The miners at Aston Hall Colliery have struck, because the
manager retained four non-Union men. The manager, therefore, by way of showing how he hated oppression, requested Mr. Glad- stone to turn the strikers out of their cottages. Mr. Gladstone- accordingly called his mining tenants together, and remonstrated with them strongly, arguing justly that they were bound to allow these men perfect liberty, and declaring that it would be most difficult to secure them votes as he desired, if such injustice- turned the opinion of the country against them. Mr. Gladstone has Veen much censured for using this argu- ment, but surely it is a fair one, and from anybody but an ex-Premier would be considered so. It is merely a statement that Parliament, when asked to concede the suffrage to miners, is likely to be prejudiced against them if they are tyrannical. The real puzzle, as it seems to us, is to decide whether "sending to Coventry " is an act of tyranny or not. .Any- body, except a workman, is at liberty to decline to associate with anybody he likes, and that is all the Aston Hall colliers have done They are exercising their right unjustly, no doubt, but is that their landlord's business? Suppose Mr. Gladstone "cuts" Lord Granville unreasonably, is the Crown to turn him out of Carlton- House Terrace? If not, why not ?
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