Lady Burdett-Coutts had allowed some of her stablemen to paint
their stables, paying them, of course, an extra fee. The North-West London Operative House-Painters' and Decorators' Trade Society therefore sent her ladyship a letter complaining that there were painters out of work, and asking that the job might be given to them. Lady Burdett - Coutts replies denouncing this letter as mon- strous oppression ; which is, we think, an exaggeration. It was rather an impertinent interference than an oppres- sion, and we regret that Lady Burdett-Coutts did not make an obvious and complete retort. Every member of the Society with the long name employs his wife and daughters to sew on his shirt-buttons. Now, there are notoriously sempstresses out of work, and the members are therefore false to true principle in not employing them. That the wife and daughters do the work without wages, only adds to the horror of the transaction. " Undercutting " is bad enough, but to work for no pay at all ! It is positively shocking.
Previous page
