AN IMPORTANT MOVEMENT.

Otago Witness, Issue 1148, 29 November 1873, Page 1

AN IMPORTANT MOVEMENT.

There has been a new development of the strong feeling which at present exists in England on the subject of the relations of capital to labour. The appearance of a " National Federation of Employers " cannot be said to be an xmfcxj/octecl event, for the growing strength ,of tfye •*'•' Trades Unions " has led most of hs to suppose that an extended system of GO--opera^on among employers would sooner or later prove a necessity. It has been obvious that the samp causes which led workmen to feaiul themselves together for protective purposes must induce the masters ultij^La^ely to do the same. There have been 'npjt $. few cases lately in which single capitals, or .even little rings of moneyed employers, have been worsted in their .conflict with the heh c Union " by being taken in detail. <lus,£ as workmen found -it necessary to .unite because while separated they invariably went idown before the strong purse, so the !9jias)tej?«, finding themselves often over matohej. by jfcfte «ow l ers brought against ibhem, iiave at last made use of the greater opportunities which Jay ready .to their -hands, and have agree.d to form, another Sooiefcy — national, not international, at pre^t — and have

combined their forces to resist. The! rules of the new Association lie before us, and we cannot but l'egard them as ominous of a still fiercer conflict than has yet been waged between the opposing powers. The power of the Federation must be enormous for good or evil. Many of the leading employers of labour in England have already joined, and more will of course join as time goes on. It cannot be doubted that such a body, united in the strong bonds of mutual interest, will form one of the most powerful forces in the State. Whether its enormous influence shall work good or evil is a question which time alone can thoroughly solve. So much will depend on the men that manage, and the spirit in which they work, that it would be premature at present either to lament or rejoice over their union. If they set to work in a I high-handed way, determined to carry each separate and distinct point in their own interest, they will produce a dislocation of social machinery, and bring a ruin into the midst of the industrial pursuits of the country second only in its influence to that of protracted civil war. Among other objects proposed in the rules which have been framed for their guidance we notice this : " The Federation shall endeavour to secure co-operation and unity of action in ar- [ ranging or resisting" demands made by combinations of workmen." We suppose this means that if the Leeds Branch of the Engineers' Trades Union demands a rise of wages which seems to the roasters extortionate, the Federation of Employers in London, Birmingham, or Manchester will close their workshops rather than yield. If it does not mean this, it means something worse, and such a result would, after a little experience, prove nothingless than a national calamity. Tbe rule we have quoted is, indeed, only one out oi ( a considerable number, many of vrY&k propose objects most beneficial. We question, however, whether this rule does not contain within itself what is really the attractive power of the whole thing. It will be to many employers what lawyers call the conditlo sine qud non. Not that the rule is one to which any one can reasonably object, only that it does seem to threaten us on a large scale, and in an ever-extending area, with all those manifold evils which iv | a large or small way we have all seen existing through strikes. The efforts of combatants have been ever directed towards narrowing the area over which military operations should in modern times extend, and limiting as far as possible the number of the non-combatants who should suffer. The efforts of the generals in the industrial campaign have tended continually in the other direction. They have sought always to interest or injure, to excite or annoy, as many as they could, and to make all England a party to a quarrel begun in some one solitary workshop. Possibly the terrors of such extended class struggles will produce a greater reluctance to commence a conflict. In all probability such will be ;the case, and if so the Federation pf Employers will be an almost unmixed good. If, moreover, they wie},d their powerful association so as to make peace, and lay a greater stress upon the word (C arrange" in the rule we have quoted than on the word " resist," then indeed the existence of the society will be a blessing to the community. There is no saying what an advantage it would be to have an ftupg.rtiaj committee to confer in the interest of the employers with the grades Union committees. An im r partial committee in every respect in.deed is an impossibility, but a body of men not committed to a particular line of action in a particular quarrel between labour and .capital, is a desiderjttujn often lunged £or but sek doin found, At present in any

conference between the two parties, the employer who thinks himself aggrieved has usually to represent himself, and a settlement is prevented by feeling and pei'sonal sentiment, which would be pei-fectly possible had both sides had the advantage of a committee of the representatives of their class to advocate their cause.

The "National Federation of Employers" will, in the trite language of trade circulars, supply a felt want, and will in all probability number in its ranks the entire commercial power of Great Britain. It will be a matter of interest to all to see in what spirit they commence their work. If it be too political, too class ; if it be worked in an overbearing or tyrannical way, as if the hour of the complete triumph of capital had at last arrived, its existence will precipitate evils which each thoughtful man views with dread. If, on the other hand, it enables employers to meet the demands of their men, or even forestall them, in a spirit of conciliation and forbearance, the birthday of the Federation will be a glad day, to be marked in white by every industry in Great Britain. Which of the two will happen, time alone can show.