prior to the 1875 Act, which did a great deal
towards equalising the positions of the employer and employed. The
Master and Servants Act, with all its one-sided applications, was in
force. For a long time an agitation was carried on for its repeal, but
after twenty years the only result was the appointment of a select
committee to inquire into the operation of the law. The law was very
unequal. It had been framed on the principle that the workman alone
was inclined to do wrong, and therefore wanted hedging in and
punishing. In the year 1865 there were 1100 arrests under the Act
in the country. Eight hundred of the accused were sent to prison. An
Amending Act was passed in 1867, but between that time and 1875, 774
were convicted. "The state of the law was simply infamous. Its
provisions made it a criminal act if a workman broke a contract, even
under the most justifiable circumstances. He was arrested by warrant,
and if the breach of contract was proved the magistrate was bound to
inflict the punishment of imprisonment with hard labour. If, on the
other hand, the employer broke the contract, ever so flagrantly, he
could only be summoned by a civil process, and his punishment was
simply a fine."
[Illustration: J. H. VEITCH]
Then they were hindered by a system of boycotting before the word
became proverbial. It was not merely difficult, but impossible in some
places to get a meeting-place. The writer knows of one colliery where
a place could not be got. Even the co-operative hall was closed
against the Union, and the Union money had to be taken in the corner
of a field. Beyond this, in Durham the printers refused to do the
Union printing--all except Mr J. H. Veitch, who dared almost social
ostracism and took the work, and the connection then formed has
continued up till now. The refusal arose from two reasons--first,
there was a fear that the Union would not be able to pay for the
printing; and second, Trades Unions were in bad odour in the county
generally, and none the less in Durham. There was none of the
respectability about the institutions there is now, and little hope of
them. Broadheadism at Sheffield, with its destructive policy, had
filled men's minds with fear. The form of reasoning was: "Trades
Unions are guilty of these evil things; this is a Trades Union,
therefore it will be guilty of doing evil." Just as logical as if a
man had said: "Murder is committed in England; these people are
English, therefore they will commit murder." Mr J. H. Veitch (all
honour to him) had none of those fears, nor that false logic. He took
the work when social ostracism was in the air. We cannot forget the
act nor the man.
Another great obstacle against which they had to contend was a host of
anonymous writers, who wrote behind a variety of _nom de plumes_--such
as "Geordie Close," which covered W. P. Shield, and "Jacky Close," but
none under their own names. These writers used the most scurrilous and
slanderous language about, and attributed the vilest motives to the
men who were at the head of the movement. The situation was a complete
analogue to that when Nehemiah commenced to build the walls of
Jerusalem. Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem laughed him to scorn, and
despised him, and said: "What is this thing that ye do; will ye rebel
against the king?" But as those sneerers in the far-off Jewish times
had no effect on the builders of that day, so in those days the
founders of our Association, the builders of our broken walls, heeded
not those snarlers of thirty-six years ago, and the result is an
all-round benefit.
The greatest of all the species of opposition they had to meet arose
from the apathy and indifference of the people. Although the condition
was bad in the extreme, yet often the earnest spirits and others
scattered about the county had to ask each other, in the query of the
prophet: "Who hath believed our report?" The state of apathy was
quite natural. It was not because there was no real love of Union; it
was the outcome of repeated failures. "Hope deferred maketh the heart
sick." There had been spasmodic attempts at associated effort. The
result was a feeling of hopelessness. Like men of whom we read in
waterlogged ships or analogous situations on land, having tried oft to
save themselves, they give up in despair, and say "Kismet," like an
Eastern fatalist. The hold this feeling had on the mind is seen in the
small results for a considerable time after the Association commenced.
A thousand or two was their whole membership, their council was their
committee as well, and the numbers so small that a room in an ordinary
hotel could with ease contain them. At their meetings, sparse in
attendance, they were often insulted and sometimes maltreated by the
men they had come to help.
In this alone there was sufficient to deter them, and to lead men of
talent and energy (such as they were) to turn themselves to other
objects in life; but they loved their class, and, while they had
aspirations for better conditions, they desired to raise their fellows
with themselves. Any one of them could have made a position in other
directions if their aims had been selfish; but they were men of
different mould, and they were inspired by the love of the cause, and
confident in its ultimate success if once they could clear away the
dark pessimism which had fixed itself in the minds of the workmen. For
this they endured the hardship and faced the opposition, until finally
men saw the solidity and permanency of their work, with the result
that the institution they founded occupies a rightly deserved
foremost place among Trades Unions.
1872
The Coal Owners' Association--The Abolition of the Bond--First
general Advance--Formation of the Joint Committee--First Gala--Mines
Regulation Act--Second Advance
_The Coal Owners' Association._--One of the results of the formation
of the organisation was the commencement of the Durham Coal Owners'
Association. There had been an association under the name of "The
North of England United Coal Trade Association," but its functions
were vastly different from those of the present organisation. Then the
sphere of operations was parliamentary and legal, but the new body was
formed for trade purposes. The first meeting to consider such a step
was held on February 1st, 1872. There was an adjournment for a
fortnight, when a set of rules was submitted setting forth the
conditions of membership, contributions, the assistance to be
rendered, and the appointment of officers. The chairman and
vice-chairman were respectively Hugh Taylor and W. Stobart, and the
secretary was T. W. Bunning. No sooner was the Association formed than
communications were opened with the Miners' Association, as the
following letter will show:--
Neville Hall, Coal Trade Office, Newcastle-on-Tyne, _Feb. 5th, 1872._
Mr Crawford, my dear Sir,--I am directed to inform you that, at a
large meeting of the representatives of the household coal collieries,
held here last Saturday, it was resolved--
That it is considered desirable that a meeting should be held between
the coal owners and a deputation of the representatives of the
workmen, at one o'clock on Saturday, the 17th instant, at the Coal
Trade Office, to discuss the various questions now in agitation by
the workmen, with a view to their adjustment, and that a copy of this
resolution be forwarded to Mr Crawford.
Will you be as kind as to acknowledge the receipt of this letter, and
let me have the names of the deputation who will attend.
I beg to remain, dear Sir, very respectfully yours,
THEO. WOOD BUNNING.
[Illustration:
(Back Row).--N. WILKINSON.
(_Treasurer._)
W. H. PATTERSON.
(_Vice-President._)
M. THOMPSON.
T. RAMSEY.
G. JACKSON.
J. FORMAN.
(Front Row).--W. ASKEW.
W. CRAWFORD.
(_President and Secretary._)
J. HANDY.
T. MITCHESON.
The First Deputation from the Durham Miners' Association to the Coal
Trade Office, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, February 17, 1872]
There were about a score of representatives of the employers present
during the meeting, while ten delegates, representing 20,000 workmen,
took part in the conference on the latter's behalf.
Mr Hugh Taylor occupied the chair, and the delegates were introduced
by Mr Crawford. The first question for discussion by the conference
was then brought forward--viz. the yearly bindings.
At the outset the employers intimated that they were perfectly willing
to abolish the bond, and establish in its place either monthly or
fortnightly agreements, giving preference to the former. The workmen's
delegates at once intimated their readiness to abolish the yearly
bond, and thanked the masters most kindly for the manner in which they
had met them on that question. The men proposed in the place of the
yearly bond to establish a fortnightly agreement, and it was
ultimately decided to discuss the terms of the agreement at a second
meeting to be held shortly.
The next matter was the question of the hours of boy labour, but
after a short conversation it was also agreed to allow this question
to stand over until the second meeting. The next question was with
reference to an advance of wages. On this point the owners admitted
that the men ought to share the present prosperous condition of the
trade, the only difference of opinion that arose being what that share
ought to be. The employers were of opinion that they and the men ought
to meet as two associations--the combined masters on the one side and
the combined workmen on the other--and discuss the question as to what
would be fair to both parties. It was suggested at the same time that
any advance asked or conceded should be based on prices in force at
bound and unbound collieries of the county of Durham in April 1871. On
the part of the employers it was pointed out that a great many
collieries had at the present time presented petitions for an advance
of wages, and in some cases they had intimated their decision of
laying the pits idle in case their demands were not conceded, and it
was now suggested that the delegates from the workmen present should
do their utmost to get the petitions placed in abeyance until the next
conference was held. This was readily agreed to, and the meeting then
terminated.
It is satisfactory to note that during the continuance of the
conference a most pleasant and amicable feeling prevailed on both
sides.
The Association being formed and officered preparation was made for
the removal of grievances. The first to which attention was turned was
the abolition of the "Yearly Bond." For a long time there had been a
protest against the system of partial slavery implied in a contract
covering a year. The system was as follows:--On a Saturday near the
20th of March the whole of the workmen were called to the colliery
office, and there the manager would read over (nearly always in tones
inaudible to all except those who were close to him) the conditions of
labour for the next twelve months. There was usually a balancing of
the prices. As an inducement to the men there was, say, a sovereign
given to the first man bound, ten shillings to the second, five
shillings to the third, and then two shillings and sixpence to every
man after. The crush to secure the first place was generally so great
that the manager was fortunate if he were not carried off his feet. As
a preparation for this rush certain men would be bribed to incite, and
thus induce men to act in an unthinking manner.
This bare outline will suffice to show the evil of the "Bond," and
that it was a wise step on the part of the newly-formed organisation
to attempt to substitute a shorter term of contract. The first meeting
for that purpose between the employers and workmen was held on
February 17th, 1872. As this was the first united meeting in a series
which has been for the benefit of all concerned it will be interesting
to place on record the letter from the employers inviting the
representatives of the Miners' Association to meet them. Of course,
the employers were made aware of the desire amongst the people for
this and other reforms, and that knowledge induced them to arrange
matters amicably if possible. Another thing was in favour of the
workmen: not only was their Union gathering strength, but the state of
trade was in their favour. One result of the war between France and
Prussia was to increase the demand for British coal, the result being
a coal famine and excessive prices. The old pit heaps even were sent
away, and a common saying at the time was: "Anything black was sold
for coal." A conflict, therefore, would have been a dangerous and
destructive thing.
(_First General Advance_)
IMPORTANT CONFERENCE OF COLLIERY OWNERS AND MINERS' AGENTS IN
NEWCASTLE
(_Durham Chronicle Account_)
Agreeably to an arrangement made at the conference between the
colliery owners and the miners' delegates held on the 17th inst. an
adjourned meeting between the two bodies took place on Saturday at
the Wood Memorial Hall, Newcastle. There was a large attendance of
the masters, Mr Hugh Taylor, Chipchase, being in the chair. Mr W.
Crawford, President of the Durham Miners' Mutual Confident
Association, acted as principal spokesman for the miners' delegates,
who were eight in number.
It will be remembered that at the last meeting the masters agreed to
the abolition of the yearly bond, and the first question, therefore,
taken into consideration at the present conference, was the nature of
the future agreement between the masters and the men. On the one
hand, the employers suggested monthly notices on both sides; but the
men on the other hand were unanimous in the request for a fortnightly
notice, with the option of either giving or receiving the same on any
day except Sunday. After some discussion, the masters acceded to the
wishes of the men on this point. The next question taken into
consideration was the advance in pay demanded by the men.
A proposition for an increase of 35 per cent. on all prices paid in
April last was submitted by the delegates, who, in answer to
questions by the owners, admitted that the advance requested appeared
to be a large one, but they urged that it was made in consequence of
the low rate of remuneration received by the miners of the county at
the time referred to.
To this advance the owners objected on the ground that it was
excessive.
They also urged that for several years past coal had been low in the
market, and the working of pits had been unremunerative, and
submitted that it was unfair on the part of the workmen, when a
slightly better price had been obtained, to make an exorbitant
demand. They also pointed out that the advance asked for was greatly
in excess of that obtained by the miners in other parts of the
country. To this argument the delegates replied that they were of
opinion that the advance asked for was not greater than the excessive
profits of the masters would allow to pay; in fact they only wanted a
reasonable ratio of the profits made by their labour, and they were
also of opinion that the 35 per cent. advance would not place the
miners of the county of Durham on an equality with the workmen of
other counties. After some further discussion, the delegates
intimated that they would be satisfied, if the owners did not feel
disposed to give the increase asked for, with the average score price
paid in Northumberland and South Yorkshire. They were willing, if the
masters would divide the two last mentioned counties into four
quarters each, and would select, according to arrangement, two
collieries from each of the eight quarters, to accept the averages of
the prices paid at the sixteen collieries as the standard scale in
the county of Durham. The owners, after hearing this proposition,
asked the deputation if the average would be accepted by the men at
those collieries in the county who were at present working for only 5
per cent. less than the proposed standard. The delegates replied that
every such colliery would accept the average if the masters would
give it to the men of those collieries who were at present working
for 50 per cent. less than the average named.
After some further discussion the delegates retired. On being called
back into the room they were informed by the chairman that the owners
did not think it was desirable to go to either Northumberland or
South Yorkshire for an average, as they were of opinion that they
were quite competent to manage their own affairs; and that they had
agreed, in a spirit of conciliation, to offer an advance of 20 per
cent. on all prices over and above all consideration money paid on
April last.
The deputation stated that they had no authority to accept the offer
of the owners, but they would in due course communicate it to the
general body of the men. The conference shortly afterwards broke up.
The day fixed for a meeting on this question was the 2nd of March. In
the meantime a special Council meeting was held in the Town Hall,
Durham, Mr W. Crawford, as President, occupying the chair. There were
present 160 delegates, and the members represented were about 20,000.
The business was the discussion of the matters to come before the
employers and the appointment of a deputation to attend the meeting.
The adjourned conference was held on Thursday, March 21st, and for the
purpose of giving a proper knowledge I herewith record the press
report from _The Durham Chronicle_.
CONFERENCE BETWEEN DURHAM COAL OWNERS AND WORKMEN
Another conference between the Durham coal owners and a deputation of
the workmen of the county took place on Thursday sennight in the Wood
Memorial Hall, Newcastle. The chair was occupied by Mr J. B. Simpson,
Low Hedgefield, and there was a good attendance of the
representatives of the owners, the deputation being, as at previous
meetings, headed by Mr W. Crawford. Before proceeding to the disposal
of the questions for which the conference had been convened, it was
intimated to the deputation that Haswell Colliery was idle. It was
explained that the workmen at that colliery had received an advance
of 6d. per score on last April's prices in November last, and they
now wanted an advance of 20 per cent. on that concession. A telegram
was also produced which intimated that a strike on the same ground
had occurred that morning at Castle Eden Colliery. The course adopted
by these two collieries was utterly opposed to the arrangement which
had been made between the two Associations of employers and workmen
at their conference, and the representatives of the former body
intimated that if such constant violations of the arrangements
arrived at at these interviews were to continue, it would be better
to break off all negotiations at once, and each side follow its own
policy. The members of the deputation expressed their utter surprise
and utter ignorance of the events that had occurred at the collieries
named, the first intimation of which they had received was at that
meeting, and they desired to be allowed a private consultation before
they proceeded further. After a short consultation in private, the
deputation drew up the following telegram, the substance of which
they communicated to the employers:--
We regret to hear that Haswell and Castle
Eden Collieries are idle.
You must know that you are wrong, and we
strongly advise you to commence work to-morrow,
otherwise steps will be taken to repudiate
such reprehensible conduct, and if
necessary the strongest action will be taken in
the matter.
This was deemed satisfactory, and the conference then proceeded to
the business which had drawn them together--viz. the remuneration of
the offhanded men and boys. The employers stated that they had agreed
to give all offhanded men and boys who work underground 20 per cent.
advance on last April's prices, the same as they had conceded to the
hewers. To the men who work above ground--viz. to the cinder drawers,
joiners, blacksmiths, firemen, screenmen, and banksmen, and all other
men and boys, with the exception of the enginemen and a few rare
cases of cinder drawers--they offered an advance of 12½ per cent.
on last April's prices.
The deputation, while expressing their perfect satisfaction with the
underground men and boys' advance, suggested the propriety of the
same advance being extended to all those men, as enumerated, who work
above bank. On the part of the employers, however, it was stated that
the reason only 12½ per cent. was offered to the above-bank men
was that a reduction of 8 per cent. in their working hours had been
conceded; and further that their work was not of so risky and
dangerous a nature as that of the underground men, and also that
there was always a superabundance of men willing to work on the
screens, and to do other work above bank. After a conversation, the
terms offered by the employers for both descriptions of men were
accepted.
The report of the interview was given to a delegate meeting, Mr
Crawford again presiding. The number of delegates was very large. The
points under discussion were the two offers contained in the report
above. It was agreed that the offer of the owners should be accepted,
with the understanding that it come into operation at once.
This was the whole of the important business discussed.
It will serve no useful purpose to deal with every local strike, they
are incidental to the main course. Mention will only be made when any
incident cognate to the general purpose be connected with them. With
that idea in view I refer to the strike at Seaham. This strike
commenced on Monday, 17th May. The main causes of the stoppage were
the length of the hours of the hewers and the time when the shifts
should be worked. The hours of the putters had been reduced from
twelve to ten, the pit at the time being a single or day shift. With
the reduction of the hours the employers wanted to arrange for two
shifts of putters and three shifts of hewers. Against this the workmen
not only protested, but stopped work without notice. Two things are
noticeable, and of interest to us. We have the first breach of
discipline, and the first instance of censure of the general
officials, because, in accordance with the obligations of their
office, they enforced the rules of the Association, and candidly and
clearly told the men their opinion.