"
Mr. Hughes, M.P., after visiting the collieries, expressed his surprise
at the great success achieved in the first year of working the
collieries as a partnership of industry. "I believe," he said to the
owners, "that in taking this step you have done a great work for
England, and one which will be gratefully recognized before long by the
country." The promoters also claimed a reward from the Paris Universal
Exhibition, for having been "the first large employers in England who
have allowed all their workpeople, whether co-shareholders with them or
not, to participate in all divisible profits beyond a fixed percentage
on the paid-up capital of the company."
Only a few years have passed, and already this promising partnership of
industry has come to an end. It has not been brought to an end by the
masters, but by the men. The masters were satisfied with the profits
made during the recent high prices of coal; but the men were not
satisfied with the wages. Had they been as free as the Welsh colliers,
they would have insisted on being paid as highly; but it would have
been, as it was in Wales, ruinous to the masters. The system of
industrial partnership had at length to be abandoned, and the men now
work for wages instead of for part-profits. The truth is, the colliers
were not sufficiently educated to appreciate the advantages of the
industrial scheme.
Pages:
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304