On the refusal of this offer it became clear to the workmen that they were being most harshly dealt with, and as a natural consequence there were a few outbursts of temper and disturbances. There were numbers of policemen imported into the county. Against this the united Committees protested, and pointed out that the massing of these men was likely to cause disturbance, where otherwise there would be peace. They likewise thought the rate-payers should demand the withdrawal of the policemen, as they were an unnecessary burden upon the county. At the same time they placed before the county a detailed account of the whole proceedings from the initiation of it. They showed that they had done all they could in the interests of peace. They had offered to submit to a reduction, the justice of which had never been sufficiently proved; in fact, they were willing to give two and a half more than the owners asked for when they came out, which was equal to the fullest demand before the stoppage. They concluded by saying:
The future of this awful struggle is with the owners. We have done our part. We cannot and do not ask you to accept the unjust and exorbitant demand made upon you. So far as we can see, the struggle must continue, that is, unless you are prepared to submit to the unjust demands of the owners. Are you prepared to do this?
We implore you to be patient under the strain placed upon you by the latest action of the owners, from which it is evident that they would crush you, and reduce your manhood to the level of serfdom. We urge you to be law-abiding and still continue to show, as you have done in the past, that the men of Durham are a credit, not only to Trade Unionism, but to the country at large.
The owners are aware that our ability to successfully resist their demands depends upon our being able to procure the necessaries of life. It is a matter which they have no need to personally fear, but which they appear determined to use as a weapon to force us to accept their terms. We must all do our best to defeat their projects, and nothing shall be left undone that we can do to secure subscriptions in order that our people may have food. We are thankful to those friends who have helped us, and we hope that workmen and all lovers of justice will respond to our appeal.
As Committees, we tender our thanks to the leaders and friends at our local lodges, who have so untiringly and unceasingly given their labours for that purpose. They are in a good cause, and we are sure they will not weary in their well-doing. Their action is made more necessary by the determination of the owners.
The offer of the employers (thirteen and a half per cent.) was submitted to the county along with the alternative of strike, with the result that every section voted by large majorities for a continuance of the strike, the least majority of any section being near four to one, and in one section nine to one. The resources of the men were gone, but their spirit of determination was strong. The owners by a statement tried to put themselves right with the public, but the Board replied by a counter statement. Then some of the influential men in the county (including Bishop Westcott) thought it was time to interfere, and letters were written by them to the Board, for which thanks were sent in reply. Among the communications was one from N. Wood, Esq., M.P., in which he expressed his regret at the failure to settle and the great misery among the people, and suggested that the Board should make an offer of eleven and a half. A letter of thanks was sent to him, expressing surprise that he should make the suggestion, and informing him that they would feel glad if he would try to get the owners to see that they were preventing a settlement by their stubborn refusal to shift from their demand for thirteen and a half per cent. The good Bishop, however, was not satisfied, and persisted in his endeavours to get the parties together. He was told that as soon as the owners were willing the Board would meet, and an arrangement was made on June 1st at Auckland Castle. A very long joint meeting took place, and then each party met in a separate room, the Bishop passing from room to room, full of solicitude for a settlement. At nearly the final stage of the proceedings he tried his best to persuade the workmen to offer eleven per cent., and he was told that, while he had their most profound respect, and they were sorry to refuse him, yet if they thought ten and a half would settle the dispute they would refuse, and continue the strike. At that point the parties met jointly again, when the following resolution was handed to the workmen:—
owners' offer
The Federation Board have offered explanations as to the establishment of a system of conciliation in the future, which the Bishop of Durham recommends the owners to accept as satisfactory, and the Bishop having strongly appealed to the owners—not on the ground of any judgment on his part of the reasonableness or otherwise of the owners' claim of 13½ per cent., but solely on the ground of consideration for the impoverished condition of the men and of the general prevailing distress—to reopen the pits at a present reduction of 10 per cent. (that is, from 35 to 25 above standard), with the full expectation that wages will hereafter be amicably settled by the system of conciliation contemplated, the owners yield to the Bishop's appeal on these grounds, and assent thereto.
Bishop Auckland,
June 1st, 1892.
It was thought desirable to settle certain details before work was resumed. Amongst these was the restarting of all men as they came out. Some of the owners demurred, and thereupon the meeting broke up, and adjourned until Friday, the 3rd. The workmen at that meeting asked for a plain statement that every man would be engaged at his own work. The proposal of the owners was as follows:—
owners' resolution
1. The Owners' Association have decided that no person shall be refused employment in consequence of having taken part in the affairs of the Workmen's Associations during the strike; they cannot, however, give a pledge to re-employ all their workmen, but they will recommend their members to employ as large a number as possible, and that the re-engagement of hewers be as follows:—That the places in each pit be cavilled for according to the last cavilling sheet, and that men cavilled to the places not intended to commence again shall be the ones not to be employed, it being understood that one hewer in a family being cavilled to a place that is to work is equal to the engagement of the whole family. In cases where a whole seam is stopped, it having been previously cavilled separately, the men belonging to such seam shall not be entitled to have a cavil put in for any other seam. This mode of re-engagement shall not be adopted as precedent in future cases, either in discharging or employing workmen.
2. That the owners are not prepared to discharge or remove the workmen whom they have employed during the strike for the purpose of reinstating other workmen who were previously employed, but will use their best endeavours to re-engage those previously employed as vacancies occur.
Reginald Guthrie,
Secretary.Durham Coal Owners' Association,
June 3rd, 1892.
The united Committees objected to the second portion, but were willing to accept the first. No definite agreement was come to, but there was an understanding that the matter would be allowed to adjust itself smoothly, which it did, and no disturbance whatever took place in the absence of an agreement. The united Committees guarded themselves by drawing up a resolution, in which they interpreted the owners' resolution to mean that every man would be re-employed as before the stoppage. At the same time they informed their members that if any case of refusal took place, then all the other men must refuse to work.
Thus ended one of the most memorable strikes in this or any other country, not on account of its length, but the circumstances which were connected with it. The workmen were poor in funds at the start, and the help (although generous from some quarters) was small per individual; the total benefit for the three months did not exceed 25s. each full member. With these poor resources and prospects they entered upon what was felt would be a strike of a very determined kind—this, too, with the minimum amount of friction. The only event of much importance happened at Castle Eden. The disturbance took place on May 7th. It arose in reference to a man named Stogdale, who would not abstain from working during the strike. Four of the workmen at Castle Eden were tried for intimidation. Their names were Michael Forbes, W. R. Robbins, T. Jones, and T. H. Cann. They were tried at the Durham Assizes in July 1892, before Judge Day. They were tried under the Intimidation Act. The judge summed up in a very strong manner against all the men except Robbins, who was discharged, but the other three were sent to prison. The judge said they had been found guilty by the jury of the offence with which they were charged—namely, with the object of preventing a certain person from pursuing his legal occupation "you in a disorderly manner, with other people, followed him along the road." After making a long speech in a similar strain, to show how beneficent the law was in his opinion and what a trio of desperadoes they were, he sentenced Forbes to a month, Jones to six weeks, and Cann, because the judge thought he was the ringleader, to two months.
THE AFTERMATH OF THE STRIKE
If the strike was unique in its endurance and order it was none the less important in its lessons. In it, as in 1879, was seen the result that followed the lack of confidence. A strike is the harvest field of the agitator, who cares not what is destroyed so long as he prospers. What would have been the gain to the individual member and to the Association if the resolve taken in the last few weeks had been taken before the tools were brought to bank? The funds, such as they were, would have been kept intact instead of being wasted. The great loss in individual income would have been avoided; in that respect the savings banks and co-operative societies (which in many cases are the poor man's bank) could have told a tale of hardly saved stores used up which had been kept for a "rainy day" of unavoidable troubles. The unnecessary and destructive friction which is sure to arise in these matters, no matter how peaceably the struggle be conducted, would have been avoided. Two great bodies, such as the two great Associations in Durham, are two great armies, and in the struggle and strivings anger will arise, and regrettable things will be said in the heat of the moment. These have a more far-reaching effect than people are apt to credit.