Part 4

_W. H. Patterson._--His life's work, from start to finish, was the most conclusive testimony as to the sincerity of his purpose. There were men then, as now, whose motive is the loaves and fishes, willing to gather where they strew not and reap where they have not sown; but Patterson was not one of these. From the time when, but a mere boy living at Windy Nook, he threw himself into the work, with earnestness and energy, until his death, when a comparatively young man, he devoted himself and the best he could give to the establishment of and care for the Union. When it prospered no man was more cheerful, and when dark times came upon it his sorrow was genuine and large. He was not a Crawford (few were), yet for persistent plodding he was equal to any. With youthful buoyancy, and a heart full of desire and determination, he was the very man for the position in which he was placed. It would have been a useful addition to our own literature if he had placed on record the hardships he, with "Tommy Ramsey" endured in 1870-72. They lodged many a time in a room the walls of which were the horizon and the lamps the stars above them. Money was not plentiful, and it was not every person who dared to take an agitator in to lodge. It was in many quarters considered a crime almost deserving of capital punishment.

"_Tommy Ramsey._"--What can be said of "Tommy"? He was a most perfect type of an old school miner, and a sound Trades Unionist, one of the heroes of '44. There are numbers of men in the county who will remember the rugged old warrior in the noble cause, just as the picture hanging in the Hall describes him--a rough but true diamond of the first water. With bills under his arm and crake in hand he went from row to row announcing the meetings and urging the men to attend. His words were few, but forcible; not polished, but very pointed--and they went home. Like Longfellow's arrow shot in the air, they found a resting-place. He had one speech, the peroration of which was something like the following:--"Lads, unite and better your condition. When eggs are scarce, eggs are dear; when men are scarce, men are dear." It was impossible to miss the meaning in those words. Their simplicity was their greatest eloquence. His work was far from pleasant or safe. The writer of this was witness of a brutal attack on the old man by a bully who would disgrace any place in which he lived. This antipodes of a man, to curry favour with the manager, and to please those who bought him body and what soul he had, ill used Ramsey, and burnt his crake. At the subsequent meeting Crawford was wild in his denunciations. The words still ring in my ears. Brave old "Tommy" cared not; he got a new crake, and turned it with more emphasis. Grand old Ramsey, you are right now; if not, many of us have a poor chance. You in your way, in accordance with your ability, tried to open the prison doors to those who were bound, and to stir up a love of freedom in the breast of those who were in willing slavery.

THE OPPOSITION TO THE BUILDING

This was fourfold, and it may be interesting to look at these _seriatim_. The first was not in the least unexpected. At that time Capital and Labour were looked upon as being natural enemies, and all their relations were on that principle. We see now how foolish is that idea. Then conflict and doubt formed the atmosphere which surrounded the two great parties in the industrial world. If men having common interest joined themselves, in order that they might act for the common welfare, the leaders were to be dealt with harshly, and if necessary banished. It was no infrequent occurrence, when the spirit of Union was abroad, for men to be driven away from localities they loved and from associations endeared by years of enjoyment. This was done with the view that terror might be struck into the hearts of others. The principle was: Drive away the shepherd and the sheep will flee. So much was that spirit abroad that in many places the establishment of the Permanent Relief Fund was treated coldly, obstacles thrown in its way, if not bitterly opposed, because it was regarded as the thin edge of the Union wedge. What more natural than for fierce opposition to rear itself, with threats for the braver spirits, and bribes and allurements for those whose nature was susceptible to such influences? Ale-houses were used as a means for preventing Unionism taking root and spreading. The sorrow of it is there have always been spirits who are ready to act meanly when required.

This opposition was, therefore, to meet and bear down and convince that a trades organisation was not an institution prone to evil, and set up for no other purpose. The men who are alive to-day, and who took part in that opposition, would, we may assert with confidence, confess their mistake if they were interviewed on the subject.

Then the law was against the Trades Unionists. We complain now, but they had more reason in those days. We must lift ourselves into the condition of things prior to the 1875 Act, which did a great deal towards equalising the positions of the employer and employed. The Master and Servants Act, with all its one-sided applications, was in force. For a long time an agitation was carried on for its repeal, but after twenty years the only result was the appointment of a select committee to inquire into the operation of the law. The law was very unequal. It had been framed on the principle that the workman alone was inclined to do wrong, and therefore wanted hedging in and punishing. In the year 1865 there were 1100 arrests under the Act in the country. Eight hundred of the accused were sent to prison. An Amending Act was passed in 1867, but between that time and 1875, 774 were convicted. "The state of the law was simply infamous. Its provisions made it a criminal act if a workman broke a contract, even under the most justifiable circumstances. He was arrested by warrant, and if the breach of contract was proved the magistrate was bound to inflict the punishment of imprisonment with hard labour. If, on the other hand, the employer broke the contract, ever so flagrantly, he could only be summoned by a civil process, and his punishment was simply a fine."

Then they were hindered by a system of boycotting before the word became proverbial. It was not merely difficult, but impossible in some places to get a meeting-place. The writer knows of one colliery where a place could not be got. Even the co-operative hall was closed against the Union, and the Union money had to be taken in the corner of a field. Beyond this, in Durham the printers refused to do the Union printing--all except Mr J. H. Veitch, who dared almost social ostracism and took the work, and the connection then formed has continued up till now. The refusal arose from two reasons--first, there was a fear that the Union would not be able to pay for the printing; and second, Trades Unions were in bad odour in the county generally, and none the less in Durham. There was none of the respectability about the institutions there is now, and little hope of them. Broadheadism at Sheffield, with its destructive policy, had filled men's minds with fear. The form of reasoning was: "Trades Unions are guilty of these evil things; this is a Trades Union, therefore it will be guilty of doing evil." Just as logical as if a man had said: "Murder is committed in England; these people are English, therefore they will commit murder." Mr J. H. Veitch (all honour to him) had none of those fears, nor that false logic. He took the work when social ostracism was in the air. We cannot forget the act nor the man.

Another great obstacle against which they had to contend was a host of anonymous writers, who wrote behind a variety of _nom de plumes_--such as "Geordie Close," which covered W. P. Shield, and "Jacky Close," but none under their own names. These writers used the most scurrilous and slanderous language about, and attributed the vilest motives to the men who were at the head of the movement. The situation was a complete analogue to that when Nehemiah commenced to build the walls of Jerusalem. Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem laughed him to scorn, and despised him, and said: "What is this thing that ye do; will ye rebel against the king?" But as those sneerers in the far-off Jewish times had no effect on the builders of that day, so in those days the founders of our Association, the builders of our broken walls, heeded not those snarlers of thirty-six years ago, and the result is an all-round benefit.

The greatest of all the species of opposition they had to meet arose from the apathy and indifference of the people. Although the condition was bad in the extreme, yet often the earnest spirits and others scattered about the county had to ask each other, in the query of the prophet: "Who hath believed our report?" The state of apathy was quite natural. It was not because there was no real love of Union; it was the outcome of repeated failures. "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick." There had been spasmodic attempts at associated effort. The result was a feeling of hopelessness. Like men of whom we read in waterlogged ships or analogous situations on land, having tried oft to save themselves, they give up in despair, and say "Kismet," like an Eastern fatalist. The hold this feeling had on the mind is seen in the small results for a considerable time after the Association commenced. A thousand or two was their whole membership, their council was their committee as well, and the numbers so small that a room in an ordinary hotel could with ease contain them. At their meetings, sparse in attendance, they were often insulted and sometimes maltreated by the men they had come to help.

In this alone there was sufficient to deter them, and to lead men of talent and energy (such as they were) to turn themselves to other objects in life; but they loved their class, and, while they had aspirations for better conditions, they desired to raise their fellows with themselves. Any one of them could have made a position in other directions if their aims had been selfish; but they were men of different mould, and they were inspired by the love of the cause, and confident in its ultimate success if once they could clear away the dark pessimism which had fixed itself in the minds of the workmen. For this they endured the hardship and faced the opposition, until finally men saw the solidity and permanency of their work, with the result that the institution they founded occupies a rightly deserved foremost place among Trades Unions.

1872

The Coal Owners' Association--The Abolition of the Bond--First general Advance--Formation of the Joint Committee--First Gala--Mines Regulation Act--Second Advance

_The Coal Owners' Association._--One of the results of the formation of the organisation was the commencement of the Durham Coal Owners' Association. There had been an association under the name of "The North of England United Coal Trade Association," but its functions were vastly different from those of the present organisation. Then the sphere of operations was parliamentary and legal, but the new body was formed for trade purposes. The first meeting to consider such a step was held on February 1st, 1872. There was an adjournment for a fortnight, when a set of rules was submitted setting forth the conditions of membership, contributions, the assistance to be rendered, and the appointment of officers. The chairman and vice-chairman were respectively Hugh Taylor and W. Stobart, and the secretary was T. W. Bunning. No sooner was the Association formed than communications were opened with the Miners' Association, as the following letter will show:--

Neville Hall, Coal Trade Office, Newcastle-on-Tyne, _Feb. 5th, 1872._

Mr Crawford, my dear Sir,--I am directed to inform you that, at a large meeting of the representatives of the household coal collieries, held here last Saturday, it was resolved--

That it is considered desirable that a meeting should be held between the coal owners and a deputation of the representatives of the workmen, at one o'clock on Saturday, the 17th instant, at the Coal Trade Office, to discuss the various questions now in agitation by the workmen, with a view to their adjustment, and that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to Mr Crawford.

Will you be as kind as to acknowledge the receipt of this letter, and let me have the names of the deputation who will attend.

I beg to remain, dear Sir, very respectfully yours,

THEO. WOOD BUNNING.

There were about a score of representatives of the employers present during the meeting, while ten delegates, representing 20,000 workmen, took part in the conference on the latter's behalf.

Mr Hugh Taylor occupied the chair, and the delegates were introduced by Mr Crawford. The first question for discussion by the conference was then brought forward--viz. the yearly bindings.

At the outset the employers intimated that they were perfectly willing to abolish the bond, and establish in its place either monthly or fortnightly agreements, giving preference to the former. The workmen's delegates at once intimated their readiness to abolish the yearly bond, and thanked the masters most kindly for the manner in which they had met them on that question. The men proposed in the place of the yearly bond to establish a fortnightly agreement, and it was ultimately decided to discuss the terms of the agreement at a second meeting to be held shortly.

The next matter was the question of the hours of boy labour, but after a short conversation it was also agreed to allow this question to stand over until the second meeting. The next question was with reference to an advance of wages. On this point the owners admitted that the men ought to share the present prosperous condition of the trade, the only difference of opinion that arose being what that share ought to be. The employers were of opinion that they and the men ought to meet as two associations--the combined masters on the one side and the combined workmen on the other--and discuss the question as to what would be fair to both parties. It was suggested at the same time that any advance asked or conceded should be based on prices in force at bound and unbound collieries of the county of Durham in April 1871. On the part of the employers it was pointed out that a great many collieries had at the present time presented petitions for an advance of wages, and in some cases they had intimated their decision of laying the pits idle in case their demands were not conceded, and it was now suggested that the delegates from the workmen present should do their utmost to get the petitions placed in abeyance until the next conference was held. This was readily agreed to, and the meeting then terminated.

It is satisfactory to note that during the continuance of the conference a most pleasant and amicable feeling prevailed on both sides.

The Association being formed and officered preparation was made for the removal of grievances. The first to which attention was turned was the abolition of the "Yearly Bond." For a long time there had been a protest against the system of partial slavery implied in a contract covering a year. The system was as follows:--On a Saturday near the 20th of March the whole of the workmen were called to the colliery office, and there the manager would read over (nearly always in tones inaudible to all except those who were close to him) the conditions of labour for the next twelve months. There was usually a balancing of the prices. As an inducement to the men there was, say, a sovereign given to the first man bound, ten shillings to the second, five shillings to the third, and then two shillings and sixpence to every man after. The crush to secure the first place was generally so great that the manager was fortunate if he were not carried off his feet. As a preparation for this rush certain men would be bribed to incite, and thus induce men to act in an unthinking manner.

This bare outline will suffice to show the evil of the "Bond," and that it was a wise step on the part of the newly-formed organisation to attempt to substitute a shorter term of contract. The first meeting for that purpose between the employers and workmen was held on February 17th, 1872. As this was the first united meeting in a series which has been for the benefit of all concerned it will be interesting to place on record the letter from the employers inviting the representatives of the Miners' Association to meet them. Of course, the employers were made aware of the desire amongst the people for this and other reforms, and that knowledge induced them to arrange matters amicably if possible. Another thing was in favour of the workmen: not only was their Union gathering strength, but the state of trade was in their favour. One result of the war between France and Prussia was to increase the demand for British coal, the result being a coal famine and excessive prices. The old pit heaps even were sent away, and a common saying at the time was: "Anything black was sold for coal." A conflict, therefore, would have been a dangerous and destructive thing.

(_First General Advance_)

IMPORTANT CONFERENCE OF COLLIERY OWNERS AND MINERS' AGENTS IN NEWCASTLE

(_Durham Chronicle Account_)

Agreeably to an arrangement made at the conference between the colliery owners and the miners' delegates held on the 17th inst. an adjourned meeting between the two bodies took place on Saturday at the Wood Memorial Hall, Newcastle. There was a large attendance of the masters, Mr Hugh Taylor, Chipchase, being in the chair. Mr W. Crawford, President of the Durham Miners' Mutual Confident Association, acted as principal spokesman for the miners' delegates, who were eight in number.

It will be remembered that at the last meeting the masters agreed to the abolition of the yearly bond, and the first question, therefore, taken into consideration at the present conference, was the nature of the future agreement between the masters and the men. On the one hand, the employers suggested monthly notices on both sides; but the men on the other hand were unanimous in the request for a fortnightly notice, with the option of either giving or receiving the same on any day except Sunday. After some discussion, the masters acceded to the wishes of the men on this point. The next question taken into consideration was the advance in pay demanded by the men.

A proposition for an increase of 35 per cent. on all prices paid in April last was submitted by the delegates, who, in answer to questions by the owners, admitted that the advance requested appeared to be a large one, but they urged that it was made in consequence of the low rate of remuneration received by the miners of the county at the time referred to.

To this advance the owners objected on the ground that it was excessive.

They also urged that for several years past coal had been low in the market, and the working of pits had been unremunerative, and submitted that it was unfair on the part of the workmen, when a slightly better price had been obtained, to make an exorbitant demand. They also pointed out that the advance asked for was greatly in excess of that obtained by the miners in other parts of the country. To this argument the delegates replied that they were of opinion that the advance asked for was not greater than the excessive profits of the masters would allow to pay; in fact they only wanted a reasonable ratio of the profits made by their labour, and they were also of opinion that the 35 per cent. advance would not place the miners of the county of Durham on an equality with the workmen of other counties. After some further discussion, the delegates intimated that they would be satisfied, if the owners did not feel disposed to give the increase asked for, with the average score price paid in Northumberland and South Yorkshire. They were willing, if the masters would divide the two last mentioned counties into four quarters each, and would select, according to arrangement, two collieries from each of the eight quarters, to accept the averages of the prices paid at the sixteen collieries as the standard scale in the county of Durham. The owners, after hearing this proposition, asked the deputation if the average would be accepted by the men at those collieries in the county who were at present working for only 5 per cent. less than the proposed standard. The delegates replied that every such colliery would accept the average if the masters would give it to the men of those collieries who were at present working for 50 per cent. less than the average named.

After some further discussion the delegates retired. On being called back into the room they were informed by the chairman that the owners did not think it was desirable to go to either Northumberland or South Yorkshire for an average, as they were of opinion that they were quite competent to manage their own affairs; and that they had agreed, in a spirit of conciliation, to offer an advance of 20 per cent. on all prices over and above all consideration money paid on April last.

The deputation stated that they had no authority to accept the offer of the owners, but they would in due course communicate it to the general body of the men. The conference shortly afterwards broke up.

The day fixed for a meeting on this question was the 2nd of March. In the meantime a special Council meeting was held in the Town Hall, Durham, Mr W. Crawford, as President, occupying the chair. There were present 160 delegates, and the members represented were about 20,000. The business was the discussion of the matters to come before the employers and the appointment of a deputation to attend the meeting.

The adjourned conference was held on Thursday, March 21st, and for the purpose of giving a proper knowledge I herewith record the press report from _The Durham Chronicle_.

CONFERENCE BETWEEN DURHAM COAL OWNERS AND WORKMEN