ON THE

Practical Operation of Arbitration and Conciliation in the Settlement of Differences between Employers and Employees in England. By Jos. D. Weeks, Special Commissioner of the State of Pennsylvania, Associate Editor of the Iron Age, etc.

PITTSBURGH, December 26, 1878.

SIR: I have the honor to forward you the accompanying report of my investigations, the past summer, into the practical operations of arbitration in settling differences between employers and employed in England.

I found, at the beginning of my inquiries, that though there were at least three laws on the statute books of England on this subject, they were virtually dead letters, and, therefore, I directed my attention to the workings of the voluntary Boards of Arbitration and Conciliation, that exist in a number of the trades of that country, and have given, in this report, some account of their operations, with copies of the rules of the most important. These rules will be found in appendices to the report, together with the latest act of Parliament on the subject of arbitration.

The condition of the laboring class, and the strength and extent of the labor organizations, were subjects to which I was forced to devote considerable attention, in order to correctly understand and appreciate the workings of arbitration; but I have touched upon these subjects incidentally, and only so far as was necessary to an understanding of the difficulties to be overcome.

I have to make grateful acknowledgements of the uniform kindness with which I was met, and the readiness with which every facility was extended to me for acquiring information. I should make a special acknowledgement, however, to Mr. Rupert Kettle, judge of the county courts of Worcestershire; Mr. A. J. Mundella, M. P.; Mr. B. Samuelson, M. P.; Mr. Thomas Burt, M. P., representative of the colliers; Mr. Ed. Trow, secretary of the National Amalgamated Iron Workers Association; Mr. George Howell, formerly secretary of the parlimentary committee of the Trades Union Congress; Mr. George Broadhurst, present secretary of the same; Mr. Alsager Hay Hill, editor of the Labour News; Mr. W. H. S. Aubery, editor of Capital and Labour, and especially to Mr. Charles Wheeler, of Wolverhampton, who was most earnest in his aid and most helpful in forwarding my inquiries.

I would most respectfully suggest that this subject is worthy of a more extended investigation than I was enabled to give it in the time at my disposal, and I would recommend that some legislation be adopted to this end, and also that the inquiry be extended so as to include the workings of this principle in other European countries, as well as to the condition of labor.

Very respectfully,

JOS. D. WEEKS.

To His Excellency JOHN F. HARTRANFT, Governor of Pennsylvania.

1—ARBITRATION.