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A. 4. THE LLANBERIS LOCK-OUT. [From the Special Correspondent of the Liverpool Daily Post.] LLANBERIS, SUNDAY NIOIIT.—All along the line from Llandulas to Llanberis the passenger by rail hears of nothing except the strike at Llandulas and the lock-out at Llanberis. The strike and the lock- Out absorb public attention, and exclude all other topics of conversation. That very ordinary and c°mnionplace subject the weather has for a moment to take a. back seat. In coming along here from Car- narvon I heard the most animated conversation in ♦Velsh, accompanied with much gesticulation. It was ^bout the lock-out, as the frequeut use of the names *ivian and Davies showed, and what was thought of these gentlemen by the parties to the discission was eXpressed in an Anglo-Saxon term of condemnation, for which apparently there is no Welsh equivalent. I afterwards found myself alone with one of the disputants, certainly a respectable working class Resident in his way, and he summed up the dismission In a pithy analogy. "Suppose," he said, "I put a Sutter waif to run a railway engine, what should I eXpect to become of the locomotive?" That is just the feeling here with respect to the Hon. W. W. Vivian, the manager of the Llanberis slate, quarries, \ho, the men say, is wanting in experience both of Slates and men, and who holds no other certificate of, "lent for his position than a marital relationship with the owner of the slates. The holder of such a position, with full discretionary jurisdiction left in his hands, has power to work either for the comfort or discomfort of his workpeople, and the workpeople say that by Polish rules and unnecessary and mischievous inter- ference with their liberties, Mr Vivian has worked Nothing but ill. Their case will be best understood if I give as nearly as I can the language employed at an interview with a gentleman whose sympathies go entirely with the men, Who has taken the chair at their meetings, identified himself with their cause, and earned thr-ir respeci. I found my friend, who is well advanced in years, seated In the midst of a grown up family, and wil ling to answer any questions I might ask him. That was the diffi- culty. I put my interrogations in English. He could Only understand them when put in Welsh. His good Wife came to my aid, but that did not ha'p the inter- view, so it was decided, after a conversation in the Vernacular tongue, not understood by me, that we should go to a Welsh gentleman who lives near, who IS a bi-linguist, and who at a late hour of the night cheerfully accepted the purely honorary office of Liter Prefer, and whose pure classical English furnished an Unexpected and enjoyable treat. What was the Origin of the lockout ?" Well, you see it has been the custom in the quarries to give the men an 'off day every month. In the beginning of the year an attempt Was made to curtail this off clay,' and to compel the men to take their holidays only after ten o'clock ir. the lnorning. Then there was an attempt to force a further limitation, and to make the men continue Working till noon. The men resisted this attempt, and Very properly so, for the reason that the necessary Month's notice of the change to which they were entitled had not been given. They were further told —so they say—by the resident manager, who has since denied the fact, that they might leave at ten o'clock, and they did so. This was in October, and it applies Only to the men in the steam mills. For so leaving all Work in the quarries was arbitrarily stopped for a Week and the men in the slate mill, who had com- mitted no offence, were thrown also out of employ- raent. kir Vivian declined to accept any explanation from the men, or to receive a deputation from them." t What happened nex Why, the men proposed to hold an indignation meeting on the works, which Was prohibited. They then went, to the number of 2,500, and held their meeting elsewhere, and came back to work next day. As a result of this, a notice Was posted in the works enforcing a lock-out on and from the 31st of October, and this lock-out is still in force. Have the men taken action to briug the lock-out to a close?" "Y e8; they have held meetings, and they have communicated with the proprietor, Mr Assheton-Smith, their views as to the unreasonable and impracticable rules sought to be forced upon them, their determination not to work under the manage- ment of Mr Vivian and Mr Davies. and their wish to adjust the difficulties which have arisen, either directly by deputation to Mr Assheton-Smith, or by a reference of all the matters in dispute to arbitration." "And What does Mr Smith say?" "He says he has fully corsidered the rules and regulations issued by Mr Vivian, and he intends to carry them out. He has entire confidence in Mr Vivian and in Mr Davies, and SO long as he has that confidence in them he intends to retain them in the positions they now hold." The men do not think this is a reply which is fair to them, and they complain of grievance heaped upon grievance under Mr Vivian's management until their position at the quarries has been made humiliating and intolerable to them. These grievances they consider neither small nor imaginary. The men have submitted to repeated reductions in their wages and to limita- tions in their working hours. Their grievances began in 1880, when a trade custom to accept half-hundreds In slates at the end of the month was suppressed, and th<3 men were ordered to have their slates made up in hundr, dA. They complained, but they failed to get the grieTa lce removed. The men say in their stace- taen grievances- To those acquainted with the working of slate quarries it is well known the simpler the working rules Lo the better in the interest of master and man. The character of the work makes factory rules quite inapplicable to a slate quarry worked in the open. About 2,100 workmen In the Dinorwic (Quarries trv, contractors of one descrip- tion or another. We know for a certainty that the hard and unreasonable restrictions placed upon them have a tendency to destroy the energy of the workmen and re- duce their wages and the profit accruing therefrom to their employer. Unnecessary and oppressive working rules interfere with work, and a reduction in work reduces the profit. It is to the interest of the men that the em- ployers' profit increases. This will never happen with an mefficient and ignorant management and unnecessarily restrictive working rules None but an inefficient man- agement would have increased the rules and the un- reasonably heavy punishment of any infringement of them to the extent this has been done at the Dinorwic Quarries, and it is not to be wondered at that they led as a natural consequence to disputes and misunderstandings. In the beginning of 1881 a long conference was held be- tween the men and chief manager in reference to the Em- ployers' Liability Act. The employer and the agents Wanted the men to contract themselves out of this. Be- fore the end of January the reply of the men was for- warded, stating that they were almost unanimous in favour of remaing under the protection of the Act. The chief agent informed the secretary of the workmen's benefit club that, as the men had passed a resolution in favour of remaining under the Act, it was probably the last time he would be acting as auditor of the club accounts, and that the hospiial would be converted to a different purpose, that Hafothy, the residence of the doctor, would be let to another party, and that pensions allowed to old workmen would be discontinued ^fter the decease of those in receipt of them at the present ^Piie. On the 1st of February, 1881, a meeting of the lien was summoned in order to endeavour to arrive at an Understanding with our employer on the question of the Act. A resolution was passed at this meeting conveying °Ur thanks to our employer for his kindness and liberality always to us, and expressing our wish for the continuance of the same in the future. A resolution was also unani- mously passed expressing the desire of the workmen to be nnder the protection of the said Act. A resolution was also passed that we should make an application for the es- tablishment of an arbitration board, consisting of two Practical managers and two experienced workmen, with power to decide any question in dispute as regards dan- gerous place, and on all questions of indemnity, &c., so that the interest of the employer should be represented on the one hand and the interest of the men on the other hand. It was further resolved that the workmen them- selves were prepared to subscribe towards a fund to pro- vide pecuniary damages to persons or families who might I entitled to damages, and that such board should have the power to decide finally through an arbitrator, if re- quired, and thus escape the necessity of appealing to a COurt of law, and that each workman should bind himself to accept such decision. These resolutions were forwarded to our employer on the 4th, and a reply was received in- timating that he had nothing to do with the resolutions, masmuch as we were already working under the Act. and that we could make no alterations in Its provisions. At the same time we were informed hy Colonel Wyatt and Mr. J. Davies that they Would not longer have any official connection with the Workman's Benefit Club, the former as vice-president and ^Uditor, and the latter as treasurer. The bank and cheque ^•oks were sent by them to the secretary. On the l(Jth February, 1881, Mr Assheton-Smith was appealed to Srant us an interview, and asking him to refer the matter to arbitration. But this, again, was declined by him. Al- though the men felt very strongly in favour of remaining n&der the Act, yet. owing to their strong wish not to en- nger the good feeling that had existed between them and ™Ir Assheton-Smith, they decided to yield and trusting 0 him as a gentleman that every endeavour would be ^ade to keep within the spirit of the Act, they signed an ?§reemeiit contracting themselves out of it on the 1st -^arch, 1881. At this time a memorial was sent to our >loycr, asking him as a favour to give work under some definite rule to the workmen's children in preference to others. This request was made in cousequence of there ell-ig grounds for believing that political and religious in- duces were at work in the selections then made. A copy j* this memorial was sent to the chief agent, tu reply, Mr Assheton-Smith very kindly stated at he considered it his first duty to give v £ ?ference to the children of his own tenants. feel very sorry to have to state that the ?sident manager has not acted upon this letter, and that J'iidren of others were not tenants nor children of old ^°rkmen, but children of a particular political party, te selected in perference to the class stated in Mr ^sheton-Smith's letter. On the 23rd June, 1882, an kpl'lication was made to the managers through a depu- tation that a contractor, when making his bargain, should allowe(j to advance ixis reasons when he considered the | offered terms of the manager unreasonable and r insufficient. The deputation consisted of representative I men from different parts of the quarry. The reception hy the managers was most unfavourable and arbitrary, and Mr J. Davies refused to allow more than two of the deputation to speak. The deputation said they were not authorised to carry on the interview under those con- ditions, because the men present represented different I districts, and that no two of them could properly convey the feeling of all the districts. Mr John Davies replied that his instructions were to break up the negotiations and to inform them that no deputations from the work- men would be received in future, and that all future communications were to be in writing to him. The report of this meeting, when conveyed to the men, created very painful impressions and bitter feelings amongst them, as they considered that they were insulted through their representatives. I had gathered during the reading of this extract that the men feel they have been subjected to an irritating tyranny altogether unique in its way. The quarries, he said, have been worked for more than a hundred years, and employment is found in them for 2,700 workmen, who live in the parishes of Llanberis and L'.anddeiniolen. Most of the land extending from Bangor on the one side to Carnarvon on the other be- longs to Mr Assheton-Smith. Would you like some other instances of petty tyranny towards the men ? Well, take the hay harvest in and around the quarries. The men live on plots of land varying in size from, say, three to twelve acres, as tenants of Mr Smith. In the summer months the rain clouds gather over the tops of the mountains, and the rain descends in drenching showers. In such a climate the hay harvest must. be speedily gathered or spoiled. It has been the custom of the men employed at the quarries to assist each other in gathering in their hay. This custom was, for no explainable reason, arbitrarily abolished. There is another instance. The work at the quariy is let hy bargains." A bargain is a piece of rock of a certain heignt and width in the side of the mountain, let to two partners, and who employ workmen under them. One of the partners blasts the rock from the mountain side, and the other, with the workmen, prepares the slates. It often happens that the partner who blasts the rock secures in a couple of hours enough material to employ the other men for a day, but in doing so he is not unfrequently drenched to the skin, and in this condition it has been his practice to go home. This practice has been arbitrarily abolished unoer a new rule, which prohibits workmen from leaving the works. In another case a man lighted a fuse for blasting purposes under per- fectly safe conditions, but at a few moments before the time fixed. For this he was suspended from work for a month, and of course allowed no wages. The great grievance of the men is that under Mr Vivian severe and unnecessary punishment was inflicted for very slitlht and very trivial offences. Mr Vivian has been manager of the quarries since May, 1884. He took the place of Colonel Wyatt, deceased, ¡ who was a practical man Mr Vivian is not a praccical quarry man, nor is Mr Davies (chief manager,) and they 1 neither of them are acquainted with the working of. the quarries, or the former treatment of the men. The men have been made most unhappy since Mr Rathbone defeated Mr Nanney in the election for Carnarvonshire in 1880. You ask what is the size of a bargain? A bargain is a piece of rock in the side of the mountain 7 feet by 18 or 25 feet. The men com- plain that Tory politicians and parsons have too much influence in recommending men for work at the quarries, You have heard that the quarries are not remunerative? Well, that is not the fault of the men. This is not a question of wages at all. The men, in reference to payment, do not so much complain of pay as of poundage. What is poundage. It is a bonus paid upon the manufacture of each pound sterling value of slates. There is a certain agreed sum paid as poundage and another sum paid for clearing away the debris after blasting. What the men complain about is, that under the present system it pays better in certain cases to make debris than to make slates, which is a loss to the owner of the quarries. That loss would not be incurred if the system of poundage wa. put upon a better basis by practical men. Nearly all the money paid for the removal of debris is, of course, a dead loss to the owner. Then they will not admit boys to the quarries under sixteen, and where the boys are employed they are restricted to the making of slates of a particular size-a practice which leads to a great waste of the boys' time, a still greater waste of material, and a loss of money all round. About the conduct of the men ? Well, their conduct has been uniformly good. They became a little rough the other day when Mr Vivian made an effort to break up their union. They gave him ten minutes to leave the works, and he left. How are the men supported?" They are sup- ported by their union, by other workmen, by their friends, and by subscriptions raised in the district. When the men are in work the wage3 paid to them is something like £ 15,000 a mouth. Upon this calcula- tion there has been already lost to the district during ) the locK-out a sum of nearly £23,000. Everybody is suffering. Trade is at a standstill, and the loss to Car- narvon tradesmen alone represents a sum of i'C.OOO. Mr Assheton-Smith must himself suffer if this lock-out is continued. He is a large landowner, and if the men who occupy his farms cannot work or cannot dispose of the produce of their industry because the quarrymen are out of woik, it follows*of necessity that he cannot collect his rent. This is quite apart from any profits realised on the sale of slates. Everybody wishes that the lock-out would come to an end. The tradesmen wish it; everybody interested in the welfare of Llan- beris wishes it; the men themselves wish it, but they will not be subjected to a petty, grinding, and humili- ating tyranny." I thanked my informant for his information and withdrew, and from other and independent inquiries I am led to believe that his opinions are the opinions generally entertained by the quairymen of Llanberis. I cannot close this article without doing what every- body does in Llanberis, and that is, to mention in terms of warm praise the conduct of Police Sergeant Rowlands, who, with one constable, is in charge of the district. By his forbearance, sound judgment, and courage, this officer on Monday last prevented a very grave tumult from taking place at the quarry, wiiete Mr Vivian was locked in the office, and surrounded by a multitude of excited workmen, ready to pull the building about the agent's ears. It was the will of one man against thousands, and his decision and tact alone prevented mischief. It is hoped that no further trouble will arise at Llandulas, North W ales. The police have withdrawn and the strikers aie left in possession of the place. The malcontents have maintained the most vigilant I watchfulness over the railway and approaches to the quarries, expressing the opinion that the masters have only removed the police as a ruse to get the relief men into the quarries. The singular point of the whole dis- pute is that the strikers have agreed to accept lower wages, but absolutely refuse to sign for twelve months in advance.

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(EoiTCspottbtttxe.

ABERDOVEY "LITERARY" INSTITUTE.

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