isratated that the masters are quite rear* to give way
about wages if the men will consent to the double-shift system, that is, to let the work be done by relays of seven hours each. This would make the out-turn so large that the masters could afford mush more money. The colliers, however, object, apparently under the belief that it is not their interest to increase produc- tion, and so in the long run reduce the price of coal. They are also fiercely opposed to the introduction of any kind of machinery for lessening the labour of cutting coal, as that might reduce their wages. They seem, in fact, to be much in the mental posi- tion of the agricultural labourers when they fired ricks because the farmers brought in thrashing-machines,r–a fact not very creditable to the education of which our correspondent speaks.
Previous page
