A Yorkshire Almanac Comprising 365 Historical Extracts, Red-letter Days and Customs, and Astronomical and Meteorological Data
Yorkshire Vicar. 1890/03/22. Strikes and Their Remedy. Leeds Mercury Get it:
.Who made the laws which at one time rendered trades unions illegal? A parliament of capitalists. Who upholds the present legislation which retains for the landed proprietor his profit from the lease of his minerals free of all risks, and throws on the masters and the men the vexed questions of proportionate profits according to the rise and fall of the markets? A parliament of capitalists. Trades unions and other kindred organisations are only temporary makeshifts to protect labour against capital; and strikes, like all wars, bring evil as well as good in their train. The real remedy for strikes, and the only way of ensuring for the general public reforms which are necessary for the national weal, is a return to the old English method of paid members of parliament. If trades unions, in addition to struggling to secure for the wage-earning classes shorter hours of labour and better wages, would also use their powers in favour of triennial parliaments and paid members, they would not only greatly aid the working classes, but by helping to make parliament truly representative of the nation they would remove many of the social evils we are now suffering from, and add greatly to the strength, contentment, and stability of the country.
On the same page, the Leeds surgeon T. Pridgin Teale delivers more immediate value by reminding readers of his techniques for reducing coal consumption by DIY improvements to fireplaces.
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STRIKES AND THEIR REMEDY.
TO THE EDITORS OF THE LEEDS MERCURY.
GENTLEMEN,
Your correspondent “J.F.C.,” regarding the coal strike from a householder’s point of view, has, naturally, little sympathy with the increased price of coal. He gives credit to Trades Unions for turning to good account their powers “in the matter of sick funds and other benevolent objects.” This attempt, however, to regulate the wages question by strikes he condemns. He thinks “they ought to have worked towards the formation of sliding scales and Boards of Conciliation and Arbitration.” The remedy for the evils he deplores is an Act of Parliament “rendering all strikes and lock-outs illegal, and arbitration in all trade disputes compulsory.”
From a capitalist and lawyer’s point of view, as well as from that of the consumer, such suggestions are excellent; but does he imagine that the wage-earning classes have no opinions on such subjects? Who made the laws which at one time rendered Trades Unions illegal? A Parliament of capitalists. Who upholds the present legislation which retains for the landed proprietor his profit from the lease of his minerals free of all risks, and throws on the masters and the men the vexed questions of proportionate profits according to the rise and fall of the markets? A Parliament of capitalists.
Trades Unions and other kindred organisations are only temporary makeshifts to protect labour against capital; and strikes, like all wars, bring evil as well as good in their train. The real remedy for strikes, and the only way of ensuring for the general public reforms which are necessary for the national weal, is a return to the old English method of paid Members of Parliament. If Trades Unions, in addition to struggling to secure for the wage-earning classes shorter hours of labour and better wages, would also use their powers in favour of triennial Parliaments and paid Members, they would not only greatly aid the working classes, but by helping to make Parliament truly representative of the nation they would remove many of the social evils we are now suffering from, and add greatly to the strength, contentment, and stability of the country.
Yours truly,
A YORKSHIRE VICAR.
March 21st, 1890.
378 words.
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