12 JULY 1890, Page 1

The agitation among the London postmen, though not so dangerous,

has been more persistent, and has been marked by more violence towards outside candidates for the work. The younger men have, in fact, more reason for discontent, being, as a Royal Commission reported three years ago, decidedly underpaid. They say Mr. Raikes gives them neither hearing nor redress, and that he is opposed to their Union, which latter charge is not true, though he is opposed to the regula- tion of wages by an agency foreign to the Department. It was therefore expected on Tuesday that there would be a general strike ; but though there was refusal to work at several district offices, the body of postmen obeyed orders. Those who refused were dismissed, and bodies of outsiders were taken on. They were at first attacked by the regular hands ; but as such hands were at once dismissed—the total of dismissals on Friday reaching hundreds—they now work peaceably under police protection. The Government is resolute not to yield to threats, and is supported by the mercantile community; and the postmen are obviously ill-advised. Their salaries are paid by poor taxpayers, but they allow their leaders to talk malignant rubbish about capitalists, and to force on a conflict in which they have no chance. Theirs is precisely the labour with which the market is overstocked, the School Boards every year turning out hundreds of thousands of lads eager for wages, careless of fatigue, knowing London, and able to read any manner of writing. An appeal to Parliament for better treatment would have produced a much better result.