Dispute – July 31st – The Great Distress of the Evicted Miners at Denaby

July 1885

Mexborough and Swinton Times July 31, 1885

The Great Distress of the Evicted Miners at Denaby

Sir,

My great work in connection with the evicted miners at Denaby Main has been to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to visit the sick, as to speak words of peace to the dying; in doing the work I have had t  write many letters to the public, press and to private persons who have sent me contributions.

This seems to have given great offence to Messrs W.H.Chambers and T.R.Nicholas, who are officials at the Denaby Colliery, and they have not scrupled to charge me with most wicked crimes – charges which they must know are void of any particle of truth.

Before I can hold any correspondence with them, they must withdraw the statement, “That the whole of this trouble is caused by some 20 or 30 men, aided by Mr Leslie.” They both know that I had nothing to do with the Denaby Main dispute, and that it had continued for 14 weeks, and that it was not until the cruel evictions on 8 April that I gave help to the poor women and children, who were being cast into the public street without home or shelter.

The lockout at the first was  a very great mistake on the part of the Denaby Main company, the evictions were cruel and unnecessary, and the treatment which the poor men have since received have been most unjust, and calculated to cause irritation and disturbance.

On Tuesday, 21 July, the men were allowed to go to the colliery office and “sign” that which they thought was a mutual contract that they were to resume work at five shillings a day for colliers and four shillings per day for fillers as their places were got ready for them in the pit. In view of this supposed settlement there was great rejoicing amongst the men and their families. The news of the “settlement” was circulated all over the country by the daily press.

Today Mr W.H.Chambers, in several newspapers, says, “These men have no more claim on this colliery than any other colliery in Yorkshire.”

I ask, Sir, in the name of truth, the honour and justice if that be so, why did he allow them to go and “sign” the paper at the companies office on Tuesday, the 21st instant? Does he mean thereby to throw dust into the eyes of the public, and to stop the flow of Christian sympathy to the poor starving families of the evicted miners, or did he mean to add to the suffering of those poor people, by raising a hope within them which was not to be realised?

The distress is now very great, I therefore asked for continued sympathy of the Christian men and women of Yorkshire, on behalf of the evicted miners of Denaby Main.

I am, yours truly,

Thomas James Leslie
July 30, 1885