Then we had two very notable strikes—one at the Brancepeth Collieries, which is known as the "Rocking Strike." The name arose from the custom which obtained of setting out the tubs if they were not level full when they came to bank. In order that this might be attained the hewer used to walk around the tub and strike it with his "mell," or rock and shake it so that the jolting on the road out-by might not lower the coals below the rim of the tub, and thus result in the forfeiture of the entire contents. This system was enforced even after the Act of 1861, and in such a glaring manner, that the master's weighman was paid a commission upon every light tub he found. The demands of the workmen were payment by weight and an advance in wages. Those whose memory goes back to that period will remember the meetings that were held, and especially one not far from Mr Love's (the owner of the collieries) house, just outside Durham city, then called Mount Beulah, now by the more earthly name of Springwell Hall.
At that meeting on the platform was a working model of a miner rocking a tub, and a song composed by a local poet (Mr Cooke of Trimdon Grange) was sung. Part of the refrain was, as near as I can remember, as follows:—
"The rocking so shocking long, long we have bore,
Farewell to the rocking, we will rock them no more."
The second strike took place at Wearmouth, and was the real, although not formal, starting-point of our Union.
This strike commenced about the middle of April 1869, and arose out of the conditions contained in the "Bond" of that year, which was brought out as usual in the month of March, when the hewers were told that, owing to the depressed condition of trade, there would have to be a considerable reduction in prices. In one instance the score price was reduced from 7s. to 5s. 10d., and the yard price from 1s. to 8d. There was no opposition offered at the time, as the men were willing to give the lower rate a fair trial. Afterwards they found they were not able to make a fair day's wage. They worked on until the 18th of May, when after going into the pit they all came out, and held a meeting on the green, and appointed a deputation of six to wait upon the manager and Mr Stobart. No concession being made the report was given, when the men declared it was impossible to maintain their families, and resolved that they would not resume work until the previous prices were paid. It is not part of my purpose to enter into all the phases of the strike, but one thing I will set forth, as it shows the method adopted to break the ranks of the workmen. The manager of the colliery was a man well-known in the North of England Coal Trade, Mr R. Heckles. He, believing there was great power in the beer jug, when the strike had continued for a fortnight sent six notes for fifty men each to get a quart of ale per man. These were placed before a meeting of 250 men. "On the offer of the beer being announced the men replied that the notes were to be sent back, as the day had gone by when the men were to be bought with beer, but that beef and bread would be better, and a resolution was carried not to resume work except at last year's prices."
The breaking of the bond brought the workmen into collision with the law, and four of them were summoned to appear at the Sunderland Court, on the 21st of June 1869. They were charged under the Masters and Servants Act. One of the cases, that of Thomas Fenwick, was taken. The magistrates were told they could impose a fine of £20, or commit to prison for three months. The defence was conducted by Mr Roberts, the "Pitmen's Attorney-General." The Bench decided that the defendant should give sureties of £20 to return to work, or be committed to prison for one month. Mr Roberts took objection, and pointed out that there was no attesting witness to the signing of the contract, and asked for a case to the Queen's Bench on the point. On that being raised the case was adjourned for a fortnight.
On the 6th of July the case again came up for hearing. The objection raised by Mr Roberts was then gone into. It was to the effect that the defendant was a marksman (that is, made his mark and did not sign his name), and that the bond was never read over to him. The matter was contested for a considerable time. Eventually Mr Roberts said he had "been told by the most influential men among the workmen that they wanted to be free from the villainous and iniquitous bond, and they would undertake to leave the houses within nine days." On that promise being made and accepted by the solicitor for the owners the bond by mutual consent was cancelled.
The men immediately arranged for vacating the houses and handing in their lamps. In one instance this was done in a unique and striking manner. The men formed in procession, over 300 in number, each man carrying his lamp and a copy of the colliery rules. Marching to the colliery they handed in their lamps, and returned the rules to the overman. The effect of the trial was speedily seen in the solidifying of the whole of the workmen at Wearmouth, as the deputies and others (while passively remaining from work, had never taken active part in the strike) now threw themselves into the struggle, and made common cause with the hewers, and the further effect was the impetus given to the cause of unionism throughout the county until it consummated in the Durham Miners' Union.
Another element assisting our formation was the desire for association which was burning in the breast of a few men whose ardour could not be damped by repeated failures or retarded by opposition or hardship. The last of the series of these attempts was in 1863, the meeting being held in the Victoria Hotel, Newcastle. There were 30 delegates present—27 from Northumberland, and only 3 from Durham, Whitworth, Washington, and Usworth, the membership being slightly over 4000. We are told by Fynes in his history that it was resolved to hold meetings in Durham "with the view of moving the men of this county to join them." At the next meeting Mr Crawford was appointed agent and secretary, with Mr Joseph Sheldon as a colleague. In that capacity the writer first saw Mr Crawford. He was the principal speaker at a meeting held on Sherburn Hill. He was on his way from the Leeds National Conference, and we find by reference to the report of that meeting that he was Chairman of the Committee on Law. This union of the two counties continued until the Northumberland men felt that to them it was like being connected with a body of death, and they realised that the connection would in the end be fatal, and in 1865 resolved to separate. This resolution was carried into effect, and county organisations were formed. The two agents were allotted as follows:—Mr Crawford being kept in Northumberland, and Mr Sheldon became the agent in Durham. His term of office was very short, as the Union here very soon died out. At the united meeting, embracing the two counties, held on November 21st, E. Rhymer was the only delegate, and he delivered a very characteristic speech, of which the following is a portion:—