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105 DEAR MR. WADIA, I write to acknowledge your letter of 28th June, which I shall place before His Excellency, who will, I have no doubt, glad to hear that at this time the meetings have been suspended even temporarily. Yours sincerely, (Sd.) T. E. MOIR. At length on 13th July, finding all efforts to meet Messrs. Binny & Co, unresponded to, I recommended the Labour Union meetings. THE REAL CAUSE OF THE LOCK-OUT But let me come to the immediate cause of the Lockouts. I think, it is necessary, to write very clearly on the issue. Messrs. Binny & Co.'s manifesto speaks of several details, accurate and otherwise, but no mention is made of the central fact, directly or indirectly. I do not think Messrs. Binny & Co. are unaware of it. The reason d'etre of their hostility, manifested in the two Lock-cuts, is clear; they want to disband our Labour Union. It is with great pleasure that I see their manifesto declaring that they "appreciate the fact that Labour Unions have come to stay. They, however, object to the existing Union : is it because the teaching given at our meetings tends to make Labourers independent and self-respecting and enable them to give up their old ways of slavishly putting up with everything including ill-treatment? If the Union is making our members politically vociferous or troublesome let the Government look after that: why should Messrs. Binny & Co. get nervous ? The fact is that the new spirit has touched the labourers ; just as peasants will not silently die of hunger in famine time