THE ENGINEERS' STRIKE. [From the Times, April 10.]

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VIII, Issue 741, 8 September 1852, Page 4

THE ENGINEERS' STRIKE. [From the Times, April 10.]

! On the 10th of last January the dispute be- : | tween the operative engineers and their employers j reached the length of actual rupture, and conse- [ queot stoppage of business in the chief establish- ; ments of the kingdom. On this 10th of April ■ we can at last announce that the contest is substantially atajiend. Of the eventual result there i could, of course, be no doubl. After three months of individual suffering and general dis* tu^hflqce, a/ter immense, pecuniary los.s and enormous commercial peril, after the consumption of one quarter of a working year in cabal, commotion, and conflict, the outstanding operatives have j so far come in to the terms of their employers as to withdraw the pretensions that occasioned . the dispute. . The successive stages of the quarrel can hardly jhave yet beep forgotten. The "Amalgamated Society" of Engineers^-rtn association which; had been consolidating ifsMbrcej for. the avowed : purposes of aggression and dominion, commenced jits actual operations on the 24th last Dece.raher, 'by the service of a circular notice requiring the, several firms of employers to abolish unconditionally, and without, delay, the practices, of 'overtime and piecework. The masters encountered the tsiault; by closing thejr establishments^ and proclaiming that th^y would re-open them, on no other condition than tbt, withdrawal of this, notice. The question tbep became a trial of. endurance, pending which each party appe,aje£j to. tht public with an instinctive conviction jbat popular opinion would decide the, cause. I$ n is. unneccesary to add: that the, workmen, through the, manifest guile agd> duplicity of their leaders, Wjerg, promptly non-sqijed in this, open, appeal, Thiey , failed in, enlisting any general sppport, and the raaslers, gaining bol^eta by suoce»«, at length took a steprin adtgnce, and,, aanggnged that^ as, an indispensable condition of future troploymcnt,

-every workman of every designation should sign ■ & *• declaration "' abjuring altogether the authority of any trade, societies in the engagements;be- '< master .and man. On these principle* : they re- opened, their shops/ and to snch purpose had their measure! been taken that the declaration has been signed by upwards of 10,000 operatives, and at last the notice of the^24th Decemher has been officially withdrawn. The. "Executive Council/ therefore, of the." Amalgamated Society," has now done what, if it had beendont three months ago, would have terminated the dispute at once; but other subjects of difference have siuce been imported into the quarrel, and the original terms will perhaps be no longer available for acceptance. In the earnest desire to promote an effectual conciliation, we offer our last remarks upon the bearings of this protracted struggle. To the opinions now subjoined, we anxiously, hope that both parties will give 'a patient attention. The masters have . publicly acknowledged our impartial maintenance of their cause, and if the men will but remember our unfailing advocacy of their rights on all occasions of real oppression, they must, we are sure, give us credit for a. sincere goodwill. What we now state is the general 1 sentiment of the country as to the faults on either side, and the duties on both. The employers may not improbably consider themselves placed by success beyond the necessity of conciliation ;, but this position tbe*y. should remember does not qualify them for yielding with , better grace and greater security, nor can they overlook the expediency of standing well in the • eyes of the public, and placing. their- relations with their workmen on a better footing than that of coercion on one side and forced submission onthe other. The case of the operatives, whatever might have been its merits, was utterly, destroyed horn the first hy the agents who conducted it. As we explained at the commencement of. the dispute, it became perfectly impossible for either the employers or the public to entertain the abstract questions of overtime or piecework. The* demands on these heads were put forward by men who avowedly only took them up as- favourable points for breaking ground upon, and' they were urged with the grossest and most unblushing mendacity. The society advocated their requisitions in the name of the "overworked labourer/ whereas their own printed rules acknowledged that overtime was looked upon as a * % privilege," and. that the resolution to abolish it bad originated purely in a desire to regulate the distribution of employment for the advantage of- their own funds. Above all, they had' placed • themselves in the undeniable position' of aggressors-; they had confessed that- other demands were in* -reserve, and they had' proclaimed their intention of ultimately usurping the absolute dominion of the trade. These proceedings left' but one coarse open to the employers. Considering the known constitution of the Amalgamated Society, its notorious designs, its published views, and its avowed objects in thus opening the campaign, it became absolutely imperative on the roasters to withstand its first demands, whatever foundation of reason they might happen to possess. What the particular notice contained was, in fact, of no consequence at all. They were to be resisted as , notices served on employers by self- constituted authorities pretending to " rule the destinies of trade." These were the circumstances* which formed the strength of the masters' position, and secured the support of the public. It was necessary to exact the unconditional withdrawal of these notices, in order that the " Executive Council" might be compelled to nullify their own acts, and retire from their impudent pretensions. This condition has now been fulfilled, and the Amalgamated Society stands condemned to impotence and convicted of folly. Having thus expressed what, we are sure;, in respect of the,, employers' case,, is the t general persuasion, of, the public, we must now admit, on behalf of the men, that the practical abuse} iq regard to overtime and piecework hate, been so. far shown to exist as to call, not indeed for, thajt " irqmejliate and, total abolition"- dictated by, the " Council," but for some remedy at the masters' bands, We have repeatedly acknqwledged that the practices in question contained obvious temptations to abuse, and that if the requirement^ of the, men had found expression otherwise through a society whic,h was hypocritically trading upon the complaints of others for objects of others for objects of its own, the. opinion of the country might, hav 4 e been differently, shown. To frame, a code of rujes, for future proceedings, might not be easy — the case, as, Lord Cra/iwqrth, observe/?, being removed from the scope, of, practical arbitration; but, ajs the masters are now; in organised communication with each. o t tber, we think they might, satisfy the. demands, of justice [by such a declaration of their, views respecting overtime and piecework as. would meet the reasonable complaints of their men. The folly and presumption of the ' • Council" consisted in their peremptory dictation, of impossible terms ; but, tbo,ugh these were not less, rightful than successfully rejected, common justice suggest* that, what vras true ia the remonstrance should not be disre?' 'garded. - - * ; Finally, we think that since the Amalgamated Society has been driven Jo public self-conviction and exposure, the employers may permit their own combination to become extinct in its turn. ■They will no doubt ask what security will then ibe retained against the revival of Mr. W. New- ! ton's follies, just as the men will inquire how i they are to be.protec/ed against the abuses of | piecework,- in default of a binding compact to this j effect. We answer, that obligatory stipulations I are as impracticable on,.one_side as on the other* land that the ocly effective* influence surviving the I dispute mutt be deriyed from the experience i which either pa,rty *?ill have acquired.' The | society will have discovered its own impotence to i subvert natural laws, or^ "rule" the" 'destinies of I trade," and w/ill Ijjprp learnt that f< convicted by public opinion, and destitute of' popular support,' jdesigns of similar aggressions; 'must always roisicarry. The masters 'will; have seen' that opinion iwent against their' ajsailaiits, from' the manifest 'duplicity of their, devices, but that abuses, if persisted in, will infalliby provoke f cosily strife, and if denounced with' more sincerity than Mr. Newton could furnish to the cause, may tome day bring serious retribution..