We noticed last week the admirable speech made by Mr.
Burt to the International Miners' Congress, held at Jolimont, in Belgium. Throughout the debates, the English delegates displayed not only strong sense, but a thorough spirit of in- dependence. As regards the eight-hour day, in particular, they prevented a most dangerous resolution. An immense majority of the Continental delegates desired not only to decide that the legal day should be fixed by statute, but to decree a general strike for May 1st, 1891, in order to compel its adoption. Mr. Cowie jumped up, however, and declared that the British delegates had no such mandate ; that they were the representa- tives of the men and not their masters ; and that without special instructions they would agree to no such vote, would, indeed, decline to vote upon the subject at all. His cool decisiveness so impressed the meeting, that it was resolved to refer the subject to the men, and to hold a special Congress next-year to deliberate before any general strike was ordered. It is not improbable that contact with British delegates will greatly modify the action of Continental workmen, who are persuaded that nothing can be obtained except by a show of force. They have certainly some reason for their irritability, if it be true, as reported by telegraph, that the Belgian Minister of the Interior offered the Mayor of Jolimont the aid of troops, to protect his town against the incendiary effect of the assemblage, and that the German delegates dared not vote as representatives of Unions, for fear of imprisonment on their return. Wanton repression of that kind provokes, though it does not justify, foolish resistance to law.
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