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Leader (1850-1860), 19th April 1856, Edition 1 of 2, Page 364

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      Untitled Article

      lips Exchequer Biias ( £ 21 , 182 , 700 ) Bill was read a third time and passed . Thursday , April lTth . THE FIRE BRIGADE IN THK HOUSE OF LOBDS . Lord Hedesdale having again called the attention of the House of Lords to the substitution of the police for firemen , Lord Stanley of Aldebley explained that the 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 MILITARY IN CANADA . t . ?? swer to a question from the Earl of Elgin . Lord Panmure stated that an impression which had gone abroad , that a large military force was about to be embarked for the British possessi ons in North America , was without foundation . It was intended to send there a certain number of regiments returning from the Crimea to replace those which had been SffT ^ but ^ r 8- Te 7 * 6 e force was to be despatched to our North American colonies was an . unfounded 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 depots had aS ^ M *?^ upon largely for the description of stores , SS \ i ? 7 f ? r ttO be <* one wa 3 to replace the . quantity ; that had been removed . _ ' EDUCATION BILL . h . * *^ A NVIIXE > in fiswer to the Bishop of Oxford , . se ated that it was not the intention of the Government 1 * rSL £ ' Education Bill , at least during ^ the pre-The Commons were unable to " make a House . "

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      CONVOCATION . Tuesday , April 16 th . The two Houses of Convocation met for the despatch of business on Tuesday . In the Upper House , the Prolocutor of the Lower House ( Dr . Peacock : " Dean of Ely ) presented a Report , drawn up by a-commitfcee appointed at the last meeting of Convocation , on the state , pf the law affecting the discipline of the clergy »* suggesting various improvements . After some discussion , it was resolved that the Lower House should lie . directed to re-consider the Report , and to postpone the consideration of the question of final appeal un til they ha d had further commun ication with the Upper House ; bub a subsequent message gave permission to proceed with the consideration of the xteport .

      Dean Mil man 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 the occasional services for the 5 th November , the 30 th January , and the 29 th May . " Thursday , April Vlth . The Reporb of the eoimnifctee of the Lower House ou the laws affecting the discipline of the Church as amended , was brought by the Prolocutor into the Upper House , and placed in the hands of the Archbishop of Canterbury . It was afterwards read by the Registrar-General of the province , and , after some discussion , their lordships adiournecl .

      Previous to this , in the Loiver House , the remaining clauses of the Reporb were discussed and agreed to ; and the Prolocutor was requested to appoint a committee to assist him in framing a report on the amended document . The general effect of the measures proposed by the Heport , is to provide more stringently for the punishment of offending clergymen by the ecclesiastical authorities . In tlie case of a clergyman accused of immoral or unseemly conduct , the Bishop is to appoint a commission , consisting of the Vicar-General or Chance llor of the diocese , and a special Commissary , who should have practised as an advocate in Doctors ' -commons not Ies 3 than seven years , ora 3 a barrister not less than ten years : the

      Archdeacon , and not less than four beneficed clergymen , to be selected out of a panel of not less than twelve in each Archdeaconry , chosen by the clergy at the several places of the Archdeacon's visitation- This Court , having decided an the Jaw 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 thi 3 sentence , there is only to be one appeal—via ., to the J . udicial 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 ease of offences against doctrine , the tribunal is to consist of the Bishop of the

      dioeess , assisted by iris vicar-general or chancellor , or by some legal assessor , together with a council , consisting of various church diguitas&es ; the Bishop to determine the case , and to pass- sentence . With respect to these cases , no final appeal was decided on ; but , in place of Clause 14 , two resolutions by the Archdeacon of Maidetone 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 doetrme . The report in its entirety , as amended and adopted by the House , is intended to forin the groundwork of a measure to be submitted to Parliaments . The Ho-usa adjourned to -the 28 th of Awgust .

      The Bishop of Lioheield presented a petition from some clergymen and laymen of the Church of England , praying that means might be tal cen for bringing about a ' restoration of the Wesleyan Methodists with the Established Church . —The Bishop of St . David's thought this " au extraordinary petition to emanate from clergymen of tie Church of England f and lie denied the serious defects alleged by the petition to exist in that Clruroh . —The Bishop of Exeter thought it \ vouia be desirable -to bring back the Wesleyans to the Church ; but he looked on the progress of Wealeyanism 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 ho thought it was not a becoming course for the Chxircli to go about begging and imploring " these people" to coiao in , on acoount of defeotg in the episcopal establishment . The Wesjeyans were ipso facto excommunicated , and , when they became alive to their state , lie hopod the Church would not usk anything from , them l ? ub a Christian acknowledgment th . at they had boon In error , and that they Bought to be delivered from 3 b . He thought the Church should bo very eautipMs how they invited " such persona * until they indicated by their own accord a sense , of the sin of BOhiftm in which they had hitherto beeii plunged . —It ' wn . a ultimately agreed that the petition should he

      ordered tp lie on the table ; and after some furthor conversation , the House adjourned In the Lower House , after the reading of the Report on ^ lxejdiaoipline of the Clergy , and the presentation of fleYjepaTL petitions , the olausoa of tho Report were < 3 iBQu « 9 pd , auA ppmo , were , agrood to , whon tho Ho euro ftdjournedtUl the nest day , i ..: i , | VlJ 7 < J # wpi $ <» # , April 1

      Untitled Article

      PUBLIC MEETINGS . BTJJAM OOMMUNIOATION" WITn AUSTRALIA . A MEDTiNa , convened b y tho Qonqnvl Association for the Auatmlinu ColonioB , waa hokl at the London Tavern ou Monday evening , to consider the best moiuis for onsuring tho immediate ! ve-oatixblislunont of ouv Btoara postal relations with Auatmliiu Tho Lord Mayor mo » idQd , and , after a few iutroduotory worda ,

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      with suspicion upon persons appointed by Government . The employers , now , are not easy of access but would be so if Boards were established . His society 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 its discontinuance ; that the m < m ceased to work overtime on the 31 st of December 1851 ; that no complaint was urged against this "b y 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 men , when it wa 3 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 wa 3 refused . The masters locked them out on the 10 th of January , 1852 , upon which day Lord Cranworth'a letter -was dated , which was an ex parts 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 , bat the members of ifc were obliged to give > it 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 Hocsen , silk weaver , of Spifcal fields , gave a history of the various strikes in their trade . He stated that they had waited upon the Lords' of the Privy Council for Trade on many occasions , to-lnduce them to establish Local Boards of Trade , but without effect . In 1849- a plan was drawn up in the sJiape of a bill , containing a large number of clauses to meet tb « case , and was submitted to the country . There is a great deal of competition amongst the utasters

      and we complain that they do not all pay alEae ; but Ite . does not eorapl&in of French competition * .- The * looms , worth from 15 s . to £ 1 10 s . each , are ju-foicipally our own . Some time ago , there . were asmsay as 25 , 000 silk-weavers in London , now there are notmore than 7 , 000 o » 8 , 000 , and their average wagesvary from-6 s ., 78 . to 10 s-. per -week , the majority o £ whom work on' Snndays to else- out a living . They principally reside ia the back streets . Wages hiw-e been-going down sinae 1824 ,. Taut he considered tbafc France , has had no effect upon them .

      Mr , Foster , a manufacturer fi'om Yorkshire , whowas examined on a . previous day , , was recalled , and . stated thafc-he was of opinion that in cases of strikethe 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 . lie would not give them any power he 3 ond that . He considered that ,, if Parliament rejjealed the words of the act , " if both-parties ngi-eed , " they eould not carry on their manufacture . Mr . Wilson , Managing Director , of Price's Patent

      Caudle Company , stated that they , makje oaiiclles fronit palm-oil and cocoa-aut oil , and employ aboiit 200-or S 00- hands . He had not studied tho . question of , arbitration , nor did lae understand tho question before , the Committee . They had never had the question of ; a strike brought before them . iu > their , own factory-If there ia a dispute , the men speak to the foreman ,, thft- foreman speaks to the managing director , aiw . 1 th . ove is an end . of it . He thought thah if the roastora were to propose a reduction o £ wages . to the mouito * jnorrow , they would all hold up . their lianda for it .

      ARBITRATION OF DISPUTES BETWEEN MASTERS AND WORKMEN . Committee Boom 15 , House of Common ^ , A pri l 15 th ' . Present : ( Mr . Mackinnou in the chair ) , Messrs . . Cohbett , Gower , Pellatt , Kinnaird , Urquhart , "Wise , Sir Henry Halford , Bart ., Lord Goderich } and Lord John Manners . Mb . "VV . Netvton , of the Engineers' Society ,, was examined . He stated that it was the usual poractiee of the employers in their trade , whun desiring to effeot a reduction of wages , or any alteration in the mode of working , never to <» nsult the workmen individually , but to affix a general notice in some part of the workB , stating what the masters 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 thorn ., aB he thought the amount of publio opinions brought to bear upon every question submitted to them would be sufficient to eauee a general acquiescence to their opinions . The present law is not at all applicable to the case , as it deato > only , with past contracts , and thexe is no remedy before tho justices of the , peace . He had known several cases where the magistrates , had Bent them before the County Cowrt for settlement ; bub with respoot to fututio contracts tho act was wholly inoperative ; and he conaidpred that working men , lost much time in going before justices of the peace to have their oases settled .

      He thought there shoiildbo one-board for all trades in large towns , and the vorlqraen might l > e . elected out of a number of delogatos assomblQd . from tho various trades for that purpose The- workmen should be registered ; there would be , no difficulty Qx . ce > pt in some domestic trado » * Tho question of dealing with wages should be confined to day work j but ) , in cases where they b . a . d li&tft af prioes , tho Boavda should ho , ve power to enforce tho payment of s , uoh wages . In a oa < 3 o qf general reduotion of wages , « i , thor party might go to tho Board and demand an arbitration , and he * equld not aoe bub what the other would Rgroe to ifc ; or , In oases -whora they hnvo a book-Hat oj prices , and either party desires to ultey it , in that oaao thoy should go before the , Board , He oould not give o , deoidod opinion aa to who should bo olnairpaftu of tUouo boards . boQaugo working mw look

      Mr . Geobqe Ferdikando , silk weaver , epokcj , in fevour of Boards of Arbitration , and tljougbt they nhould have power to . fix s , minimum of wagas . During the tijaio of tho Spifaslfields Acts , whicltthoy looked upon us their Magna Charta , they wero ^ ll well off ; but no sooner were they repealed than Uioy became wo > . 's » > but thinks that if thoy wore , ro- onocted they woxild , have no work at all . Under tho present Arbitration Act , men have to wait , in some inatanoos , seven or eight weeks before their caseB a < m bo deoidod ,

      and thej get their money .. TUo mode- of working it ia- —the- inon send in three uamos , tiio masters three ,, and ikH © - rnagieti'fttea appoint one fro »» each , avIio r <* - ooive ovidonoe j but he must own that tho City AUlaJCmen do business m \ ich quicker . Ho considered tljafc tho Board should settle tho wugos , aud ovory nvai bo bound to -work , by it , aa ho boliovod a xnininwtn of wagea would bring back the . tro , d . Q , and it ia gowjwlly desired by aJL workmen . Tho Committee then adjourned .

      Untitled Article

      §§ t 4 . ^ EE PAPER , [ No . 317 , Saturda y ,

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), April 19, 1856, page 364, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2137/page/4/