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North Stafford Enginemen’s Demo 1874
Researched by John Lumsdon
The North Stafford Branch of the National Federation of Enginemen held their third annual demonstration o Monday 4th May1874. The Tunstall and Kidsgrove lodges met at Kidsgrove and walked in procession to Tunstall station, there taking the train to Longton. The procession having formed at Longton, marched through Fenton, Stoke, Hanley and Burslem and back to the Hanley covered market, where they partook of a first class tea.
Eight lodges were in the procession, which was accompanied by the Kidsgrove Temperance Bras Band. Their Beautiful banners were carried, upon which were “Arbitration,” “square and compass,” “engine and headgears &c. The procession numbered about 400 the whole members of the Tunstall Branch, wearing white mole-skin trousers and vests and blue pilot coats and caps, attracted much attention and looked remarkably well.
After tea a meeting was held, when addresses were delivered by Mr. Rhodes and A.A. Walton Esq., recitations by Mr. Thomas Unwin and Mr Capey and selections by the band. Mr. Rhodes remarked, that although having had considerable difficulties to contend with, he was glad to see so many present and looking so well on the third anniversary of their association.
Being so young, they could not expect to be up to the mark in every sense of the word, but they were improving, and he hoped they would still continue to improve. He was glad that for the most part the members had kept sober in the procession. There might have been one or two who had indulged a little, but he thought not more. He hoped that as an Association they would still continue to act as to claim the attention of those considering themselves their superiors.
The enginemen did not wish to be unreasonable in making their claims, but to conduct their business by reasoning and not by force. In times past when men combined, brute force was used, and when there were strikes they went about cutting ropes, breaking windows, &c. But that was not so now.
Their employers were willing to meet them when they had any grievance, and that showed considerable advancement upon the old mode of conducting their business. Their combination used to be looked upon as something dangerous but since the employers had met them, they had talked matters over it was found they were not as unreasonable as it was though they were. The more they met together the better they would be able to agree, and to avoid strikes and lock-outs.
The enginemen were willing to leave the settlement of their question to a Board of Arbitration, for they knew that strikes and lock-outs injured both employers and employed. At the present time there was a great amount of “striking” and “lock-outs” and some were of the opinion that an attempt was being made to crush the association of working men. He, (the speaker) hoped that this was not so.
He thought that they would all agree with him when he said that the capitalists were entirely responsible for the present state of trade. They had forced up the price of coal to an unreasonable height, but the working men had not followed them. That was the reason that there was such a want of confidence, and that trade was so bad. If the working men’s associations were wise and kept together until prosperous times, they would never again allow the employers to force up the prices without following them.
If they allowed them to force up prices and did not follow them, it only meant allowing them so much extra capital. If the working man had followed up the prices they would have to spend their extra earnings, and it would have gone into trade and would not have lost to the community.
The Enginemen’s Association was not merely a district one, it was a national one. During the week two more districts had joined them. Some of the employers fancied that their association was formed with a view of injuring them, but it was nothing of the kind. If the employers would only work with them, they would find that it was to their advantage as well as to the advantage of the men. If a haystack was burned away no one could receive the benefit of it. What was wasted was a loss to all. If an incompetent person had charge of an engine and through his incompetency the engine was damaged, it was a loss to the employers and the country generally. Mr. Rhodes then concluded by remarking that the action of their branch in joining the National Federation of Enginemen would be conducive to the best results.
Mr. Walton, then addressed the meeting, after which votes of thanks were given to the speakers and the remainder of the evening was spent in conviviality.