1
Important Meeting Hanley 1875
Research by John Lumsdon
A large meeting of miners was held on Wednesday morning 19th May 1875 in the Frederick Street schoolroom out of which the seats had to be taken in order to accommodate the great number present, many not being able to enter the room. A working miner presided and opened the proceedings with a few brief remarks after which he read a circular which expressed a hope that the miners would continue to be united and stating that a meeting would be held as early as possible to endeavour to settle the dispute.
Mr Brown said no one could possibly feel sorrier at seeing that large audience there idle that morning when they might have been at work. They new his opinion thoroughly well with reference to strikes and lock-outs and he wishes it to be distinctly understood by all, that no matter what unthinking men might think about the present crises, the officials of the district did not consider that a strike had taken place in the district as yet. The employers were met on the Friday previous as they all knew and also the result. He (Mr. Brown) had considered it to be his duty to take quite a different course on the occasion than he had on the two previous occasions when the two last reductions were made. On the first occasion in March 1874 he had to advise them and to boldly accept a10% reduction and not stop work at all, and so they did and went to their work. Had they have struck work then, he believed that their position would have been worse that day than it was.
In July 1874, another notice for a reduction was posted and they knew how he (Mr. Brown) was treated at the time for the course he took then. He would never again advise the men of the district to accept another reduction of wages; but he was acting purely as a subordinate in the matter and doing as he had been told to do by those that gave him his orders. He was however; oblige to advise them to submit the dispute to a fair and impartial tribunal. They had no right to say that the employers were doing wrong to reduce their wages until they had endeavoured to prove it so and that accurately. He did not think it would be right for him to tell themto go to work again at the 10% reduction without the masters showing them why they should be reduced. He had written to Mr. Wragge, (master’s agent) on Saturday morning last and had received a reply to the effect that it was unlikely that any meeting could be held with the masters unless they had some new facts to place before them. The masters were willing to show their books, they said, to any person or persons and were able to prove that the proposed reduction was inadequate to meet the circumstances of the case.
He had no right to say that Mr. Wragge had spoken an untruth, but he had the right to say that the men ought to know the reason why. Some men had said that they would not have arbitration. To that he would reply, “Perish all that fears the light.” They had sent large sums of money to assist the Welshmen to obtain arbitration, and were they to act in that matter, and yet be opposed to such a course themselves? It was a direct contradiction of terms and a greater piece of inconsistency he could not conceive. He wished them to let the dispute be referred to an impartial board of arbitration, the basis of which should be mutually agreed upon by both sides and let them have a though investigation of the case.
Many men thought that wages were low enough, and he thought so too, but the question was, had they the power and potency; had they the influence to prevent them going any lower. The masters thought coal and iron was low enough, but if they could not prevent them going any lower they must of necessity sell for less money, and until they had a different state of things in existence they would not be able to go in the face and state of the trade. He, however, did not believe in coal and iron merchants clearing more out of a ton of coal or iron that the man had produced or made that ton.
They had known many such cases, and in fact, such was the case at the present time, and when it would be remedied he was not prepared to say. He believed that had all the meetings been held in that schoolroom been as well attended as on that occasion things would have been a great deal better with them in the district than they were at that day. He would tell all men that had been inconsiderate in the past that they had done a great deal towards bring about their present difficulty.
Mr. Brown then touched upon political economy, and showed that its teachings meant all the wealth on one side and all the poverty on the other. He must advise them one and all to act together, for what concerned one concerned them all. If the dispute was settled by arbitration they would have a though investigation into the present position of the coal and iron trade, and he thought it was right for themto have a proper understanding with their employers. He wished to tell them that it was not the men styled demagogues that were to be blamed for the men not being at work that morning. He could bear to be called demagogue or stump orator by any excommunicated gentlemen, but he could not bear it from the men, to benefit whom he had given the best years of his life. No matter what might be said in the theatre or various platforms with respect to the miners, they were, after all a very important class of men and without such a class there would be very little iron-stone, coal, railway travel etc.
He had no hesitation in saying that the mining population of this country were, as a class as useful and indispensible a body of men as any other body of men in Great Britain.
He was surprised that they could be cajoled as they were. They had been told that men like him were getting rich out of them, but those that told them such things received as much for about five minutes as they gave their agent for speaking and standing up in their behalf in six months. He advised them not to be led astray, but as soon as they were able to look after their own interests, and to form an organisation together without the assistance of himself, colleague, and others, why the sooner they dispensed with their services, the better. There were times when they had to speak boldly, and whilst he held the position that he had the honour to hold that day, he should do his duty fearlessly, and when he thought the men were right he should advocate their cause without regard of consequences and when he thought they were wrong he should dare to tell them so. He thought the men were right in asking the reason why the wages should be reduced at the present time. He did not say the reduction was uncalled for, or that the state of trade did not warrant their asking, but he did say if they succeeded in reducing their wages, whether by conciliation or arbitration, such a reduction would not give a stimulus to the coal and iron trade, but on the other hand, in a month or six weeks they would be as thirsty for another reduction as they were at that present time for the one proposed.
He had known the prices of coal and iron low in the market, and the men unable to earn a decent living, not even with long hours. He considered that 5s a day was like something throwing a bone to a dog compared to what the miners ought to receive as wages. It meant no more than 22s 6p per week, or four and a half days a week all the year round. Let them say what they would; there was not a miner in the districtthat did not every time he went into the mine reap the benefits of the union. And every time he came out of the mine reap the benefits of union.
Having spoken of the benefits of union for some time Mr. Brown said supposing they had to submit to the reduction what wisdom would there be in killing union? Had they nothing else that could be taken from them after the 10%? Had they not shorter hours, weighs, and check-weighmen, and could not another reduction be made after that one if union was killed? He strongly advised them to keep quiet and orderly for the next few days above everything else, and if they found that they had to fight let them do it man to man in a most united manner.He hoped that the circumstances by which they were now surrounded would be the means of teaching every miner in the district a very useful lesson. Let them make no mistake about the employers.
It was no business of the masters how many children they had, or anything else. They gave a single man as much per ton as a married man, and if they thought there was any feeling or sympathy on the part of the masters they were much mistaken. Employers believed in having everything done as cheaply as possible and they would secure men’s labour at the very lowest figure that they could and his hearers might set that down as a decided fact.
By organisation and combination, they had, however, shorter hours and better wages and were better able to stand up for their rights than they would be without union. Such were the facts he had to lay before them and they might take them, turn them, and digest them and if they found them right let them become a part of their very natures. Union was strength, knowledge was power, which no one could deny.
Mr. T.D. Mathias next addressed the meeting in a very stirring speech, in the course of which he said they knew his principles and their firm un-alterableness with reference to the question of capital and labour. He had no desire to hurry matters, but when things came to a crisis of themselves as they appeared to be doing in the north Stafford District; they knew who, were the men who would be found at the head to lead them on to victory, fair play, and justice for the working men. It was just now a time of pause, the ranks were being brought out, and previous to hostilities being commenced there was time for the man of conciliation to step in ere warfare took place, and could his (the speaker) voice that morning reach the ears of everyone if they went into conflict, the battle was going to be a tough one. Their great point was every man in union. Had everyman and boy been in union right along the employers would never had dared to have attempted the present proposed reduction in their wages. Masters, however, wanted all for themselves, and to roll in luxuries, whilst those who were producing them their wealth had to fight hard to keep the wolf from the door. He believed the proposal of the employers would not be accepted unless a reason was shown why, and that was what it was to be hoped would be brought about, for no one liked fighting for fighting’s sake.
The miners’ had two alternatives. If he received everything out upon him, he became a serf, and everything thatcould be, would be jammed and crammed into him. But if he felt that he was a man, and that he was called upon by sheer force to strike, he found that he must either fight or lose his free manhood. He called upon all, whether ministers, tradesmen, or whatever class they might belong to, to assist the weak against the strong, for the workmen did not want to strike, but fair play and justice, that they were determined to have. So long as a tongue could stir, or a heart beat, they were determined to live as free men, or die fighting for their freedom.
There were also meetings held at Newcastle and Wolstanton Marsh