450 
VETERINARY AFFAIRS. 
several of the proprietors of the larger forges had been consult¬ 
ing together, as to the extent to which they could comply with 
the public wish, for it was a general one. Among other things, 
they discussed the propriety of giving greater encouragement to 
men from the country, who were fully adequate to undertake a 
portion, at least, of the work of the forge, wdio W’ould quickly 
prepare themselves for the execution of the whole, and who 
would gladly wmrk for much lower wages than the town journey¬ 
men had been accustomed to demand. 
The journeymen took the alarm; their clubs assembled, and 
they confirmed, by fines and penalties, many things which had 
been customary among them, but from which they had occasion¬ 
ally departed ; and they drew up other regulations, bearing hard 
upon the interests of their employers. They determined that no 
fir e-man should work for less than thirty-five shillings perw’eek, 
and no doorman for less than thirty. That they would only 
make a certain number of shoes, of a certain description, in'the 
course of the day; and that number was so small, that they 
could with the greatest ease get through their work by one 
o’clock. That they would only make a certain proportion of 
shoes from old iron to a certain number of new iron. That they 
would put on no shoes that were not made in the forge; and 
that they would not work with any man who did not belong to 
their clubs, and receive their wages; and all these things w-ere 
to be enforced by heavy fines and penalties. 
They proceeded at once to carry their resolutions into full exe¬ 
cution. Deputies were sent to every forge, to announce to the 
men the determination of the club, and the consequences of dis¬ 
obedience ; and it would seem that there was some private com¬ 
munication besides, for nothing was said to the master until the 
forge was fullest of horses, and then, in a body, they required the 
immediate dismissal of the man or men who did not belonor to 
O 
them; and if this w^as refused, as refused it naturally was in the 
great majority of cases, the club-men put on their coats, de¬ 
manded their wages, and quitted the shop. Several persons 
were put to exceedingly great inconvenience by this; and to 
more than one the delay in shoeing the horses, or the impossibi¬ 
lity of doing it at all, proved a very serious loss of after-custom. 
It may be supposed, that tyranny like this would not be sub¬ 
mitted to; and, after one or two preliminary meetings, a general 
one of the veterinary surgeons and master farriers was sum¬ 
moned. 
This general meeting w’as held on Monday, the 15th of July, at 
the Garrick’s Head, in Bow Street. Rather more than twenty 
persons were present. We w'ere sorry to see so thin an assembly, 
and that so few of the leading men of the profession were there. 
