London Strikes

Feilding Star, Volume XI, Issue 39, 14 September 1889, Page 2

London Strikes

TO THE EDITOR OF THE STAR. Sir, — I am truly thankful that the men on strike for higher wages are likely to get their demands granted to them. Its quite absurd for parsons to preach contentment to a poverty stricken people, who are unable by continual hard work from morning till night to earn enough to keep body and soul together. The diyine lawgiver, when on earth, that taught contentment, said also that men should "love their neighbors as themselves," and do to others as they would wish to be done by. What the dock laborers are asking is little enough. Even 9d an hour would not, in my opinion, be too much for such hard laborious work. Its a shame and disgrace to any civilised country that such large fortunes should be realised from the bone and sinew of their fellow man. Every man should be able by honest labor (of S hours) to earn enough to keep his wife and family respectably, and put by a little for old age. But the rich and fortunate are not willing to grant this. They would like their workmen to work for nothing, in order that they may become richer. This ought not so to be, and I for one sincerely hope the day is not far distant when such unjust dealing, oppression, and wrong shall cease to exist. There is enough money in the world for all to have enough and to 6pare, and why then should such extremes of position and circumstances be allowed to exist. There are men in London, to my knowledge, whose annual incomes are nearly a million sterling. Talk about the slaves of Africa, why the slavery in London and other large cities is quite as bad as any heathen country, only of quite a different character. What has the Church been doing ? " Straw splitting," I suppose ! If she had been faithful to her mission she would have shaken the very foundations long ago. — I am, &c, Justice.