A serious strike has occurred at Blackburn. In 1848 wages
were lowered ten per cent. in East Lancashire. Since that time the ope- ratives have struck more than once to recover the deduction, and so far succeeded that in 1858-60 a compromise was agreed to, and wages were raised five per cent. But recently the employers gave notice that they should take off the five per cent., alleging the badness of trade, glutted markets, and the unsatisfactory state of America. The operatives met their employers with a protest against the reduction of five per cent., on the following grounds :-1. If the trade was bad—which was not denied—owing to the stocks in Man- chester being too heavy, the only remedy was to limit the supply till the demand increased, they (the operatives) being willing to meet this by accepting the reduction in wage, provided that the manufac- turers resorted to "short-time" four days per week—while the five per cent. was taken off; for they said, if the cause of depression of trade was the overstocked market, then by working full time they were only increasing the panic. The employers replied by adopting a resolution whereby 81 firms, representing 44,000 looms, agreed to "lock out" their work-people until they should come to terms. Thus, at a critical moment of the cotton manufacture, the operatives are again about to waste thousands in useless opposition.
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