The Press. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1888.

Press, Volume XLV, Issue 7159, 21 September 1888, Page 4

The Press. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1888.

; We regret to learn from our AustraliM I telegrams the very serious state , i things which has now come abottt» Newcastle, The strike, of whieb « , have been hearing so much, bee M* v developed into a forcible interferes* with other laborers who have come ia to supply the place of the men out,<ffl strike. This has led to disturbance- , Breaches of the peace have been eerwos and at length the military have W» called in. We have only to »7*J trust they will do their duty and tw they will not quit the scene until pea*' is effectually and thoroughly restored and the law breakers, whoever they** punished according to their < JeSertt Vt Do not let us be misunderstood Wβ have no hostility whatever t»«J system of labor combinations, wn«n» in the shape of trades umon* or under whatever v other name hfl *| may be carried on, in ** ■ colonies or elsewhere. Every *»■*" has a right to sell hie own W»for whatever price he , chooses to P™ v upon it; and any number of men t» a right to agree together not to « their labor severally for a less. F£ than they choose mutually to *g«° upon*, and we take it they n*7 make what arrangements they P««* —within the law—for keeping ««£ other to their mutual engagem^* As between themselves and * Qeroaß V a . they have a perfect right to go » upon strike, if that course »PlfffX them the best fitted to secure jecC What w complain of «% in the case before us, the /fJJ \ men have done a great deal m«* The liberty they claim for *f< belongs to everybody as much as it does *° I T> (tf - If they may Bell their what they please, the no lees right to cay they wffl ■"• "*. i

fcafc*lugher rate than it suite them £%°Theyhave* right if *£ ZxTGnd men billing to take les* to those other men. And Zf other men who have not enSed themselves as members of a fg£s Union, and are, therefore, Abound by the arraugemente we £ye been supposing .heolute and indefeasible a ngbt to sell ♦Sr labor for wbat they think it Awhile to sell it for, as the men *bo have joined themselves into-the Sdes union. If they are mtenered ~tb. they have a right to be protected £ the law; and this is just toe case between the men on strike and the who have token their places at ST moment in Newcastle. We say urua we sincerely hope that the ringSide, of the riot, who we and by this moromg 's telegrams have been dis«S°and arrested, will receive an exemplary punishment for the offence Of which they have been guilty. For it is a very offence which ♦bey have committed. Strikes are bad enough in any event. They may be justified, juat as war is justified, because when it ia undertaken it is believed to be the only means of pretentmg a still greater eviL The mischief of a strike is that its effects are not confined to the parties to the dispute. The men themselves who are oat on strike, even allowing for all the assistance tbey may obtain from the funds of their own and other Trades Unions, suffer badly enough before it is all over; and their wives and dujdren, whom we fear they do not *hrays sufficiently think of beforehand, luffer far worse than they The masters, too, have at the best, • eerious destruction of capital The contracts which they have on hand, and which to a large extent the strike disables them from fulfilling, are another eerious loss. Thus far we we dealing with the parties to the dispute. Like all other disputants they must abide, it may be said, by the fortune of war. But the matter is far enough from ending here. To tvary one of these contracts there are two parties, and in all probability there is a series of bargains—one under the other—all of which go with the erigioal contract. The parties to these have nothing to do with the original quarreL They did not cauae it. They could not prevent it. In all probability they knew of no cause for its existence. The ruin caused by the strike extends to all these. And we say that just as in war it is held to be the first duty of every enlightened state, if its breaking ottt cannot be prevented, to localise it as much as possible, and minimise the injury which it must do to the noneombatants; just so it is the duty of men asserting the undoubted rights of labor to try every means first before resorting to a strike, to do their best when the strike does come to render it

at little injurious as possible to those who have nothing to do with the fund. How far these notions of "crety prevail in districts where strikes an - common it is not for us to

my. 'Iα the present case it would •eem that every consideration, even of 4oxamon justice, has been set at naught hy the men who are out on jfcrike at Newcastle. Into the merits

of the dispute, we repeat, we shall not enter. The fact that the miner s have iwea receiving tolerably high wages is Bo argument against their claiming higher if they think their services are worth it. And they have, as we' have said, a perfect right to leave off working if they cannot command thier own price. But they have no right to interfere with the Other men who are willing to work for lees. The scene at Newcastle recalls tbe old days of Sheffield, where praclirum -ware resorted fcrv, sock as it men. of precisely the same right -which wits thus asserted by the .XJJBioa men. Wβ hope we are not going to hare the same kind of thing attempted to be brought into the Australasian colonies. If there are any who contemplate it they may rest assured that they are committing themselves to a grievous mistake if they thick that a community such as ours j will submit to it. We are emphatically a democratic community, J&d if there is one thing which * democracy will not endure it k an open and audacious attempt to override the law. We may take the United States as an example. There tre labor disturbances there occa-

jMoilly as well as in the old

«mntry. But. when they occur, tihey are Tery differently dealt witL Instead of sending, as would be dose at home, half a dozen or 'perhaps a score of policemen with ixtthing but their staves to put down the tumult, and arrest perhaps one or

faro.of the •worst of the mob, the , ttOitary are called out. Swords flash, liTOiTfiis ping; and if the disturb»ce is not quelled without bloodibed it is only accepted as evidence of tJie commendable vigour of the authottfctet. It will be seen that the authorities of New South Wales have not

been, slow to profit by the example. The disturbance there is being put down by the military, and whatever tbe military have to do to put an end to it will, we presume, certainly be 4oae. And they will be supported by Aβ public opinion not of New Sooth Wales only, but of all fi» Australian colonies. The law must and shall be obeyed. Such will be the instructive feeling of everybody wfconeara what has been going on, *od it is most importaut that this "feeling should have sway. If we once allow any set of men, under pretence of defending their own rights, to attack &«e of others, and to break the law

♦ftb * high hand, as the Newcastle «ea have been doing, in order to make ti» attack successful, then good bye to colonial prosperity. We thrive b* tie confidence of the world at kfge. Let lawlessness once be sub-

ttJtated for law, aud that confidence ♦ill be withdrawn. We have not fortouately, like the older countries, •tandiag armies that canbem&de use «f in order to pit down riot and disturbance. We can depend only oa ooeeivee. In our mutual respect for «» kw Bee oar strength.

SocTHßKnxw Tow* Boakd.—The bien*»l election of the Southbridge Town .**** took place on "Wednesday, and •c fcßowing were elected members:— Kesrs B. Webster, Jno. Kilbride, K. C. ,£«»», A. Cameron, L. Langeshwardt, Junoo. and Jas. Morrison. A meeting of «*e new Board was held in the evening, •ad Mr R. Webster waa duly elected ChairUB Jar tiu awning two yeara.