The Brecon Reporter and South Wales General Advertiser

THE SHEFFIELD OUTRAGES. The interest manifested in the proceedings of the Sheffield Trades Union Commission has not at all diminished, and on Saturday last the court was again crowded. The first witness called was Samuel Crookes. Mr. Overend cautioned him against being in any way reticent with respect to any outrages which he might have committed himself, or which he might know to have been perpetrated by others. He was in the greatest peril-his life even was in jeopardy; butif he would now tell the trath, he would obtain his certi- ficate, and the falsehood which he had already told to the commissioners would be overlooked. He was then examined at great length. First he was asked about the murder of Linley. He admitted that he shot him, but he had no intention of killing him. Broadhead had never given instructions that Linley was to be shot in the ear. Having seen in the newspapers a statement to the effect that he had shot Linley in the forehead, the witness was particular in explaining that his having so hit him was in consequence of somebody else being in the room when the shot was fired. There was something he had pre- viously omitted with respect to the first time that Linley was shot. He used the air-gun then, but left a pistol in the street, to make it appear that the wound resulted from a pistol-shot. Besides having shot Linley twice, he had also attempted to blow him up at a time when he was lodging at a butcher's. Early one morning he thrust powder into the cellar grate, lit the fuse, and let things take their chance. He did not know much about what family the butcher had. When asked what he received for that job, he said he thought it was 151., but he could not say. He had had so many cases that he could not well re- member. One of his cases was Samuel Baxter. of Loxley. He blew him up by dropping powder down tfia chimney. That was another of the jobri he did for Broadhead, and for which he got about the regular thing, 151. Thomas Need- ham assisted him in doing Baxter. When asked what reason he had for blowing up Baxter, he said he had no reason ex- cept that Broadhead had ordered him to do it. He never asked for a reason. He also blew up Joseph Wilson in Head- ford-street, and got 151, again from Broadhead. Heattempted, on Broadhead's instructions, to blow up Reaney's wheel, but did not succeed. Still lie received his 151. He had nothing to do with blowing up Firth's boiler, but wished to explain something. He received orders to do it from Broadhead, and went to put some powder down the chimney, but he could not get it down. He carried a ladder from a place just below, where they were building some houses; but when he got to Firth's place he found that it (the ladder) was so heavy that he could not rear it against the chimney. He then tried to thrust the powder in at the Window, but he could not, because of iron bars. He then placed it on the sill, and fastening it to some of the bars only managed to blow in the window frame. So he had nothing to do with blowing up the boiler. He believed he got the 151 for that job too, but he had some difficulty about it. Broadhead saw that he had not done much damage, and did not think he deserved the money. In order to get money from Broadhead the more freely, he was in the habit of saying that he had engaged "Nunks," or some other body, who was really fictitious, to assist him, and that he was bound to pay them. Of course with Broad- head a bargain was a bargain; but in many cases, if the thing had not done any harm, there was a shuffling about the pay. It was then that he used to tell him he had en- gaged another man, and had to pay him. Of course that was all false but it suited his end. On one occasion wit- ness attempted to shoot John Hellewell, at Firth's, and on that job was assisted by Hallam. Their instructions were to hurt and not to kill him. The air-gun was the weapon. They went dowii-Nvitness and I-lallani-olie night just before Christmas. The place was lit up, and they saw two men, named Woodhead and Joe Woollen, working. When they first looked through the window they thought Woodhead was Hellewell, and would have shot him if they had not found out their mistake. They never had a chance at Hellewell. They had the Wheatman and Smith job on at the same time, and Broadhead told them that was the most important. He was not aware that they got anything for the Hellewell job, not having "done it." They did not get money that easy. He denied having shot Elisha Parker, but confessed to going to Derby to see Needham to make him all square if any one should question him about the outrage in which he had been concerned. He got the money for that from Thompson, the secretary of the scythe grinders. The same man also gave him money for Needham's wife whilst he lay in prison. He helped Needham in one job, putting powder down a chimney at Dronfield. Witness then referred to the Hereford- street outrage. Joseph Copley assisted at that, and Broadhead paid. He did not know that the secretaries of other societies were concerned in that case. With respect to Harry Holdsworth, he said that Broadhead hired him to blow him up because he had outlaws working for him. Witness put powder down his chimney. That was another 15Z. job, but he did not always get paid up. Money was sometimes deducted for "Natty," which he contrived al- ways to keep a little in arrear. He had to confess to being concerned in Sutcliffe's case, although Hallam had not im- plicated him. They had each a life-preserver, and each struck him. The price paid for that was 71. He went with Hallam for the last sovereign, and stood on Sing-hill whilst Hallam went up a passage to Bromehead Hallam had to hold Bromehead up whilst another man went to get the sovereign. He also had to do with blowing up Crookes and Roberts. It was for some trade reason, but he did not re- member what. Needham helped him. Being asked if he had told of all he knew had been done within the ten years, he said he could not remember, but there might be something else, if they read over to him the cases he had mentioned. Mr. Overend (reading): You shot Linley twice blew up Wheatman and Smith, Baxter, Joseph Wilson, Reaney's Wheel, and Joseph Hellewell, at Blonk Wheel. There was the case of John Hellewell you were to shoot. Crookes: I didn't do him any harm. Mr Overend: No, Elisha Parker you said you had nothing to do with but there was the Hereford-street outrage. Are there any other things within the last ten years ?—I think He was asked about the threatening letters, and said he had little to do with I hem. It was his main aim to keep quiet, and he "never did a deal in the note business." He did not do much in rattening e ther. He did the greater jobs; rattening was not worth bothering ahout. He had heard of "Slipper Jack," but did not know who he was. All he knew about him was that he had a great name. Mr. Overend asked him what he meant by a "great name," and he replied, Well, you know, sir, I have a great name now." Joseph Copley was called, and deposed to having been con- cerned in the Hereford-street outrage. It was his first job of the kind, and he received a sovereign for it. George Peace was then called, and he confessed to having engaged a man to do Elisha Parker—not to kill him, but to stop him from working. He engaged John Halt to do it. He did not give him particular orders as to whether he was to shoot or to blow him up. Broadhead wanted something done, but he was not to injure Parker. He was not aware whether Hall was one of the men who were engaged to shoot Parker. He (witness) only engaged Hall to frighten him. When asked how he l'aid Hall he said he did it by putting the money by instalments under a stone. In all he paid him about 91. He was closely pressed about his knowledge re- specting the shooting of Parker, and at last confessed to hearing shots. Besides the 91. for the job, he also gave Hall about 131. to pay Ms expenses to America. A very attesting incident in connection with the proceed- 'ings may be mentioned. When Linley was shot a man named Richard Brown was suspected and arrested but as nothing could be proved against him, he was set at liberty. Nevertheless, the consequences to him were most painful and disastrous. Brown's business was ruined, his former employers and friends shunned his society, and his wife and mother died of grief, and he himself suffered severely in his health from the troubles he had to endure. Last week an interview took place between Brown and Hal- lam, who confessed that he and Crookes were the real murderers of Linley. The interview was very affecting. The chief constable said that he had sent for Brown to communicate to him that the man who shot Linley had con- fessed. All Brown was able to do was to exclaim, Thank God for that." Hallam then took Brown by the hand, and told him that he now wished to make every repara- tion for the injury he had done to him in allowing the suspicion to rest on him of committing a crime of which he (Brown) was quite innocent. He earnestly im- plored forgiveness for the grief he had caused him in not confessing sooner. He added that he had often wished to confess the crime to Brown, but he had not the courage to do so. Brown, who was affected to tears, said that he forgave Hallam, but he could never forgive Broadhead. The court was again crowded on Monday, as it was ex- pected that the trade union secretaries implicated by Broad- head would be examined. The names of two of these men are Smith and Skidmore, and at a meeting of the Saw Makers' Society, held on Saturday, it was resolved that they be suspended from their office until the holding of a general meeting. A meeting of the Saw Grinders Union has also been held, when Broadhead tendered his resignation as secretary, which was accepted. Crookes was present at the meeting, but very little was said upon the subject. Broad- head has been the secretary for about twenty years, and received a salary of 1001. per annum. Besides this he keeps a public-house, which is a great resort of trades unionists, so much so that Broadhead is believed to have amassed considerable property. Crookes also is a. man very well off in the world, as his average earnings at his trade have been more than 31. per week, besides which the sums he has received for committing outrages have been very con- siderable. As soon as the Commissioners took their seats Dennis Clarke was tailed. It will no doubt be recollected that Clarke was examined last Saturday week, when his memory was entirely at fault. He could scarcely remember anything that was asked him, except that he gave Ogden 10s. to keep, because he and Shaw had not a pocket to put it in. It will also be remembered that out of nine years the witness had only worked about six, and in that term he had re- ceived from the Saw Grinders' Union about 2001. On his coming forward on Monday morning he confessed that he was employed by Broadhead to blow up Hellewell, and that he received 31, for doing it. William Skidmore was then called, and in answer to Mr. Overend said that he was a sawmaker, and belonged to the Saw Makers' Union, of which society he was the president. Thomas Smith was the secretary. It was true he paid some money to Broadhead in order to get the blow-up done in Hereford-street. After it was done he paid Broadhead. 151. was the amount; but he did not know the blowing up was to be done .before it took place. Wit- ness himself had not been in the habit of rattening, but ever since he joined the union, 32 years ago, rattening had been known in his union, and also before he was born. His society, however, had not gone to those extreme measures which characterised the Saw Grinders' Union. They had never done anything to injure either a man or his property within the period over which the inquiry was to extend. They bad also been in the habit of rattening men in other trades in order to make them conform to the trade rules. A great deal of other evidence was taken, but it was com- paratively unimportant, and had reference to details of rattening and the keeping of union books. On Tuesday, John Wood and John Blenkiron, the audi- tors of the Sawmakers' Society, were examined with respect to the statements made by Smith, the seeretary of their union, and were subjected to some remarks upon the charac- ter of their so-called auditing. William Dronfield, printer, was examined. He is secretary to the printers of Sheffield, secretary to the United King- dom Alliance of Organised Tratles, secretary to the Local Association of Organised Trades, and hon. secretary to the Sheffield Trades' Defence Committee. In the latter capacity he had sent out circulars to the sixty organised trades of Sheffield and neighbourhood, and had received forty replies. The circular contained a number of questions respecting outrages within the last. ten years, the mode of collecting contributions, and the mode of enforcing payment in the I case of members being refractory. The circulars had reference both to this commission and to the commission in London. The date of the circular was February 24th of the present year. The circulars returned were handed to Mr. Overend. and the principal points were read by him. Mr. Overend questionedMr. Dronfield on this subject, and elicited that in the saw-grinders' (Broadhead's) union, which had admitted rattening, there were about 200 members, and in the scythe-grinders' union about 60 members. The sickle and hook forgers' union had 190 members. He thought the edge tool grinders admitted rattening. There were two trades of 4,000 members that did not admit rattening. The local association of organised trades numbered 6,000. He could not say of his own knowledge that rattening prevailed extensively. He was unprepared for the statement that Broadhead made, and not only that statement, but for many more, and he did not believe that it does exist to the extent that he says. lIe (witness) believed that rattening was con- fined almost exclusively to the grinding branches. He looked upon it as a system of enforcing their rules which had existed there from time immemorial, and chiefly from want of legal protection. Henry Cutts, secretary to the filesmiths, said that his union was in alliance with the sawgrinders, and that rattenings had been carried on in their trades, but not with their sanc- tien. On one occasion an employer with whom a dispute had arisen had his warehouse broken into and his books taken. The union once paid a man 11. per week for a year merely to keep him from working for the same employer. Witness had himself received threatening letters, one of them reminding him that "Death was sure, and life is fast." Christopher Rotherham, sickle manufacturer, of Dron- field, said, for forty years he had been obnoxious to the union. He had received numbers of threatening letters. Three times his works had been blown up. lIe had also had nine pairs of bellows destroyed, hands out of number rat- tened, and other mischief done. He had always told his men they might please themselves whether they joined the union or no. About eighteen months ago an attempt was made to blow up his works. He found, one morning, a two- gallon can of powder inside his works. The fuse had not burned down. Had the explosion taken place, five members of his family, in all probability, would have lost their lives. He had since advised his men to join the union, as he could continue the struggle no longer. The men acted on his advice, and he had not since been molested. Joseph Rolley, secretary to the File Grinders' Union ad- mitted rattening was practised in his trade, but not with the sanction of the union. In 1857 a file grinder named Gillott was blown up, and that was the last outrage he be- lieved that had occurred in his trade. George Gillott, the man blown up, said he was not con- tributing to the union at the time. His house was very much shattered by the explosion, but no one was injured. His house was also blown up twenty-one years ago. It is said that James Hallam, the man whose confessions led to the startling revelations of the last few days, has left Sheffield, expressing a strong desire that his retreat may never be discovered. Referring to the startling disclosures made, The Times, in a leading article, has the following The Sheffield Commission will certainly be quoted as a signal example of successful inquiry in the face of extraor- dinary difficulties. An object which was thought almost hopeless has, within the space of a fortnight, been com- pletely attained. In the month of October last an artisan named Fearnehough, practising his trade in Hereford-street, Sheffield, had his house blown up with gunpowder. The atrocity was by no means without precedent in the town, where such occurrencies were known by the special denomi- nation of "trade outrages," from a prevalent belief connect- ing them in some way or other with the proceedings of the Trades' Unions. On this occasion, however, the event created more sensation than usual, and the manufac- turers and operatives of the town concurred in asking for a judicial inquiry into the whole subject. Not that anybody expected much in the way of actual dis- covery, for murders are generally kept close, and in this instance very large rewards for information had been offered in vain. Among other persons a Mr. William Broad- head, Secretary to the Saw-grinders' Union, to which Fearnehough had once belonged, came forward and tendered his subscription of 51. towards a discovery, at the same time inducing the Union itself to contribute to the reward from its own funds. It was said, however, with all appearance of truth, that a million of money if it were offered would not produce the revelations desired, and yet we have already learnt, not only the whole of this particular story, but a great deal more. It will be best to begin from the incident which occasioned the inquiry, and then pursue the track in the directions suggested by the evidence. Thomas Fearnehough, then, was blown up by the order of this Broadhead himself, who hired and paid two Union men with Union money to commit the crime. The motive was a desire to make an example of Fearnehough, who had re- tired from the Union, and had worked with employers from whom Union men had been withdrawn. Broadhead was not alone in the business. He had talked it over, so he says, with two other persons, also Union Secretaries, and" they agreed it was time something was done to bring about a settlement." 'He did not state "what course he should adopt," but after Fearnehough had been blown up his friends expressed their satisfaction, and contributed to the expense of the proceeding. Broadhead himself had planned the whole matter, making a sketch of the house, with the entrances to it, and showing how the thing could be done. So far, therefore, the discovery is complete. We know how, why, and by whom this particular outrage was perpetrated, and we can now proceed to inquire into the connexion between this crime and the machinery and spirit of the Unions. First, who is this William Broadhead ? He is, as we have stated, Secretary to the Saw-grinders' Union, but we should now add that he has filled this office for eighteen years, and that when, after the excitement of Octoi-er last, he resigned his place, the members re-elected him as a person in whom they" had confidence." But, besides this, he was up to Thursday last the Treasurer of the Amalgamated Saw Trades, and still is the Treasurer of a far more comprehensive or- ganization. This is nothing less than a "National Associa- tion of Organised Trades," comprising 60,000 members of varions trades throughout the kingdom. He spoke of resigning this important office, but at the time he was speaking he held it still. Mr. Broadhead, therefore, is a Unionist of great experience and singular popularity, enjoying the confidence and imbued with the principles of Trade Societies generally. Other of his principles we may hope are peculiarly his own, for though he asserts most strenuously that in all he has done he has acted in the interest and for the advantage of Trade Unions exclusively, we trust to find his doctrines repudiated with indignation by his countrymen, whether Unionists or not. What he did to Fearnhough we have said. Besides this transaction, lie, by his own confession, hired one Clark to blow up Hellewell, and Crookes, to blow up successively Firth and Sons, Samuel Baxter, Joseph Wilson, Pool, Holds- worth, and Reany. He also hired a man to shoot Hellewell, and two men to shoot Linley-a poor fellow who was twice shot at, and who at last died of his wounds. He also engaged a man named Peace to find somebody to shoot Elisha Parker. He remembers this business particularly, he says, because, although it was ten years ago, Peace and he arranged it on a beautiful Sunday evening during a walk through the fields, and'the lovely aspect of nature on that Sabbath eve made a great impression upon him. This is a catalogue of his recollections, not complete, but, we suppose, as far as the man himself is concerned, sufficient. Following this track a little further, let us see what was the complicity of the Union or its officers in such proceedings. Broadhead informs us that his own Union was managed by a select Committee of seven; that this Committee took cogni- zance of all cases of default and arrears, and paid out of the funds of the Union for the" rattening" by which defaulters were punished. Of the outrages," liowever-that is to say, the blowings-up and raurders-he assures us the Committee knew nothing, though he confesses plainly that "rattenings," which did come under the control of the Committee, were followed, when ineffectual, by "outrages." Being asked where he got the money to pay for murders, he said that he embezzled it. The Committee were empowered to use the funds of the Union for trade purposes, such as mere rattening," without rendering any account, but he says that he did not make any drafts on the treasury in this fashion. He falsified the accounts of his receipts, arL- ?ar ?? assassins and gunpowder out of the balance which he thus retained. Nevertheless, it has been seen that on one occasion, at least, he conferred with two other Secretaries previous to a blowing-up, and the Union, he tells us, and nothing but the Union, was at the bottom of his motives, Yet, when we examine this explanation more closely it will seem absurdly insufficient. The object of all these infamous atrocities was simply the protection of a very small number of men in extravagant receipts, or pure idleness, or something worse. The Saw-grinders' Union con- sists of only 150 members, and of these actually one-third are, upon an average, always subsisting in indolence on the earn- ings of others. It is not that no work is to be had, but that" labour is to be kept out of the market." Thepayment of the contributors, are, of course, very high; in fact, poor Fearnehough had subscribed so much more than he had re- ceived that he withdrew from a losing bargain. Half a dozen" members or so, were permanently "on the box" at 15s. or 11. a week, without doing a stroke of work for it, unless, indeed, it were such work as Mr. Broadhead privately superintended One man was marked for sacrifice because he "held him- self aloof from the trade," another because he "wanted to 1 come into it" without regular qualification, and a third because he set the trade at defiance." A surgical instl'1;. ment maker, a "little old man," had his head battered and smashed with a life-preserver "because he had not paid to the trade." The remarkable thing is that it is uniformly the men, and not the masters, who are the victims of the Union. Once, indeed, Alr. Broadhead did hire two men to blow up two manufacturers on account of a new machine which they had introduced, and which he imagined-as he now admits, quite erroneously-might injure the trade; but that instance is quite exceptional. The real victims of this bloody terrorism were the artisans themselves. We have brought this review of the evidence to a point at which it becomes perfectly clear that the Sheffield "trade outrages" are beyond any question the work of Trades' Unions-that is to say, they were perpetrated by Union men at the instance of a Union officer, for Union purposes, at the expense of Union funds But we can still remark with sincere satisfaction tnat the great body of Unionists remain free from complicity in these crimes. They must, it is evident, have been well aware of the intimidation and coercion practised in the trade, but there is nothing to show that they approved or patronized murder. The Defence Committee, indeed, which was formed to watch the proceedings on behalf of the Unions, withdrew from its position in astonishment and disgust as soon as these revelations began, and Alr. William Broadhead, on leaving the Court after his first confessions, was only saved by an escort of police from the anger of the mob. But if Sheffield desires to retain any particle of character in the eyes of England its artisans should lose no time in,distinctly repudiating and denouncing a system which has never yet been naturalized in this country, and which would cover with infamy the most savage community in the world., In animadverting upon the atrocities committed by Broadhead and his abettors, the Pall Mall Gazette says- The regret felt by many persons that Broadhead and his brother-murderers should escape the gallows is very natural, but it should not be suffered to blind us to the very great cam which has resulted from their own exposure of the details and extent of their crimes. The object of legal punishment, it should be remembered, is not the apportion- ment of strictly deserved personal chastisement, meted out according to the moral deserts of each offender-a thing wholly out of the power of man to accomplish. We punish criminals for the good of society, that is, in order to prevent them from continuing their guilty career and to deter others from following their vile example. And true as it is that if Broadhead and the other Sheffield wretches were hanged there would be an end of three murderers at any rate, yet it is very likely that a more vigorous blow will have been dealt to the whole system of which these muders are the fruit, by the special manner in which they have been confessed by their perpetrators than by any exposures that could have been made in an ordinary criminal trial, whether followed up or not by the hanging of the guilty. Not only has far more been elicited through the confessions of Broad- head and the others than could possibly have been elicited in a criminal trial, but the cold-blooded infamy of the men has been brought out into the strongest relief, surrounded with none of that haze of doubt which the counsel for a defendant almost always manages to throw upon the evidence against his client. The lot of these men will be like the lot of Cain, as described by the author of the book of Genesis. Their lives will be spared and they will go free; but the brand of murder will be upon their foreheads, and every one of their supposed abettors will be a marked man among his asso- ciates and neighbours as long as he lives. Impossible as it is to learn how far the artisan world of Sheffield is infected with this system of terrorism, and how far Sheffield is only an exaggerated sample of a similar spirit existing all over the country, it is equally impossible to doubt that the exhibition of this hideous picture of the consequences to which ter- rorism naturally tends must fill many an angry or savage unionist with unwonted sensations of doubt and remorse. All the gain to society that could have accrued from con- fessions on the scaffold and subsequent hangings would be little compared to the deterring influence of confessions such as those which are now filling every household with amazement, and which are probably entirely without pre- cedent in the history of crime. The Beehive, the organ of Trades Unionism, indig- nantly repudiates the system of terrorism and murder put in practice by Broadhead, the Secretary of the Sheffield Saw Grinders' Society. The facts elicited by the Commission, it says, disclose a detestable con- spiracy and a series of bloody crimes. The trades of England can have no association with this dreadful guilt, or even with the negligence that permitted the possibility of its occurrence for we presume that Broadhead paid for the cowardly iniquity of Crookes and Hallam from general funds in his charge." Deci- sive measures, it hopes, will be at once taken by all trades' unionists to express their abhorrence of such cold and ruthless villainy." MEETING OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL OF THE "WOKKING M-P, N'S ASSOCIATION IN LONDON. A special meeting of the General Council of the London Working Men's Association was held on Tuesday evening at the offices in Bolt Court, Fleet Street, to express an opinion on the revolting disclo- sures before the Sheffield Trades' Commission, when Mr. Potter presided. The Chairman, in opening the proceedings, said that he had conversed with many trades' unionists, and found only one feeling prevailing—that of shame and indignation at the conduct of Broadhead and his wretched associates in crime and after further con- demnatory remarks, the following resolutions were unanimously adopted That, while this committee have long been apprehensive that the management of, and conduct pursued by, certain of the Sheffield trades' unions in the grinding trades were such as could neither be approved nor sanctioned by trades' unionists generally, more especially the indefensible system called" rattening," they were totally unprepared for the terrible revelations of outrages on life and property perpe- trated for so long a series of years with impunity by Broad- head, the secretary of the Saw Grinders' Union, and the miserable men associated with him in his crimes; and they deeply regret that the Commissioners felt it necessary, in the discharge of their duty, to examine Broadhead as a wit- ness, whereby he has been enabled to escape the punishment he worthily deserves for his manifold crimes. That this committee most emphatically protest against the attempts now being made by the opponents of all trades' unions to connect for their own purposes trades' unions generally with the atrocious crimes perpetrated at Sheffield, convinced as we are that every intelligent trades' unionist throughout the empire will cordially unite with all other classes of the people in repudiating with horror and indig- nation any of the slightest sympathy with those atrocities or their wretched and misguided authors and abettors. That this committee is of opinion that all trades' societies in Sheffield whose executives or office-bearers have been con- cerned in any of these outrages, or who are suspected or tainted with participation in any even of the minor crimes disclosed before the Commission in that town, should be im- mediately reconstructed and that the United ICindgom Alliance of Organized Trades should withdraw their execu- tive and head-quarters from Sheffield, to mark the indigna- tion of the trades in other towns at the laxity in the business transactions of many of the Sheffield trade societies by which alone such foul deeds as those devised by Broadhead could be paid for from the funds of those- societies.