FINE WORDS BUTTER NO PARSNIPS.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXIV, Issue 8333, 9 April 1889, Page 3

FINE WORDS BUTTER NO PARSNIPS.

Just now the English poor have a l J ress champion in the shape of the London Star, a paper edited by Mr T. P. O'Connor in the interests ot the party seeking to break up the United Kingdom, and principally owned by a German nouveau riche named Brnnner, who, haying made nearly a million of money in England, seeais determined to spend it there in the cause of revolution. The Star is run on the lines of more or less open Fenianism and of " slavering " the working men to make them tolerate the politics preached. In a word the Star is the friend of labor and of all who live by it. But unfortunately for the German friend of the English people there are in England other labor journals. One of these, called the Labor Elector, publishes the following statements with regard to the German Feninn's workmen at an alkali works in which he is interested to the tune of £1,048,219 :— " How does this successful man treat the employe's who have aided him in building up this fortune ? Mr Champion tells us in his journal that at the beginning of November a deputation of engineers waited on one of the managers, and asked for an increase of wages. One of the spokesmen, Litster, was immediately discharged for his audacity. Afterwards he was evicted from his house, owned by the firm, although apparently he owed no rent. 'On Monday, October 22 1888, 67 men were fined 6d 'each at Mr Brunner's Winnington Works, on the pretext that they reached the gates so soon after 5.30 p.m. whistle sounded foi ceasing work that they must have been i preparing to leave off before the whistle '• sounded?" ' , > Writing on November 15, a correspond s ent of the Labor Elector gays that on thai s date :— " A list of 100 workmen weie pul s out (their names and numbers, I mean),' i he says, " who were fined 6d each for, H t is stated in the notice, loitering in the I neighborhood of the time office before 5. 3( b p.ni. on the 11th of this month. I myseli was one of the hundred. The facts of thf i casa are that no one can loiter neur th( ) I time ofqce, <w there ia an eleetiis Ughi

mining which shows anyone very plaiply lo the foremen that are walking about in " the vicinity," Another correspondent, ,who signs his name, says:—" I myself was lined 6d for being in the neighborhood of the time office when the bell rang, 5.30 p.m. Being a constant worker in the vicinity, how ( could I help being in the neighborhood 1 • I think it is very hard for a man to walk \ mile 9to his work for a paltry 2s llfd per i day, then to liayo 6d took ont of that i through the capricn of a foreman who has ' risen to_ the position he now holds by ( persecuting the poor unfortunate men who work under him." 1 Hear another correspondent : —'" 1 myself was employed at V\ innington ' Alkali Works, and on Monday, November 5, I had to attend the funeral of my sister. I went to Mr Capes (the manager), and asked him tor leave of absence for that ' purpose, which was refused, and because I absented myself on that day, I was discharged without a day's notice, and a J written notice has been posted at the office door of said works that I am never to be • employed there again.' The duties of ■ kindred and of humanity are not to be 5 considered, it would seem, at Northwich. t A^ man must not see his sister buried. When, we wonder, did Mathew Brown see ( his living family? According to Mr ( Champion this poor fellow Brown, ' a pipefitter during the two weeks, October 14 — 27, worked 248 hours, and did not dare to refuse for fear of being discharged.' That is supposing the week to be only of six i days he worked twenty and a half hours each day oud of twenty-four tor a fortnight." " It is the sanie old game — the friends of the people grinding the faces of the poor.