On the 6th of July the case again came up for hearing. The objection raised by Mr Roberts was then gone into. It was to the effect that the defendant was a marksman (that is, made his mark and did not sign his name), and that the bond was never read over to him. The matter was contested for a considerable time. Eventually Mr Roberts said he had "been told by the most influential men among the workmen that they wanted to be free from the villainous and iniquitous bond, and they would undertake to leave the houses within nine days." On that promise being made and accepted by the solicitor for the owners the bond by mutual consent was cancelled. The men immediately arranged for vacating the houses and handing in their lamps. In one instance this was done in a unique and striking manner. The men formed in procession, over 300 in number, each man carrying his lamp and a copy of the colliery rules. Marching to the colliery they handed in their lamps, and returned the rules to the overman. The effect of the trial was speedily seen in the solidifying of the whole of the workmen at Wearmouth, as the deputies and others (while passively remaining from work, had never taken active part in the strike) now threw themselves into the struggle, and made common cause with the hewers, and the further effect was the impetus given to the cause of unionism throughout the county until it consummated in the Durham Miners' Union. Another element assisting our formation was the desire for association which was burning in the breast of a few men whose ardour could not be damped by repeated failures or retarded by opposition or hardship. The last of the series of these attempts was in 1863, the meeting being held in the Victoria Hotel, Newcastle. There were 30 delegates present--27 from Northumberland, and only 3 from Durham, Whitworth, Washington, and Usworth, the membership being slightly over 4000. We are told by Fynes in his history that it was resolved to hold meetings in Durham "with the view of moving the men of this county to join them." At the next meeting Mr Crawford was appointed agent and secretary, with Mr Joseph Sheldon as a colleague. In that capacity the writer first saw Mr Crawford. He was the principal speaker at a meeting held on Sherburn Hill. He was on his way from the Leeds National Conference, and we find by reference to the report of that meeting that he was Chairman of the Committee on Law. This union of the two counties continued until the Northumberland men felt that to them it was like being connected with a body of death, and they realised that the connection would in the end be fatal, and in 1865 resolved to separate. This resolution was carried into effect, and county organisations were formed. The two agents were allotted as follows:--Mr Crawford being kept in Northumberland, and Mr Sheldon became the agent in Durham. His term of office was very short, as the Union here very soon died out. At the united meeting, embracing the