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Leader (1850-1860), 19th April 1856, Edition 2 of 2, Page 4, ARBITRATION OF DISPUTES BETWEEN MASTERS ...

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      / *'Timperial Parliament. I < Monday, Ap...

      Tins Exchequer Bnxs ( £ 21 , 182 , 700 ) Biu- was read a third time and passed . Thursday , April 17 tk . THE FIRE BRIGADE IN THE HOtTSK OF LORDS . Lord Redesdalb having again called the attention of the House op Lords to the substitution of the police for firemen , Lord Stabtlet of Aldsklet explained that tie police are being instructed in the duties of the fire brigade , and that they would attend to the safety of the House as in the dockyards . —Lord Redesdale was not satisfied" with this explanation . The * change would be very expensive , and would involve great injustice to the firemen . The Duke of Somerset took a different view , and thought great advantage would result from having an undivided authority . A fire had occurred eight years ago , when it was found that the cisterns -were empty , owing to the whole authority not being under one set of hands . —Lord Stanley of Alderlet denied that the expense would be increased ; it would be lessened by one-half . —The subject ; then dropped . THE MXLXrARY IN CANADA . In answer to a question from the Earl of Elgin , Lord Panmuue ^ stated that an impression which had gone abroad , that . a large military force was about to be embarked for the British possessions in North America , was without foundation . It was intended to send there a certain number of regiments returning frofli the Crimea to replace those which had been ¦ wi thdrawn ; but that a very large force was to be despatch ed to our North American colonies was an xmfonnded rumour . It had been also stated that great quantities of munitions of war were also on the point of being sent to those colonies . The fact was that during the recent war the colonial depdts had been drawn upon largely for the description of stores , and all that was about to be done was to replace the quantity that had been removed . EDUCATION BILL . . Earl Grantilm , in answer to the Bishop of Oxford , stated that ifc was not the intention of the Government to press the Educa tion Bill , afc least during the present session . The CosiaroHs were unable to ' * make a House "

      ^ 4 The Leader. [No, 317, Saturday,

      ^ 4 THE LEADER . [ No , 317 , Saturday ,

      Convocation. Tue£Day, April 1§Ih. Thu Tw...

      CONVOCATION . Tue £ day , April 1 § ih . Thu two Houses of Convocation met for "the despatch of business on Tuesday . In the Upper House , the Prolocutor of the tower House ( Dr . Pjeacook , Dean of Ely ) presented a Reporfr , drawn up by a'committee appointed at the lasb meeting of Convocation , on the state of the law affecting the discipline of the clergy and suggesting various improvements . After some discuasion , ifc was resolved that the Lower House should be directed to re-consider the Report , and to postpone the consideratio n of the question of final appeal until they had . had further communication with the Upper House j but a subsequent message gave permission to proceed with the consideration of the Report .

      The Bishop of Liohpield presented a petition from some clergymen and laymen of the Church of England , praying that means might be taken for bringing about a restoration of tlie Wesleyan Methodists with the Established Church . —The Bishop of St . David ' s thought thia " an extraordinary petition to emanate from clergymen of the Church of England ; " and he denied the sovioU 3 defects alleged by the petition to cmat in that Church . —The Bishop of Exeter thought it would be desirable to bring back the Wesleyans to the Church . ; but he looked on tho progress of Wesloyauisira as a proof of the extreme danger of the sin of schism , which ultimately leads to heresy . He " sympathised" with the followers of John Wesley ,

      but he thought ifc was not a becoming course for the Church to go ab < uifc begging and imploring " these people" to oomo in , on account of defeofca in tho episcopal establishment . The Wealeyaua were ipso facto excoimnuiueated , and , when they became alive to their state , he ljoped tl » o Church would Hot ask anything from them but a Christian acknowledgment that they had been in om > r > nnd that they sought to be delivered from ifc- Ho thought tho Church should be very cautious how they invited " such persons" until thoy indicated by their own accord a sense of the sin of eohiam in which they had hitherto been plunged . —Ifc 'was ultimately agreed that the petition should be 'ordered to lie oxx the table ; and , after some further ¦ conversation , the House adjourned .

      In tho Lower House , after the reading of tho Report on , tho discipline of the Clergy , iuad the presentation of several petitions , tho clauses of tlio Report were diaouaaocl , and some wore agreed to , when the Houa « adjourned till the next day . Wednesday , April lGth . The proceedings of tho Upper Houoe wore , for tho moat part , of a formal and unmtereating character . _ The Lower Houbo was occupied with tho re-oona > deyatjou of the ltoporfc o » Church discipline , referred baok ^ a them on tho previous day , Tho House being unable , to , gob through , all its business , naked and obtained l « avo to sit ogain to-day .

      Dean Milman had previously placed in the hands of the Prolocutor the following notice of motion : —' " To propose a petition to the Upper House , praying their Lordships to consider the propriety of presenting an address to her Majesty for the discontinuance of the order requiring the use of tlie occasional services for the 5 th November , the 30 th January , and the 29 th May . " Thursday , April V jih . The Report of the committee of the Lower House on the laws affecting the discipline of the Church a 3 amended , was brought by the Prolocutor into the Upper House , and placed in the hands of the Archbishop of Canterbury . Ifc wa 3 afterwards read by the Registrar-General of tie province , and , after some discussion , their lordsliips adiourned .

      Previous to this , in the Lower House , the remaining clauses of the Report were discussed and agreed to ; and the Prolocutor was reqtiested to appoint a committee to assist him in framing a report on the amended document . The general effect of the measures proposed by the Report , is to provide more stringently for the punishment of offending clergymen by the ecclesiastical authorities . In the case of a clergyman accused of immoral or unseemly conduct , the Bishop is to appoint a commission , consisting of the Vicar-General or Chancellor of the diocese , and a special Commissary , who should have practised as an advocate in Doctors ' - commons not lesa than seven years , or ' as a banister not Ies 3 than teu yeai's ; the

      Archdeacon , and not less than four henefieed clergymen , to be selected out of a panel of not less than twelve in each Archdeaconry , cliO 3 eu by the clergy afc the several places of the Archdeacon ' s visitation . This Court , having decided on the law and on the facts of the case , is to recommend a sentence to the Bishop , who will pass such sentence as he thinks fit . From this sentence , there is only to be one appeal—viz ' ., to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council , in which , for the purposes of such an appeal , every Archbishop , Bishop , and member of the Privy Council ) shall have seats . In the case of offences against doctrine , the tribunal is to eonsisb of the Bishop of the

      diocess , assisted by his vicartgeneral or ' 'chancellor , ' or by some legal assessor , together with a council , consisting of various church dignitaries ; the Bishop to determine the case , and to pass sentence . With respect to these cases , no final appeal was decided on ; Ibut , in place of Clause 14 , two resolutions by the Archdeacon of Maidstone were , on Wednesday , carried by a large majority , the effect of which was to express the disinclination of the House to admitting any but divines to settle matters of doctrine . The report in its entirety , as amended and adopted by the House , is intended to form , the groundwork of a measure to be submitted to Parliament . The House adjourned to the 28 th of August .

      Arbitration Of Disputes Between Masters ...

      ARBITRATION OF DISPUTES BETWEEN MASTERS AND WORKMEN . Committee Room 15 , House of Commons , April 15 th . Present : ( Mr . Mackinnon in the chair ) , Messrs . Cobbett , Gower , Pellatt , Khwaird , Urquhart , Wise , Sir Henry Halford , Bart ., Lord Goderich , and Lord John Manners . Mb , W . Newton , of the Engineers' Society , was examined . He stated that it was the usual practice of the employers in their trade , -whun desiring to effect a reduction of wages , or any alteration in the mode of working , never to consult the workmen individually , but to affix a general notice in some part of the works , stating what the maafcera intended to do for the future . He considered that Boards of Arbitration , as suggested , would be beneficial both to masters and to men , and had no doubt that both parties would be guided by them , as he , thought the amount of public opinion brought to bear upon every question submitted to them would be sufficient to cause a general acquiescpneo to their opinions . The present law is not at all applicable to tho caae , aa it deals only with past contracts , and there is no re medy before the justices of the peace . Ho had known Bevoral cases where tho magistrates hnd sent them before tho County Court for settlement j bub with respect to future contracts the aot wa » wholly inoperative ; and he considered that working men lost much time in going before justices of tho poace to havo their casoB Bottled . He thought there should be one board for all trades in large towna , and the workmon might bo oleotod out of a number of delegates assembled from tho various trades for that purpose . Tho workmen should bo registered ; there would bo no difficulty oxoopt in fjomo domestic tradoB . The question of dealing with wagoa should bo confined to day work ; but , in cases whoro thoy had lists of priooa , tho Bonrda should have power to enforce t he payment of such wages . In . a caso of gonoml reduofcion of wages , either party might go "to tho Board and demand an arbitration , and ho could not boo but what tho other would agree to ifc ; or , in cases whoro they havo a book-list of prices , and oithor party desiroa to altor it , in that oaao thoy should go Wore tho Board . Ho could not giva a decided opinion as to who » hould bo chairman of thes « boards , because working men , look

      with suspicion upon persons ; appointed by Government . The employers , now , are not easy of acces s but would be so if Boards were established . His Bociefcy has no paid agent , but he believed that Mr . Sydney Smith is now the paid agent of the masters With respect to the engineers' strike , he stated that the workmen were first consulted upon the abolition of piece-work and systematic overtime , and they were nearly unanimous for it 3 discontinuance ; that the men ceased to work overtime on th 3 31 st of DecenibeT 1851 ; that no complaint was urged against tlm by the London masters until written to by the Lancashire employers , when they agreed that if the men would not withdraw their demands they -would close their workshops . On the 5 th of January , 1851 , a public meeting was held by the in en , when it waa announced that

      they were willing to submit the whole of the case to arbitration , and immediately after that a request was made by the council for the masters to receive a deputation upon the subject , which was refused . The masters locked them out on the 10 th of January , 1852 , upon which day Lord Cranworth ' s letter was dated , which was an ex parte statement , because , although he might have- had the documents of both sides , he was not seen or spoken to by any of the men . They had no objection to casual overtime , but they had a decided objection against systematic overtime . There was a Mutual Improvement Society established in Greenwich some time ago , but the members of it were obliged to give ifc up on account ; of their being compelled to work all hours ,-and very often on Sunday . They had nothing to complain of about

      wages . Mr . John House : * , silk weaver , of SpitaTfields , gave a history of the various strikes in their fcra . de . He stated that they had waited upon the Lords of the Privy Council for Trade on many occasions , to induce them to establish Local Boards of Trade , but without effect . In 1849 a plan was drawn up in the shape of a bill , containing a large number of ' clauses to meet the ease , and was submitted to the country . There is-a great deal of competition amongst the masters ,

      and we complain ' that they do not all pay alike , but he does not ¦ complain of French competition . The looms , worth from 15 s . to £ 1 10 a . each , are principally Our own . Some lime ago , there -were as niany as 25 , 000 silk-weavers in London , now there are not more than 7 , 000 ox 8 , 000 , and their average wages vary from 6 s ., 7 s . to 10 s . per week , the majority of whom work on Sundays to eke out a living . They principally reside in the "back streets . Wages have been goiug down since 1 S 24 , but be considered that France has had no effect upon them .

      Mr . Foster , a . manufacturer from Yorkshire , who was examined on a previous day , ¦• was recalled , and stated that he was of opinion that in cases of strike the Home Office should send down a Commissioner to inquire into the particulars , and report to the Secretary of State . He thought that would have a beneficial effect , but he would not give them any power beyond that- He considered that , if Parliament repealed the words of the act , " if both parties agreed , " they could not carry on their manufacture . Mr . Wilson , Managing : Director of Price ' s Patent

      Candle Company , stated that they make caudles from palm-oil and cocoa-nut oil , and employ about 200 or 300 hands . He had not studied the question of arbitration , nor did he understand the question before the Committee . They had never had the question of a strike brought before them ia their own factory . If there is a dispute , the men speak to tho foreman , the foreman speaks to tlie managing director , and there is an end of ifc . He thought that if tho masters were to propose a reduction of wages to the m . on tomorrow , they would all hold up their hand * for it .

      Mr . Geokoe Fjsbdinando , silk weaver , spolto in favour of Boards of Arbitration , and thought thoy should have power to fix a minimum of wages . During the time of the Spitalfields Acts , whioh thoy looked upon as thoir Magna Oharta , they were all well offj but no sooner were thoy repealed than tUoy became worse ; but thinks that if they wore re-enaofcod they would have no work at all . Under tho present Arbitration Act , men have to wait , in some instimoos , seven or eight weeks before thoir caaos can bo decided ,

      and they get thoir money . Tho mode of working it ia—the men eond in three names , the lnastorB throe , and the magistrates appoint one from cuuh , who receive evidence j but ho must own , that tho City Aiderm « n do businoea much quicker . Ho conijidureil tint the Board should settle the wagoa , and every man bo bound to work T > y it , as he believed a miuliuiiin of wages would bring baok the trade , and it is generally dedrod by nil workmon . Tho Committee then adjourned .

      Public Meetings. Steam Communication Wit...

      PUBLIC MEETINGS . STEAM COMMUNICATION WITH AUSTUM . IA . A MicETiNa , oouvonod by tho Gonoiul Association for the Australian Colonies , wns hold at tho London Tavern ou Monday ovouiug , to consider tlio boat means for ensuring tho itmnotliato ro- © 8 fcnbli » hnit > nt of owv atoam postal relations with Australia . Tho Lord Mayor provided , « ud , nftor a fow introductory vorde ,

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), April 19, 1856, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_19041856/page/4/