dvantage to the trade has been the regularity
and certainty with which they obtain their coals from on board ship,
instead of the injurious delay which occurred before the office was
established, while the men (goaded by oppression) and the captains were
contending about the price of the labour; and the advantage to the
shipowner has been--the prevention of delay in the delivery of his
cargoes--by always finding a sufficient number of men in attendance at
the office, for the delivery of the ships--steadiness in the price of
labour, and avoidance of detention through 'strikes' for higher wages,
_and on the whole_, _a lower price for labour than prevailed before the
office was established_. In some years, nearly 100,000 pounds has passed
through the office for wages earned, but of late that amount has been
greatly reduced in consequence of the introduction of machinery in docks
and other places; the decrease in importation coastwise; the employment
of '_bona fide_' servants by some gas companies, and by a few coal
merchants; and _by frequent evasions of the Act through the interference
of persons who have nothing whatever to do with the payment of wages_,
_and who derive pecuniary advantage to themselves by so doing_. The
retention of the word 'purchaser' in the Act gives them power to do
this."

In August, 1856, the Act which did so much good expired. Parliament
refused to continue it on the express promise of parties connected with
the coal trade, that a model office should be created, which should be
conducted in such a manner that the publicans should not be able to renew
the hideous evil of the old system. THIS CONTRACT WITH PARLIAMENT HAS
BEEN BROKEN, and at this moment the coal-whippers are suffering from a
return to the fearful slavery and tyranny of old times. Already
one-third of the trade is again in the hands of the publicans. The first
thing the model office did was immediately to throw 252 coal-whippers out
of employment. Of course these men were necessitated to go to the
publicans. Another complaint against the model office is, that in two
cases the men were paid 2d. a ton, and in another case 3d. a ton, less
than the price paid to the office. Another grievance is, instead of the
persons connected with the coal trade going to the model office, the
_bona fide_ offices created by the Act, and by means of which it was
abused, still exist, and we were informed one of the largest merchants
has still his