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- ■ THE TRADES CONGRESS.

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■ THE TRADES CONGRESS. ^EETING AT NOTTINGHAM.—TSB OPENING ADDRESS. fourth annual Congress of Trades Xr1^68 ^ouncils, was opened at the Mechanics J^tingham, on Monday. About one ,e from the principal towns in the Uni e ^ere present. Mr. George Potter was app°i ^1 ° S5rQatl Pro tem- i;no-s The Chairman, in briefly opening the procee 84,(1. that the Congress had met under aiJspici0lls circumstances than on an^ ^asion. The Legislature would be open to them, ^°uld shortly be engaged in deliberating on severa /°ns connected with the interests of the working c therefore entreated the Congress to cone eir|Selves upon the work that they had ta en in J^ly, the elevation and consolidation of t ie rig g ,e w°ricing man. Trade societies were now on ° Siting into that position which they oug ■ °ccupiecl years and he hoped the members woul e*r individuality, and work heartily t°oe ■ ^Use of the combination and elevation of °UgXamined, e credentials of the delegates havm0 ];h tv 0f Mundella, M.P., said he had taken th. hberty^ tha?g Alr' Xorthwick' of ConneCti°^' desire to attend, ,Re.ntleman had exPrefsed a g.re0Q aU questions con- taken a very active part on waS ^1 + with labour and education in n*e • give kerefore with the view of any information e => i„ht ■ lZ lhat "e ,Mr- MOntleIU) Ston.rfttee.p- e Permitted to attend the Congress. ,prT„teS re- Pointed to examine the credentials of t e o ]J0die3 ■ 5s? t,»t«- —rSm JS- «»• !ch were not immediately connected w heLand izatxons accredited to the Congress, namely, the ■ ^,„Uwtle Workmen'^ tt?'T'kl'"U"1 Insltnte.and ttal> sB LceWl itin the e Motion ofSpcial Science. credentia!a ■ »' tie C°ne™» to decide whether he* <• d ■ ?»»« le .dotted op not. Mr. be »d- hat representatives from these bodies* ■ >»««. „oved their credent.^ received. Mr. Ireland thought that some^ {J. was Jizations partook of a political character, a y^J nee'^u^ that Congress shoul would be Mi A°.t.i*! l'Gfi°C! "ho slim,ld h,uh admitted to th. fi ~u thought that no one should gome Tradl 0n?ress unless he were a membei ° _ome pre- ^ociation. He knew that there a{. all> iTf Wh° did not rePresent any„ future meetings. M' ^hls should be put an end to at a not attend Mr- Mundolla, M.P., said that he for one be wag ■ ^a rePi'esentative of any particular ra ghoul(j Present at the invitation of the secretary- mia]lt take very happy to take part in any discussion ld°tllink of ■ P ace, but neither himself nor Mr. Cromp on meeting. ■ 'Voting ou aTiy question that was submit ec w-ti1(lrawn, J ■ Af^r s°me further discussion, the rootl0n le-arth then H the delegates were recei\"ed. Mr. eatherland, of ^^1 0vec'> and Mr. Wood seconded, that IV r. 0On he Nottingham Trades Council, be chairman ook gress. The motion was carried, and he at one ^at. n f nf Mr. George Howell then read the repor yea, Onttee of the Trades Congress, held in Lon ■ t wa.s as followsrep0rt (I H f, gentlemen.—Your committee in presen o refer ir H J proceedings during the past v„ference to tht ■ oetiil to the steps they have taken with jf0use a' la(,eS' X'nion Bill, which was before ■ j!?,,1(|ns last Session. „ on Satu> H rlo "e sittinrrs of the last Congress termm the Tues. ■ j y> March 11th, and vour committee me the fol ■ ?ay.following, March 14th, at 11 o clock, ovi^g resolution was drawn up, and agre ^1 << r*a rXTOtf ^IjUI, THE TRADES CONGRESS AND THE TRADE Tracls ■ TT".That this Congress, having reconsidered d re^_ ■ Union Bill in connection with the explana aojve thi of the Home Secretary, here3> ,^ment aiy whilst they are anxious to obtain from warc| tltijr legislation that may enable them_ to carry .r efforts on behalf of the legitimate interests ot Workmen, refuse in any way to sanction any or t' !ts provisions, presupposes mny criminal intent ■ derides on the part of English workmen as a ■ If consistent with yortr sense of duty to th y, ■ should feel greatly oblifred by your opposing all he ■ criminal provisions of the Txades TT/rnion L,,11- ■ •' On bihalf of the Congress. (Here follow the naiies H of the committee.) n "9, Buckinffham-street, Strand, W.O. ■ March 14, 1S71-" ■ The Secretary was then instructed to get enveloes addressed to every naember of the House of Conim<ns, H and the resolution Rent without delay. By T. hui^av ■ moi-nln„ March 16th, each member would have receded a copy. This prompt action on part of tne < I mittee had the effect of dividing the bill mto two part; as ■ was desired by the COTH^BS. But thisj ■ on the put of your Committee gave di&satistactic^ to I some members of the Conference of Amalgamateu lryes, H with whom we were instructed to confer, as it was ■ contended that no separate action should have leen I taken without first consulting them. A joint meetiig of ■ tjje two Committees was accordiiigly summoned as &rly ■ as possible for the purpose of agreeing to a "p_rotjst" against the criminal portions of tie Bill. The meetingwas held on Tuesday, March 28th, and a protest was agree! to. THE TRADES rXION BlLL-A PROTEST. We, the undersigned, for and on behalf of the ,rade unionists of the United Kingdom, authorised an( em- ^josKered by the Trades Union Congress recently assembled m London, and by the Conference of Amalgamated 1 rides, do hereby protest against any such legislation as that attempted by the third clause of the Government T-ades Union Bill, based, as it was, on the assumption that acts contrary to law and order are done and sanctioned ly the trades unions of this country, feeling confident that the common and statute law was sufficient to punish every unlawful act committed either by t'ades unionists or by any other person. We, therefore, rtfuse, in any way, to sanction a bill that in_ its provision, pre- supposes criminal intentions or tendencies on the pirt of the working men as a class. Signed by George lotter, Chairman of the Trades Union Congress, by liobe-t Ap- plegarth. Secretary to the Conference of Amalgamated Trades, and others.. This protest was immediately followed by the 18ille, on the part of the Government, of the two bills called" The Jrfades T'nion Bill" and "The Criminal Law Amendment •Bill." These your Committee decided to republish in the CoWns of the Bee-Hive newspaper, so that the trades Unionists of the United Kingdom should have th( means at hand of judging of the two bills. This, as youvvill re- ^ember. was done on April 8th, 1S71. The jouf com- followed up this action by frequent deputations to the House of Commons, waiting upofl Individual mem- bers, and explaining our difficulties, and tie rea- Sons for our opposition to the criminal clauses of the bill. Every effort was made to get che ob- noxious criminal clauses withdrawn, but witnou; effect, and both the bills passed the Commons. When ,}je bills Were in the Lords it was observed that Lord CatHs had introduced a i amendment leaving out the words two or jnore," and substituting "with one or more j;ersons." This we saw was an intended blow at all picketing, and Would be absolutely fatal to all peaceable efforts on the part of unionists to give information to imported work- •> rp-,en' or those coming from a distance in case of a strike, i action of the Lords, however, was so sudden Hat this amendment was passed in the Upper .onse before -we could adopt measures with a view to its withdrawal. Subsequently your committee arranged for an interview with ISlr. Winterbotl^m, Mr. •*>ruce being ill, jn the members' room of the Mouse of ^pmmons. Amongst those who attended wer; Mr. T. Ji'ighcs, Mi-. Walter Morrison, Mr. Mundella, and others. n this occasion the joint committees wafe accompanied oy several provincial delegates, who happened "to be in on business connected with the Amalgamated arpenters and Joiners, as we thought It advisable ?1 jnake the deputation as strong and influential as pos- T' ^bis conference with the under secretary it was solved to disagree with the Lords'amendment, and Mr. TT Interbotham at once placed a notice on the paper of the ao.0,,s.e Commons on the part of the Government, dis- oreeing witli such amendment. This promptitude gave on fill sa^s^act'01i to your Committee, as it shew»d a desire Th °f the Government to meet our objections. TVfrf vision was taken in the House of Conmons, on T i 19th of June, when, to our fegret the Q7° .amendment was carried by 147 as against » being a majority of 50 against it? chiefly composed of Tory and Liberal capitalists. A r analysis ot the division was published, with a port, from which the following is an extract:—"We tra^6 t° the judgment and concerted action of the »noVeS soc,leties in those constituencies whose members Govern"1 voted against us, and that, too, after the ments th61'^t had moved to disagree with the Lords' amend- their elKja*8 against their party in the interest of ties V-e,^nd,deci(]edly to the detriment of tfade.s socie- ave to the societies the question as to the wo fin/iV I,- i '6 who were absent from the division. And leadin!r ? ?° n°te, that of 130 members from the are nofi CTT| -v ,1,1 industry which we have selected, 101 are caUed liberals and 29 are Conservatives The con- fa„. on, we ,^av!e 0 trades unionists; we only note the mno'f n ? 5S f-L CUri°us indication of what we THo ex"Pect from the manufacturing and trading classes, all fnf^sls f yoting list shews that nearly f, the repmsentativea of the great centres of a^?ther voted for the Lords' amendments, or f. themselves from the division list. Let the or- feoJSU T °t,e ^'s ^ac^- and compare it with the )u~o- A ",ns _on the hustings, where most of the men promised CZ 't6 7 fn h0"Jest Tra<]e? Fnion BilL" The bills now C- and we decided to publish the Acts entire, g her with a careful digest (drawn up bv your Com- «ittee m conjunction with Mr. Henry Crompton, barrister, undfl0't,ller,tlemen) so as to enable working men to new law8 passed ostensibly for their them Wlth Causes directed specially against thi= recommend this digest to the attention of fitan/TfiT8'-aS -!fc enahles any careful reader to under- snirif ,i • ,6 lntncacios of these Acts, in their letter and it diffinnil A unprofessional readers would otherwise find to o-et ^r. ¡Oldo. Your committee have felt it their duty see t.h • 6 reP°rt.s on cases under the Acts, so as to tunafp'ir, 0r>erati°n and results. We have again been for- for a iMii»SeCrr1"S \u sel vices of Mr. Henry Crompton as it afr.L ,s acquainted with the law, especially thankful fm'- i,7" *ejl }v'e ave therefore sincerely deport. F,-ovnS+i?-?er' .present it as,a part of our evils predicted ;n ft" r':|'°!Vt v' lil he seep that all the the necessity for -ve come. IJass> aI1^ hence committee af1- f''i e "ft1011 by this (j nngress. Your SPUrse is to'rZomxnert -==- ,.„r « no amount" of modification or amend- nrnemneni; Act. a^noamo mischievfms provisiong, or inent an correct t; n the trades unionists of the obhteate its implied st n Trades Union Act UnMKmgdom• amenclment maybe, and S« is"deS.Vable but suggestions for these will result mate is «eMI< > f Concress. In accordance with from he discuss Congress, passed on March 9, the rations of the consent of Mr! ^upe't Kettle to draft a bill your committee has di- .viipet A-ecwe the passing of the Acts, recte. its atte pjji to Extend the Applica- ion f the Act to Consolidate and Amend the Laws rela- tive o the Arbitration of Disputes between Masters i ir i !Ln This we present to Congress. Your Settee have been fortunate to get the consent of Mr. Samel Morlly, Mr. Thomas Bmssey, Mr W H. Smith Afr T Mnndella and Mr. Thomas Hughes to put of .he bill, ivlnch ivM be intro- rue mam eh report concludes with a favour- Stateme'nt as regards the income and expenditure of aoie3tatcuicut j Congress, and is signed by the the ommittee sin Gg0rge patter, Chairman; William VII "SurerGeorge Howell Secretary Alexander 'Mc)('mald, Lloyd Jones, Joseph Leicester M Henry Crompton, barrister-at-law, subsebuentlyread the following address .-Events have occurred since the dra»in<* up of the report and digest which has been pub lishd which render a further report necessary, not because of tie number of those events, but because their importance isn>h as to demand grave and anxious discussion at the haflg of this Congress. We refer to the prosecutions whih have taken place under the Criminal Law Anendment Act, and not to the Trade Union Ac proper The effect of the latter can hardly be fully Stained as yet. We hold to our view that the Trade IT ion Bill is a substantial bond fide measure of justice, an we entertain no doubt that any defects in its provisions *il be readily remedied by the Legislature when they be- one apparent. But the prosecutions which have occurred site the meeting of the Congress, under the Criminal Lw Amendment Act, have realised our gloomiest fore- bdin^s In each of them actual physical violence was ° n,, viftion and punishment were right. But povel llie con an(| might have taken place tiese convictions o assau\t. They were mentioned h Jhe under this Act. But it is ne- iary fo s here to declare that they were not instances i Sh this Act has operated beneficially by punishing iJcVime because the general law of assault punishes u ('1" ,„.Ml ..veater severity. We proceed now to the W en a member of the Operative Stonemasons was iou-l t before the Bolton magistrates, sitting m Petty essfons and was charged under the Criminal Law Amendment Act, with besetting the place in which one T Cooper also a member of the same society, was at tork with a view to coerce him to pay the fine of 40s., thich amount Cooper owed according to the rules of the oc ety of which he had chosen to become a member. Sden was the !>roper person to Ask for payment. He Jid so iii the usual way. It was proved that he went •o Cooper, that he found him at work, that he shewed hiinthe regular card on which, the amount due was S down, that he asked for 5s m part payment, that Cooper refused, and that then Wearden went away. Nothing more passed between them. Nothing in the shape of a th, eat, not a single uncivil word Of course Cooper knew that the matter could not end them According to the evidence, Wearden went to the forem^, and told him all about it, and said that the other men would not work any longer with Cooper. And afterwards all the men struck work. This is the whole case. Ihe facts were not disputed, and upon this evidence Wearden was convicted and sentenced to one months im- prisonment. We purposely refrain m this case, as We shall in all cases, from entering upon the moral question whether this particular strike was right or wrong. It is just as strong either way. Notice of appeal was given otherwise Wearden must necessarily have under- gone his sentence. The appeal came on to be heard at the Bolton Quarter Sessions, before Mr. Samuel Pope, Q.C., Recorder. In this instance the appeal was to a competent professional judge, but it is only so m some boroughs. In counties, the appeal lies to the unpaid unprofessional magistrates who sit at Quarter Sessions. It is very im- portant to remember this because the appeal to the Quarter Sessions upon the facts is final, although the Court of Queen's Bench has probably jurisdiction to inter- fere in cases in which there has been a wrong decision in point of law. When the case came on, no one ap- peared to support the conviction against Wearden. The magistrates had not employed counsel to support their indgment. They might have done so, but they were not bound by law to do so. Accordingly, nobody appearing Oil the other side, the conviction was quashed, without any judgment beincr pronounced. But just at the end of the Sessions, the prosecutor Cooper appeared and declared that he wished still to support the conviction upon which the matter was reopened. We think that IVli. Pope was right and just in not allowing a formal quashing to prevent the matter being heard on its merits. In the end the case was adjourned to the January Sessions, and it has not yet been decided. We dwell upon these particulars, because they indicate a new difficulty. If a man has no funds or if he is not a member of a trades union, he cannot appeal. and must suffer his punishment without appeal. If, on the other hand, he does incur the expense of appeal- ing, of employing attorney and counsel, he is liable to find that the appeal cannot be heard on its merits. But there are far larger questions raised by the four Bolton magis- trates, three of whom are employers of labour, and who yet declined to support by argument the judgment which they had so unhesitatingly pronounced in the very first case that was prosecuted under the new law. We offer the following considerations to shew that these magistrates strained the law, and that the conviction of Wearden was unjust:—1. There was no evidence to prove that what Wearden did was done with a view to coerce. No such mtcntIOn could possibly have been inferred from his acts. On the contrary, the evidence that Wearden asked for the payment in the usual way, that Cooper re- fused, and that then Wearden went away, proved or tended to prove, that Wearden did not intend to intimi- date or to coerce. 2. The decision of the magistrates that the mere accosting and demanding payment of a fine owing from a member to a union, is a besetting within the meaning of the statute, is a gross straining of the law. 3. They have decided that the occurrence of a subsequent strike is evidence that the accosting and demanding payment was "with a view to coerce." That is to &ay, the magistrates have not merely decided that subsequent acts done by other persons may be given in evidence to shew what was the intention of the accused. That would be a very important extension of a difficult branch of the law of evidence. Their decision goes far beyond this it lays down that any act, however innocent, may become criminal by a subsequent strike taking place. It necessarily follows that the notice of a strike, or any act done in furtherance of a strike would, under such law, be held to be done with a view to coerce." So that though the demand is legal, and the strike legal—yet the demand plus the strike constitutes a crime punishable with three months hard labour. In fact, exactly what we expected has occurred. Again and again it was pointed out to the Home Office authorities what would happen if they passed a vague statute like the Criminal Law Amendment Act. A more extraordinary or melancholy piece of legislation has seldom disgraced the House of Commons. One other reflection is suggested by this case. The new Act differs from the old Act in one important particular. In order to convict a man of any offence under the new law, it is necessary to shew, either by the acts themselves or by other proof, that the accused had in his mind at the time the acts were committed the intention to coerce. This wa" not so under the old combination law. Ques- tions of intent, as to what a man actually intends, are, as is well known, often of great difficulty, and such cases demand the most careful sifting. The only proper tri- bunal for such investigations is that of judge and jury. Now that the Act has passed, working men might naturally expect to find in Mr. Bruce a staunch ally for getting, at least this part of the law repealed. And accordingly the resolutions which were carried at a public meeting held by the energetic men of Bolton to protest, against the iniquity which had been perpetrated in their town, and against the Act which was the cause of that iniquity, were forwarded to Mr. Bruce. As an answer to this there comes a letter from the Home office, saying that it does not seem to be either desirable or possible to propose a chance without some experience of the working of the Act oJ'it cfinili This letter comes after the Bolton case. Experience Of what ? Of the injustice which Mr. Bruce foretold and which has already come to pass ? How iranv more mui must be convicted like Wearden before sufficient experience will have been gained ? But it is useless to criticise such a letter. This disgraceful shuffle is the answer which the Government returns to the demand which the workmen have made for justice, and only justice. The present Attorney-General Sir Tolin Coleridge, said in debate, That the Trades' Union Bill sought to state in intel- ligible words those offences which every reasonable man must admit ought to be repressed." The present Solicitor-General said-" lhat the working classes had great cause to be grateful to the Government for defining the offences for which they were to be punished. We ask the law officers of the Government to reconsider these oninions. which, doubtless, were hastily formed and inconsiderately expressed. We also ask Lord Cairns whether he still approves of the amendment that he pro- posed. and which we regard as the deliberate perpetration of a great injustice, not upon unionists, but upon the whole labouring population, to whom his cruel clause is directly applicable. The only conclusion we can draw from all this is, that unless the workmen are prepared for energetic re- monstrance, they will have to live under this tyrannical statute for many years to come. It is a matter most serious and most grave. Nothing more important can offer itself to this congress for discussion. For the evil has to be met and that at once. It can only be met by the unconditional repeal of the statute, and that will never be, unless the working classes shake off the apathy in which they live, and for once, at least, make the effort, which their power and position enable them to do an effort which shall be a peaceable orderly pressure, such as will make Parliament pause, ere it continues to oppress the working classes by such a law. The thanks of the Congress were awarded to Mr. Crompton for the able paper he had read. The Congress then adiournecL 0 The Trades' Congress met again on Tuesday, Mr. Leatherland lI1 the chair. The Chairman, in opening the 1 J day's proceedings, said that they were met to consider the provisions of the Trades Union Bill, and of the Criminal Law Amendment Bill, and to decide what course should be taken either to pro- cure an amendment or withdrawal of those bills. There was avast change in the opinion, of the coun- try concerning Trades Unions, and the more they endea- voured to aid or assist that change, so much the better would it be for their future welfare. They could not be too vigorous in pi-oseeuting their views at a time when Trades Union people were not looked UMon with that fear and prejudice which they IFed to be. One of th'} most gratifying results of such conferences was that employers and employed met in a friendly spirit to discuss questions in connection with labour. Already the movement for shortening the hours of labour had gained ground throughout the country, andit was likely to lead to something better than they had already obtained. Trade was now in a prosperous condition, and lie could not see whv the workman should not have a fair I snare ot me prosperity which prevailed In the country. Mr. Bailey, of Preston, was then elected Vice-President of the Congress; Mr. Heckling, of Nottingham, was appointed Secretary; and Mr. Wm. Allen, of London, Treasurer, of the present Congress. A committee was also appointed to arrange the business of the Congress. Mr. Ashton, of Oldham, then moved the adoption of the re- port, which was read at the Congress yesterday. Mr. Graham seconded the motion, which was, after a brief dis- cussion, carried unanimously. Mr G. Potter moved that the working men of Nottingham be invited to attend a public meeting on Thursday evening, for the purpose of discuss- ing and passing resolutions on the subject of the recent legislation on the Criminal Law Amendment Act. Mr. Odger seconded the motion, which was carried, it being left to the Nottingham Committee to make the necessary arrangements. Mr. Walton, of Brecon, who stated that he was present as the representative of a large body of masons belonging to the General Union of England, Ireland, and Wales, then called attention to the Criminal Law. Amendment Act, and moved that this Congress is of opinion that the Criminal Law Amendment Act, is unjust, and excep- tional in character, and oppressive in its application to the personal freedom of the working classes of the United Kingdom;therefore, this Congress pledgesitself touseevery legal means to secure the repeal of the Act. He remarked that this very objectionable measure had been passed by a household-suffrage Parliament, and by the House of Lords acting under the advice of Lord Cairns, a nobleman for whom he had the highest respect, but who was evidently unacquainted with the wants of working men. The working classes had done nothing which justified the Legislature in passing an Act of this kind, and anything short of total repeal would not be satisfactory to them. Mr. Packwood seconded the resolution, remarking that the common law was quite strong enough to meet all cases of breaches of the law committed by members of trade com- binations, without having recourse to arbitrary and excep- tional legislation. Mr. Macdonald observed that the Act was passed by the perjury of the so-called Liberal party, the men who had always courted the interest of the working men. He did not expect any sympathy from the Conservative party, but he was at a loss to know how it was that sixty members of the Liberal party went into the same lobby with such men as Lord Cairns and Mr. Gathorne Hardy. Mr. Mundella, M.P., reminded the Congress that he, together with some large employers of labour, had for two sessions brought in a bill embodying the views of the unionists; but last year the Government brought in a. measure of their own. The bill, as it affected trades unions, thoroughly emancipated them, and was a good bill. The registration clauses gave them powers which they had never before possessed, and had never hoped to possess. He held that the common law should be made sufficiently strong to deal with all cases of intimidation, oppression, and wrong. He and many members who worked with him had determined to resist the passing of the Lords' amendments to the Bill, but they came before the House at a time when it was not expected that they would be proposed, and when there was an unusually large gathering on the Opposition benches. Mr. Bruce moved that the amendments be struck out, and he was supported by Mr. Forster—(cheers)—in a speech of remarkable earnestness and ability. But Mr. Gathorne Hardy deter- mined to divide the House, and when he did so Mr. Gladstone, followed by all the Ministers, was the first to record his vote against the amendments. (Cheers.) -He was glad to say that Mr. Russell Gurney, one of the ahlest criminal lawyers of our times, had recorded his vote against Lord Cairns's clause. (Cheers.) So long as be (Mr. Mundella) had the honour of sitting in Parliament, although he was frequently charged with com- munism, he should always stand up for the equality of master and workmen. (Cheers ) Mr. Auberon Herbert, M.P., stated that the business of the country would not go on well until an alteration was made in the mode of conducting the business of the House of Commons. He trusted that the people would take up the question of the hours and seasons at which the House should sit. He was quite certain that they could not do their work well until there was an important change in this respect. (Cheers.) The Congress at this stage adjourned for an hour. After the adjournment the vice-Chairman brought up the report of the Committee appointed to arrange the conduct of business, Which, on the motion of Mr. Cremer, was agreed to. Mr. Grule then continued the discussion on the Criminal Law Amendment Bill, a measure which, he said, was most obnoxious to t1 o working classes. Mr. Wood, of Manchester, said the Act re-enacted the worst phases of the Acts of the Georges. Mr. George Potter said he did not suppose that a more important question would come before the Congress dur- ing its present sitting. He fully recognised the ser- vices of Mr. Mundella in connection with the question, and he also recognised the want of unanimity on the part of those Liberal members which had fostered on them an Act which was most inju- rious to the artisans of England. If Lord Elcho and other Conservatives who professed so much on be- half of the working men, had followed Mr. llussell Gurney into the lobby against Lord Cairns, the clause of picketing would be legal now. The London Committee had done all they could to make the Act a settlement of the vexed question; but they had failed because the members for large constituencies knew that too frequently Trades Unions were but ropes of sand, and that they had no backbone. They talked of what Parlia- ment should do, but why should not the working men do it" themselves ? (Cheers.) The Government knew their influence; why were they separated now from the people by a special Act of Parliament, passed hy the people's Parliament and by the "people's William, "which was derogatory to the interest of workmen. Let them speak out like men, and back up their interests by actions, but this they would never do until they all were thoroughly agreed. Now they wanted the Act repealed. For several years they had wanted an Act passed, and now they had got one passed that was a lash to their own backs. He contended that the common law was amply sufficient to deal with all infringements of the law by trades unionists and urged the importance of calling upon members to vote for its immediate repeal; for unless it were done away with, they would be in a worse position than before the act was passed. The discussion was continued by Mr. Thomas, of Lon- don Mr. Arlton, of Oldham; Mr. Halliday, of the Northern Counties Miners; Mr. Bailey, Vice-Chairman; and Mr. Graham, of Bolton. After some further discussion the resolution was carried unanimously. The Congress then adjourned.

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DEAN STANLEY IN THE KIRK.

ELECTIONEERING DIFFICULTIES…

ITHE PHOENIX PARK ACTIONS.

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MISCELLANEOUS.n . ti