The case of the miners of Carmaux is not quite
so bad as the Times represents. Their secretary, M. Calvignac, was elected Mayor of the Commune, and shortly after was dis- missed by the company which owns the mine. The miners say, and probably believe, that he was dismissed because of his election, and that it is intended to debar workmen from holding Municipal office. That would be a legitimate griev- ance, and we do not wonder, with French notions of equality, that the miners have struck, or that other workmen's associa- tions are furiously taking up their cause. There would be anger even in England, and deep wrath in America, had the same thing happened. The fault of the miners is not anger without cause, but credulity about the cause itself, which appears to be non-existent. The company's manager affirms that he had given M. Calvignac more than reasonable leave, that he wholly neglected his work to speechify as Mayor, and that he was dismissed not for being Mayor, but for not earning his pay in the mine. All the evidence is in favour of the manager's contention, which, indeed, is partly admitted by M. Calvignac himself ; but the miners, in their characteristic suspicious- ness, will not hear reason. The quarrel is a very grave one, for the miners threaten to use force, and the Ministry, in fear of the general artisan vote, are afraid to call out troops. They know that if the workmen think themselves excluded from office, they will never forgive the Government, and are, it is believed, endeavouring to discover some compromise which will secure justice, yet save the miners' amour propre.
Previous page
