TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Evening Star, Issue 13090, 24 October 1908, Page 12

TOPICS OF THE DAY .

[From Our Special Correspondent,] LONDON, September 11. TROUBLE AHEAD.

There has been no strike among the Lancashire cotton operatives for the past fifteen years, though disputes between employers and employed haye not been intrequent, and several times the quarrels nave been pushed very close ,up to the line. To-day the danger of a strike is j> rea *' iidced, for the masters are resolved upon an immediate reduction of wages to the extent of 5 per cent., and the men are equally determined that such a reduction shall not take place. The operatives themselves have asked tire masters for a joint conference, and perhaps some compromise will be effected. It is sincerely to be hoped that the golden bridge may again be discovered, for a strike in the Lancashire cotton trade would be a national disaaer. There who remember 1 ,- v £ OPC strikes iu the County Palatine will know how fiercely industrial warfare is waged there, and to what extremities the combatants are likely to proceed before they w.i: hearken to the, voices of the pcaccmakcis. Many years have passed since Mrs Gaskell wrote ‘Mary Barton’ and • North and South,’ but the Lancashire spirit rcmaiiiß much the same, and a strike would mean a fearful calamity. flic general position is one of interest, and may be easily understood, for the central tacts are not in dispute. That the trade m, at the moment, in a deplorable condition is admitted by the leaders of the operatives. Short time is being worked throughout the whole country. The shortage vanes in different districts, but in the Burnley area no more than three days a week arc being worked. During tho other three the milk are standing idle, and a aige number of sheds have stopped indefinitely till further notice. This dispute only effects the spinning industry; there has been no parallel demand for a reduction in the weavers’ wages, thougli the manutacturers of cotton clotlw have been just as severely hit as the owners of spindles by_the falling off in trade. But a strike which paralysed nearly forty million spindles would bring the'looms to a read stop, and a few weeks would see thousands of Lancashire households at the '' fo e . °t starvation. The operatives have submitted to short time without murmur, they have recognised its necessity, and they have not complained. They have enjoyed several years of fatness," and thev know by long experience that periods of prosperity in the Lancashire cotton trade fia\o always been followed by periods of depression. But they contend that the employers arc asking them too soon to consent to reductions in their rate of wages, and that the financial conditions of the industry are such that Capital ought to hear a greater share of the loss before requiring Labor to submit to further sacrifice than that entailed by chort time. Lancashire has' lately passed through a golden age of prosperity. A dozen years ago it was common to hear mill owners lamenting the ruin of the countv. Thev freely prophesied that no capitalist would ever be rash enough to build another cotton mill, and that the extinction of tho industry was only a matter of time. Then the tide turned, and things gradually improved, till in 1904 there set in a regular boom. ’ During the next three years the profits made, ©specially bv the "spinners, wore tremendous. Every wheel that would revolve was set going, and a mania tor mill-bmiduig eet in. In Ices than thiec years some fifteen million pounds was invested in laying down new spindles and looms, all of which were profitably employed tiil towards the end of last year. Ihon trade commenced to slacken, and of late the depression has grown more acute, till to-day Lancashire, as a whole, is not working more than four days a week. Even so. the production is greatly in excess' of the demand, and huge stock’s have accumulated. The operatives, of course, benefited during the Loom years by reason of regular work and increased wages. All the changes in wages during the last eight or nine years have been iu their favor, and the present rate is the highest ever known in the industry. The argument of the employers is that now the ’ boom is over there ought to be an immediate reduction, lo this the operatives reply that Labor did not obtain any increase until after Capital had secured roaring profits from the spurt m trade, and that the masters ought fairly to wait a little longer before asking the wage-earner to consent to a reduction. It is an open secret that most of the great spinning companies have put to reserve during the past three years huge sums, which will guarantee shareholders reasonable dividends for the next few yearn no matter the state of the trade, 'this adds weight to the men’s contention that the employers are acting prematurely in demanding a reduction now. They recognise that if things go on as they are goirm a reduction is inevitable, but thev think "the musters should wait a little longer in pressing for it. ° 1 THE KING’S RETURN. King Edward returned to his own people Jast Saturday, after a month's- absence. His sojourn at Marieubad appears to have done him a world of good, tor he looked in splendid liealth, and appeared to be in high spirits. The weather at Marienbad was very trying during His Majesty's residence there, and at least three of the Royal suite were laid up as the result of the wet and cold prevailing. But tho King kept well throughout, and the results of the -cure” are officially stated to be even more satisfactory than in former years. The inclemency of the weather was such that Dr Ott, the King’s physician, thought it inadvisable to prescribe mineral baths for hie distinguished patient, who therefore only took the waters, but at the same time followed a strict diet, and took plenty of walking exercise. Dr Ott states that the robustness of the King’s constitution at his age is quite wonderful. On hi: return to Jrondon the King was very warmly greeted by a huge crowd, which lined the streets between Victoria Station and Buckingham Palace. Everybody seemed delighted to see His Majesty’looking so well, and indeed he looked several ycaio younger than when he left England tour weeks ago. At night the King was present at the production of Mr Jerome’s ‘The Passing ot the Third Floor Back’ at bit. James* Ihcalic, and on the morrow, after holding a small investiture at the Palace, left for Rufford Abbey, whore he will Ik- tho gucot of Lord and Lady Savile for the Doncaster rate meeting! There can be no question of King Edward’s fondness for “the sport of kings.” Ho attends almost every important meeting during the flat racing season, and though the Royal color- are not on view very frequently, and seldom nowadays catch" the judge's? eve at the right time, His Majesty gives no signs of resenting Dame Fortune's unkindness in the manner some of his subjects would like him to dc—namely, by turning bis back on the Turf and ail things connected with it. RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE. The great Eucharistic Congress has given the Imperial Protestant Federation a splendid and eagerly-accepted chance of exhibiting intolerance almost worthy of the days of the Inquisition. One ot the principal visitors to the Old Country in connection with the Congress is Cardinal \ annutelli, the Papal Legate, who did not come from Rome as a Legate to the King or to this country—he was, it is true, sent by tho Pope—but came simplv as a distinguished delegate to the Congress! The report, however, was set on foot that the King was to receive the Cardinal in audience. Tliis roused the I.P.F. to action They wrote forthwith to His Majesty demanding an assurance that there was no foundation, for the report. They are still waiting that assurance. As a matter of fact, it is unlikely that the King will receive the Cardinal, lor His Majesty will be out of London during the run of "the Congreco. But if the King did receive the Papal Legate there would surely be nothing for the Federation to worry about. It would simply be a gracious recognition by the Sovereign of a distinguished visitor, and no political significance could attach to the incident. Bnt the legates of the I.P.F. are not content with trying to dictate to tho King as to wiiom he may or may not receive in audience; they would, if they could, have Cardinal Vannatelli turned'out of the

country on the ’grounds that hie visit is illegal. They assert that, the very admission of a Legate or Nuncio into England is contrary to law, and rely on the declaration of Queen Elizabeth’s Council in May, 1661—nearly 360 years ago ! That /Council, it appears, specially met to consider the question, and decided that it was against both the ancient laws and the late laws of this realm that he (the Papal Legate) should come into the same; or into any one of the Queen’s do-’ mfnions. -Since 1561, the'l.P.F. declare, no alteration has been, made, in tho law as thus laid down, nor has the, law been ,abrogated. It therefore stands, aa the law at tho present time, and consequently the visit of the Papal Legate is illegal. If the Federation leaders could have their way the Cardinal would no doubt be hauled before the Bow street magistrate for deportation as an “undesirable alien.’’ but as it is one fancies that the Legate is tolerably secure from molestation as an offender- against the decision of the councillors of “ Good Queen Bess.” The I.P.F. are not the only body doing their best to interfere with the Congress. The Protestant Alliance arc seeking to prevent the procession which will bo a feature of the Congress, The Alliance have not dug so deep into the mouldy depths of the legal rubbish heap ns the Imperial Protectant Federation, but they have found in the Roman Catholic Emancipation Act of 129 a section expresc-ly forbidding Romanist processions: If any Roman Catholic ecclesiastic, or any member of any of the Orders, Communities, or Societiea hereinafter mentioned, shall exercise any of the rites or ceremonies of tho Roman Catholic religion. or wear the habits of his Order, cave within the usual places of worship of the Roman Catholic religion, or in private houses, such ecclesiastic, or other person, shall, on being thereof convicted by due course of law, forfeit for ©very such offence the sum of fifty pounds. The quoted portion of the Act of 1829 has, of course, been a “dead letter” for years, but the Alliance demand that the Chief Commissioner of Police shall put this antiquated law into force, and eo “ put an end to the lawlessness of the repre.entatiyes of the Papal Hierarchy,” winch “lawlessness will consist of a * children's proceaion from the Thames Embankment to Westminster Cathedral to-morrow afternoon, and a procession of delegates and others through the principal thoroughfares in the vicinity of the Cathedral on Sunday. [Tlie outcome of the agitation was to prevent a procession of the Eucharist taking place in the streets, but the ceremony was held within the pro-Cathedral at Westminster.—Ed. E.S.] A SILLY SEASON HOAX. This is the fag cud of the newspaper “silly season," and till tho other day it really seemed that we should get through this trying period without any reference being made to our ancient friend the scaeerpent. Editors had been eagerly on tiie watch for some signs of his annual autumnal appearance iu British waters, but he came not, and sub-editors seeking for catchy head-fine-:;, were reduced to putting up such lines ns these : “NARROW-ESCAPE OF A RABBIT.” ’’COFFEE BAGS IX DANGER.” (Fact!) Then our dear old friend was reported as Living been sighted and killed by some brutal Irish fishermen off the Copeland Island. They had been wildfowling, and suddenly saw a huge serpentine creature appear among the shoal water surrounding the island. He was evidently in difficulties owing to the shallowness of the water, for he was "lashing the waters into loam” and rearing and twisting about as though in agony. The fishermen put a few shots into him by way of welcome, but these only livened him up to more frantic efforts. Finally his struggles landed him nearly high and dry, and after a prodigious expenditure of power and shot the fishers managed to kill the " terrible beast.” He was at least 60ft long, fully 6ft in circumference, covered with scales, and possessed three huge fins, and “ brilliant red eyes five times as large as those of a large conger eel.” It was “an awful looking thing even in death,” etc., etc. These details and many more appeared in a local newspaper, and were published in a condensed lorm in many English, Irish, and Scotch journals. Meantime a score of enterprising photographers hastened to the place where the corpse was stated to be lying, but the only dead monster tliev found was a water-logged bullock. It had been dead for many days, and was, as one disappointed camera fiend put it, “loudly lamenting the fact.” Of sea-serpent there was no trace, neither could the alleged slayers of it be found.