John Wilson

“ Have the employers and ourselves to act like two antagonistic forces, looking with suspicion upon each other, and ready to take every advantage, as if we were in a continual wrestling match on the catch-who-can principle, where those who get the hold win, whether their cause be righteous or not? If the members persisted in their resolve to have no Conciliation Board, or some substituted machinery, who would suffer most? ”

“ To seek to fix the hours of men by Act of Parliament is, in the year 1887, a monstrous and illogical proceeding. If you fix the working hours by Act of Parliament, why not fix the rate of wages also? In the old feudal times wages were so fixed by Act of Parliament. Under such laws, men were serfs and slaves, and became as much the property of their employers as the horses that filled his stables. To demand eight hours, and even less, is in the hands of all men if they will only utilise their own organised power. ”

“ It is now clear, beyond a doubt, that if you persist in your adherence to open arbitration alone, the owners will allow the sliding scale to run out without further interference or negotiation and at the end of that time they will take all that they can get, either along the whole line or piecemeal, whichever course may best suit their purpose, by enabling them to punish you by lowering wages and reintroducing pernicious practices. To attempt to fight at the present time without offering the terms which we shall further on advise you to offer, would be suicidal. ”

“ There is less of the dictator and dictated to, and more of the meeting of equals. Then it was thought to employ men was to confer a favour upon them, and that consequently they were to consider themselves under patronage, and be satisfied with the treatment meted out to the patronised. Now it is realised that if the employers employ a man's labour the workmen employ their capital, that reciprocity and mutuality form the platform upon which the two sides can meet, and that free, unrestrained, courteous expression is not merely the right, but the safest and most beneficial course. ”

“ There is large philanthropy in a small gift. The volume and value of it lies in the spirit and intent which prompts it; and the ultimate success of a movement like the Aged Miners' Homes Scheme lies in the willingness of the thousands of workmen in and about the mines to assist. Based on that, the county can be studded with homes where the aged and worn-out miner and his partner can find home comfort and warmth when the sun of their life is nearing the setting and the shadows of life's evening are gathering thick around them. ”

“ An Association wanting money is like a ship wanting a rudder in a boisterous sea. We would soon find ourselves driven on to the rocks of discontent, disaffection, and disunion, and in all probability shattered to pieces in the struggle. To pursue longer the course we are now pursuing must shortly leave us in that pitiable and helpless condition."
A special Council meeting was held on 11th October which gave sanction to the whole of the Committee's recommendation. ”

“ These men, heroes of the highest order, who inaugurated one of the finest series of labour meetings ever held in this or any other county, who saw the possibilities which lay within us, and who spoke such words of hope, have all passed to the reward which awaits the good and the true who battle for the right in whatever clime or sphere of life. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Another of the series was the Hartley calamity on the 16th of January 1862—a calamity which is unique in the history of mining disasters, which moved the heart of the nation, and turned the minds of men everywhere to two very important matters—first, the sinking of two shafts to every mine; and second, to the provision for the relatives of those who lose their lives, or for the workmen who are injured. And thus it has ever been: our industry has offered up its human sacrifices before necessary reforms have been introduced. Death has in many instances opened the gateway to life and blessing. ”

“ They are reminders of a state of things in a large part passed away, and as suggesters of a hope of a larger life in the future they contain a recognition and a resolve—a recognition of their work and a resolve to carry it forward: a recognition of the debt we owe to them, which can only be paid by service rendered to others. It is a debt which no statue, no matter how costly or lifelike, can liquidate. ”

“ The formation of the Second Relief Fund was forced upon the county by the fact that there were so many men out of work, and their poverty was a peril to those who were in employment. Men's necessities are a strong force, oft compelling them to do things they would otherwise shrink from. It was thought, therefore, it would be sound economy to ease off the poverty, if luxury could not be afforded, and thus save men from overcrowding the labour market, or at least from accepting conditions which, if once established, would prove a general injury. ”

“ Two things we must avoid: impetuosity in associated work and stagnation in the individual life. Each life should be a clear current, invigorating, not a mere moral miasmatic pool, but cleansing, elevating, ennobling. There are three voices calling upon this generation: the past with the work done for us; the present with its demands upon our help for rectification; and the future with its possibilities of a better and purer life. There are many powers opened out to you, but there are three which stand out prominently: sobriety, education, association. ”

“ One or two sentences may be quoted from Mr Burt's speech. He urged that "there were many reasons why men should be united: wages, better conditions, and safety at work." Their wages were not so high as they ought to be, neither was their social condition what it might have been, and he would candidly confess that the miners themselves were most to blame that such was the state of affairs. Had they worked together and exercised confidence where they displayed little else but petty jealousy, had they not spent their money for naught, their position might have been different that day. ”

“ I rejoice with you that we have lived to see this day, and that we are still fighting the good fight, with the hopeful spirit, if the physical energies are less352 than when we commenced. There is a great distance between the point we have attained and the valley whence we started—a distance not measured by time. The true standard is an experience such as our life alone can supply. ”

“ It was the idea as seen in the attitude of many in Durham when the first gala was held—as stated above. That is all changed during the thirty-six years we have existed as an Association. The man who speaks lightly of the class does it in the face of the clearest light, and from malice. It is of the class we speak here. If we reason from the individual our logic will be unsound, and all classes stand condemned. Taken in the bulk, as compared with our start, the miner has been raised on to a pedestal of respect. ”

“ Let the general public examine both the origin and mode of conducting our trade disputes, and, as a rule, it will be found that, instead of the toiling population deserving their unsparing contumely, the employing class are alone the undivided cause of these struggles, and the course they generally afterwards pursue ought to call forth the bitterest indignation, and often does beget in the heart of the working men a feeling of dislike and disregard not unmixed with contempt. ”

“ The owners are aware that our ability to successfully resist their demands depends upon our being able to procure the necessaries of life. It is a matter which they have no need to personally fear, but which they appear determined to use as a weapon to force us to accept their terms. We must all do our best to defeat their projects, and nothing shall be left undone that we can do to secure subscriptions in order that our people may have food. We are thankful to those friends who have helped us, and we hope that workmen and all lovers of justice will respond to our appeal. ”

“ In saying this there is no intention of measuring the result of a strike by the money loss or gain. The world would not have been so far as it is in the path of reform and better life if the forlorn hopes of labour had not been fought, but it would be a piece of false logic if we were to infer that strikes should, therefore, be entered upon at all times. ”

“ The foolishness is not merely for a day, but for all time. It is a great check upon men's ardour to find themselves doubted, and it is a grand incitant and inspiration to feel they have the confidence of their people behind them. ”

“ The request for a meeting was sent to Mr Maskell W. Peace, the owners' secretary. It was refused, as they considered it outside their province. Beyond the disorganisation in the other districts it was found in Durham to be incompatible with the sliding scale, and as a consequence the attempt at a national regulation of labour proved abortive. That which oft looks easy when at a distance is often found impracticable when we are brought face to face with it. If a national restriction be ever carried out it will need solid unions, and all men of one mind, or it will fail at the start. ”

“ The most unknown amongst you as to your past history, or the most casual observer of present doings, ought to know that the motive which has induced the Owners' Committee to make this offer is not respect for you as a class, is not because they think your responsibilities are increased more than heretofore, neither is it because they think you underpaid, but it is because they want to induce you to sever your connection with an Association which has hitherto been able to gain many advantages for members and for none more than for your class. ”

“ Those lodges who object to the pit drawing coal 11 hours per day, ought to bear in mind that a reduction to 10 hours is a very serious curtailment in the drawing or producing powers of the pit, and as such only tends to lessen the power of owners to pay good wages. The profits arising from the produce of any article are up to a given quantity consumed in paying current expenses; and, therefore, the more the produce is restricted, the less means are there at command wherewith to pay all classes of workmen. ”

“ We implore you to be patient under the strain placed upon you by the latest action of the owners, from which it is evident that they would crush you, and reduce your manhood to the level of serfdom. We urge you to be law-abiding and still continue to show, as you have done in the past, that the men of Durham are a credit, not only to Trade Unionism, but to the country at large. ”

“ Now the checkweighman is employed by the workmen, and can only be removed by them, except he violates the conditions of the Mines' Regulation Act; and now he is (with rare exceptions) the mouthpiece of the men when meeting the manager, the leader in public movements, and the most prominent in matters relating to the Association.
No less important is the facility for meeting the employers, and the spirit of equality which obtains. ”

“ It is not an extraneous feeling forced upon the miners by outsiders, but is within them. There is a great change in that respect. There has been much done in the direction of the much-needed reform. The present is a long way from being satisfactory, but it is far in advance of the state at the inception of the Association. That only existed because it was born of use. The old-time houses are a standing witness of the opinion those who built them had of the workmen. How should we know that the merciful man regarded the life of his beast except by the manner of his feeding and housing? ”

“ The stacking of coal and coke may be made to have—but ought not to have—any very material effect on the workmen's wages, seeing that, if too much is being produced, we have no objection to be put on short time, or any other fair process whereby a reduction of wages can be averted.
We fail to see why the employers ought to seek arbitration. We are now in the same position which they were in during the last two and a half years. They were at that time so fully certain that trade would not give any further advance that arbitration was pointedly refused. ”