No incident of moment has occurred this week in regard
to the Builders' strike and lock-out, but there are the usual com- plaints of the sufferings endured by the labourers who are dependent upon the skilled hands, who have no Society, and who are not allowed any vote in the management of the contest. Nothing can be harder than their position, and we wish we saw signs that the men took it more seriously into account. They profess the greatest sympathy for brother masons, carpenters, &c., who are out of employ, because owing to the long hours the work is mono- polised by too few hands, and Mr. Beesly quotes this sympathy as proof that the workmen's morale is higher than that of the masters'. But they do not appear to consider that they are for the sake of their comrades locking out their dependents just as much as their masters are. Brotherhood is a noble feeling even in business, but sympathy. 'hood confined to a society or a guild is not brotherhood at all, but only corporatesentiment, a much lower and more dangerous motive- power. The men cannot of course vote their fund moneys to sup- port the labourers, but they might, we think, let them have part of any aid subscribed from outside.
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