"Old Tommy," as his brother miners of every degree loved to call him, was chiefly known to the pitmen at large as a Unionist. With a face furrowed with care and the hardships of his laborious calling, and scarred by many an accident in the pits, he was never afraid to stand up before his brethren and agitate for that amelioration in the condition of the working pitmen which has at length been conceded. His style of oratory, if it were not strictly grammatical, was gifted with a warmth of expression that told forcibly on his hearers of his own class, and his perfect knowledge of the one subject he engaged upon--the danger and the excessive toil of the miner's life--caused him to be held in respect by masters and men alike. In every movement that had for its object the freedom from the bondage the miner was held in, Ramsey was always to the front, and none mourned in bygone years more sincerely than he did the failure to establish on a firm and lasting basis the Union, by which alone he maintained were they likely to obtain their rights as workmen. When the present Association was started, amongst the dozen delegates or so who assembled at the Market Hall, Durham, bent if they could on forming a union, was "Old Tommy"; and there he attended every meeting, when to be identified as a delegate was to almost sign his own death warrant so far as employment was concerned. "Men and brothers," he said, addressing a public meeting near Thornley a few weeks after the Association was formed, "I've been a Unionist all my days, and with the help of God I will remain one to the end of the chapter." At the Council meeting held on 31st May we have the first mention of a hall for the use of the Association, with offices and agents' houses. After a lengthy discussion the project was endorsed, the money to be taken from the general funds, and the Executive were appointed a Building Committee. The Committee immediately commenced operations by purchasing a block of houses known as Monks Buildings, the site of the Hall and houses, and offering a premium of £25 for the best design for hall and offices. This was won by Mr T. Oliver, Architect, of Newcastle. The other important question was the eleven hours' drawing of coals. The system received general condemnation. At the conclusion of the consideration a very long resolution was adopted. It set forth that when the Mines Act came into operation the workmen did not think it right to curtail the producing powers of the pits, and they, therefore, fell in with the views of the owners. Having tried the system they had no hesitation in pronouncing it an utter failure on the following grounds:--