as far as from seven to eight children grown up to men and and women, all living in one house, the whole room only being four yards by five, with a small pantry to keep their provisions in. This was the miner's castle, sitting-room, bedroom, and parlour-his family brought up to men and women all in this small space. It was a disgrace to the employers, and a credit to the miners, that even with all those difficulties, their morals were not more degraded than they were at the present time. If there was one who dared attempt to speak on unions, it had been their custom to hunt him down till the poor fellow was fairly cowed, and had to submit. In all ages tyranny could only exist so long, and it was so in this case. The good time was coming. The coal owners had introduced a monthly bond to strengthen their position, for they thought by this monthly bond to get clear of any one who took a part in the union. In conclusion, he hoped the miners would not break the peace, but that they would stand faithfully to their union, and he had no fear but they would come off victorious.

After a vote of thanks to the Chairman, and three cheers for the Union, the immense assemblage separated in a most peaceable manner.

CONTINUANCE

CHAPTER XII.

OF THE STRIKE. THE ACTIONS OF THE MASTERS AND MEN. GREAT MEETING ON BEHALF OF THE MEN IN NEWCASTLE.

The strike was entered upon with great unanimity by the men, and with great determination to fight it out to the very last. The employers, seeing the men thus determined, drew all the horses out of the pits with the object of quietly awaiting the issue of the contest, and of starving them into compliance. The men at the various collieries formed themselves into committees to raise funds, and delegate meetings were held very often, reporting to each other how the men were standing out, and as to the prospects, if any, of a recommencement of work. The men seemed to have made up their minds " to conquer, or die " in the struggle, and they were supported in this resolution by their wives, who were equally as determined. At almost every general and district

meeting resolutions were passed such as— "We pledge ourselves, individually and collectively, that we will keep the peace, and should any man or men act otherwise, he or they are not friends but traitors to the cause, and as such we would treat them." The leaders of this strike manifested great anxiety, from the very outset, to conduct the contest in peace and good order, and with a view to carrying out this plan, they lost no opportunity of bringing the importance of proper conduct before the men whenever they were assembled together in anything like numbers. With them it had to be a fair stand-up battle between Might and Right, and they wanted no desperate or violent conduct on the part of the men as auxiliaries in the struggle; feeling sure that by the one course they would gain-what was very important for their success-public sympathy, and by the other they would fail to gain it, and disgust those who might otherwise be friendly disposed towards them.

A public meeting was held at Wallsend on April the 10th, and the day being very fine there was a large assemblage. The meeting was addressed by John Dobinson, E. Hall, Robert Jobling, Wm. Bell, Geo. Hunter, Wm. Jobling, Wm. Bell, William Beesley, Joseph Fawcett, Charles Parkinson, and William Woodworth. On the 15th of the same month, another public meeting was held at Fawdon, when a resolution to the following effect was moved by John Bolam :-"That it is the opinion of this meeting that the miners are fully justified in refusing to work under the coal owners' new bonds." Mr. Henry Young seconded this resolution, and it was supported by William Thompson, James Hay, William Lumsden, and William Sharp.-On May 2nd, a public meeting of tradesmen and others was held on the Ballast Hills, Newcastle, addressed by William Booth, George Hunter, and Mr. William Daniels, when the following resolution was proposed, seconded, and carried :-"That it is the opinion of this meeting, from the statements made, that the miners of Northumberland and Durham are an ill-used and oppressed class of men, and deserve the sympathy and support of all classes of the community, and this meeting pledges itself to use its utmost exertions to procure support for them during their present struggle." It was by means of such meetings that the miners succeeded in obtaining a little

relief by which they were enabled to keep the wolf from the door, and to prevent their wives and children absolutely starving. The necessity was felt of educating public opinion properly as to the real nature of their grievances, and for this purpose a great and important meeting was held on the 7th of May, in the Lecture Room, Newcastle. This meeting was called by printed placards, which stated that it was for the purpose of examining into the condition, and protecting the interests of the miners of Northumberland and Durham. The spacious hall, the largest then in the town of Newcastle, was crowded in every part. Many respectable persons were present, among whom were a number of coal owners and viewers, and several members of the Coal Trade Committee.

Mr. Mark Dent was voted to the chair, and opened the meeting by stating the objects for which it had been called. He said they had been called together to consider the manifold grievances of the miners of Northumberland and Durham, and though the miners were said to be an ignorant class of men, still they had moral courage enough to bring their wrongs before the public; and he thought, ignorant as they were, they should be able to convince that immense meeting that they were greatly oppressed. They might not possess that intelligence and talent which some could boast of, but they would endeavour to make themselves understood. They would do their best, and nobody could do more. He was sorry to say that the public press, he meant a great portion of them, had greatly misrepresented their objects, and had striven to make the public believe that their grievances were more imaginary than real. He was sure, however, that he would make them so clear and palpable that night, that they would not fail to convince the intelligent inhabitants of Newcastle that they were an ill-used class of men. He knew it had been asked, "Why did you form your present Union?" His answer was, "it was the iron arm of oppression that caused us to unite; besides, the masters set us the example, for the masters formed a union for the protection of their interests, and the miners have an equal right to form one to mend their condition." The miners knew by bitter experience that the masters' union had seriously injured the men, for, by thus combining, they drew up

cruel, stringent bonds, and were enabled by these means for the last three years to effect a material reduction in their wages, and consequently their comforts were much abridged. The reason why they had not opposed these shameful bonds before was, because they had not the power. They were disunited, and could not oppose them; but it was not the love they had for them that prevented them from opposing them. It was want of union; every man was then striving for himself, regardless of his neighbour; and if a man singly attempted to oppose the bonds, he was sure to be turned out to the wide world with his wife and family, In fact, he would be sacrificed, looked upon as a dangerous character, and no one would employ him; but now, thank God, their eyes were opened, they were firmly united, and were determined to be free. Some persons had asserted that they had no right to form an association in the present condition of society. He denied this doctrine. It was perfectly lawful to unite, it was their interest to unite, and if they had not united, they would, ere long, have been the veriest slaves that ever breathed. When they formed the Miners' Association the interest of every man was consulted, the good of all was blended together, so that they could not, if they were true to each other, ever be broken up. When one thousand men were convinced that they were oppressed, and united to remove that oppression, ten thousand would soon respond to them, thus showing that when one class of men were injured all were injured. At the same time he hoped the miners present would abstain from cheering, and let the meeting decide for itself. He likewise expected they would allow every speaker a fair hearing. He then introduced

Mr. Clough, a miner of Thornley, who said they came thus openly before the public in order, if possible, to secure their sympathy and support. As to their present position, they had done all they could to prevent a cessation from labour. They wished to meet the masters to conciliate matters, but they had thought proper to refuse to meet them. He would repeat, the men had used every endeavour to prevent the strike, and whatever might be the result, the men would not be to blame. The truth was the miners were compelled to strike, for by the stipulations of the masters they could not obtain a living. They wished to pay

for a

their way as honest men ought to do, but they found they were unable to do this. He knew it was the duty of workmen to pay the tradesmen, or they would become bankrupts. The miners could not do this with their late wages, hence their present position. The statement of the Coal Owners' Committee, that the miners could earn 3s. 8d. per day, was a delusion; for the best hewers, in eight hours in the most favourable seams, could not earn more than 2s. 6d. or 2s. 10d. per day, and it should be remembered that they were not employed every day like most trades. Indeed, it could be proved that during the last year the average earnings of the miners of Northumberland and Durham, after taking off deductions for fines, doctor, coals, picks, &c., were not more than 11s. per week. Was this sufficient wages miner to receive? It was said that the masters could not afford to give them reasonable wages, on account of the depression of the coal trade. He denied this-they could well afford it. Why, there was only 6d. per ton difference between the price of coals in the London market this year and the year 1831. The only advance they asked was 14d. per ton; surely they could afford this trifle, which would be a great consideration to them. The bonds were always, before this year, drawn up by the masters without consulting the men, but as they were one of the contracting parties they were determined in future to have a voice in the matter. He then referred to the ventilation of mines, and said the ventilation was bad and improper. He had experienced its injurious effects upon himself. He had been compelled, or else be fined 2s. 6d., to work in a part of the mine strongly charged with carbonic gas, and he had not been working more than half-an-hour before his head was like to split; and, ultimately, he was carried out insensible, and lay in his bed three days. believed if 10s. had been expended on ventilation in that place, this would not have happened. When he recovered, he was set to work in the same place again ;-(Sensation.)— the consequence of which was, he was laid off work for 15 weeks, and could not obtain any smart money. He thought it very hard, when he had ruined his health by inhaling the poisonous gas, that he should get no support, when, if a man broke his arm he would obtain it. He had now stated, he hoped, sufficient to them to obtain their sympathy and support.

He