xxii LONDON COUNTY COUNCIL 285 



" That this meeting empower Cardinal Manning to 

 inform the Dock Directors that the men are willing to 

 meet them half-way in the matter of the time at which 

 the payment of 6d. and 8d. is to begin and to accept 

 Monday 4th November as the date." 



Cardinal Manning will see the Directors to-morrow, 

 when the proposition will be discussed ; and he is very 

 anxious indeed that, if you could possibly see your way 

 to it, you should, in order to strengthen his hands, send 

 him a telegram to-morrow (Thursday) before 2 o'clock 

 (addressed perhaps to the Mansion House) to the effect 

 that you trust the proposition will be accepted by the 

 Directors. 



From our interview with Mr. Norwood, we feel pretty 

 confident that he will urge on his Board the acceptance 

 of the proposition ; and your assent would greatly 

 strengthen his hands also. 



The Directors will simply say Aye or No to the pro- 

 position ; for we have informed Mr. Norwood, of that 

 which we feel absolutely certain, that, on the part of the 

 men, November 4th is the irreducible minimum — and 

 Mr. Norwood thought himself that this Board would not 

 haggle over intermediate dates. 



This is thus a real chance of ending the Strike, which 

 if it passes away cannot we fear recur. 



We are writing in a similar way to the Lord Mayor, 

 who is also unavoidably out of town till Friday — and we 

 hope he will also telegraph approval. — Yours affection- 

 ately, S. Buxton. 



While he thought that the Dock Directors 

 had been very uncourteously treated, and the 

 whole matter not at all well managed, he con- 

 sidered, on the whole, that the Company would 

 do wisely to accept the compromise, and tele- 

 graphed in this sense. 



The Dock Directors agreed, and the strike 

 ended, but the Company took steps to organise 

 the engagement of the men in the manner 

 indicated in his letter to Cardinal Manning. 

 The Directors, he subsequently heard, had in 



