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Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont film6s en commen9ant par la premiere page qui comporte une e..)preinte d'impression ou d'iliustration et en terminant par la derniire page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparaftra sur la dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbole — ^ signifie "A SUIVRE ", le symboie y signifie "FIN". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre filmis d des taux de reduction diffirents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul ciichi, i> est fiimi A partir de Tangle supArieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en has, en prenant le nombre d'images n6cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m6thode. >y errata ed to int ne pelure, ipon d 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 ! 6 TRADE UNIONS V ' a 1 I I ki f I KEGA TRADE UNIONS THEIR OBIGIN AND OBJECTS, INFLUENCE AND EFFICACY U BY WILLIAM TRANT '• This that they call Organization of Labour is the Uiiivcr.--al \'ital Problem of the World. It is the problem of the ^^ hole future for all who \vill in future pretend to govern men."— Thomas Carlyle. , - LONDON KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH .ltni — 'I'lic "ciipi- talist cmft.^iiutu" — The woikiiii;' clnns — TJio first crisis — The .stiitut* ! of liibonrers — TJk; blnuk dnith — Ilij^li \vag»'.<, cheap food, iiiid shoit hourp — Coiiibinutioii — (iinlds — 'I'ho fir«i union — }lUo of the urli.san -Tho Lolhudd — Antiigo- nisiu of the Nvealtliy — Tho jioa.MUiU' revolt — 0]>preBh;ion of the working cla.'s.ses — D(^ isenientof tho coin — ( "onlisoation of the guildti Coiubinai on hiw.s Tho poor lawn (Con- tinued decline of tho woi^ m —His miserable condition in the ninotemth cciitui - ^rado unions — Their original ruk'S--Condjinations of empioyers ... ... .,, CIIAPTKIl If. TnADE VNIOXS — TIIKIU I'UUOnilSS AND DKVllT.Ol'MKNT. Attempts to crush unionism — Hornby v. CUjsc— Combination made legal — First conference of union delegates Tlie Slieftield outrages — Tlio Royal Commission — Unc(jnal laws — Picketing — TJie Trade Union Acts ... CHAPTER III. TRADK rXIOXS— JJIKIR ORJIU'T^. Equality of bargaining power — To raise wages — Protection — Sick benefits, etc. ^Mutual support — Moral improvement of the workman — Constitution of a union — The Amalga- mated Society of Engineer.^— Executive of unions prevents hl])UfJ VIU CONTENT?*. VK<^'^"'-"^-; .^ ,uovc work- -I'iece-work- aro low-SUovter '-.V^^rt,. union -rotary-Fo. ■ KrrcrH ot "»'""r'"","' event a ri»c of wuge.-A tu. Uh strikes injnvious, »..y ^Xations -Boards of »r ..tru- ,,,„•« «ageB-Knn'l"y<" ™7 [,,_sp,.c«d of union-.n.- tJ,_Trade n,>i"nH i.revent " ' j ^ t,,e employ-'" •no power of trade '""-'J^;" ;XXo»ieties-Won.en's C7 CHAPTER V. .,u... v.toss-.Hr". ---- ^^^^^^^^^^ Effects of ^^^^^'^^^Z^^^r^rt. _AVcll-paid lab«" '«'""' , „ot mean liigl> pnces-rUe compotition-HigU wages does ^^^.^^.^_^^_^„.„peva. ,,igi price ot -^'^l "tii^l e i:vc„tion-Expendit«ro by tion-Trado unions ^t'";^.^*; ^^^ ^j ,Uortnr lioars-Self- tl,e working "'"f '-^a ,!°ee ot trade unions-Endeavour l,„l,rovement-Moral '"A"^^;"^"; ^"„^, influences of trade to make good ^v»k"aen--Educ. on .^^^_i^,„^, ,,„io„s-PoUtical mtlucno -ru »^e _ ^,^^^ ^„„^,„et ot • • • ' ' Index 1 % m ... 18; VKf.V ho rarifl 13 [low much ■con! of tho ;niaes-Tho •iece-NVOi'k— • atary— *'*»"^" f union i^Ji^^— he emiM^^^''* (3S__\Vonien'd Homo ohsoloto C7 (i:. iocial standai-a iulist-Foroign U prices— The ism— Co-opcva- Lxpendituro by or hours— Self- )ii3__Endeavour uences of traao unions— I^egal jtl conduct ot* ^ce— The union itish Association lurtion rl^ riiADE rxioxs. TUKin OltlGlX AND OJUECIS, INiLUEN'CE AND EFFICACY. ■*^*- ClIAPTKll 1 IllSTOiaCAL SKLTCH, t< i 4 ►Scrldum — Emancipation — The jlomcstic .synLcni— Tlio " capi- talist craftsman" — The ■working class — Tho first crisis — The statutes of labourers — The black death — High wages, cheap food, and short hours — Comljination — Guilds — Th(^ Hrst vmion — lliso of the artisan — Tho Lollards — Antagonism of tho wealthy — The peasants' revolt 0])prcssion of the working classes — Debasement of the coin — Confiscation of tho guilds — Combination laws — Tho poor laws — Con- tinued decline of the workman — Ilis miserable condition iu the nineteenth century — Trado unions — Their original rules — Combinations of employers. ( Tpiose Avlio so often speak of the "welfare of the State " would do well to remember that the phrase has never yet meant tho " welfare of tho people." Tlie 121 "good old times" were good only foi* a small portion 18 ^ TllADi: UNIONS. of the coniinunity, and altliougli year after year lias slioAvn constant iinprovcment, yet tliat amelioration lias been very slow and lamentably im])erfect. Aristotle says, in his " Politics,*' that the best and most perfect commonwealth is one which provides for the happiness of all its members. The fact that the great philosopher conceived such a noble sentiment so long age is in itself remarkable ; but admiration for his Avisdom is some- what diminished Avhcn it is found tliat, " although artisans and ti-ades of every kiiul are necessary to a State, they are not parts of it," and their happiness, therefore, is of a kind Avitli which the " l)est and most perfect commonwealth "" has no concern whatever. " The same law must be for all classes of my subjects," said Henry II., but labourers were not considered subjects. So late as Elizabeth's time they were spoken of (by Shakespeare) as " fragments." Even the Magna Charta, of which Englishmen are so justly proud, referred but to a moiety of the two millions of persons who inhabited England at the time of its promulgation. It affected freemen alone, and there is little doubt that nearly one- half of the entire population Avas then in a state of slavery so abject that, in the language of the old law- writers, "the villein knew not in the evening what he was to do in the morning, but ho was bound to do Avhatever lie was commanded." He was liable to beat- ing, he was incapable of acquiring property for him- self, and any he got became his master's ; lie could be separated from his Avife and children, and sold to another lord, or he could be passed with the land upon which he lived, as if he had been a chattel attached to it. Various causes r.oiselessly and gradually effaced thifis IIISTOJCK'AI. SKETCH. 8 year lias ration lias Aristotle st perfect happiness hilosoplicr is in itself L is sorae- " al though ssary to a happiness, , and most ver. "The jects," said d subjects, ken of (by rna Charta, r eferred but o inhabited It affected nearly one- a state of he old law- ng what he ound to do ible to beat- :y for him- le could be nd sold to e land upon tel attached effaced this iniserablc condition, though at a very slow rate. •' Faint traces of it," says Lord Macaulay, " were detected by the curious, so ite as the days of the Stuarts ; nor has that institution [villenage], even to tliis hour, been abolislunl by statute." From the earliest times, how- ever, serfdom in England bore within it the germs of its own destruction. Tlie lord might enfranchise his villein, or the latter could purchase his freedom. If, too, the slave escaped to some town, and remained there unclaimed a year and a day, he became a free man. Tlicre Averc also difhculties in the way of proving villenage, the onus of which proof always lay with the lord, while in all disputes on the subject the presump- tion of Jaw Avas in favour of liberty. " Thus," writes Creasy, " while at the period when wo first can assert the common law of the complete English nation to commence, we find this species of slavery so widely established in tliis countr\', we also find the law for its gradual and ultimately certain extinction." The Church, too, discountenanced slavery. Theodore denied Christian burial to the kidnapper, and prohibited the sale of children by their parents after the age of seven. Violation of the prohibition was j)unished with excom- munication. Tlic murder of a slave by his owner, though n(j ci'irae in the (>ye of the State, became a sin for Avhich penance was exacted by the Church. The slaves attached to Church property were freed, and manumission became frequent in wills, as the clergy taught that such a gift Avas a boon to the soul of the dead. With half a nation in slavery there could be no "'working class,'' as the term is generally understood. The wealthy ]o Iwai'd VI. s ])i'onglifc ' tlio roynl labourerH, LTitry wero indownora ■0, nnd tlio t severity. I one-third in prices 1 rose from . for meat, nd cheese, jvious, put o which he 10 did not Imost that as labour, vork. His e dissolu- hc debase- t funds of the poor, 11 this was its place. fiscation of d them as ssisted the oans with- dow . The ^e same as 1118TOUI0AI, f^KKTCir. 15 would ri'sult from the conliscatiou of the funds of tho Friendly Societies ; and it is worth noting', as an ar^'u- ment in favour of stron^^ union, that only tlio ]>rovincial guilds were moUsted, those in London Ix'ing so powerful tluit the Crown dared not molest them. 1'he workiiif*; men resisted these op|)resslons, and vi^'orous measures were ])assed to force them into sub- mission. An Act was passed in the rei.n'ii of Edward VI., which shows pretty plainly what was thouf that time he peculiar ains of men ins, Heaven )ry referred crs in Scot- ere obliged pse to keep part of the Avork else- tched back m of their o'istrates of o : combina- rted to an ices. ents which g the last gradually rever, is a eal of the 3 never to hat period istress was veiy great. England was then (1810-1812) in anything but an enviable position. On the Continent the hand of every nation was against her, and her hand was against every nation. She was at war Avith all the empires she had not subsidized in the Old World, and her arms were struggling with her own offspring in the New World, as well as jBghting a war of o])prcssion in the Indies. These wars, which lasted for a quarter of a century, spread misery like a pall over the land. Trade was paralyzed ; foreign ports, both in Europe and America, were closed to us, and by a pigheaded policy * our ports were closed to tliem. There was not work for anybody, and nearly everybody, therefore, was starving. Just at this time an event took place Avliich, although a great blessing, and known to be so at the time by far-sighted men, was not unaccompanied by those disasters w^hich generally accompany great changes. While nearly all men were out of work, capitalists began to introduce into the manufacturing districts labour-saving machines, which dispensed with seven out of every eight hand- workers. This was the last straw. The men were in no humour for reasoning on the principles of political economy. They were starving ; and to their eyes the new machinery cut off every chance of their ever work- ing again. They formed the strongest and most secret combination ever known in this country. Their object was to destroy the new machines, and for three years the havoc they committed, especially in Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Nottinghamshire, was immense. It was not until enormous powx'rs were granted to the military, the magistracy, and the police, that the con- * rp Tile notorioLiy " Orders in Couucil.' 24 TllADE UNIONS. spiracy was bi'ought to aii cml by tlic rxccutioii of thirty of the ringleaders.* Such was the miserable coiulition of tlio labourers, and their mer^grvT powers of combination, at the daA\n of the nineteenth century. Everywhere the combination laws were in full force; the truck system was almost universally established, and still further, to make tho workman dependent, ho v,as paid at lono; intervals ; and any advances kindly made to him by a generous em- ployer were charged for at the rate of 2(')0 per cent, per annum. Add to these the fact that the men were kept at Avork sixteen hours out of the twenty-four, and it will be no matter of surprise tliat they werc^ driven to defy the cruel and unjust laws which oppressed them, and to carry out their object, not only in the most natural of all ways, but by the means with which they Avere most familiar, namely, by combination. The 2^rogress of industry- at last rendered this im- perative. The application of steam power to the processes of manufacture, followed by the inventions of Arkwright, Crompton, Ilargreaves, at the close of the eighteenth century, and others, had almost annihilated the domestic system of manufacturing. Hitherto weaving had been carried on in private houses * The " Liulditc Risiiijj^," as t]ic disaffection has boon called, was intensified by tho fact that, wLcroas the operatives -were starving, the capitalists -were hoarding. Mr. J. R. Green says : " Tho war enriched tho landowner, the capitalist, the manufac- turer, the farmer ; but it impoverished the poor. It is, indeed, from the fatal years which lie between tue Peace of Amiens and Waterloo that we must date that war of classes, that social severance between rich and poor, between employers and employed, which still forms the great diflBculfcy of English politics." i .'11 pai III m.i r(M| ani HISTORICAL SKF/J'CII. 25 I'cutioii of labourers, llO (I.IAN n of nnbination ,vas almost inakc llio Tvals ; and icrous oni- r cent, per wcu'o kept and it will en to defy I cm, and to natural of were moat I this ini- r to the inventions the close id almost ifacturing. ate houses )oon called, lativcs were Irecu says : |c manufac- 13, indeed, aniens and that social employed, and ill sheds adj()inin«jf them, as is still the case in somo parts of Yorkshire, as, for instance, the villages about lluddorstield and Leeds. Apprentices lived with their masters as part of t he family.* 1 1 was a common occur- rence for the apprentice to marry his master's dauohter, and enter into partnership with her father. With the improvement of machinery, however, when several looms were worked by one engine, the domestic system was su]>planted by the factory system. The rapid produc- tion of new machines ruined the trade of the hand loom weaver. There can be no doubt that the intro- duction of machinery was at j}i\nal misery veH. They ork always complaints ave always ;sion of the ade by the of pressure tiis distance nployers of at, in 1812, pon public with death, if workmen \ developed ;ed them to indictment, lies in 1846 ■with some ginning of algamated was at all It in 1852 Eolation of Ithat of the liture of the [Society, the went back [okeii up, as movement ... as it |he tarning- HISTORICAL SKETCH. 83 13 George IV., cap. 08, by the masters, in favour of themselves and against the interests of the men, ^vbich led the Spitaliield weavers to form their association. The oppression of the miners led to the formation of the union in 1831 ; while the cloth workers, the hatters, calico printers, the Scotch bakers (who in 1846 Avere little better than slaves), and all the new as well as the old societies, have been forced into existence by the in- justice of the employers. "I am no lover of trade unions," says the Bishop of Manchester, "but they have been forced upon the working classes by the inequitable use of the power of capital." point in the history of tlie Amalgamated Society, which rapidly recovered its losses, and at the end of two years was stronger than ever." — Mr. Thomas Hnghcs, in The Century for May, 188 1. 34 TRADE UNIONS. CHAPTER n. TRADE UNIONS — TITElll PrtOGRESS AND DEVELOPMENT. Attempts to crush unionism — Hornby v. Close — Combination made legal — First conference of union delegates — The Sheffield outrages — The Royal Commission — Unequal laws — Picketing — The Trade Union Acts. The events whose history has been sketched in the previous chapter show that combinations amongst work- men have existed from a remote period, as well as indicate the origin of trade unions. It was necessary thus to trace the historical continuity of the steps that led to the formation of unions, else their actual objects would not be clearly defined ; the difficulties encountered and overcome not sufficiently appreciated ; the basis on which unions rest not thoroughly understood, and the future of such institutions not readily realized. " We watch the wheels of Nature's mazy plan, And learn the future from the past of man." When, however, the existence of unions became a fact, their succeeding career was by no means smooth. Every concession had to be wrung from the legis- lature by the severest struggles, and there was always a readiness shown to hamper or destroy them. LOPMENT. Combination egates — The Jnequal laws bed in the Dngst work- as well as s necessary steps that ual objects ncountered Ihe basis on d, and tlie ed. Ian, >> • tme a fact, IS smooth. the legis- k^as always THEIR TROGRESS AND DEVELOPMENT. 35 The power with which it wa.s thought unionism could be crushed was very slowly withdrawn. It was not until 1824i that combinations of working men wero rendered legal for " improving wages and reducing the hours of labour," and for these two purposes alone. The statute which gave this power, however, was any- thing but satisfactory. The word of the master was always to be taken in preference to that of the servant ; the iudg-es decided that all combinations which were " in restraint of trade " were criminal ; and the Queen's Bench in 18G7 confirmed the decision of the magistrates (^vide Hornby r. Close), that societies having rules ena- bling them so to act could hold no property, not even for benevolent and charitable purposes. This decision had reference to boiler-makers and iron shipbuilders, and created a great sensation. More than one London newspaper declared a belief and expressed a hope that by it unionism had received its death blow. The trade nnionists, too, were naturally alarmed ; but they wero not prepared to see destroyed an institution which had been builded up with so much trouble, and in the face of so many difficulties. A conference of trade union delegates was convened by the " Working Men's Asso- ciation," and met in St. Martin's Hall, on March 5, 6, 7, 8, 18G7, to consider the matter, as well as the Royal Commission to inquire into trade unions that the Government of the day had just appointed.* No such * The object of the commission was "to inquire into the organization and rules of trade unions and other associations, whether of workmen or employers, and into the effect produced by such unions and associations on the workmen and employers respectively, and the relations between workmen and employers and on the trade and industry of the country." 86 TRADE UNlONf^. conference had ever been held before. There ■were present delegates from sixtj-five London societies, twelve provincial trade councils, and twenty-five pro- vincial trade societies. This conference was the fore- runner of the trade unions congress that is now such a prominent annual public event. The delegates were unanimous in calling for an immediate alteration of the law, and so determined was their aspect that they refused to accept as a compromise the measure intro- duced into the House of Commons by Mr. Neale, M.P. for Oxford, having for its object a temporary protection to certain of the societies. On the other hand, a reso- lution was passed, a bill was drafted, and a petition adopted, which I here reproduce. Resolved — " That, ■ i,king into consideration the late decision of the Court of Queen's Bench, in reference to trade unions, depriving them of all legal recognition, and of protection for their funds ; further, taking into con- sideration the benevolent purposes for which the bulk of such funds are subscribed, this meeting of trade delegates is of opinion that it is the bounden duty of the legislature to enact sucb laws as will protect their funds, and thereby place the members of those societies on the same footing in respect to their funds as all other classes of her Majesty's subjects ; and also bearing in mind the fact that the working of these trade unions are to be inquired into by a Royal Commission, and that legislation in respect to them may hereafter take place, we consider that a bill of the following nature will answer that purpose : — I til ai a(i tlj ei There were n societies, ity-fivc pro- as the fore- is now such legates were ■ation of the t that they asure intro- Nealc, M.P. y protection land, a reso- [ a petition ite decision ce to trade nition, and g into con- ;h the bulk g of trade n duty of otect their se societies nds as all so bearingr ade unions ssion, and after take ng nature THEIR TROGRKSS AND DEVKLOPMKNT. Bill. 37 '"Whereas combinations or associations of the opera- tive classes for the protection of their trade interests are recognized by law ; and whereas it appears that no adequate security is by law provided for the safety of the funds collected by such associations ; be it thereforo enacted, etc., etc. " That the same protection shall bo given io all members of such combinations or associations of the operative classes in respect to the funds collected for the purposes of the protection of their trade interests as arc afforded to the members of Friendly Societies by the Friendly Societies' Act ; and shall be recoverable from defaulters in the same way and manner as is provided for in the said Friendly Societies' Act ; and that their protection in respect to such funds shall be effectual whether such associations shall be connected with Friendly, Benefit, or Provident Societies, or other- wise, and shall extend to all such funds as are not to be devoted to the promotion of objects criminal in their own nature, but that nothing herein contained shall entitle the office-bearers of such associations or com- binations to sue any of their members for arrear of contributions, nor in any re«2:>ect to coerce any indi- vidual to become a member of such association ; they shall give any further legal recognition (except as here- inbefore provided for) to such societies as is already given in Law. This Act to have effect until the end of the Parliamentary session next after the Royal Com- mission ci Inquiry on Trade Unions has given in its report." The petition was as follows : — 38 TRADE UNIONS. TliG IfuDihlc Petition of the TJndersitjnnl ^[cmhers of the Society of , assemhling or meeting at (or in) , in the Parish of , County : Humbly siiEwrrriT, — Tliat your Petitioners have seen witli deep concern that by the late decision of the Court of Queen's Bench, in the caso of Hornhy v. Close, this organization of working men, in common with nearly two thousand similar Associations throughout tlic United Kingdom, arc deprived of all legal recognition, and of protection for our funds. That such funds having been contributed, not merely for what we consider the legitimate protection of our trade interests, but also, and principally, for mutual help and support in seasons of adversity ; your Peti- tioners humbly submit that such a state of the law is an. injustice to us as members of the community, will tend to foster fraud and to discourage provident habits ; and is, therefore, extremely undesirable to establish or maintain. Your Petitioners therefore humbly pray your Honour- able House forthwith to enact such a law as will give to us, and the members of all such Societies, the same protection for their funds as are enjoyed by all other clashes of her Majesty's subjects against fraud and dishonesty. And your Petitioners will pray, etc. There were many decisions given, too, by judges and minor magistrates that showed distinctly employers and operatives were not equal when standing before the seat of judgment. The laAV did not seem particu- s « TllEIIl PROGRESS AND DEVELOrMKNT. 30 nhcrs of the ,g at (or in) bounty : 3ep concern en's Bench, ^nization of D thousand L Kingdom, protection not merely ;tion of our for mutual your Peti- the law is tiunity, will ent habits ; stablish or ur Honour- s will give the same y all other fraud and judges and employers ing before TL particu- larly ju.^t that would not allow men to " picket " in tlio tailors' strike, but which allowed the masters to address a circular to their fellow-employers (being members of the Master Tailors' Association), asking them not to employ certain unionist workmen named therein ; nor does that decision (on the same dispute) seem a very wise one which, acknowledging that the simple act of one man persuading another is perfectly legal, yet stated that, because several men organized themselves to inform workmen that such and such a shop was on strike, tiiey were deemed guilty of an offence against the law. Nor could right-minded men be brought to sec the justice of that law which, while it only fined the master for breach of contract, imprisoned the servant for the same offence. It was not until 1871 that an Aoi was passed remedying these defects. The law on the subject even then was, unfortunately, very ambiguous and imperfect. The unjust, cruel, and blundering im- prisonment of the gas stokers showed that there was still plenty of scope for cunning lawyers when pleading to an excited jury and before a prejudiced judge. As a matter of fact the whole tendency of legislation for the men by the masters has ever been to keep wages low. Indeed, that has been the avowed object of the laws which have been passed. To counteract this, the unions were formed to keep them high, and we have the authority of a man who believed in a high moral standard that such conduct was praiseworthy. "If it were possible," wrote Mr. J. S. Mill, "for the working classes, by combining among themselves, to raise or keep up the general rate of wages, it need hardly be said that this would be a thing not to be punished, but to be welcomed and rejoiced at." The further im- i 40 TIUDE UNIONS. provomonts in tho law in this respect will bo noticed in clue course. At this time trade unions were regarded unfavour- ably by a largo portion of the public in consequence of what was known as the Slieffield outrages. " In order to compel men to join their unions and comply with tho rules, a system had been adopted of taking away tho tools and driving bands oE independent or defaulting workmen, and this system had become so u^ Iversal that when tools or bands had been stolen, the sufferers applied systematically to the secretary of the union to know on what terms the lost articles would be restored. But the unionists were not long content with this exercise of their power, and proceeded to tho execution of a series of outrages and crimes which are perhaps almost without parallel in the history of communities supposed to be civilized. Masters :tnd workmen who refused or failed to comply with their rules, were sub- jected to treatment of tho most diabolical character. Their cattle were hamstrung, or otherwise mutilated, their ricks set on fire. They were shot at, and in one instance a master was killed by an air gun fired into a crowded room. Gunpowder was usually employed in the case of obnoxious workmen. Canisters were thrown down chimneys, bottles filled with the explosive, to which lighted fusees were attached, were thrown through windows of the workmen's dwelling-houses, thus ex- posing women and children to its terrible effects. It was a common practice to place gunpowder in grinding troughs, which exploded as soon as work was com- menced." * In justice to the great body of workmen at Sheffield, it should be stated that these outrages were * '^ Trade Unionism." By Mr. William Saunders. \ CO exi On wci shd mci (( TflKlll rUOfJKKSS AND DKVKLOrMHN T. 41 noticed in unfavour- cqucTice of " In order I V with the ' away tho dcfaultinj^ vcrsal that ) sufferers c union to restored, with this execution G pftT'hnp3 mmunities men wlio were sub- character, iitilated, d in one cd into a loyed in e thrown to which through thus ex- tects. It [grinding as com- rkmen at ^es were I I committed by'a very few persona, and were at all times execrated by tho great body of tho working chisscs. Out of sixty trade unions, then in existence, twelve were implicated in these outrages, and of these it was shown on inrpiiry that the greater proportion of tho me "^.bcrs knew nothin"" of the actions of tlieir ofTiccrs. The result of the Sheflield outrages was, that a Royal Commission was ajipointed in 18G7 to inquire into tho matter and into the condition of trade unions generally. The conference of delei^'ates alreau\' alluded to urged upon the Government that a trade unioiiist representa- tive should sit upon the commission. The recpiest was refused, but ultimately a concession was made that ^Ir. Frederic Harrison, barrister-at-law, a well-known advocate of unionism and possessing the confidence of the unionists, should sit on tho commission, and ho rendered signal services in that position. The trade unionists also asked to be present at the inquiry to " watch " their interests. This also was refused, but the ])oint was immaterial as the House of Lords amended the constitution of the commission by throwing its doors open to the press and the public. The disclosures before the commission are iiow a matter of history. The authors of the outrages were discovered only on their own confession, made under a promise of pardon, and thus they ei-caped punishment. The good points of trade unions were also fully placed before the commission by the best of the unions' secretaries, whose evidence will well repay perusal at this day. Altogether the inquiry raised trade unions in the estimation of the public. It was seen that, purged of their impurities, they would be excellent institutions, and the legislature set to work to give 42 TllADE UNIONS. them a legal status. In 1871 the Trade Uiiiou Act was passed, making trado unions legal societies, and preventing tho members from being lia])lo to prosecution for conspiracy, an offence for which, in days gone by, so many bad suft'ercd imprisonment ; while by an inter- pretation given to Russell Gurney's Act of 18(58, due protection was given to tho funds of tho society. In short, trade unions were now acknowledged to bo insti- tutions of tho country. They had henceforth a charter of liberty, and under the light and freedom so given to them they began to flourish, and, as will be shown in tho succeeding pages, have continued to flourish, to tho wel- fare of the working classes, and the general benefit of tho whole commonwealth. ( t^l ) Union Act iciotics, and prosecution yn gone by, by an intcr- f 18t)8, duo society. In to bo insti- th a charter so given to hown in the , to the Wei- ll benefit of CHArTKli III. TUADi: UNIONS — TlILIli UlUKCTS. Kquality of bargaining power — To raiso wages — Protection — Sick boncfitH, etc. — Mutual support — floral improvement of tho workman — Constitution of a union — Tho Amalgamated Society of Engineers — Executive of unions prevents strikes — Tlnselfishncs^i of unionism — Trade unions oongresses — Tlioir intluoncc — Tho International — Tho Paris conference— Trade councils in Now Zealand. The foregoing account of tlie origin of trade unions is ahnost an answer to tho (question, " What arc tho objects of trade unions?" The question must at all times be difficult to answer in a sentence, because tho scope of the objects of unionism grows with the growth of unionism. At first tliey were merely a protection against contracts being too unjust, too heavy to bo borne. They now demand — and rightly so — that con- tracts shall be fair. Mr. Dunning says the object of a trade union is " to ensure the freedom of exchange with regard to labour, by putting the workman on something like an equal position in bargaining with his employer." Professor Fawcett takes a similar view. Trade unions are formed, he says, so " that the labourer may have the same chance ot selling his labour dearly as the master has of buying it cheaply." At a later date, 44 TEADE UNIONS. tlie same authority declares the intention of the men to liave been " to protect themselves against what are supposed to be the conflicting interests of their em- ployers." So, too, Mr. Frederic Harrison believes that, at any rate, "the all-important question is how equality is t > be established," and he represents the placing of labour on the same footing as capital as the great desideratum. Mr. W. T. Thornton, however, admits of no such object as the abstract idea of equality. The object of unionism, he maintains, is not merely to free men from the dictation of their employers, but to change positions, and to dictate ; and that " their rule is to get as much as they can, and to keep as much as they can get." " The single aim of trade unions," ho says, "is to enable themselves to dictate arbitrarily the conditions of employment." Mr. Joseph Gostrick takes an opposite view. " The main object," he write?-, " of all the best and most intelligent members of English trade ui 'ons is not to obtain the highest possible rate of Avages, but to render the Avorking man's employment and his means of subsistence less precariotis.^* (The italics are his OAvn.) Although the evidence giA'en before the Trade Union Commission by some of the most intelligent and trust- worthy of the trade union secretaries endorses such AacAvs as those ex23ressed by Mr. Thornton, yet the history of the moA^ement shows that although unions may liaA'c been founded principally, if not solely, as protective associations, and have developed to some extent into aggressiA'c associations, yet they haA^e long ago embraced other features in their objects. They noAV aim at every means that Avill raise Avorkmen to the best position it is possible for theru to obtain. The U so of I iiij otl mi THEIR OBJECTS. 45 >f the men ,t what aro their eni- lieves that, iw equality placing of the great , admits of ilitj. The rely to free rs, but to ' their rule as much as [nions," he itrarily the trick takes write?-, " of of English )ssible rate nployment isr (The ado Union and trust- )rses such , yet the h unions solely, as to some ave long s. They en to the m. The United Joiners of Glasgow describe tlie objects of their society as " the protection and elevation of the members of such institutions, and the amelioration of the work- ing class in general." Among other objects the Amal- gated Society of Joinei'S and Cariicntcrs, as avcU as other societies, includes the raising of funds for " The mutual support of its members in case of sickness, accident, superannuation, for the burial of members and their wives, emigration, loss of tools by fire, water, or theft, and for assistance to members out of work." The late Mr. Alex. Macdonald, M.P., thinks it is quite within the province of a trade union to press upon Pai'liament the necessity of " securing provisions for the health of the miner while at his work below ground," as well as to urge for measures to '" prevent explosions," if not even to look after the proper distribution of funds voluntarily subscribed for the relief of sufferers from calamities. Under the auspices of the Amalgamated Carpenters and Joiners industrial schools have been promoted for the furtherance of technical education. Other societies lay great stress upon lectures, while others again show great anxiety as to the morals of their members. In the lodges of the London brick- layers SAvearing and drunkenness are not allowed, and the London Compositors' Society has a circulating library, while the Birkenhead Trades Council conducted an agitation for public baths. A most welcome sign of the times is the application, a few weeks ago, by the Northumberland and Durham Miners' Union for the extension of university teaching in their district. This is the first request of the kind made by a trade union, and, taken with the establishment of the farthino- scheme for the Welsh college, indicates that workmen 40 TRADE UNIONS. are alive to the advantages of high-class education, and are determined to avail themselves fully of such opportunities. An impartial inquirer, then, will take a higher view of the object of trade unionism than Mr. Thornton believes in without being liable to a charge of senti- mentalism. The object of a trade union is a wide one, viz., to do all that can be done to better in every respect the condition of its members. The raising of the rate of wages is undoubtedly the principal means to that end, but to say that it is the " sole aim " is to mistake the one for the other. Based upon union, the efforts of these organizations are collective, and the results general, not special. Unlike most kinds of individual effort, the object is not to assist men to lift themselves out of their class, as if they w^ere ashamed of it, or as if manual labour were a disgrace, but to raise the class itself in physical w^ell-being and self- estimation. No encyclopaedia has yet devoted an article to trade unions, and yet trade unionism is an accomplished fact. They are built on a rock — a firm, sound, substantial basis. They cannot be annihilated. If they were, done away Avith to-day, they would spring up again to- morrow, the same as in the celebrated dispute with Messrs. Piatt, of Oldham ; when the men were starved into submission and were obliged to give up their union, yet they rejoined as soon as they were at work. Although unionism in Lancashire languished during the cotton famine, it sj^rang into life with renewed vigour when the crisis w^as over. It would be well if the employers at present (March, 1884) endeavour- ing to crush out unionism amongst the engineers of IS u THEIR OBJECTS. 47 I education, illy of such higher view L'. Thornton ■ge of senti- a wide one, ir in every e raising of cipal means aim " is to 1 union, the ve, and the st kinds of men to lift )re ashamed race, but to ig and self- cle to trade Dlished fact, substantial wert. done again to- ispute with ^ere starved ) up their e at work, lied during fch renewed lid be well endeavour- igineers of Sunderland would take warning from these facts. It is a mistake to say that unions are the cause of hos- tility between labour and capital ; they are the result of that hostility. It will be well for the masters to remember this. It will be well for them to realize the fact that unions will not decrease in power as some persons fondly hope. Wherever there has been intelli- gence there has been combination. Professor Fawcett pointed out in 1871 that there was no combination amongst the agricultural labourers because they were "too ignorant," and because there was a "want of intelligence." They quietly submitted in North Here- fordshire to a pittance of nine or ten shillings a week, whilst their fellow-labourers in Warwickshire were getting twelve shillings a week, and probably they were so inured to suffering that they would never have complained had they not been persistently subjected to pitiless, relentless, and objectless cruelty. It is a fact that the most intelligent of our artisans are the most earnest advocates of trade unions, and these have not been slow to instruct their less fortunate brethren of the advantages of unionism ; and although the way in which the last great agricultural dispute ended may not be satisfactory, still the union is established, and will yet accomplish its end. The power of trade anions will increase with experience, and their influence will extend as education becomes general. It is for the masters to say whether they will bow to a necessity graciously, or, as hitherto, goad to the last extremity. Day by day the men are becoming less and less dependent upon the caprice of the masters. Their demand for just laws cannot longer be disregarded, and even now they are able to show that they are as com- 48 TRADE UNIONS. petent as any other class to take care of tlicir own personal habits and requirements. The unions, formed in tlic manner described, spread rapidly. They did not long coniine themselves to the villages or towns in which they began, but the "unions" in various places ''amalgamated," and thus influenced large areas. They extended their ramifications still wider, n^id they embraced the whole kingdom, and even obtained a footing in America and Australia. The constitution of a union, then, will be easily imagined ; but it may not be amiss, nevertheless, if a few words are devoted to a descri tion of one as a mcdel. Let that one be the Amalgamated Society of Engineers. According to the thirty- third annual report of that society, it appears that in 1883 the union consisted of 424 branches, chiefly in towns in the British Isles, but with a fair sprinkling in Canada, the United States, Australia, India, and other parts of the globe. The number of members w^as 50,418. A branch must consist of not less than seven members, nor more than 300. The constittition is pre-emi- nently democratic. Each branch is itself a completely organized body. It selects and elects its own officers ; it collects, holds, and spends its own funds ; and it manages the whole of the business which affects itself alone. The officers of the branch are elected at general meetings, at which every member must be present, under the penalty of a fine. Members who refuse to be nominated for office, or who refuse to serve if elected, are also subject to fines; and officers who neglect their business, either by coming late to meet- ings or absenting themselves altogether, are similarly punished. A meeting of the members of each branch IS bufJ i Til Kill OBJECTS. 40 tlidr own bed, spread !lvcs to the ,e ''unions" ; inflaenced latious still n, and even I be easily theless, if a >f one as a L Society of ird annual 3 tlie union vns in the Jan ad a, tlie )v parts of 50,418. A 1 members, s pre-emi- completely n officers ; |ds ; and it ects itself at general e present, refuse to serve if licers who to meet- similarly li branch I is held every fortnig-ht for the transaction of ordinary business, such as rcceivino* subscriptions and deciding upon propositions for new members. These meetings begin at half-past seven in the evening and close at half-past nine or ten o'clock, but the hours are altered Avhen it is found that it is more convenient to do so. The duties of the secretary are onerous, and his respon- sibility is great. No one, therefore, is eligible who has not been in the society two years successively, and " no member shall be elected as secretary who keeps a public or beer house." Ho has to keep the accounts of his branch and condu(^t its correspondence. He has to see to the payment of members who are entitled to travel- ling relief, donation, sick, superannuation, or funeral benefit. He has to summon meetings, keep minutes, report to the general secretary as to the state of the trade of the district, the number of men out of work and the branch of their trade ; or, on the other hand, he has to state if men are wanted, and if so, in what departments ; and he has also " to transact any other business that belongs to his office.'' There are pre- cautions also surrounding this and the other officers. The president, vice-president, and assistant secretary of a branch are elected quarterly ; and if a man be 10s. in arrears with his contributions he cannot take office. Members are also exempt if they be upwards of fifty years of age, or if they reside more than three miles from the club-house. Any complaint as to the Avay in which the officers do their work must bo sent to a referee, who, like the secretary, is elected annually. The referee must place the matter before a branch meeting, and if he himself neglects any of his duties he is fined half a crown. There arc also book-keepei's, J'i i 50 TIUDE UNIONS. money stewards, doorkcepors, ti-casuvcrs, and auditors, the nature of wliose work is evident from their titles. There are also sick-stewards, whose duties are to visit the sick " twice a week," to report their visits to the meetings of the hranch, and to carry the invalid his " sick benefit." None of the ofllces are honorary. Tn branches numbering less than 50 members every officer is allowed 4(7., and in branches numbering 50 and upwards Gd., for his attendance on branch meeting nights. The secretary is paid annually, and according to the size of the branch. The lowest amount is £1 56". for a In-anch of 10 membei's ; the highest £10 4^., for a branch of 300. The auditors are paid at a lower rate, which varies from dd. to 4s. 8d., while the treasurer is paid 10 per cent, on the sura set apart for use. Each branch has also a committee, which has power to determine anything whereon the society's rules are silent. The books of the branch are open to their inspection; they can summon meetings, and they have various otter duties. Each member of this committee receives 6d. for each meeting he attends, and is fined 6d. for each meeting from which he is absent. In any district where there are more bi-anches than one, a local district committee must be formed, con- sisting of seven members, each branch, as nearly as practicable, selecting an equal number. Where there are seven branches each one sends a representative. The duties of this committee are to "watch over the interests of the trade, and transact such business as affects the district generally." It must not, hoAvever, interfere with the business ai^pertaining to any par- ticular branch of the society. It would be superfluous TllElU OliJKCTS. .1 nd aucUtoi'8, their titles. , arc to visit risits to the ) invalid his )norary. In every officer ing 50 and icli meeting- tid according / amoniit is the highest 3rs are paid is. 8(Z., while urn set apart d1i has power ,^'s rules arc )cii to their id they have s committee and is fined nt. ■an dies than ormed, con- as nearly as -vVhere there ^resentative. cli over the business as ot, however, to any par- superfluous to more minutely discuss the constitution of this com- mittee. Its election, paj'mont, fininn^, etc., of officers are identical in principle, though different in detail, to the same tilings in the branches. Here, then, we have first the individual; second, the branch, with its committee, formed of an association of individuals;* tliird, a district committee, formed indirectly of an association of branches ; and when it is thought desirable this principle is extended, in the shape of a central district committee. The fountain head, however, is not yet reached. The central autho- rity is vested in a general or executive council, consist- ing of 37 members, of whom 11 represent metropolitan liranches, the others being from the provinces, including Scotland and L'eland. To sit on this council is a high honour, and candidates for the position must have been members of the society for five years. As the country councillors cannot conveniently attend frequent meet- ings in London, the ordinary management is entrusted to the 11 London members (who are called the local council), and the council is also further broken up into various committees for managing the details of the society. This council hears appeals from branches, advises, forbids, initiates, and terminates strikes. The general secretary receives a salary of £4 per week, and lives rent free. He also receives Is. Gd. each time he attends a council meeting, and is paid for any special journeys undertaken or extra work done. His assistants receive £2 10s. a week, and have to give the * Some societies, as, for instance, those of the compositors, have an intervening institution, formed Ijy the men employed in certain establishments, the duty of which is to sec that engage- ments arc faithfully carried out. 52 TRADE UNIONS. whole of tlieir time to the association. They have to compile and issue a monthly report, as well as quarterly and yearly i*eports. The last-named is quite a formid- able volume, consisting of nearly 400 pages of large post octavo, and those of other societies are like unto it. His hours of business are fixed at from nine a.m. to six p.m. He has power to authorize members that are on donation to be removed from one branch to another where there is a probability of employ ^nent, and iio has to keep a register of all the members of the society, stating when and where admitted or re- admitted, age, married or not, and whether a member has received any part of the financial money. Mr. Macdonald, in his evidence before the Trade Union Commission, summed up his duties as a trade union secretary by observing that in seven years he had attended IGOO meetings, travelled 230,000 miles, and written 17,000 letters. It remains to add, that above the council there is the right of appeal to a meeting of delegates from all the branches, and in some instances there can be a direct appeal to the members of the society, who, indeed, frequently elect the secretary. No trade union is subsidized. The funds arise from the contributions of members. In the Amalgamated Society of Engineers the contribution generally is one shilling a week, and if a man be in arrears he is sus- pended from the benefits of the society — unless, indeed, he is out of work, or in distressed circumstances. According to the last report of our model association, the number of members had increased in 1883 to 50,418, and they had a balance in hand of d6178,125, or upwards of £3 10s. a man. fSnch is a rough outline of the nature of a trade THEIR OBJECTS. 53 ley Imvo to „s quarterly 3 a forniid- es of large e like unto n nine a.m. ) rubers that 1 branch to mploy^nent, members of ittficl or re- • a member loney. Mr. rade Union trade union ars lie had ' miles, and that above meeting of le instances bers of the retary. arise from nalgamated rally is one he is sus- ess, indeed, umstances. association, 3 to 50,418, or upwards of a trade union. Others are like unto it, though it must bo observe 1 that the federal principle is not universal. Some unions possess a more centralized system, the chief officer having entire control of the funds and of cverytliing else. The National Agricultur.al Labourers' Union is a case in point, in contradistinction to the Federal Union of Agricultural Labourers ; and feeling on the dilference of constitution was caiTied so far that the agents of the former refused to co-operate with those of the latter in order to bring the dispute to an end.* The federal principle, however, is the one most in favour, and indeed seems to be the one most just and natural. The recent and disastrous dispute in the cotton trade, already alluded to, appears to have taught the operatives this salutary lesson. The disjointed and powerless associations that, without ample funds, sti'uck in the face of a falling market, despite the warnings of their leaders, have now formed themselves into the "Amalgamation of the Northern Counties Association;" and the first action of the new amalgamation has been to secure, wdthout any strike, the restoration of the five per cent, reduction of February last. No sketch of a trade union can give any idea of the scrunulous care that is taken to do that which is lawful and right. The code of rules of a trade union bristles with judicious safeguards. The ideas that a strike depends upon the i^se dixit of a paid agitator, and that if the men were to vote by ballot on the question, they ]\[r. Joseph Arch writes to the author : " Our Union is based on centralization bo far as funds and management are concerned ; but every oflEicer is elected by the popular vote. I don't think we sliould have held our own as we liave had we not centralized our force." 54 TUADE UNIONS. would never consent to a strike, ai'o concciveil by those only wlio do not know what a trade union is. In most cases a strike is the result of action taken by the men themselves in each district, the executive having more power to prevent a strike than to initiate one. 80 recently as the last cotton strike (188;5-4) the execu- tive did all they could to pi'cvent tlie strike, "but the operatives rushed into it in spite of the protestations of all the leaders. It must have surprised some ])eoplo a few years agu Jo read that the niend)ers of the Hand Mule Spinners' Association not only vote by ballot, but that there must be a majority of two-thirds in favour of a strike before one can be declared ; and yet when the dispute in September, 1874!, at Bolton was decided upon, the numbers were — For a strike, 1034 ; against, 77. Nor must it be thought that when polled the men vote rashly. They do not, as a rule, vote in favour of a strike unless they think not only that they have right on their side, but that they will be able to establish that right. From a report of the Amalgamated Boot and Shoe ^lakers' Association, wo learn that the result of a poll Avas as follows : — '* That the advance movement does proceed this summer ... 017 That the advance movement docs not proceed until wo have sufficient funds to meet the expenses ... ... ... 2315 And again — That the contributions bo raised one halfpenny (For ... 2291 per week ... ... ... ... ... (Against 472 As a proof of the care taken to avoid strikes, may be mentioned that several of the most 2)owerful unions in the kingdom have made a rule that in no case shall aid * See also pag'(^ 10 t. (( I'll EI It OlJ.Ii:CTS. i);> h1 by tliosc i. In most )y the men iving more 3 one. 80 the cxecu- ke, but the Dstations ol; le ]ieoplo a I the Hand ballot, but } in favour d yet when vas decided 4 ; against, ed the men favour of a have right ablish that Boot and result of a icr ... 917 ■o have ... 2315 ^or ... 2291 Against 472 es, may be I unions in e shall aid bo given l<> any loeal briincli, unless it ean bo proved that before going out a l<»id fide offer of arbitration lias been made to the em|)l(>yer. The seeri.'tarics, or executive, too, always warn their union to avoid causes of dispute. Quite recently, ^Ir. 11. Woods, the able secretary of the Ironfounders' Society, warned its members that " the general outlook evidently points to the unpleasant conclusion that business is on the decline." That being so, it was counselled that the "inevitable" should bo prepared for not only by liusbanding resources, but l)y Jivoiding causes of dis- putes. Facts, too, are stubborn things. " It was con- fidently exiieeted," says Mr. Tlios. Hughes in the Century^ " that strikes would grow in numbers and intensity as the unions spread over larger aren.s ; " but " of late years the number of these strikes has notably diminished ; and every year the chances of such lamentable contests seem likely to decrease." It should be noted further, that Mr. Frederic Harrison, at the last Trade Union Congress, and ]Mr. George Howell, in the Contemporary Eeview, pointed out that " last year (1882) the Amal- gamated Engineers, with an income of £124,000, and a cash balance of £108,000, expended in disputes alto- gether, including the support they gave to other trades, the sum of £895 only. That was far less than one per cent, of their income. The Ironfounders spent out of an income of £42,000, £214 only ; and the Amalgamated Carpenters, who had had a number of disputes and had been engaged in strikes, spent £2000 only out of £50,000, which was only four per cent. ; the Tailors, with £18,000, spent £565 only ; and the Stonemasons, w4th 11,000 members in union — the rej^ort seems to say more In. sorrow than pride — spent nothing in strikes. During 50 TRADE UNIONS. six years of nncxainplcMl l)a(l iradi*, rotluciion of wn^-cs, and industrial disturbanro, there Avcre a p^reat many strikes, and during that ])eriod seven not two {)or not one per or tlic yoar." lat tlio work reel witli by or must call work Tiiulor my AN ise and f which will nism is its tics are not )no another. prepared to from livingf Working c benefited. linary con- abscription, sometimes for ulterior agitation, helped the of them in India, y the indi- 1 I THEIR OBJECTS. n? vidu.'il foi' the benefit of tlic comninnity contrnsts favourably with tlic thoroughly selfish ])rogrammo of the National Federation of Associated Kinployers of Labour, and probably accounts for the general tendency to victory on the side of the men whenever disputes arise. Tlio niantcrs do not try to help each other. 'I'hey nrc^ in opposition to each other. Their motto is "• K'dvh for himself," and they ar(> only united in their attempts to crush the men. ^J'he men, on the other hand, it is worth repeating, sink all individual feeliogs, and help each other in a thcoughly practical ami praiseworthy manner. It remains to point out that the })rlneiplc of unionism is extending beyond individual trades. In all largo towns there arc ti'ado councils, formed of delegates from various unions. These councils look after the general interests of the unionists in the area repre- sented, and an attentive reader of the public prints cannot have failed to notice that they are as ready to censure the action of union members who have done wrong as to support the action of those svho are in the rigfit. The growth of unionism shows itself still further in the annual congress which is now held. This is a thoroughly national institution, and its arrangements allow of the widest possible latitude in the subjects for discussion. It is now sixteen years since the "Labour Parliament " began (at Manchester) its annutil sittings, and if there were no other evidence of the great good unionism accomplishes, the woi'k of the Trade Unions Congress would be ample testimony. Many most bene- ficent acts of Parliament are directly due to the action of the congress, and others have been, and others again are being, improved ])v the same influence. The Em- 1% OcS TPtADE UNIONS. ploycrs' Liability Jiill is a caso in point, and testitics also to the i)orsistcnt industry and ability witb wliicli all obstacles are removed and all difficulties overcome. The extension of the Factory Acts to workshops is another instance, as is also the Act for the better Regulation of Mines; while the protection afforded towages by altera- tions in the Bankrupt Law is also due to the direct influence of the parliamentary committee of the con- gress. At joresent it is exerting its powers to have a proper inspection of boilers ; a proof of the competency of engine drivers ; the protection of mei'chant seamen, and a great many other things. In addition, the con- gress, as has been said, exerts its influence on many questions tliLt may not at first sight appear really " labour questions." While disavowing party politics, it urges that workmen should be enfranchised ; that the Corrupt Practices Act should cheapen the cost of elections so that labour may have a chance of direct representation in Parliament ; that alterations in the criminal law shall not affect workmen diiferently to other people ; and that artisans shall be jurymen, factory inspectors, and otherwise act on those occasions wherein the artisan and the operative are as much con- cerned as anybody else. Added to which it should be observed that the annual gjitherino; too-ether of the picked unionists of the country must tend to strengthen the feeling of brotherhood amongst them which is the basis on which unionism rests.* * When tho Trade Union Congress first started, it was made the medium of addresses in favour of tho principles of unionism by gentlemen of position, not members of any imion. It was soon seen that these addresses, however interesting, were not of that practical business charaetor for which the congress met, and were TlIEIll UL5JKC'1"S. .")}) teRtirios also 1 wliicli all 'comc. The 3 is another so'ulation of 3s byaltera- • the direct of the con- 's to have a competency mt seamen, n, the con- e on many pear really L'ty politics, lised ; that the cost of e of direct ons in the ferently to jurymen, e occasions much con- < should be ler of tlie treno'then lich is the as made the miouism by It was soon uot of that )t, arifl were It is easy to see whitherward this tendency points. From a national congress to an international congress is a very short step. The Trade Union Congress f>f 1879 passed a resolution in favour of a federation of ail the trades of the United Kingdom, and thorough unionists desire to see a federation of all the trades throughout the Avorld. An international congress Avas successfully attempted some years ago, and failed at last only because of the socialism so characteristic of the con- tinental OHvricr, who dreams of an exterminating war ao^ainst a class, instead of seekinn* to do that which the International Society orig iially intended to do, viz., to make trade unionism cosmopolitan instead of national. delivered to ii body of n\on who obviously required no proof of the principles they held ; and the practice was at length forbidden by a standing order " that papers in defence of trade unions arc unnecessary." Facilities, however, arc always given for addresses on general subjects affecting labour, by comjjetent authorities, at times which do not interfere with the business of the congress. Another and an important point that was found to require altera, tion was that in the early days of tho congress the regulations for the admission of delegates were not suflicicntly stringent, or, more correctly speaking, were not carried out with proper rigour. A peculiar circumstance brought the matter to a crisis. The paid agitators of a " Fair Trade " organization had offered their services as delegates gratuitously to certain unions, and these, actuated by a false economy, accepted those services. Tlie agitators presented themselves for admission at the congress of 1881 (held in London), but after some discussion were expelled — tho rule that delegates should be formally elected, and their expenses paid by the society which sent them being on this occasion carried out, despite i)rc- cedent ; and the matter was finally set at rest by a resolution " that no one should be eligible as a delegate whose expenses arc paid by private individuals, or by any institutions not hou*. fide trade unions or trade councils." 60 TRADE UNIONS. The experience of the late International Association will enable the promoters of a new one, inevitable sooner or later, to arrange matters upon as sound a basis as are trade unions in this country. The leading trade unionists in England realize the fact, and are not afraid to express it. The germ of the oi'ganization is present in the foreign branches of some of the largest unions, and it is no uncommon thing for the working men here to assist their brethren in disputes abroad. To almost all the meetings of the Trade Unions Congress come messages from their continental friends. In 1878 it was from the " International Labour Union," in 1879 it was from the Trade Unions of Germany. In 1881 the w^orkmen of Switzerland similarly approached their English friends ; and last year (1883) came an invitation from Paris that was cordially accepted. The friendly feeling towards each other of workmen in different countries, and the international relationships that are springing up, were illustrated in 1874 and in 1882 by the visit to England of deputations from the railway servants of France and Belgium ; and still more recently by the reciprocal visits of the London and Paris cabmen. The secretary of the Amalgamated Carpenters and Joiners, in one of his reports, says: — ''It is gratifying to know that ample funds are at our disposal Avhenever they may be required, and that our British members will gladly assist their American brethren in their hour of need, knowing that whenever they, in their turn, may labour under similar difficulties, our American members will feel a pride and a pleasure in doing all they can to show that, although separated by the broad Atlantic, we are united by kindred interest and cordial sympathies, having one object in view — the i C( a( tl] zd TIIEIK OBJECTS. 61 Association , inevitable as sound a rhe leading and are not anization is the largest lie working tes abroad, ns Congress s. In 1878 Union," in rmany. In approached 5) came an }pted. The workmen in 3lationships 874 and in s from the i still more ondon and lalgamated 'ts, says : — are at our . that our American whenever lifficulties, a pleasure separated ed interest view — the common good of all. I trust that in this hour of adversity our fellow-workmen in America will learn the true value of a great ' International Trade Organi- zation," conducted on equitable and sound financial principles, having one common fund, available whenever its members may require assistance. If the industrird classes in Europe and America fully realized the ad- vantages to be attained by unity of action, their interests would become so interwoven that wars would become impossible, and no political jealousies would bo per- mitted to endanger the lives of peaceable citizens, or to disturb the commercial intercourse which is essential to the well-being of the people." This noble sentiment is peculiar to workmen. The cmployei's have not yet learned to love one another. It is a sentiment, however, that is rapidly spreading, and in high quarters. Pro- fessor Thorold Rogers, in his admirable work so often quoted, says, " I confess that I look forward to the international union of labour partnerships as the best prospect the world has of coercing those hateful in- stincts of governments, all alike irresponsible and in- different, by which nations are perpetually armed against each other, to the infinite detriment, loss, and demoralization of all." In response to the invitation of last year, just re- ferred to, the Trade Unions Congress empowered Mr. E. W. Bailey, Mr. John Burnett, and Mr. Henry Broad- hurst and others to attend the conference in Paris of representative working men of France, Italy, and Spain, and I will allow those gentlemen to express their views on the matter in their own Avords l)y giving a conden- Hation of their official report. " The conference was presided over by Messrs. Broadhurst and Shiptou and by 62 ITiADE VNlONf^. Miss Simcox, and by the French, Italian, and Spanish delegates successively. ^Ir. Burnett presided over the first public meeting, and Mrs, Heatherley over the tliird. The French procedure in business is different from our own. They discuss a question generally. They attempt to form a resolution to meet the expression of opinion given in debate. So far as our experience went, this mode is not so expeditious as the custom adopted by us, of drawing up a resolution and debating it, and then amending it as may be found necessary. We found that the chief work lav in the debate in committee over the terms of the resolutions. At one time it looked as though the conference Avould fail in this "work ; however, this undesirable event was avoided, and our subsequent bus'ness became more agreeable and cvLSj. The point of difference was the extent to which the State should be asked to protect labour. "Our time was too mucli occupied Avith meetings to admit of much investigation into the number, the ex- tent, and strength of the Paris trade unions ; but so far as we could gather, it appeared that the compositors, the engineers, the smiths, and the carpenters possessed the best unions. Even these cannot be compared with the British unions in stability or discipline. The difficulty appears to be to get them to pay contribu- tions of more tlian twopence a week. Even this sum is only paid by a comparatively small number of the men. The masons' delegate stated that out of some thousands of masons who accepted the principles of their society, only about sixt}^ men were regular sub- scribers. From this statement, and from other things which came under our observation, it would appear that the numc 'cal strensfth of an association is reckoned i u ti u si tl THEIR OBJECTS. 63 \nd Spanish led over the cr the third. nt from our hey attempt . of opinion 3 went, this Dpted by us, t, and tlien We found . committee )nc time it !ail in tliis as avoided, e agreeable e extent to abour. meetings to ber, the ex- ; but so far ompositors, s possessed lared with ine. The contribu- this sum jer of the t of some nciples of ular sub- ler thinsfs Id appear reckoned upon tlie basis of tlic number of those in tlic given trade wlio ajiprove of the ol)jects of the union, and not uj^on the number of those who contribute to the funds, such as they are. It was upon this loose condition of thiuGrs that tlie EuGflish delccrates made tlicir stronGfcst attack, by stating the condition of membersliip in Great Britain, and appealed to the members to exert them- selves in makino- the societies more solid and numerous. " From what came under our notice, we arc of opinion that tlie condition of the v> oi'kpeople (i.e., the mechanics) in Paris is not so good as that of corresponding trades in Great Britain. We met an English mason in Pai'is, \vho is engaged, by an English firm of contractors, at the erection of a Protestant church. He informed us that he was receiving London wages (viz., ninepence an hour), out of which he paid eighteen francs a Aveek (156\) for a furnished room, firing, and the use of a kitchen, the latter shared amongst three families. A shoemaker, who was a delegate at the conference, said that men in his trade were working fourteen hours a day for three and a half francs (2.s'. IL/.). Tlieso and simihir statements made l)y other delegates, in ref erenco to some of the provinces of France, would seem to prove that the condition of other French workpeople in the large centres and at laro-c works is anvthino* but an enviable one. " With the exception of a an ish to rely upon the State for things they may do for themselves, we did noto1)ject to the general views of the French delegates on social questions. A delegate from the carpenters (M. Tortellier) was an exception. He Avas in favour of revolution l)y force, but we were infoi-med that this ])erson Avas under a sentence of imprisonment, and Avould serve his term 64 THAUE UNIONS. of puuisliment at his convenience. The natural infer- encG to be drawn from this statement was that lie was, in tlio interest of the reactionary party, doing his best to cause strife ; thus affording a pretext for the continuance of the French law relating to labour com- binations, which we have no hesitation in saying is a disgrace to, and an anomaly in, a Republican nation. " The speeches of the French delegates contained constant reference to, and condemnation of, the bourgeois, i.e., the middle classes. It would appear that there is little or no intercourse between the workmen and the middle classes in France, and the former, therefore, look upon the latter as their natural enemies ; but we are bound to say that the want of intimacy is not only obvious in the cases referred to, but it is also true, to a lamentable extent, between the various groups of Avork- men themselves. We are painfully alive to the dif- ferences between workmen in our own country, and to its deterrent eifcct upon our thought and progress, but, happily, it does not exist here to such a degree as it does in France. "We have here given a resume of onr delegation. We do not now offer any definite opinions as to the ultimate issue of the conference in relation to the future intercourse between the peoples of the United Kingdom and the peoples of the continental nations. We hope it may bear some fruit. We are assured of one thing, and that is that the British trade unions have not suffered by the contact with their foreign associates. We should bo open to the charge of vanity if avc ventured to hope that our continental brethren had benefited by our intercourse with them." As a proof of the tendency to international com- b tc fi A tl cf 0\ G< la n or ih th I TIIKIU 0I3JEC'J\S. ()5 Lural infer- is that ho , doing his Dxt for the ahour coiii- saying is a 1 nation. . contained ic Jxmrgcois, lat there is en and the L-efore, look but Ave arc LS not only o true, to a ps of work- to the dif- try, and to ogress, but, cgree as it elegation. as to the the future Kingdom We hope it thing, and Dt suffered W^e should d to hope d by our onal com- bination, I may state that at the moment of going to press I have received a copy of communications from the Trado and Labour Council of Otago and Auckland, which commuuicatlons have been sent to all the trade unions in Great Britain. Tlicy are to tlio cITect '■ that the labour market of New Zealand is largely over-stocked. The present immigration, policy of tho Government is mainly tho cause of it. From all the large centres of population we are constantly hearing of the large number of unemployed. To counteract this evil it has been decided by tho above council that tho accompanying resolution shall bo printed and largely circulated throughout tho United Kingdom through tho medium- of the various trade associations, and also by publishing tho same In tho leading journals at home. The council feel it is only doing its duty, and carrying out one of the objects for which It was formed, namely, tho general welfare of the working classes. The council, along with other organizations of a similar character, feel that the working man's side of all questions is too often overlooked, and that every legitimate means must bo taken to counteract tho largo interests that are at work against them." The following is tho resolution referred to : — " That in the present depressed state of the labour market in New Zealand, consequent to a large extent on tho present immigration policy being carried out by tho Government, this council is unanimously of opinion that the further introduction of all classes of labour is detrimental to tho interests of tho wages-earning classes, both here and at homo." In Antwerp, Ghent, and Brussels, too, the cabinet-makers have recently been holding meetings, and have decided to form a unirn on (J() ruAbi-: UNIONS. tlio plan of the Alliance Cabinet-makers' Association of England ; and indeed, any one wlio reads tlio official documents of the trade niiions of the United Kingdom cannot but bo struck with the close intercourse Avitli the workmen of other nations, with a view that no person taking work in a foreign country shall undersell the workmen of that country. It is seen, then, that a trade union is pre-eminently fiLted for the work it has to do, as must necessarily be he -^ase when the work to be done has created the ivgai'' ation, and not that the organization has created the work to be done. The power to take men whence they are not wanted, and to carry them — abroad if necessary — where there is Avork to do ; the care that is taken of the interests of the men, as opposed to the aggression of the master, as shown by the frequent reports of the branch secretaries on the trad(^ of their districts; the ability to support men "on strike; " the way in which the unions assist each other, and the ease with which additional contributions are successfully levied ; * and the fund that is reserA'ed for sickness, emigration, accidents, superannuation, burials, etc. — of which more hereafter — are all evidences of the willingness of the men to obey an organization in which, they have confidence, and which they believe is working for their good. * This Avas forcibly illustrated cluriiig the recent severe de- pression of trade. See Mr. Geo. Howell's article in tlic Con- temporary Review for September, 18S3. ociation of blio official . Kingdom 50 Avitli the no person derscll the ( '■'" ) i-eminently ^essarily be jreatcd the bas created en wliencc —abroad if ) care that losed to the lC frequent .d(^ of their rike ; " the lid the ease uccessfully sickness, als, etc. — cs of the lization in ey believe severe de- in tlic Con- I (MLVrTKR IV. TlJADi: I'NIDNS — TllElU El-ilt'ACY. Tiioy liiivo raised wages — Pror . and instances — llow much have the unions raised wa;3ef — The unions a record of the state of the hiboui maiket — Wages would not rise (juickly but for unions — "An unsuccessful strike often suc- ceeds" — Local strikes aiTect distant areas and many trades — The agricultural labourt s — Whore unionism is weak, wages arc low — Shorter liours, yet more work — Piece-work — I'Jrrors of unions — Dilliculties of the union secretary — Foolish strikes injurious, may prevent a rise of wages — A fair day's wages — Employers' cond)inations — Boards of arbitration — -Trade unions prevent strikes — Spread of unionism — The power of trade unions acknowledged by the cmj)loyers — Trade unions as friendly and beneilt societies — Women's trade unions — Other features of trade unions, some obsolete — Proceedings of unions should be public. Although, as has been shown in the preceding chapter, the very nature of a well-organized trade nuion shows its fitness for the work it has to do, yet it will be satisfactory if it can be shown that they do theii* work well. The question then arises — Have they been suc- cessful ? Do they carry out the objects for which they are formed ? Let us ask, in the first place, "Have they succeeded in raising wages in the past ? " G8 TRADE UNIONS. It- Hcems so natural that conihiiiatioii wlioiild raise Weaves, tliat one is amazed such a position can bo ques- tioned. As tilings at present are, tbc relations between employers and employed imply a pecuniary bari^ain. Can it be doubted that when workmen combine they are much more likely to adjust the baruj'ain on morn favourable terms to themselves than if they had no power of organized actio '\? Those even Avho arc unwilling to admit the eflicacy of trade unions cannot help showing at times — unconsciously, perhaps — that they have an opposite conviction ; and some time ago one who is least friendly to trade organizations pointed out that the secret of the attachment of the Southern States of America to slave labour •' lay chiefly in the obtaining labour at will at a rate which cannot be controlled by any combination." Now, in looking over the history of trade unions, no impartial observer can doubt for one moment that the masters have been gradually giving way. In 1845 Mr. W. T. Thornton had already called attention to the fact that the result of trade unions had been to raise wages. In the baking trade in Edinburgh and Glasgow, and other Scotch towns, before 1846, the men w^ere little better tban vassals. They lived with their employers, in cheerless celibacy ; they were locked in their rooms at nine o'clock at nights ; and, in short, being driven by oppression into union, they raised wages 20 per cent., improved their condition, and are now a sober and steady class of men. In 1873 the General Alliance of Operative House Painters asked for higher wages, and the answer was an increase in the rate of pay amounting to £8000 a year. The annual report for 1873 of the Amalgamated ^Socicty of Tailors shows THEIR EFFICACY. G9 hould raise nil bo qncs- )iis between ry bartj^.iiii. mbino they in on more [icy had no 11 Avlio arc ions cannot rhaps — that ic time ago ions pointed ho Southern liefly in the L cannot be an increase of wages amonnting to £10,000 per annum, while the sum spent in strikes and lock- outs amounted to only £540 126\ 9(/. A great deal of the increase is directly traceable to strikes or threats of strikes; though, of course, part may be duo to the general ])r()sperity of tlio country. Still, it is very doubtful whether the men would have shared in that prosperity had it not been for the existence of the union. Sir Thomas Erassey's book on Work and Wagrs con- tains several tables, all showing that wages have increased during ])ast years; and although the fact may not be dis[)uted, it will bo well to notice at what rates the increase has been. A few instances from Sir Thomas Brassey's book arc therefore given : — unions, no lent that the In 1845 Mr. tion to the een to raise nd Glasgow, n w^cre little employers, their rooms )eing driven ges 20 per ow a sober ral Alliance her wages, ate of pay report for lors shows CANADA WOIIKS, BIRKENnEAD. Year. 1S51 185G 1858 18G0 18G2 1801 18GG 18G8 18G9 Year. 1842 1851 i8Gy Fitters. IJricklayers. lioilermakcr.s s. d. .'. (/. s. d. 29 3t 31 G 29 31 30 28 10 31. 29 27 G 31 31 27 10 31 31 28 31 31 3 31 3i 31 2 31 31 32 30 31 32 IN WALES. Minera. (.'ollier> • Labourers. 10s. to IG.v. Ik. tolG. ?'. 10.S'. Gt/. lis. to IG.s'. 15.-. to 18. 5'. 10s. Gd. 12,y. to 18s. IGs to 20 •. 11 y. C I ioVZs.ild 70 TRADK r'NrONS. JlAll.WAYS. Year. Masons. nricklavi-rs. Carpenters. Navvies. ». d. .". iHir, . .. 33 ... 30 .. . 30 . . 2t isni . .. 21 ... 21 .. . 21 . 15 1855 . .. 25 ... 25 (5 .. . 21. . . 19 1857 .. 21 ... 22 G .. . 22 . 18 1803 . .. 2t ... 21 .. . 21 . . 29 180G . .. 27 ... 27 .. . 25 i; . . 20 18G9 .. 27 ... 25 .. . 2i . . 18 A more recent table compiled l)y Mv. lloljei'fc GilTen, a mo.st expert statistician, also shows liow wages have I'isen. Tho table is rcprotlnced here : Ciim])(iri-> Brlcklavcr.q J> Masons )> Miners Pattern Aveavers Wool scourers ... Mule spinners ... Weavers AVarpcrs and beanicrs Winders and reclers Weavers (men) . . . Reeling and warp- i»J?; ;•• Spinning (chil- dren) riace. Mancliestcr Glasgow ... Manchester* Glasgow ... Manchester * Glasgow ... Staffordshire lludderslield »j Bradford >j V "Wiif^cs Fifty Years ■Wapcs I'rcsfiit Tinu', Jlp), per Week. per Week. .S". d. .9. (7. 21 31 11. 2G 21 30 15 27 21 29 10 11 23 8 2 10 8t 4 Of 25 17 22 25 G 30 12 20 17 27 G 11 8 3 20 G 7 15 G 1 1 5 11 G TiicroaRO or Dcciiasc, Amuiiiit per Cent. .s\ d. 10 O(-f) 12 0(+) 12 0( + ) 12 0( + ) 5 10( + ) 9 8( + ) 1 4( + ) 9 0( + ) 5 0( + ) 4 G (+) 14 ( + ) 115 42 85 50 80 24 09 50 55 30 20 10 0( + ) 58 5 0( + ) 83 12 3 (-• ) 150 7 9 ( + ) 100 7 1 ( + ) 100 i * 1825. t Wages per day. Navvlofl s. d. ... 10 ... 2t ... 15 ... 19 ... 18 ... 29 ... 20 ... 18 )ci't Glffe n, ^vagcs liavo 7scnt Timr. TncroiiRO or 1)001 rase, Amuuiit per Cent. tZ. 0( + ) 42 li 0(+) 85 2 0( + ) 50 2 0( + ) 5 10 ( + ) 80 24 9 8( + ) 09 1 4( + ) 50 0( + ) 55 5 0( + ) 30 4 0(+) 20 4 o( + ): L15 O(-f-) 58 5 0( + ) 83 2 3 (-• ) 150 7 9( + ) 100 7 1( + ) IGO TIIKIR EFFICACY. 71 If It i.s wortliy of note; that tlio trades sch^cti' 1 bv Mr. OifYcn to establish the fact of an advanci; of wages aro tlioso which liavo the strongest unions — a circunistanco in itself very signiticunt. It would ho easy to prolong the list of these illustra- tions, were there any need to e\]>atiatc on a to])ie about whieli there is really no )'C[)utal)Ie dispute. JTardly a single report is issued by the trade unions that does not eall attention to the rise in wages which by combined action lias been brought about. 'IMironghout the length and breadth of the land the trade unions have, during tlie past tlilrty or forty 3'(>ars, forced wages up, and when wages have falh'u, the fall has not bijen to the low point they Avero at before the rise began. It would therefore be tedious to fill page after page with a mass of eviih^ncc to prove what is universally acknowledged. AVagcs have risen. That is the great fact. The prin- cipal if not the only point wpon which discussion arises is as to whether or not the trade unions have assisted to l)ring about that state of affairs.- One thing is certain, the masters aro not authorities on the question. They are too crotchety. One of their great arguments against trade unions is that they fail in their object, that they do not succeed in raisin cf wa^hich he is entitled, such amount being all above interest on capital, a charge for deterioration of plant, cost of supervision and cost of conduct of business. In bring- ing pressure to bear upon the capitalist the union is only doinfr what merchants and manufacturers do to find out the price of the commodities in which they deal. For two years the attention of the colliery proprietors Avas chiefly engrossed Avith " jiutting on the screw" in greater or less tAvists at a time, until they found a limit to the disgorging poAvers of the consumer, and that limit Avas far beyond the Aviklest demands ever made by any class of men Avho have CA'cr struck for an advance of wages, f But, say those opposed to trade unions, wages would ultimately rise Avhen profits rose, Avithout dnj combina- tion on the part of the Avorkmcn. With a desire to concede as much as 2:)0ssible to our opponents, let us grant this by no means self-evident proposition. There is still the fact that the influence of the union obtains the advance sooner than Avould otherAviso be the case, and that is a gain to the men, and another proof that the societies are able to briug about the results Avhich it * The Avagos of tlio agricultural labourer is an oxamplo of this. t In Manchester the carpenters are paid a halfpenny per hour more than in Liverpool. The reason is stated to be that *' in Manchester both employers and employed are thoroughly organ- ized, and an amicable relationship exists between them ; in Liver- pool thoy are compi^ratively disorganized." I TRxVDF UNION'S. is their object to effect. Ir. t^iere wore no coAiuination amongst the men, and if rn'ofiLs v^oro rising, the masters would pocket tlic enhanced profits, '-'ntil an imperious necessity obliged them to yield some portion to the starv- ing dependents upon their generosity and benevolence. Not only, then, is a union able to biing about a rise in wages sooner than Avould otherwi: e be the case, but it is also able to wrest from the masters a larger share of the profits than they Avould cuueede to a request un- supported by the power to enforce it. This phase of the question will be more properly discussed in the next chapter, and is only mentioned here because some per- sons imagine all unionists to bo " villains of Ihe deepest dye," and the masters " white-robed innocence from heaven descended." Such men, amongst a vast amount of prattle about the identity of the interests of the employers and emjoloyed, are Cfmtiinially suggesting rose-water remedies as a settlement of a great and serious question. Their chief anvico to the masters is, " Bo kind to your men ; " and to the men, '' Trust to tlie generosity of your employers.'' The men, unfortu- nateV, have h; u a bitter experience of the generosity f mm which the;- .ire told to expect such great blessings. They have not yet forgotten the truck system (which in spite of recent legislation is not yet extinct*), and it is not so long ago that, to save threepence a day, * "Truck" Bhoppiiig is illtgnl, Imt it is still practisod by " micldlo persons," who of course iiiuy be summoned before the magistrates. This, liowever, is u costly and risky process. The Leicester Stitchers' and Seamcrs' Society— a women's union — recently succeeded in closing nearly all the truck shops by positively refusing to deal with them. Tfc has cost the little union a considerable Bum of money, which, liowevcr, all will admit was well spent. ^0\^' co.uuination , the masters m imperious to tlie starv- )enevolencc. about a rise ulic case, but larger sliare b request un- pbase of the in the next ;e some per- • the deepest 3cence from v^ast amount L'ests of the sunfo-estinu' Do vD I great and 3 masters is, , " Trust to en, unfortu- ) generosity it blessings, em (wliicli ct*), and it nee a day, iractisod by d before the 'rocess. The en's union — 3k Eihopa by ist tlio little vcr, Till will I TIIEIK KFFICAOV. // mastr rs gav(^ women tlirec sliilli-igs a nei.k to stack large bars of iron, and vrero only prevented continuing that policy by tlio outcry of the public. It is indcf^d foolish to maintain tliat masters would give 'iio full wages to which men are entitled unless they wcio forced to do so. As a mattei' of fact they have never done so. On the one hand, in prosperous times they frequently forgot the love professed by them for arbitration v;hen trade is ])ad. On the other hand, as Mr. J. D. Prior pointed out in his presidential address to the Trade Unions Congress of 1870, the men have on occasions " taken no advantage of busy years to seek any advance of wages." The employers, however, will not hesitate to destroy the reputation of a trade— or for that matter, as has been well said, of a nation — for the sake of rapid and increased profits. They are doing so at this moment at Sunderland, where they show signs that they are dissatisfied with the non-unionists whom fcli« y have induced to supplant their former workmen, Kearly every shop is getting work done out of ine +t»v''. to 12.9. per week ; in Norfolk, from 10s. to 13.s. ; in Warwickshire, from 9*'. to 12.s. ; in Lincolnshire, from 12.9. to 17.9. This increase has been the direct result of trade unionism. It has added one million annually to the wages of the poorest class of our popula- tion, and, in doing this, paupovism has been reduced, trade has been improved, the starving poor havo been supplied with food, and one of tho greatest scandals of our ago has been partially removed." ail b.i di| m( lai 3 rillUK KFFICACV. «7«> men should ;o induce tho men should ng hut angry 1 no sficriticc in vain ; and 1 to work on id a victory ? it nnionisni ? istriots, 1000 he question ; swer. Havo of wages ? ral labourers ut it will not ) bring about IS have some- Of the thou- ligratcd, and ,' wages were work with- residuum of fcd to work, claim.* luring the last )()rsot from 9.v. ^Varwicksbirc, Tills increaso has added ono )f our popula- |ed, trade has |ied with food, )een partially The victory, then, was not mucli of a thing after all ; and JKid it l)ecn uunv. decisive than it was, wonhl not havo been so unsatisfactory. The dispute in the agricultural districts had ono feature peculiar to itself. It was not merely a dispute about wages and unionism. Tho lamentations of the agricultural labourers were a protest against an unjust, a wicked, and a sellish system of land tenure. The litdit was against an institution which has long been oppressive, and the farmers of ]Ongland have done more to bring about a radical reform in the Land Laws of England than the most radical reformers could have accomplished by years of agitation. "Hero's fine revolution, an* we had the trick to sec it." They have done more thfin this. They have caused colonies of hard-working agricultural labourers to 1)0 established in New Zealand, in Australia, and especially in Canada. These men's hearts must naturally be filled with the bitterest feelings. Tluy will educate their children in the belief that their native coundy ''starved them out," and the children of those men who left the Mersey during the agricultural dispute will likely enough be the very men to send a terrible reply to those statesmen who prate about the " integrity of the emi)irc." In 18G2 Mr. Jolm Ih-ight saw in his mind's eye that which he expressed in an eloquence and with a boldness peculiarly his own, as " one vast confederation from the frozen north in unbroken line to the glowing south, and from the wild billows of the Atlantic westward to the calmer waters of the Pacific main ; and I see one people, and one language, and one law, and one faith ; and over all that wide continent, the homo of freedom, and a refuge for the oppressed of every race and of everv >>^ ^^^<1.. o.*^^, ^•^' '-^ 4 IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) /y 4^0 1.0 I.I no 1^ 1^ m m "^ hS. 112.0 L25 i 1.4 III 1.6 Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716)372-4503 ^ J^^4,. i/. K° 'a 84 TRADE UNIOX^<. clime." Whctiicr that dream will bo realized, or whether it should be realized, it would be out of place to mention here. That the question will be discussed is certain, and the farmers of England may take the unction to their souls, that they have greatly helped to bring about that "confederation," by causing to bo taken from their native shores those who had suffered so much and endured so long. What, then, sometimes appears an ineffectual strike often proves to be one of great effect. It must be re- membered, too, that non-unionists often reap to some extent the advantages of the unionists. Indeed, in most instances they enjoy all the benefits of an advance brought about by the action of the union, and it is for them to settle with their own consciences the honesty of reaping advantages, to obtain which they have con- tributed nothing. When they do not obtain the whole of the advantages of a rise, they are pretty sure to obtain some advance, as when the "standard" of wages has been raised it drags after it a general increase all round. It appears from this that union workmen are perfectly justified in refusing to work with non-union men, though the practice of doing so is far from general. The latter have done nothing to raise or sustain wages, and ought not to expect to enjoy the results of the sacrifices, the moral courage, and the contributions of the union- ists. Whenever union workmen do work with non- union men it shows that unselfishness and generosity — • that sinking of self for otliers — which are characteristic of almost all unions. It is worth mentioning, too, that other trades besides the one "on strike" are often benefited by an advance in the wages of those " on strike." Thus, if the " puddlers " receive an advance TIIKIll EFFICACY. 85 of wa.GfcS; ilic li.immcrnicn, tlio rollers, and the la])Onrcrs aro pretty certain to bo similarly treated. It is thus seen that the material advantajres of a strike cannot l)o reckoned by takino- the cost of the strike and the j^ain in wag'es, and siibtractinpc one from the other. It may bo said — and very justly — that, if the general tendency of trade unionism bo to raise wages, then, where there are no unions, wages should be lower than ordinary. This is exactly the case. Unfortunately, the non-unionists keep no statistics, and it is impossible to ascertain the exact wages they are paid. It is, how- ever, generally known that the worst paid trades in the kingdom arc those which have no nnions. The evidence of the men themselves is valuable on this point, because, unless they felt they received an advantage, tliey would leave the union. Wha< the men want is higrh wajres for little work, as much wages as they can get for as little work as they can do, and if their unions could not give those benefits to them they would cease to support them. " I have been a worker," says one operative, *' something like forty-four years. For twenty years of that period I have been employed in erecting machinery in different parts of the country, and I have no hesita- tion in saying, wherever we find union princii)les ignored a low rate of wages prevails, and the reverse where organization is perfect. The most approved remedy for low wacrcs is combination." The Aldershot shoemakine: trade was some time ago " scratched " when the masters were instantly enabled to reduce the wages of their men one shilling per pair. An advance of wages, however, is not the only object of a trade union, nor the sole purpose of a strike. Sometimes the men demand shorter hours. To work a an advance TRADE UNIONS. loss number of hours for the same amount of wages is n.iturally attractive to the workman. Ho not only sees that such an arrangement gives him more time for recreation and for the enjoyment of home comforts — for billiards, books, or beer — without calling on his wife to *' pinch, cut, and contrive," but that the reduction of hours causes more of his fellow- workmen to be employed. The demand for a commodity being the same, and the number of working hours diminished, more men must bo employed to produce the same amount of work in less time. Men who were forced to be idle are thus provided with employment. These additional workmen become spenders as well as producers, and the advantages of that he knows to consist in a general improvement all round. In thus benefiting himself, therefore, he is benefiting his class. Of course, it may be argued that this reasoning might be applied to a reduction of hours adfinitum, until the differential calculus were required to ascertain the moments men should work. It may be said that the reasons recently urged for and against the Nine Hours Bill were simply repetitions of those urged in 1846 on either side when the Ten Hours Bill was before the country ; and that, for anything now known, may be again set forth in favour of an Eight Hours Bill in 1886, and a Seven Hours Bill in 1900. About five times in a century, masters imagine, an hour a day may be lopped ofF, until men will work only one hour j;e?- diem, at full weekly wages, and then " What will become of the country?" This is, of course, the tendency, and w^ould indeed be the result, if matured and competent artisans were rained down from heaven in myriads, instead of being born individually in a state of puny infancy, unfit for anything but to be " fretted with sallies of their THEIR EFFICACY. 87 Df wages is )fc only sees 3 time for nforts — for his wife to duction of ! employed. LO, and the men must 3f work in 3 arc thus 1 workmen idvantao'es provement )forc, he is •gued that n of hours e required It may be gainst the lose urged Bill was w known, ht Hours A.bout five I day may 'Iter dieTii, )me of the nd would t artisans nstead of ncy, unfit of their mothers' kisses." Under the existing state of affairs there is no cause for alarm in this respect any more than there is for the fear felt by the late Mr. Dennys, author of " Alpha," who argued that trade unions *' could gain nothing by their crusade against low wages if every workman were a unionist, for the result would bo high wages triumphant, but no one to pay them — a successful organization of the workmen, but no work." There is an obvious fallacy in the argument. A strong trade union is powerful, but it is not omnipotent. No union could force wages up to sucb a pitch that em- ployers would receive no profit on their capital expendi- ture. The greatest unanimity among workmen could only obtain such wages as the capitalist could afford to pay. The present grievance is that this high point has never yet been reached, and employers, therefore, ap- propriate not only interest on their capital, but a portion of the operatives' wages as well. There is an opposing tendency to this continual reduction cf hours and advancement of Vv'ages. The amount of commodity that shall be produced does not depend upon the will cither of the capitalist or the labourer. Come what will, men will be fed and clothed l)y hook or by crook, and the more wages they have the better, and the more abundant will their food and clothing bo. Some men, therefore, must produce. An imperious necessity de- mands it. The tendency of a Factory Act, or rather of the reduction in the number of working hours, is to force a greater number of men into the producing class. As the demands of the world increase, tliis tendency becomes stronger. The number of producers, however, is after all limited, and there is therefore a point beyond which neither a trade union nor the Legislature could 88 TllAOE UNIONS. •ix. be succesfifiil in attempting to reduce the number of hours. Tliis point is determined by the amount to bo produced and the number of producers. Hitherto tlio masters have made a profit by keepinn^ tlie men from this point. For some time the men have stru^-gled to reacJi it, and although they may not yet liave done so, 3'et the Legislature has stepped in, and given such an instalment that as soon as the present block to pfirlia- mentary business is removed, there is every reason to believe that the demands of the Trade Union Congress for an Eiglit Hours Bill will be readily granted. For the victory of the past great credit is due to Mr. Mun- della, who, although an employer, is yet able to see that in benefiting the labouring class he is not injuring his own. "It is best," said he, " to concentrate labour into as few hours as possible." Mr. Hugh Mason and other employers, especially in the cotton districts, take a similar view of the question, and maintain that shorter hours by no means signify less production ; and facts have been quoted by them which strengthen an argu- ment which will be used further on in these pages. The pbovc proposition, stated in general terms, is of course true in particular instances. It would, however, be an insult to the intelligence of the reader if special applications were made to particular trades. It is quite evident that if all the weavers of a certain material be employed full time at full wages, and that the consump- tion of the commodity is proceeding as rapidly as its production, there can be no reduction of hours without injury to the community at large. No action of the trade unionists has been crowned with such signal success as that taken to bring about the reduction of hours. The State itself watched the umber of lint to bo hcrto tho ncn from [i^'i^lod to ) done so, 1 such an to parb'a- I'eason to Cono'resa ted. For Mr. Mun- o SCO that juring his ibour into and other ■i, take a at s]iortcr and facts an argu- agcs. irms, is of however, if special t is quite aterial be consump- dlj as its s without crowned ng about :ched tho TIIEIIl EFFIC.VUV 89 .straining cfFort.=> tliat wore being made, botli I'cccntly and in years gone by ; and when tlioro was a sign of tottering or failure, camo to its assistance. " Tlie demand is against tlie laws of political economy," cry the masters. "Wo ask a blessing," reply tlie rnen, "but arc not strong enough to force it."' So Parlia- ment steps in and gives a Factory Act ; just as when the men (not the masters) complained that tlieir union was not strong enough to better the condition of miners when underground, the House of Commons passed a "Mines Regulation Act." The support which the de- mands of the unions are receivincf from Parliament is a very significant phenomenon in the history of England. What is very surprising is that the masters believe that they can get more Avork out of a man when they work him to death. They forget that it is not tho miles one travels, but the pace that kills. They ignore the doctrine of Adam Smith, tliat " the man who works so moderately as to be able to work constantly, not only preserves his health the longest, but in the course of the year executes the greatest quantity of work." Capitalists do not pursue such a policy in regard to their horses. The fact is, they are not thinking of their men. They are brooding over their valuable machinery standing idle, and calculating what it would bring them if it went on working a few hours longer. The manufacturer sitting in his counting-house, within sound of the murmur of his machinery and the chink- ing of his engine, hums to himself at each clack of the fly-wheel, " So much for me, so much for me." And when he beholds his " hands " leaving for home on a summer evening while it is yet light, and no longer hears the heavy beat of the beam or tho rattle of the shuttle, 90 TRADE UNIONS. lie looki^ upon tlio stillness as tho symbol of his loss. Such men must bo very miserable on Snndays. It is now, however, a well aseerfcained fact that, ^vithin certain limits, more Avork is clone as a rule where thero is a prospect of an eai'ly cessation frrm work than when men know that tlicy are doomed to Bcveral hours of continuous employment. A few years Rrro the aveiago day's work in England was ten hours. On the Continent it was tAvelve, in liussia sixteen or seventeen; and yet it is calculated that two English mowers would do in a day the work of six Russian ones. Russian factory operatives worked seventy-five hours in the week, when those in England worked only sixty, yet tho work of the former was only one-fifth of that of the latter. When tho average woi'king time of a miner in South Wales was twelve hours a day those in the North of England worked only seven, yet the cost of getting coals in Abei^dare was 25 per cent, more than in Northumberland. As has been well said, " The workman who cannot tire himself in eight hours is not worth his salt." There are several other objects for which men strike or are locked out. Tho nature of this treatise, how- ever, is too general to admit of their peculiarities being inquired into or their merits discussed. It is sufficient to say that when men strike it is " to better their condition," or to demand something which they think will have that result. Some persons object on principle to "piece-work." A little consideration, however, shows that such a system may be right — nay, must be right — in some trades, while payment by tho hour may be equally just in others. Surely the task of watching machines, the production of which th if liis loss. s. fact that, as a rule it ion firm :looraetl to . few years ton hours, sixteen or ro English X Ilussian Dvcnty-five orkcd only y one-fifth e working v^o hours a only seven, vas 25 per been well llf in eight nen strike itise, how- )culiarities jed. It is to better ^hich they object on jideration, )e right — Ument by purely the of which TllEllt Kl'FlCAOY. 01 nc/er varies, can bo paid for by the day, but occupa- tions upon which the amount j)roducc(l de])cnds upon the industry of the opei'ativo ought certaiidy to bo paid by tlio piece. Tlio justice of this is so j)atent that it would bo a sign of obtusenoss on tho part of the men if they could not show that piece-work is tho general rule in almost every trade with the exception of the buildiuiTf and eniifineei'iiiii', and it must be men- tioned that in tho former the masters are agreed with the men on the point. In showing tho efficacy of trade unions, and in main- taining tho justice of their demands, it must not be thought that the author imagines they never err. No one will pretend to deny that tho unions have dono what many peojdo do not approve, and which they themselves, on calmer reflection, do not approve. But this, as Mr. Bright snys, only shows they are not im- maculate, and that their wisdom, like that of other classes, is not perfect. One is tired of hearing that tho result of trade unions was Broadhead, Crookes, and llallam ; that its means were ruffianism and murder ; its ends never inquired into. These men were not the result of unionism, but of the attempt to crush urionism.* The law^s of the country made all unionists conspirators. Even the simplest actions, which are now allowable, wer\; illegal, and when what is morally right is decided by tribunals to be legally wrong, the culprit has more respect for himself than he has for the law. Unionism, however, needs no defence here * Broadhead himself said to the Royal Commissioners: "If the law would only give the unions some power to recover contribu- tions, without having recourse to such measures, there would bo no more heard of them." 02 THADK rXION.'^. oil this lioail. Tlic ]>i'css mny croak al)Out Uio tlircc niiHorcanlK nbovo named luiUl it is lioarso ; it can liavo litllo ofTcct upon ail instituiion wliicli lins jiroduccd Rucli 7IUM1 as Tlionias IJiirt, Henry nroadliiirst, William Allan, Jolin JJiirnctt, .loscpli Arrli, and tlolin Kane. At i\w samo linio tlio nnions, and t'Sjiccially tlio union secrctarios, hnvo a vory diHifult task to perform. 'IMio avcrn^o IJrifisli wMn'knian is not yot siiHiciently advanced in intelligence to aiiprelicnd that wages may vary in two Avays. His union, it is imagined, lias power to force "wages u\) ; he is lotli to admit that it cannot sometimes resist their falling. The author once saw an ironworker wlio had been dismissed from liis work because lie had been drinking for three daj's ; and the sfcnj)id fellow was ver}- wroth indeed because the union secretary would not order a strike on account of the man's dismissal. " I pay my money to t' union," said he, "for protection, and this is how you serve me." The executive of a union, then, lias to bo careful, not only that it does not strike unless it has right on its side, but it has to educate the men to the same opinion. The workmen have to bo taught that they must not attempt to ol)tain from capital impossible concessions. They must only strike when cessation of production means loss of profit to the masters. For instance, it would not only be mani- festly unjust but absurd to strike for higher Avages in the face of a falling market. How difficult it is to impress this upon the men the union secretary knows full Avell. Sometimes the men cannot see the force of the forbearance Avliich is urged upon them, and in their ignorance are very self-willed. It cannot be for- gotten liow Mr. Pickard and other leaders recommended the tln'cc can liMvc jirodncrd -, WilHain Kane, c'ially tlio ) piM'foi'in. luHiciently r' that the most violent strikes liave been where unions did not exist. Perhaps, liOAvever, the strongest argnment in favour of the eftieacy of trade unionism is the rapidity with which its principles are spreading' among-st the working men. If unionism did not ])enefit the workiu"' man — did not, that i*-', carry out its object — the woi-king man Avould leave it ; and were not the advantaGfCs he receives of a very definite and material nature, he would not submit to the heavy tax upon his wages which his society demands — a tax considerably more than half of the amount demanded from him by the Imperial Exchequer. The men, however, do not leave the union. In 1850 it Avas estimated that the number of members of trade unions Avas 600,000; in 1870 it had, it was calculated, increased to 800,000. In 1874 I estimated the number at 1,500,000; and two years later Mr. George Howell fixed the membersliij^ of the different societies at 1,000,000. All these figures, however, were avowedly guesses, and Avere exaggerations. The organization of the Trade Unions' Congress giA^es us noAV a basis on Avhich to make some sort of calculation. At the last conference there Avere 173 delegates, from 135 bodies, representing 561,091 persons. I estimate that 'rilKIR KFFrCACV. 107 <) maintuiii c 811 me as 'nr. It is, lull Cleish- 8. to tho iiiions, and LOst violent • t ill favour pidity Avitli 1)0 woi'kinfi: •cing' man — 31'king mail lie receives would not Avliicli bis til an half Imperial tlie union. : members ad, it was estimated later Mr. e different however, ■lous. The res us now ation. At , from 135 imate that tho numi)er of trade unionists at tho presei.'t time does not exceed 800,000. It is, however, I'apidly increasing. In 1870 ^Ir. Thornton estimated that only ahout 10 per cent, of the workmen were; members of unions, ])ut he jidded that ''at the present rate of proselytism it will take but few vears more for all eligible workmen in this country to become converts to unionism, and enrolled members of trade societies." Since Mr. Thornton wrote the "rate of proselytism"' has won- derfully increased. The Agricultural Labourers' Unions have both sprung into existence since 1H70, while the larger unions have considerably increased in number of members. The Amalgamated Society of Engineers increased in 1883 alone by 2030 members, the Amalga- mated Carjientcrs by 2274i in the last four years, the United Society of Boilermakers and Iron Shipbuilders by 12,558 in the last four years. Last year the Amal- gamated Society of Railway Servants added no less than 175G names to its list of members, and other associa- tions have increased in like proportion. The five largest societies have doubled the number of their members in sixteen years. There are, however, upwards of six millions of working men in tho United Kingdom. Rapid as has been the progress of trade unionism, there is, therefore, ample room for further development. Indeed, trade unions are as yet in their infancy. They recognize this, and many of them are exercising them- selves to bring non-un-onists to see the wisdom of entering their portals. It is to be hoped their efforts will be crowned with success, and that in a very few years every working man will belong to the union of his trade. Years ago trade unions were considered too insig- 108 'ji:ai)K I'xioxs. iiilicaiit for notice. Tlu' Prt'ss ciitiri'ly ignored llicm, and i)iil)lislitM's rcfuscHl in print lilcratiUT conciTning thcni. WluMi tlicir existence was at last recognized, they wore treated witli an uuconiproraising hostility — they were regarded as enemies to social order and I)rogress. '^Po be a trade nnionist was to be a "dan- gerous character," and thai trade anions onglit to be suppressed was Iho general opinion of what is called the respectable ])ortion of the connnnnity. All this is now changed ; trade unions arc not only acknowledged to be justitiablc, but necessary. ^lagazine editors throw open their j)ages to the unions' champions, and even the trade anion secretaries themselves contribute articles to the loading publications of the day. Tho represen- tatives of anions hold converse with Cabinet ministers, and the assistance of tho societies is eagerly sought by candidates for j)arliaiuentary honours. The proceedings of the congresses arc telegraphed from one end of the kingdom to tho other. Unions arc now acknowledged as a power for "good," and, to crown all, they have succeeded in placing three of their secretaries in the House of Commons itself, and there is every likelihood, ere long, of many more being returned as members of that assembly. It was discovered that what unionists wanted was not to rob capital, but obtain for labour its rights. It was hoped that tho employers would see the question in this light ; and one of the most distressing features in the discussion of this question is the violent hostility, the determination to fight, the desire for war, displayed in the programme of " The National Federation of Associated Employers of Labour." That document, however, testifies to the powder and efficacy of trade TTTKTR nPFTrACY. TOO )rccl Ihcin, ?oiicrming •ccognizcil, g hostility (ndrr and ►c a " ilaii- n<;*lit to bo t is called All this is nowlt'dj^cd tors throw , and even ute articles rcprescn- ministei's, sought by >roceedings 2)id of the nowlcdgcd hey have ies in the ikelihood, embers of mted was ights. Ifc question ^ features hostility, displayed ration of ocument, of trade unions, which is the ])oInt at present under considora- (ion. Amidst a good deal of misr(»presentation tho cm])loyers acknowledge that tho unionists have an *' elaborate organization." " Few are aware," they say, "of the extent, compactness of oi-ganization, large resources, and great influence of trade unions. 'IMiey have an annual congioss nt which an increasing number of unions arc represen\cd each year." " They have the control of enormous lands, which they ex])end freely in furtherance of their ol)jects, and the proportion of their earnings -which the operntives devote to the service of their leaders is startling." AVe should thin.k so, to tho mind of a selfish master. The associations "are federnted together, acting in common nccord under able leaders." " They have a well-paid and ample staff of leaders, most of them experienced in the conduct of strikes, many of them skilful as organizers, all forming a class apart, a profession, with interests distinct from, though not necessarily antagonistic to, those of the workpeople they lead." "They have, through their com- mand of money, the imposing aspect of their organi- zation, and partly, also, from the mistaken humani- tarian aspirations of a certain number of literary nu'ii of good standing [siC ' mistaken ' men, i.e. such as the late J. S. ^[ill. Prof. Beesley, Frederic Harrison, Il^nry Crompton, W. T. Thornton, and others], a large array of literary talent, which is prompt in their service on all occasions of controversy. They have their own Press as a field for those exertions. Their writers have free access to some of the leading London journals. They organize frequent meetings at which paid speakers inoculate the working classes with their ideas, and urge them to dictate terms to candidates for Parliament. . . . 110 TRADE T:NI0NS. They bavo a standing Parliamentary Committee, and a programme, and active members of Parliament are energetic in their service. They have the attentive ear of the minister of the day, and their communica- tions are received with instant and respectful attention. [The masters are galled.] They have a large represen- tation of their own body in London whenever Parlia- ment is likely to be engaged in the discussion of the proposals they have caused to be brought before it. Thus, untrammelled by pecuniary considerations, and 1 specially set apart for this peculiar work, without other \ clashing occupations, they resemble the staff of a well- organized, well-provisioned army, for which everything j that foresight and preoccupation in a given purpose 1 could provide is at command. . . . These results are j the deserved reward of the superiority of the trade unionists over the employers in those high qualities of foresight, generalship, and present self-sacrifice, for the ^ sake of future advantage [what an admission !], Avhich form necessary elements in the success of every orga- nized society." Truly, if there were any doubts as to the fitness of trade unions to attain their objects, the National Federation of Associated Employers of Labour has removed that doubt. Have the trade unions suc- ceeded ? Ask the federated emploj-ers. There can be no better proof, not only of the power, but of the justicei *| of trade unionism, than the document from which thei na above quotations are taken. . t Although, then, trade unions have proved themselves) ^^^ thoroughly lit and able to carry out the main object M that! anoti for which they were formed, yet it cannot be denied ^-^ that, in regard to one portion of their programme, the f the ,havo not shown the same tact and ability. Thei-e is thi ordi THEIR EFFICACY. Ill mittce, and ■UameBt are le attentive comtniinica- :ul attention, rcrc rcpresen- ncvev Parlia- .ussion of tlie crlit before it. derations, and .vitliont otlier ;taif of a Avell- icli evevy tiling authority of the chief actuaries in the country for •saying that the insurance funds — as they may be called — of some of the trade unions arc based upon false data. The amounts expended under this head are for sickness, superannuation, accidents, funerals, etc., and the sum total thus expended is very large, in some instances much greater than is spent in conducting a strike or opposing a lock-out.* As has been already pointed out, such benevolent notions had very little to do with the formation of a union. They were mere subterfuges tacked to the charter of a union because it was illegal for them to exist Avithout them. When they were " registered," however, they had a sort of . -purpose \ quasi-legal existence, and could, at any rate, meet ^ results are | legally. It is probable that the care and attention of the original members Avould be devoted more to the immediate advantage of increased wages than in cal- culating premiums for a sick and burial fund. Pro- bably, also, the actuarial abilities of the first promoters of unions were not very great. At any rate, there is the fact that in respect to that portion of a union which resembles a ''friendly society," there is, as a rule, a great degree of unsoundness. The sooner this is altered the better;! and perha])s it would not be amiss if steps ty of tbe trade 111 qualities of 1 Jcrifice, for the nission!].^^'^'"^ s of every orga- iny doubts as to Ixeir objects, the loyevs of Labour vade unions sue- There can be ' ' , £ ^\^Q iustice * Tlie seven largest unions spent £220,005 in 1881.int]ie above- I '1 ich the I named benefits. |t 1^'^^ jj t 111 1809 the Trade Union Commissioners recommended an , J Act of Parliament to separate the two funds, with a restriction :)roved tneinst -i ^|^,^^ ^y^^ fund formed for one purpose should n ' be devoted to the main object- another. The Government had the good sense to reject such a qnnot be denie(» measure, which, if it liad been ])ut into force, wouhl have crippled „«-imYvp the V the powers of unions to relieve their members in times of extra- ' pvos^vanuue? • "... MMipre is thi ordinary distress. , , ■ TRADE rJ?IONB. ^^ , ,1 o-mdual extinction of ^ere tato. for U^e gene^^ -^ J^^^^^^ a object, tWs feature. Let t™^^; "^J,, ,,d resources can be to which the ^vhole of he r P ^.^^ A devoted, and it .vill 1^^ ionn . ^^^ ^l n>uch better by d«ng that ^ d^^ J ^^ ^^, grades | Ly>.ay''botch->-^-i,,, ^r ^f^S i« -oroverUally niasttr _ favour ot tins ^aL to believe that — J ^^U^^^^ sLgestion. The " ^^'^^"/^^ ^^^^^^^ DuBBi.g does not dwelt upon by un on advoc^^^^^^ ^ ^^^.^^, . . My. rrcludetbeminlus''Pln^^^^^^ ^,^^ Comte de Paris says notlung m tl tu ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ f Lntioned in the --^^^'^ ^^^^^^^^ reports of trade them. The introduction to the ^^^.^ ^,,,,tages are xnnons is the only P^^^^ ^^^^^^ that the man ^ho dilated upon. We ^^^^l^ that flesh is he.r neglects to insm. l^^^^Xiove him. "He cannot ^, to^ has ever a black ^^^^ , ^, other men ; for he , ^^^ lead the earth as ^-JP^^ ^^ ^,, ,e to the frowns | ,,, ^^ the ^orld at presen .^^ overtake him. .^3,^ distress, and P^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ mi,:. 4c vow true and ^er> goo , ^^^^^^.^ tl: in nc ne th CO] .S0( \vl] in fl"0 Wl'( do can wh] tin's due wel: a i'( This is very true^«\^,^,''^J,iet;, not of a trade umon k.hcs in favour of a ^""f ^7, ^e atoitted that benevok^^^^ On the other hand it '^^^^^ ^ i ^^ trade unions bothL^^ funds and kindred funds attached t ^^.^ ^^, attract members and retain tW ^^^^ .^ ^„„,a,^^^^ ^ ;,e a source °V' u^et^^iiaS of losing all the mone, ^„„d: to obedience under th P^^^ ., -^ .iekness and oU^ ^^^ he has subscribed for his ^^PP ^^^ „f the soc.e i*^|,„ ,, "aving grown with the g^ .^^ ^^^^^.^^ t^;,, ^, age itw oufd n^U^vhaps, be wise to m THKIK KFFICACY. 113 dinction o£ •and object, irces can lac 5vi\l succeed ,g too tn-ch i all trades ere is ^v^^?' avouv oi tins ,09 are seldom Unions-' ^1^- the Comte de ul tbe Avr Iters tliusc a] ready existing'. Ifc is, however, wortli consider- in"", now that trade unions are Ic^'al bodies and have not to disguise themselves as friendly societies, whether new organizations that may start should not confine their operations solely to trade objects. There are other suggestions which are also worth the consideration of the executive of trade unions. Some societies have attempted to limit the amount of work which each man shall do. This notion, as was shown in the previous chapter, is not original. It is borrowed from the Middle Ages. There is nothing positively wrong in the notion. The men have a perfect right to do as little work as possible lor as much pay as they -. -1 -^ gpealv OL 1 can get. It is amusing to notice the high morality with which masters are suddenly seized when approaching this portion of the question. They say that such con- duct is a wicked and foul conspiracy against the public welfare. Such conduct, we are told, can only have as a result scarcity and dearness. It is the aggrandise- ment of the few at the cost of the many, and one knows ■eporte of trade advantages ai^ "He cannox ^' iov he lermen; - , — -—^7 u ^Q the fro^vns | jj^^ j^q^y niany horrors beside. This is all very well, 1 a time when ; \^^^^ the masters must remember thvt it applies to them vertal^e him. 1 as well as to the men. On the 11th of September, 1874, I 'a an avgnment^,^]j^ master cotton spinners held a meeting at Man- 4: o trade vinion. jj^j^g^ter, ^ylien it was decided " that short time was the la that benevolent ||jg^|. ^j^-j^g ^]^r^j^ could be done for the trade." It was de unions botuL jgQ clecided that the following circular should be this respect theyLj(jj.ggs(j(]^ to every employer : — " Will you engage to \x man is bonncJi^^j^ £q^^p jj^^t, pgj, ^veek, commencing October 1st, on • o" all the mone^iQj^^j^^jQj^ ^l^r^t all mills Avorking 40,000 spindles engage I "sicl^ness and oh|^ j^ go p r^^^^[ if g^^ ^^y[]\ y^^ please say in what way L £ the societieBJQ^^ would like to work the four days, as the committee toe in regard ^^\\] .^dopt that mode Avhich the nuijority of the replica i-fk lU TKAOK r^'IO^'i«• 1 C C a n f( \\ l^^ ,, ^ ^,ivu uf the men .ecouuaeud V ^' ^-ely^t is now bo ^^^^^^^^ ^^ to be virtuously md^gna^^ i ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ ,tev. Uoyd Jones, varody>ug 1- ^° } ,,,, ,.der tho ou parallel occasions, ^b« P° ^^^^^^^ed. Only tlie largo 40,000 BP-dl- are -t to K CO ^^^^^.^^^^^^^i^, ,Ueve a nicn of above 40 000 »" J^ -,^. ^,,d ^vhat, avo ask, Lat coU2> like tins iB to I'S inacc ^^^ ^.^^^ .^^^^ loes tbis n^oaest propos -^^^^^^^ ^, ,, ,.,.W it ^iU take oue-third no ^ctories ^lo^.'' the ^vorkpeople ^^f^;^ ^^^,,,y against tl.e pubhc than this-it is a -"^''^'^l'"^^^ ^; an arrangement of interest. To check P "^^^ dearness ; to diminish pro- this kind means ^'^^-■'^'%^fj'^, . ,„d to increase price auction means to «'=^':^;^ J ^'^.ey out of the pockets ueans --P^^ ^^^%ttuTi in o the capacious pouches of the consumers to put it ^ ^^ ^^^^^ ^^^ ,^ the . of our manufacturers^ What i ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^ Irker goes -ithout - -«8-' ,^^,,, to manufac- ^an >.itbout a sbu-t ? Tb y ^^^ ^^^i^ ture large quantities at a^m. P . ^^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^ oh titles at a large profit. it«= ^^ ^^^ ,, ^ | „f in bave a perfect ^-f'^^Tco.vsc .-ould be simply | en- deed, at certain seasons ^^^'^^^^ ,,^io„s have to guard- mo or SOBS to nis »^' P Ii OJ ai b( a Ir th ar ex tb re{ Iia THEIR KFFICACJY. llo les. • • regarded as other than unjust. The attempts, too, to discourage the employment of women and boys are often carried to a ridiculous extreme ; and it was therefore as gratifying to find Mr. Odger and some others of the more intelligent unionists giving their support to tho formation of trade unions for women, Avhich in 1874 were being attempted in London and Bristol, as it was pleasing to find that such unions were being established. It may not be out of place here to point out the results of those attempts. None of tbe unions among women are as yet strong ; still, considering the difficulties to be overcome, their success is remarkable. Women ^ orm a class of workers who are very peculiarly situated. [n the first place, there is an inherited inclination on their part to rely upon men for assistance and support ; and our existing social system makes them to a great extent dependent upon their male relatives. One of tbe results of this dependence of women is that the resistance to the downward tendency of their earnings n nuax^- i ^^^s cver been of the weakest character ; and a similar '? ^^ ' > ^,g and j observation applies to their efforts to reduce tho number ^ i^" In- i of working hours. Thus it is that we read of women ° ^^he siitip^y^ engaged at trades prejudicial to their health, and work- ^ ^^^^ » to ffuai'tV, ing for long hours for the merest pittance. A woman o^^^ , ^^ ^t isj Avho happens "to be very skilful with the needle, and ^ ^ ^ '^ I to have a child old enough and smart enough to give ^ ^° * -.Tie tvadtlher a little help " may " earn a shilling in a day of ^ulcs ^ ^^^ ag^itwelve hours — a penny an hour! " Attempts have been |Vve spi ,-)eedily aimade to reduce even this rate of wages, which, hoAvever, ^ / . ^-^jat thlthe unions have been able successfully to resist, though ^^^. _..:c.o t.hosfcnly so far as their own members are concerned. There are no fewer than three millions of women who V»rin5 e lage oi ^^''^ the masters ,, under the ,^ly the largo ation Nvlierc a vvhat, ^vc aslv iirst instance, , the ^vhole ot Hore uhUe arratige^^f ^ ^^ to dimimsH pvo- to increase prico t of the pockets these men if the , almost penniless Lcsire to manxifac LC icesisnu»^"-.^ ^^^ ^lUc, o fhiiil^^j H^'e earning wages in various industries in England and Ill) TRADK UNIONS. li^> . • There Wale., aud a £.w ''"f ^'^^^^i^' ^ ^^^vkXt is now is, therefore, aa amp e ^vca i i^oreBient is .;iBg on. A peculiar element .^ ^^ tlia/thei-eis an o^aa^a ou -^^ Jo„g it establisli and assist tiado i g^.^,. ^^ j.^t ;, due to Mrs. P-™^- ^^^^^ ,,a Provident upon the notion o£ ^ Woman, i promotion iTeaguo .vHich ^^-j^^;^^:^ ^ ^^^^^^ and rare ability of unionism. T^ith persist ii ^^^ ^^^ j^^^ Mrs. Paterson Has, by m an " ^^^ ^.^^ .^ , ^,0- uineteen ^'^^"'^^r^f^^/^^eieties are among the bool.- ^i„ees. The principal societie collar-makers ;inders,thenpholsteresscs,theshir^^^^^ ^.^^.^^^^.^_ the tailoresses, a^id t ' « ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^^ „f all mantle-makers. In these u ^^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^„gie, ages fi^m -tee^o --nty, « ^^^^.^^_ ^^^^^ „,, vamaiy, adding to tlieir seveiai ^ ,_.,^^,^. ^ lapiuij, . . .+oU;i fv and ] c ^ s R ^^ c ai ai er or th t}l( ra( ms :.:pidly, adding t° X^^irrefficLiiey for dealing | thus gaining m ^*^!^'^5 overwork and imder-payment. I with some of the c^i^of o^^^^ iusigniflcan^ as , The women's unions cc»np ^^^^^^^ ^heiv j they are at present, e«\>^*T^I/unionists has been j ^^ iufllence upon the <;P-;\tirFompted some of the - very marked. The !^°t^n ;v i ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^.^, ^ older unions to FO^^WJfng of the past, notwithstand- ,vith women is ahno^ a ^^^^^ y^^^,, on this very i,g the reeent disput at ^^^ .^^^^^^^^ ^, j^i^.^J^.^^ question. It is now ^^en ^^^^^^ ^^, „f ^. rVf a,e best served, not by thi g^^ ^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^ >^^ ^ith the view of ^^J^P-, r wages of women, so thai W levelling upwards .t'^^ ° ,vork as well as mcir THEIR EFFICACY. 117 on. Tl^^«re :hat is now movement \^ obiect is to Tt ^vomen. ^^ 3 first to \ut nd Provi^^eTit he promotion ,d rare ability uc, set on ioot ^e in tlie pro- long the \)Ook- L collar-maUevs, raiUii^ers, and of all tlie energetic secretary of tLe London Consolidated Bookbinders, early saw this, and to his credit did all ho could to promote the establishment of the Society of Women Employed in Bookbinding. A similarly liberal spirit soon manifested itself among other trade union secretaries, and it was not long before women delegates were admitted on terms of equality to the Trade Union Congresses. At the last congress seven such delegates attended. Their influence at these gatherings has been great. There are not now, as heretofore, speeches mado and resolutions passed against women's work in the various trades, and in 1882 a resolution condemning the employment of mothers in factories and workshops had only one supporter ; while at four successive sittings of the congress, from 1878 to 1881, a recommendation that women should be appointed sub-inspectors of factories w^as unanimously carried. A strong element of union among women is found in the sympathy and spirit of helpfulness which are cha- racteristic of the sex. These are illustrated in what may be called the subordinate work of the Women's insigT^i^^^^ , ■ Protective and Provident League. In addition to esta- d results. ^ | blishing unions, it has a circulating library, a monthly nionists has ^ | journal, a savings' bank and co-operative society, an pted some o ^ I ernpioyj^^ent register, which prevents women from going ers from ^voi © | ^^ ^-j^^ trouble and fatigue of walking from shop to snop ^ast, notwiths a |.^ search of work, a swimming club, a seaside house at nster on this v ^|;j^Xapgate, where members can have a bedroom and use of terests oi la feitting-room for four shillings a week ; and the League )y monthly " social meetings " also provides means of •ecreation and social intercourse which are much ap- reciated by the members. There are also some legacies of the dark ages which ire women c ^ ^s ^veU as single, | though not very | Lc funds, and aie ] ency fov dealmg . undev-payinaent. re 1 „,en out of >vo>^ I v.'omen, so •k as ^veU as »«■ 'or i. * i^o c;\YOV)t away. ^' ought to-a. in.lood, «->- «- r'^"^,^:!, Jsc. of oirse, it is -.-"•— Is It'«ay, however, se.ve to society havo;s.m. lav s.lbr.J«. J^.^^^ ^^^ ^^,, „,t teach some people the wsclo l ^._^^.^^^ ^^^^^.^^lon of theiv own eye before they .^te^L i^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^^^ on their f^'H"^^"™'^"- , .^'^.'^^eh those of the workmen have unions <^"^V-^^^'°Znni oi dangerous folly they are insiguifieaut m the amoui ^^^^ ^^^^^^ adjourned contain in their rules. A . ^^ ^^^^ suitors- from one term to -other--^^t tle^c ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ in order to satisfy the ''^^ ^' "^ ^^ ,,,,,e in a trade costume of the counsel. What t ^^^^^.^^^^ ^ ,nion at all to '-"--P^^J,; t, in a country which barrister to a parUcala.^ cucmt ^^^ ^^^^ ^_^^^^^^.^^^^^^ boasts of free trade JfJ''^ „f an ordinary .has only to -f^^JVough an ordinary deed, to chancery suit, o^' °/^^J ^J^^^^rcely lose in lustre by ttnd camples winch ^^ f^ ^.^ightest examples '^™^^tt^ ti: MlLster Bricklayers' Assoe.a- furnished oy ^'^•■■ tion." ^, . „f ^„„,e unionists not to worlv The desire on the part « ^°";^ .^.^^^^c feeling. Of .vith non-unionists ^^ ^^^^ o^^rnon as to how course ^^^^^S^t praiseworthy, but that far such conduct s g^^"° ' ^^^^^ ..^Icss on con- „,en have the nght « " ^^.^ ° ^,, ^,^1 deny. They ditions that smt t^e-/^; ^^^ ventilated or unhealthy ,nay refuse to woij m bad y ^^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ,ooms, or m --f","; any conditions whatever' character, or, ^^^^eed nnder a y ^^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ .-hich are disagreeable to the .^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^ ,t,ong inclinatxon on ^^e P- ° , ^,, ^,,^,,,,,,. ».' They will C'™ *^"^'"°'' t a (( t] tl 71 ic vi ^v sn clc it foi M] \^'i ha all, "n the sto ref: nil wit 0. old nd TiiKiR i:fficacv. 11!) : away. ^[ ;r classes ol jver, serve to ^he beam out lav operation and parsons fclic Nvorkmen ons folly tliey ,cn adjotiriied tbe suitors- elating to the here in a trade bicli confines a country v.An^\ been remarked, ^£ an ordinary .rdinarydeed,to 3S0 in lustre by crbtest examples layers' Associa- nists not to woilv ^atc iceling. ^^ pinion as to ho^v Lvortby, but that k unless on con- ^vilUleny. They ,ted or unhealthy! en o£ known had inditions ^vhatever There must he aj ' onists not to .vork^ i;:. GLAnBTON't:. with non-unionists (for reasons stated in the preceding* pages) ; and siirel}' if unionists have no right to dictate, they have no call to submit to dictation. Mr. Gladstone, in his speech to the Aston Hall colliers, while acknow- ledging the riglit and even the wisdom of action through a union, seems to have forgotten the right of the men to refuse to work with persons against whom they have an antipath3\ The present premier told his colliers that " that liberty which the people of this country won for themselves, and have enjoyed for many generations, is the liberty of the few as well as the liberty of the many, and if any workman chooses to work for nothing in the face of a thousand other men, he has as good a right to do so as the thousand have to say what they will work for." It seems strange that a statesman of such acumen as Mr. Gladstone should lay down a doctrine true in every respect, and yet fail to see that it applies to both unionists and non-unionists. If the four non-unionists (which formed the minority to which Mr. Gladstone alluded) have the right to say, "We will work for nothing," surely the thousand unionists have a right to say, '" Then we will not work at all." Or reverse the case, and suppose Mr. Gladstone's " minority " became the majority. Let there be one thousand non-unionists and four unionists. Mr. Glad- stone would hardly then deny the riglit of the latter to refuse to work with the former. Of course no general rule can be laid down as to when unionists should work with non-unionists, and when they should refuse to do 0. It is in all cases a matter of trade. Mr. Gladstone old the Aston colliers that such a refusal was " mean ,nd dishonourable ; " but far more cogent reasons could e given to show that when society men do work with 120 TRADE UNIONS. non-sociofy men, so far as tho former aro conc(U'nccl, it is an act of convtosy, if not of commendable charity. That unions force m.'isters to pay bad workmen the same waf^es as ji^ood workmen is not true, and the very Idea would be scouted by all sensible unionists. Tho notion that such is tlie case is, however, very general, and it is surprising that Mr. Gladstone himself has fallen into so unpardonable an error. A uniform rate of pay exists in the army, navy, Government offices, and other institutions, in which aristocrats have been able to appropriate the "maximum" of pay, leaving a meugre residuum to their less fortunate brethren; but the trade unionists have not yet learned to practise such injustice. True, the unions sometimes agree upon a minimum rate of wages, but this is quite another thing. If a man be not worth that minimum no employer need engage him, while if he be a man of superior skill, or extraordinary working ability, there is no limit to tho amount of wages an employer may feel inclined to give him. Of course, where wages are paid by the day, a uniform rate naturally springs into existence. It is, however, agreed upon between the masters and men. It is a mere conventioiial arrangement, and may be abandoned by either side as soon as it is found unjust or oppressive. It must be remembered that when wages have settled down to a ^'uniform, rate" that rate is always below the average, and is therefore a gain to the masters. It is a gain to them in another respect, wliich has been pointed out by Mr. Dunning. So fai* from placing the competent and incompetent on the same level, says that gentleman, " this ' uniform rate ' has been bitterly complained of, as excluding the incompetent altogether. At the Bradford meeting in ccrncd, it barit}'. kmeii the I the voiy fits. The \f general, has fallen xtc of pay and uther 1 able to a meugre but the ;tise such (G upon a her thing-. [oyer need )i' skill, or nit to the cd to give le day, a e. It is, and men. I may be nd unjust len wages it rate is a gain to r respect, So far t on the )rm rate * ding the eeting in )• THEIR EFFICACY. \n 1B74< one of the speakers gave as a reason against trade unions that he was not able to earn the usual rates, and as the union would not allow any of its members to work for less, he could get no employment while ho was a member, and so he loft." A " minimum rate " is the rate which the least competent unionist is worth, and if the man cannot come up to that standard the trade society cares not how soon he leaves it. In ])ractice the masters never complain of this '' mini- mum " or " uniform " rate. They know the advantages of it too well to indulge in any such complaint. It is only heard as an argumeut when they are airing their grievances, and laying the blame of every evil under the sun to the action of trade unions. It is a kind of reasoning which may fairly be considered a special plea. There are, however, still some traces of a desire amongst unionists to retain rules which would bo moro honoured in the breach than in the observance — such as the foolish and impolitic regulations which long disgraced the Bricklayers' Society, and which until recently were enforced in all their rigour. The rule that no bricklayer should be allowed to set machine- made bricks could only exist when and where the heads of the bricklayers were as dull as the bricks they set. It requires very little intelligence to discover that the more bricks there ai'c to lay the more bricklayers will ^be required to lay them ; and an extra demand for labour always means a rise in wages. " No bricks to be used in Manchester that are made beyond an arbitrarily fixed boundary line averaging about three and a half miles from the Exchange," was the spirit of a rule as absurd and selfish as another which ordered that no bricks should be wheeled in a barrow, or that masters 1 '2'2 THAni: UXIOXR. ninsfc employ li.ilf the men thoy roqiiii'O resident in Mancliosii^!' ni all tlicir works within fifteen miles of that city; while the existence of a rulo that "every bricklayer shall have a lahonrer to attend upon him, whether there is work for the hitter or not," is simply silly. A few such absurdities as these exist in some ti'ado nnions, and it would bo much better if, beinf>; 8wept away, they were snpplanted by the means of promotino- technical education, of rules affecting the quality of the work, and of any steps which would give a man a better right to the title of " skilled workman " than many of them now possess.* Perhaps one of the best means of brlncrlnj? about such an Improvement as that just indicated would bo that the utmost ])ossible publicity should be given to the proceedings of trade societies. This would give the public confidence in their decisions, and remove from them the stigma which attaches to them as " secret" societies. There is a current belief that theii' policy is determined upon in the dark, and carried out in an underhand way. Nothing shakes ]>ublic confidence so much as the knowledge, or even the idea, that a transaction will not bear the light of day. It is always a suspicious circumstance when public business is coiiducted privately. Some of the more enlightened societies, it is true, have no objections to the ad- mission of the public to their business meetings, but they take no steps to encourage it. Other societies have, however, begun to be regularly attended by re- porters, of which the United Joiners of Glasgow is an instance, while the Operative Bakers, the Saddlers, and many other societies are only too pleased at a *• This is boiiif^c dono. See p. 158. 3si(lcnt in I miles of at " every upon him, ' is simply it in somo ' if, being means of acting tho voulcl give vorkman " ;ing about 1 would bo e given to /ould givo nd remove > them as that theij* id rallied ces ])ublio the idea, day. It c business lightened the ad- ings, but ' societies ed by re- gow is an Saddlers, ased at a iiniTU iirFiCACV 12; >i visit from tlu* represent atives of tlie Press. If ii were oiu'o knt)\vn tliat tho eyes of tho l^'oss were over un the societies, the publie would feel satistied and perhaps comfortable. Of course, at times, ])rivato matters might bo discussed which it would bo neither politic nor just should bo mado public. In such cases tho meeting could i-esolve itself into a committee, when tho public and reporters wonhl witluli-aw. This is tho constant ])ractice of town councils, local boards, and school boards ; and if it be argued that an arrangement of that kind would enable trade unions to be as secret in the future as it is unjustly thought they have been in tho past, it can be replied that no sueh effect has resulted from the practice anujngst tho corporations just mentioned. Whcro there aro tho greatest facilities given to the Press, as in the House of Commons, there is also the most arbitrary way of excluding reporters, and how seldom that power is exercised is well known. It remains to recommend the unionists to keep from the appearance of evil. Stress has been laid upon the diificult and delicate task the general secretary has to perform. He has to work, too, beneath the searching eye of a bitter enemy who is ever ready to pounce upon the simplest act of indiscretion and magnify it to a crime. He is an object of envy and jealousy to those even who have elected him to the post, and even his mannerisms are charged against him as faults. I knew one secretary described as "caddish" because on a par- ticular occasion he placed a handkerchief on his head to protect his neuralgia from a cold wind. Of course to tho impartial inquirer wheat is easily distinguishable from chaff, but it is as well that partial inquirers should have as little to lay hold of as possible. Perhaps the 124 TRADE UNIONS. clay Las gone when delegates "will relate exultingly how, at Stockport, after persuading a set of operatives to turn out, they arranged with the masters, for a con- sideration, to get them to turn in again ; how at Bolton they got 5O5. a head for persuading some factory hands on strike to go back to work on the same terms as before." Perhaps, too, we shall hear no more of dele- gates who, for sixteen weeks, did nothing bat " sup ale ; " or of that class of man who, speaking of the Preston strike, said, "and, by God, I don't mean 'em to go in again as long as they gie me my two guineas a week and my travelling expenses." All this is passing away. Here, however, is not the place to moralize. It is well known that the men are no bigger saints than their masters. Society, however, winks at the faults of broadcloth, but is horrified at the mistakes of fustian. It was doubtless very indiscreet on the part of Mr. Halliday and his friends w^hen, during the South Wales strike in 1872, they refused the offer of the masters that an auditor appointed by the men should inspect their books, so that the justice or injustice of the men's demand might be demonstrated. Of course, the masters knew their own position, and could fearlessly offer to submit it to the scrutiny. It is well known what charges were bandied about after this refusal ; and the Financial Reformer, which pretends to be the working man's friend par excellence, did not hesitate to charge Mr. Halliday with "fomenting and keeping alive " the dis- pute for personal motives. So also it is sometimes widely and somewhat authoritatively asserted that some of the officers of the Agricultural Labourers' Union kept alive the recent dispute from interested motives. There are some persons whose only logic consists in the J'HEIR EFFICACY. 125 exultingly operatives , for a con- V at Bolton tory hands B terms as )re of clele- bat "sup ing of the lean 'em to ) guineas a i is passing )ralize. It laints than le faults of of fustian, irt of Mr. ►uth Wales asters that spect their I's demand sters knew submit it irges were Financial ing man's barge Mr. ^"thedis- sometimes that some Ts' Union 1 motives, lists in the proverb that wherever there is smoke there must be a iire, and it would therefore bo well to take care that there is as little smoke as possible upon which such persons can reason. It has been shown, 1st, That trade unions are the natural growth of natural laws, and that their develop- ment has been marvellously rapid ; 2nd, That their faults (now diminishing) are not inherent or essential, but are either excrescences or mere copies from other corporations; 3rd, That the object of unionism is a legitimate and a noble one ; and 4th, That their fitness to attain that object is abundantly proved by the brilliant success which has characterized their efforts. It remains to consider what has been the influence of that success, to which task the following chapter will be devoted. 12(3 TRADE UNIONS. CHAPTER V. TKADE UNIONS — THElll IXFLUENCE. Effects of high wages — Desire to retain a high social standard — Well-paid labour remunerativo to the capitalist — Foreign competition — High wages does not mean high jorices — The high price of coal and the colliers — Socialism — Co-operation — Trade unions stimulate invention — Expenditure by the work- ing classes— Advantages of shorter hours — Self -improvement — Moral influence of trade unions — Endeavour to make good workmen — Educational influences of trade unions — Political influence — Future of trade unions — Legal requirements — Class distinctions — Good conduct of unionists insisted upon — Mutual assistance — The union offices storehouses of statistics — The British Association on trade unions — Recapitulation and conclusion. It remains to consider--- (a) What is tlie infiuenco of trade unions on the trade of the country ? (b) What is their moral effect on those who belong to them ? We are met at the outset with the assertion that the principle of trade unionism is as much the principle of monopoly as was that of the guilds of the Middle Ages. The trade societies, it is said, have a sort of " protective " influence, using the word in contradistinction to "free trade," now the acknowledged custom of the country. . standard — st — Foreign prices — The -operation — by the work- mprovement o make good ns — Political lents — Class ted apon — of statistics capitulation THEIR INFLUENCE. 127 ous on the v'lio belong m that tlie ►rinciple of ddlc Ages. )rotective" n to " free e country. Of all places iii the world it is astonishing to fintl tbut this doctrine was, ten years ago, diligently promulgated in the publications of the Financial Reform Association, an association established in 1848 to advocate "perfect freedom of trade." It is gratifying to find, ho\vever, that although the dogma was repeated page after page with tedious iteration, yet no argument was adduced in support of it. Of abuse, however, there was abundance, and one soon sees that, after all, the Liverpool financial reformers were willing to give free trade to tlie rich capitalist, but they would deny it to the poor labourer. It is, however, very doubtful whether the then executory of the association knew what trade unionism really is. They seemed to have taken all their notions of unionists and unionism from newspaper paragraphs about Broad- head ; and, indulging in a vast amount of rhodo- montade, they did scruple to draw upon imagination for facts, and to so far forget the rules of courtesy and good behaviour as to insult those of their OAvn ofiBcers even who ventured to upbraid them. The hatred of the association to unionism was only surpassed by its horror of and vindictiveness towards unionists. Surely they must have exclaimed with Hobbie Elliott's grandmothei-, " Oh, if there was the law, and the douce, quiet adminis- tration of justice that makes a kingdom flourish in righteousness, the like o' them suldna be suffered to live ! " Trade unionists are all, we were told, " either knaves or fools." Their true prototyi^c, said these charitable ricn, is found in the " hlack slave-driver," who, we w^ere reminded, was proverbially the most cruel and ferocious of any.* '^ It is proper to say that wbeu Mr. Edmund KuowlesMuspratt, a very clear-headed and liberal politician, who would bo a j^reat US TRADE I NlONt^. Tlioi'o is, however, a rodeoming point in jiU this. Al- though ruffianism had taken the place of argument, and blackguardism had been found where logic was expected — although the trade union leaders were called "Sheffield Thugs," and their followers '"fools," yet it seemed that, after all, such strong language Avas only a coarse way of saying that the sole fault of unionism was the ignorance or inability of unionists. At least, that is all that can be made out of the one sentence of common sense buried in paragraph aft r paragraph, and page after page, of folly, abuse, and untruth. It is once, and only once, confessed that " if trade unionists knew hoAV to state their own case properly, they would be invincible." It would hardly have been Avorth while mentioning the above were it not for the fact, not only that the asso- ciation referred to claims to be the supreme authority in matters of free trade, but it is an association supported chiefly by working men ; and it is especially careful to circulate its publications amongst the artisan class. There are, however, others who hold the same doctrine, and it is quite proper, therefore, that it should be re- futed here. The answer may be given in a few words. Have persons a right to withhold a commodity from the market in order to raise its price ? Is such a pro- ceeding a \ iolation of the principles of free trade ? If the cotton brokers of Liverpool hold back their stocks in the hope of forcing an adA^ance in price, the financial reformers in that town will hardly have the fortitude to ask that they should be obliged to sell. Free trade must be free to the buyer as well as the seller, and to acquisition to the House of Commons, was elected president of the Financial Reform Association in 1874, he ordered the executory TO desist from its insane and ungentloraanly hchaviouv, 11 this. Al- ^ument, and vas expected 5d "Sheffield ;eemed that, 3arse way of le ignorance ill that can sense baried ter page, of L only once, ow to state ncible." mentioning hat theasso- le authority in supported y careful to tisan class, ne doctrine, ould be re- few words, odity from uch a pro- trade ? If leir stocks e financial fortitude ree trade er, and to Ipresideiit of le executorv THEIR INFLUEKCi:. 129 the seller as well as the buyer. The cotton bi.'okers may — nay, do — keep back their cotton in order to en- hance its price. The labourers combine and say : *'"We want so much for our labour, which we know is useful to you, and unless you give us that price we will forego a certain quantity of our labour — we will waste it, in fact — in the hope that you Avill be obliged to yield, which in the end will be a benefit to us." It is to bo hoped that the Financial Reform Association have in- telligence enough to see that there is as much justice in the one case as in the other. It is, indeed, the " higgling of the market," as Adam Smith calls it ; and those who do not " higgle," even when " shopping," will generally pay more than the market rate for their goods. Strikes, then, are not only legitimate, but they are the inevitable result of commercial bargaining for labour. They are no more opposed to free trade than are lock- outs. If a man may say to his men, or to a portion of them, ** Business is slack, I give you a week's notice," surely when the state of trade is reversed the men may say, " Trade is brisk, give us more wages, or take a week's notice." "I do not hesitate to say," says one who is worth hearing,* " that the associations of labourers, of a nature similar to trade unions, far from being a hin- drance to a free market for labour, are the necessary instrumentality of that free market — the indispensable means of enabling the sellers of labour to take due care of their own interests under a system of competition." Indeed, the whole question is so axiomatic, that had not the position been raised elsewhere, no mention of it would have been made here. It seems strange that persons can be found who will deny that all legal means * Mr. J. S. Mill. K i — ■ 130 TUADE UNIONS^. employed by those who live by labour to increase tlie remuneration for that labour, or to shorten the hours of labour — which amounts to the same thing — or to render their means of living more secure, are no more a violation of the principles of free trade than is the conduct of a dealer who withholds his goods from the market in order to raise their price. It has been shown in the previous chapter that one of the great results of trade unionism has been to raise wages, and under this head, therefore, it is a no less important inquiry — What are the effects of advanced wages on the trade of the country ? Now, high wages — i.e. not onl a greater number of shillings a week, but no diminution in their purchasing power — cannot be otherwise than a great blessing. A great deal has been said on the ''Tasteful way in which the extra earn- ings of the working men were squandered in 1873 and the year before, and this will bo treated of in the sequel. All a man's extra earnings, however, were not wasted. Some portion of them was, loubtless, spent in sober gratification, and in increasing the comfort of the house- hold. Now one of the articles in which there has been increased consumption is tea. Let us ask, therefore, what is the effect of an increased consumption of tea ? It signifies, in the first place, that more ships have been required to fetch the tea from China, to build which ships more men were required, and to man them ixiore men were wanted. The ships had to be rigged, which, was good for the ropemakers and 6he sailcloth manu- facturers, as well as several other industries. Then when the tea arrived here, it required more warehouses and employed more warehousemen, as well as an ad- ditional number of carriers, both bv rail and road, to THKIR INFLUENCK. 131 ^ease tlie hours of to render violation luct of a b in order lat one of 1 to raise a no less advanced gh wages 3 a "week, c — cannot b deal has xtra earn- 1873 and he sequel. t wasted, in sober :he house- has been therefore, n of tea ? lave been ild which leai more ed, which )th nianu- es. Then arehouses as an ad- l road, to distribute it over the country ; it required more paper to wrap it in parcels, more string to tie them with Indeed, it is difficult to imagine any industry wbatcver that does not receive some advantage from the increase in the consumption of any single article ; and it may be a consolation to cosmopolitans to be reminded that the processes here alluded to are not confined in their ad- vantages to this country, but stimulate in a similar way the various trades in the distant land which cultivated the plant ; and thus two nations mutually benefit each other, and feel that they have an interest in each other's prosperity. This, however, is not all. The tea is not sent here for nothing; we send out other commodities in exchange for it. The cotton fabrics from Lancashire, the woollen cloths from Yorkshire, hardware goods from Birmingham, and steel and iron manufactures from Sheffield, are gathered to our ports and sent to the east, employing labour at every process, and whenever they are moved, from the time the raw material is landed on our shores until the time that it is delivered over to the consumer or the wearer in a far distant land. When the collier's wife buys an alpaca dress she little tliinks how much the world has been set in motion to enable her to do so — how that Salt Avo^^e it, Ripley dyed it, Lairds built the ship to fetch it, Whitworths made the tools in order that Piatt might make the machines, in order that it might bo spun, woven, dyed, pressed, before it reached the dressm. ker, who used a needle made by Milward, and thread by Brooks. An increase in the consumption of a commodity, therefor , gives work to thousands who would be otherwise idle, and has a tend- ency to raise wages nearer and nearer to the "jist rate," which has ever been such a bone of contention. This is 132 TRADE UNIONSi. the great point to remember — when men arc earning money tliey spend it. They buy more furniture for their homes, nioro clothes for their back, more beer for their cellar, more and better food. It is only when wages are low that, like Christopher Sly, they have '* no more doubtlecs than backs, no more stockings than legs, nor no more shoes than feet.'' The prosperity of the working man, then, increases the prosperity of the butcher, the baker, the publican, the grocer, the tailor, the draper, and all the manufactures and industries upon which these trades depend. It may, indeed, be the prosperity of the nation which causes high wages ; but it is equally certain that high wages maintain and increase that prosperity. * The working men, having once tasted the sweets of a j)rosperous condition, do not like to return to their old ways of poverty and squalor. They are always found, therefore, struggling to maintain their wages at the maximum point they have ever reached. The reluc- tance which is now (1884) being shown to submit to a necessary reduction is evidence in proof of this. Now it has been shown by Kicardo, Mill, and others, that the minimum rate of wages is found amongst men in that conditioL below which they do not choose to live. If these men can be improved in their condition, and when that *' improvement is of a signal character, and a generation grows up which has always been used to an improved scale of comfort, the habits of this new gene- * Tbe shopkeepers know this, and often assist to maintain a strike by giving the men credit while they were out of work. Experience has taught them that when men have high wages they spend them, and they therefore assist the men to obtain an ad* vauccj knowing that they themselves will share the benefits. 'G carninj^' niture for •e beer for nly when bbey have :ings tlian )sperity of •ity of the the tailor, industries indeed, be gh wages ; intain and weets of a o their old ays found, es at the le reluc- 3mit to a Now it that the n in that live. If and when ;r, and a ed to an lew gene- maintain a of work, ^ages they lin an ad- Icfits. THKIll INFLlIKNCi:. 133 ration, in respect to population, become formed upon a higher minimum, and the improvement in their con- dition becomes permanent." Here, then, is an object worth striving for — a " permanent " raising of wages — at any rate so permanent that it will not fall for one generation — truly a consummation devoutly to bo wished, and one which may be reached, not only without injury to the capitalist, but to his material prosperity and advantage. On the other hand, a permanent fall in Avaofcs means a deterioration in the " minimum " condition. AVhen men begin to fall, they descend more rapidly than they rise, and in a few weeks will forget the comforts they enjoyed for a few months. Facilis decensus Averno. Thei'c can be no doubt that it was this *' keeping down " in years gone by that per- manently injured the condition of the agricultural labourers, from which injury they are only now re- covering. There can be no higher mission for trade unions than that of raising the condition of the working men of this country to such an extent and for such a length of time that the point reached becomes the accepted minimum, and that any change at all must be in an upward direction. The labourers, however, must not expect to derive all the advantages of high wages at once. They must remember that if enhanced wages cause the price of the commodity produced to be enhanced, the price is raised to them as well as to others. If the demand of the cotton operatives raise the price of shirts, the cotton operatives must pay more for their shirts just the same as other people. There is, however, this to be considered, that men produce faste.T than they consume. Each man produces more than is necessary 134 TRADE t:NIONi=^. for liis own .support. When a man lias made a plough he can make another before that one is worn out. The more there are made the more there will be wanted until all are supplied, which for practical purposes may at present bo considered a very remote future. The supply creates the demand. Stockings were not inquired for (because they were not wanted) until they were in- vented ; and if to-morrow wc had double the 'Quantity we have to-day, it might be possible to sell them at half the present price without reducing v/ages at all. It is quite possible that Avagcs may be enhanced, prices diminished, and profits increased, at one and the same time, as those familiar with the use of newly invented machinery are well aware. This explains a paradoxical appearance at the present day, viz. that all over the world there is a tendency of wages to i*Ise, and at the same time a universal tendency of all materials to cheapen. Unionism helps both these tendencies, and is thus a double blessing. It is probable, though not certain, that profits will be called upon to make the principal sacrifice in the future. At any rate this is to be hoped. Hitherto the consumer has been — to use a vulgar but expressive word — fleeced ; and it is time that the incidence of injustice be either shifted or annihilated. Although, however, a rise in the price of labour all round taxes, so to speak, the labourers themselves, yet it does not tax them to the full extent of the advance. There is a race of beings called "non-producers" — a class " sometimes innocent, generally useless, often noxious." Now a rise in wages all round means that some of the luxuries of the non-producing class are being metamorphosed into extra comforts or luxuries THKIR INFLl'ICXCE. J»)J ) a plough out. Tho .nted until 2S may at 'he supply :inirecl for were iii- 3 'Quantity 3111 at half all. It is 3cl, prices the samo r invented aiadoxical over tho nd at the ,terials to ies, and is lOugh not make the this is to —to use a t is time lifted or abour all elves, yet advance. .cers" — a !ss, often cans that class are luxuries for the producing class. This is a pure gain to tho producer, in addition to other gains which result from tho improvement of his position. The only way by which labourers could bo deprived of the benefits of increased wages would bo by the non-labouring class setting to work and producing something. They would then share in the advantages of the increased pros- perity, instead of, as now, sacriiicing a portion of their means, and this portion is divided amongst tho pro- ducers. So long, however, as they toil not, neither do they spin, and garner what they have not gathered, they cannot complain that they contribute towards the cost of those who work. It must not be thought, however, that well-paid labour is unremunerativ^o to the capitalist. The contrary is the fact. Indeed, that style of labour for which no wages — in the ordinary sense — are paid, is the least remunerative of any. Slaves will not work. The low state of civilization and the ignorance of even the simplest laws in which it is found necessary to keep human beings, in order that they may submit to slavery, do more to prevent them from working hard than tho lash does to make them work at all. It was pointed out some time ago that " two Middlesex mowers will mow in a day as much grass as six Russian serfs ; and in spite of. the dearness of provisions in England, and their cheapness in Russia, the mowing of a quantity of hay which would cost an English faniier a copeck will cost a Russian proprietor three or four copecks." It was, in short, considered as proven that in Russia, where everything was cheap, the labour of a serf was doubly as expensive as that of a labourer in England. Men will not work their very best unless they have an iticen- 13() THADK rvioys. tivo to do 80. This groat truth has at last mado itself known to some of our great capitalists. Sir Thomas Brassey and oilier largo employers have found out that underpaid labour is by no means economical. Ucro aro a few proofs — When the North Devon Railway was being mado, men were working at 23. a day at first, then 2s. 6d., and then 3^. Gd. Nevertheless it Avas found that the work was executed more cheaply at the highest rate than at the lowest rate. So also in cari'ying out the largo sewage works in Oxford-street, London, brick- layers were gradually raised from Os. to 10s. a day, and at the higher rate of wages bricks wore laid at a cheaper rate ; while at the building of Basingstoke Station one London workman at 5^. 6d. a day did more work than three country ones at 3s. Qd. each. Many other in- stances might be added, all showing that intelligent workmen well paid are cheaper than bad workmen ill paid. As Mr. Frederic Harrison puts it : " The work- man whose intelligence requires no more than tho minimum of supervision is a cheap bargain even at the maximum wages." *' It is said by ono of our factory inspectors that in France one workman looks after 14 spindles. In England one minder and two assistants can manage a mule with 2200 spindles. It is an obvious economy to employ such a minder at even higher rates as compared with the French. This is tho process by which, in our cotton industry, as in so many others, wages have been rising, profits have been growing, and goods have been cheapened all at the same time." Increased wages are always to be got when there is an increase in the product of labour, although even the rate of wages be lower. Thus a spinner in Glasgow (Messrs. Houlds worth's) employed on a mule, ido itBclf ' Thomas [ out that LIci'G aro way was irst, iben as found c highest •ying out Dn, brick- day, and a cheaper at ion one rork than other in- ntelligent I'kmen ill Mio work- than tho en at tho r factory after 14 ssistants It is an at even lis is tho so many ve been the same ot when ilthough pinner in a mule, ruvAU ixFM'r.NCi:. 137 and spinning cotton 120 hanks to the pound, produced in 1823, working 74^ hours in tho week, 4G pounds of yarn, his nctt weekly earnings for which amounted to 20s. 7d. In 1833, tho rate of wages having in tho meantimo been reduced 13^ per cent., and tho time of working having been lessened to Gl) liours, the spinner was enabled, by the greater perfection of tho machinery, to produce on a niulo of tho samo number of spindles, 52^ pounds of yarn of tho same fineness, and his nett weekly earnings advanced to 29s. lOd. Similar causes raised the remuneration of tho fast spinners from 05. Od. a week in 1871 by successive gradations to 9.s\ in 1 872 ; and almost every trade can tell the same story. Sir Thomas Brassey strengthens this position by pointing out that in the construction of tho Paris and Rouen Railway, although the English navvies earned !js. a day, while tho Frenchmen employed received only 2s. C)d. a day, yet it was found, on comparing the cost of two adjacent cuttings in precisely similar circumstances, that the ex- cavation was made at a lower cost per cubic yard by the English navvies than by the French labourers ; and it must be remembered, too, that the former worked one and a half hours a day less than the latter. Another authority has told us that, a few years ago, ten labourers in Ireland raised the same quantity of produce that four labourers raised in England, and the result of tho work of the one was generally inferior in quality to that of the other. Quarry-owners tell the same tale, and it was the opinion of the late Sir Francis Crossley that our agricultural labourers would do more work if they were better paid. Although, therefore, wages increase, labour does not become dearer. This is very gratifying, because it can 138 TRADK UNIONS. liardly be doubted that the spread of education, and the comforts which follow from it, will induce the working man to work less hard, and for shorter time, for in- creased wages, than he has hitherto done. The facts above stated, too, should serve to lay that frightful hobgoblin — "foreign competition." A ship can hardly be launched in America, or a furnace lighted in Belgium but England is assured that in consequence of strikes the trade is leaving the country. The most trade will alvvo 7S be found where there are the best workmen, and the argument of these pages shows how these are to be made. It is very amusing to notice that while British capitalists pretend to be alarmed at foreign competition, every nation under the sun is afraid of English com- petition. When our cotton manufacturers were earn- ing 12s. to 155. a week, those in France, Belgium, and Gerjnatjy were earning 7s. Sd. to 9s. 7d., and those in Russia weie content with 2s. 4id. to 25. lid. ; and yet the on*?! thing* dreaded by the continental nations mentioned was actually the competition of the British. Such fears on the part of a thickly populated country like England are groundless in the face of the scarcity of labour in some countries, and its entire absence from others. The facility with which people jump to con- clusions is something extraordinary. Concurrent facts are too often accepted as causes. The public are generally too ready to accept the " invariable antooo- dent " as a cause ; and when a few cargoes of Swedish ore are imported into England, after a disiDute in the iron trade, the newspapers gravely tell us that trado unionism is ruining the country, while a little inquiry would have told them that the one was probably no more caused by the c)ther than that the railway collision THEIR INFLUENCE. 139 n, and the e working le, for in- The facts frightful jan hardly 1 Belgium of strikes trade will kmen, and are to be lie British impetition , glish com- weve earn- Igium, and d those in . ; and yet al nations le British, id country le scarcity ■icnce from np to con- Tent facts Dublic are lie antofo- Swedish ute in the that trade le inquiry ■obably no y collision at Wigan was due to the burning cigars which Mr. Spurgeon nightly smokes to the " glory of God." The story is, indeed, an old one, and its constant recital is tedious. It was heard as long ago as 1828, when it was stated that in consequence of a " strong union " in Dublin, the shipbuilding trade on the banks of the Liffey were destroyed. A little inquiry would have satisfied an impartial judge that, as vesscjs in Dublin then cost £3 5^. Gd. per ton for repairs alone, while in Liverpool, Sunderland, and other places, the same class of vessels could be bought out-and-out for £1. 10s. per ton, there was ample reason why the trade should leave the Liffey ; and as in the towns to whicli the trade Avas attracted there were also "strong unions," it is little less than an Irish bull to take the view which was taken by the Dublin shipbuilders. In June, 1874, a correspondent in the Times used as an argument against trade unionism, that it had driven the shipbuilding trade away from the Thames. When so much careless- ness is displayed in attempts to ascertain the truth, and when such rash conclusions are drawn from false premises, what is alone proved is the obtuseness of the writer. Unions exist on the banks of the Tyne, the Mersey, the Umber, the Clyde, and elsewhere. If, therefore, the result of unionism be to drive away the shipbuilding trade, how is it that it affects the Thames alone ? If the writer in the Times had taken the trouble — as he ought to have done — to inquire into the cost of shipbuilding on the banks of the Thames, where there is no iron or coal, and compared that cost with the exj)ense of building ships on the banks of rivers 7" ear which there is an abundance of both coal and iron, he would have found that the same causes which 140 rv XKADE UNIONS. destroyed the sliipbuilding trade in the Liffey also drove the trade from the Thames to the Tyne. Professor Cairns, a careftil and thoughtful economist, admits that it is often better to employ good workmen at high wages than to employ bad workmen at low wages. It is strange, however, that in another argument the Professor overlooks that admission. He places the power of a trade union at a lower point than any other economist who has given them a word of praise. He states that all a union can do is to enforce a rise when it should take place — and not always then ; but he thinks them incompetent to obtain a rise when the economic conditions do not warrant a rise. Surely Professor Cairns misunderstands the object of a trade union, if he think a part of its programme is to attempt to obtain a rise when economic conditions do not warrant such rise. Failure would be certain to follow such a policy. The differences between em- ployers and employed do not arise from any such notion, but from the general policy of the masters in systematically refusing to acknowledge that the eco>. nomic conditions are ever such as to warrant a rise. As Px-ofessor Cairns says, the question is : " Is there a margin of wealth which workmen by combination can conquer? " The men think there is not a mere margin, but a vast territory to which they are entitled, and the experiences of the past fill them with sure and certain hopes as to the future. They see the final result, and are determined upon its speedy realization. Nor do they fear that which Professor Cairns dreads, viz. that in consequence of advanced wages, capital must be with- drawn, and wages therefore fall. Such can only be the case when wages are unduly advanced, about which THEIR INFLUENCK. 141 f£ey also conomist, rkmeii at w wages, ment the laces the any other aise. He rise when L ; but he when the 3. Surely Df a trade ime is to ditions do certain to ween em- any such asters in the eco- nt a rise. " Is there ation can [•e margin, and the [id certain Jesuit, and Nor do viz. that t be with- inly be the ut which there need be no alarm. At any rate, the workmen liave no such fear. They are alive to the admission made by Professor Cairns, to which allusion has been made ; and they are acquainted with the facts above given, showing that well-paid, intelligent artisans, when not overworked, are always cheapest in the end. It may be mentioned here, in parenthesis, that although trade unions have a far more powerful influence over wages — constantly imparting an upward tendency — than Professor Cairns imagines, yet it is likewise an error on the part of those who think that trade unionism seeks to determine the rate of wages. It cannot do that ; it cannot do more than affect them. A trade society may retard a fall or accelerate a rise, but it cannot change the law which regulates the fluctuations, or render permanent that which in its very essence is temporary. It is at once seen that the instances of well-paid but remunerative labour, added to those facts which were adduced in support of a similar argument in the pre- vious chapter in regard to the reduction of the hours of labour, show that the beneficial efi^ects of the success of unionism on the trade of the country are not at the cost of the capitalist, but to his advantage, and that that advantage is not less but greater by his paying higher wages for shorter hours. This is in contradiction of those widespread assertions that prices must be increased because wages have been raised. A notable instance of the promulgation of this falsehood is found in connection with the famine prices demanded for coal in 1873. There is an old saying to the effect that persons of a certain class should be blessed with good memories ; and it would have been 142 TRADE UNIONS. as well if the coalowncrs liad remembered that, so far from the increase of wages causing a rise in the price of coal, the latter took place before the first was heard of. The increase in the rate of wages followed, and did not precede, the rise in the price of coal ; and it is yet to be learnt that the effect precedes the cause. It is now- seen that coai rose in price fro? natural causes. There was, first, the demand for iron from Germany at the close of the war; second, the vast extension of railways throughout the world, especially in America ; and third, the increase in iron shipping, other manu. xctures being at the same time in a prosperous condition. A large amount of capital, also, had accumulated in 1871, and investors in chemical works, in manufactories of textile fabrics, etc., drew cheques, as Earl Fitzwilliam pvit it, upon the bank of our coalfields. The men, who had succeeded in obtaining a Mines Regulation Act, took advantage of a natural advance of price to ask for a natural increase of wages, upon which the masters, instead of at once conceding, delayed until they were obliged to yield ; and they then, by combined action, ran up coal to famine prices, ignored the causes just mentioned, and threw the blame upon the working of of the Mines Regulation Act, and the demands of the men. The claims of the men to a signal advance of wages were very great — their demands extremely moderate. When, for instance, the cost of getting coal increased from 60 to 65 per cent., but the selling price had increased 120 per cent., it would, indeed, have been extraordinary if the workmen had not pressed for higher wages. In Cumberland, from December, 1871, to January, 1874, wages had increased 56 per cent., and at, so far the price vas heard i, and did t is yet to It is now s. There ny at the f railways and third, Lires being A large 1871, cand 3 of textile illiam pvit I, who had Act, took ask for a masters, they were cd action, aiises just •orking of ids of the of wages moderate. increased Iprice had lave been i-essed for ^ber, 1871, cent., and THEIR INFLrr.XCE. 148 the pri'*eof coal 115 poi-ccni. In the Barnslcy district, when the masters were getting an increased profit of 6s. a ton, it was with great difficulty that the men could wring from that profit an increase of 8d. a ton as their share.* When the South Staffordshire and East Yv^orcestershire coalmasters met the demand of the men for one shilling a day increase by a concession of six- pence, they, on the very same day, raised the price of coal 25. a ton. In 1871 coke was worth, at the pits in the Durham coalfield, about 95. to lO^. 6d. per ton. In 1873 it had risen to a forced value of from 37s. 6(7. to 42s. 6d. a ton, or more than 400 per cent. ! Coal worth from 5s. 6d. to 7s. Gt?. per ton for the best quality at the pit in 1871, had risen in 1873 to something like 20s. to 25s., an advance of about 350 per cent. Now, we have heard on all hands of the rapacity of the colliers, and yet the advance in their wages — not obtained without extreme pressure being put on the colliery owners — did not reach an average of 100 per cent, at the outside. In short, it may be taken as conceding a great deal to an opponent when it is stated that, speaking generally, when coal advanced from 7s. 6d. to 15s. a ton, only from Is. 6d. to 3s. a ton of that advance were for wages, and even so much would not have been obtained but for the action of the unions. Where, then, is tiie ground for the pretence that the large demands of the miners were amongst the main causes of the high price of coal ? The profits have gone to the masters, who ** " It is not the strikes or the trade unions whicli have raised the price of coal. A large coalowner lias told me that the price of coal, within the last twelve months, has increased 15s. a ton, while the rate of colliers' wages has increased only l^r. 6d. a ton.'' — Sir Wni. ITarconrt, in the Honse of Commons, 6th June, 1873. 144 •J?RADE UNION>s. f a I! liayo a strong combination amongst tbomselvcs, the practical result of which, by fixing the selling price of coal, is to force the consumer to pay not only all the naturally enhanced price of coal, but a sensational or "panic" price as well. Yet, strange to relate, the complaint against that combination w^as very feeble and far from general. It is indeed surprising that whei\ the public — or a portion of them — combine as co- operators, so that the tradesmen shall not get too large a profit, no one complains but the shopkeepers j that when capitalists combine to obtain enormous profits at the cost of everybody, nobody grumbles ; and it is not until the workmen combine, in order to get increased wages for their labour, that all the world is alarmed, and cries out in despair that the country is going to pieces. To shoAV the extent to which a masters' combination exerts its power, the following incident is related, the names of the parties concerned being for obvious reasons suppressed. In Liverpool, not long ago, a coal merchant with extensive connections advertised his intention to reduce the price of house coal by 2^. per ton, on and after a certain date. In forming that resolution, how- ever, he seems to have reckoned entirely " w^ithout his host"; for no sooner had the advertisement appeared than he received notice from two extensive colliery proprietors that they would stop his supplies in the winter if he did anything of the kind. So, under pressure from coalow^ners, he had to withdraw his advertisement, and to continue to charge his customers 2^. per ton more than he considered a fair profit on his transactions. Surely it is the masters and not the men who keep the coal clotvn in the earth and up in the price. THEIR INFLUKXOK. 14.1 Ivcs, the ^ price of y all the itional or elate, the 3ry feeble sing that ine as co- too large Ders ; that profits at I it is not increased 3 alarmed, s going to )mhination ?lated, the )us reasons merchant tention to n, on and tion, hov/'- ithout his appeared e colliery lies in the |So, nnder idraw his customers ofit on his t the men the price. It was very surprising to notice the facility with which the masters, in 1874, forced a general reduction of wages. Even if the fall in price demanded snch a reduction — which is by no means clear — yet it is strange that the men so readily believed their employers. Great care is taken to register the prices of all commodities ; very little attention is bestowed to registering the rates of wages. It is, I think, Mr. Frederic Harrison who points out that even newspapers, speaking of com- modities, announce an " upward tendency," or a " sliglit improvement," or " an increased buoyancy ; " but that no such steps are taken in regard to labour. On the other hand, " one of the most experienced engineers in England, the secretary of one of our most useful com- missions, has repeatedly said that he never knew a labour question in which employers published the truth." The inconsistency of the masters, too, is often very startling. Thus when the West Yorkshire colliers de- manded an increase of wages, because the price of coal had advanced, the reply of the owners was that the price of coal had nothing whatever to do with the rate of wages. No sooner, however, did coal fall than the owners demanded a reduction of wages, stating that although *' the price of coal did not directly control the ratio of the rate of wages, yet they could not con- ceal from themselv^es that it had some effect, and that it was, at any rate, an index of the time when a rise or fall in wages should take place." It is a pitj' they did not see this when an increase was demanded ! When, too, the men have asked for an advance of, say, 10 2)er cent., and the masters have not only refused it, but, as has often taken place, demanded a reduction of 10 per cent, out of sheer opposition, it is indeed surprising that 146 TRADE TTNIONS. the men have shown so much t'orbearancc. With some few exceptions, the men have asked for " Peace on fair terms ; " and the masters have answered, " War, and an unconditional surrender." The men have asked for bread, and have received a stone. One of the best influences that trade unionism can have on the trade of the country is the one which teaches the masters that what is sought is not a favour, but justice; and that as the manufacturer makes as much as he can out of the dealer, so will the weaver make as much as he can out of the manufacturer. The sooner the masters see this the better. Professor Fawcett says " there must constantly be a deadening influence depressing industry as long as antagonism of interest continues between employers and employed, and the noblest, highest, and in every sense best efforts of trade union- ism are those that tend to remove that antagonism." There can, indeed, be little doubt that the unions have made many a great and praiseworthy sacrifice in submitting to reductions. In order to avoid a collision the men have yielded their just rights with very little grumbling. It by no means follows that because coal falls in price that wages must immediately fall. In order to justify a fall in wages it is necessary that the price of coal (or, of course, any other commodity that may be under consideration) should fall below that point at which an advance took place. The men have a right to resist any attempt to reduce wages until such a state of affairs comes about. Now, according to the Coal Committee, the average price of six qualities of coal at the Manston Collieries, in West Yorkshire, at the pit's mouth, was, in 1871, 65. 8d. ; in 1872, 9s. Sd. ; in 1873, 13s. hi. The price at Pease's Adelaide Colliery, THEIR INFLUENCE. 147 Vitli some Peace on jd, "War, lave asked )f the best tlie trade le masters gtice ; and lie can out Liicli as lie lie masters lys "there depressing } continues le noblest, [•ade union- onism." the unions sacrifice in a collision very little 3cause coal y fall. In ry that the nodity that below that men have until such ding to the :j^ualities of )rkshire, at 72, 95. del ; de Colliery, in Durham, was 7s. 6d. in 1870 ; 135. Od. in 1872 ; and los. in 1873. These prices were for all qualities of coal. The highest price of coke for the iron trade, put in trucks at the oven at Pease's West Collieries, iu Durham, was, in 1870, 125. 6d. ; in 1873, 425. 6d. In addition, coal which was practically unsaleable before, and thrown aside in immense heaps as mere rubbish, found a brisk demand at from 75. Gd. to 125. (jd. per ton. Now, it would be certainly unfair, when coal had gone up from 95. 3c7. to 135. Id. before wages were increased, fco expect the men to submit to a i iurn to the old amount because the price of coal falls to IO5. When the price of coal has advanced 400 pei* cent, it can hardly be expected, if coals fall only 200 per cent., that the men will obey the command, " As you were." In some parts of England — as in the cotton districts and elsewhere — this has evidently presented itself to the minds of the union leaders, and causes strikes to bo threatened. • It is sometimes said, in reply to the above argument, that the price of a commodity is not a proper basis upon which to settle the rate of wages. The proper basis it is said, is the cost of production, upon which basis a minimum (of say 5 per cent.) and a maximum (of say 12i per cent.) can be lixed upon. It w^ould be out of place to argue here on the proper principle by which wages should be regulated or determJned. In- deed, it seems to be a matter of taste more than anything else. In an award given by Mr. Joseph Chamberlain, who arbitrated in the South Staffordshire dispute, the price of coal was agreed upon as the basis ; but that is no reason why the West Yorkshire owners and workers should not select "cost of production" if they wish, 148 rv TRADE UNIONS. though, as ''wages" mufit always be an item in the price of production, it renders the standard more unstable. The question is really one for the boards of arbitration, or for agreements between masters and men. What is pertinent to the matter under consideration is this ; that, whichever standard be selected, there shoula be a sufficient fall in the prices of commodities which have risen rapidly to justify a serious fall in the rate of wages. In 1874 the price of coal for iron manufacturing purposes was quoted at a reductior. to 125. 6d. Now, on the best authority it can be stated that when wages were at their highest and coal was at the highest, the " cost of production " was not more than 7s. a ton at the pit's mouth, giving the masters a profit of 85. A fall of Ss. or 45. a ton, therefore, was hardly a reason why wages should be greatly reduced, if even (which is very questionable) it justified any reduction at all. Professor Fawcett pointed out some years ago that the tendency to make a rise of wages in any particular trade usually consequent upon a rise of profits was a commencement of that regular participation of the labourers in the profits derived from their labour, which would ultimately develop into what is known as " co- operation." Mr. J. S. Mill, Mr. W. T. Thornton, and a host of others, amongst tliem even some prominent trade unionists, have argued in the same strain. It may be a sign of stupidity, if not an evidence of pre- sumption and even impudence, on the part of the author, when he confesses that he is obliged to disagree with such great and powerful authorities. There does not present itself to his mind any evidence that such a goal is before uS; or thatj if so, it would be desirable to reach THKin INFLUENCE. 140 m in the ird more 30 boards masters :er under ndard "be the prices justify a le price of loted at a Ltbority it ir highest oduction " .th, giving ? 4;s. a ton, should be ionable) it ago that particular its was a )n of the our, which ^n as " co- ton, and a prominent strain. It ce of pre- fche author, agree with does not juch a goal )le to reach it ; and he can only express his belief that it is a pretty fancy, -which perhaps can hardly be more prettily ex- pressed than in the graceful and elegant poem which Mr. Thornton has introduced in his book " On Labour." It is all very well to stand "in spirit upon Pisgah's brow," and with "pres(uent rapture" view — what? Why, a world of humdrum sameness. Imagine a people without leaders, working like a clock, but with no one possessed of power to wind it up. Surely it would come to a standstill. Mr. Thornton fails to point out the incentive for any one of his Utopians to do any manner of work. In fact, he eliminates the incentive. " Brethren, unjostled by the envious press Of all competitious rivaliy, for all Shared equally, none coveting excess, Each in such office labourefl as might fall To him most fitly, — such as several taste Or special talent made congenial : u ^ ^- # * . . . . and his gathering brought, And at the commonweal's disposal placed : Nor larger meed for larger service souglit ; Who gathered much had nothing over, nor To him who gathered little lacked there aught , Weakly or strong, with equal effort bore Each one his due proportion, nor did thoy Who added largelier to the general store More merit therefore claim, nor aught betray Save gratitude for ampler strength bestowed, Wherewith an ampler measure to purvey." It seems, then, that in labour's Utopia the reward for industry, diligence, strength, ability, talent, and general superiority is to be — gratitude. There could hardly be a stronger incentive to idleness : there could not be 150 TIIADE UNIONS. a bettor plan snggestecl to prevent invention, to emas- culate one's faculties, and to rob life of almost all its pleasures. Where would bo the stimulus which creates genius ? That individuality which, as Mr. Mill points out, is one of the elements of well-being, without which, indeed, he sa^s, the progressive career of a pcoplo ceases, would bo sought for in vain ; and there would only bo found dull and blunt natures. The principle being based on " equality," the mind itself would bow to the yoke. There would be no great men, and *' it is really important not only what men do, but also what manner of men they arc that do it. . . . Human nature is not a machine to be built after a model, and set to do exactly the work prescribed for it, but a tree, which requires to grow and develop itself on all sides, accord- ing to the tendency of the inward forces which make it a living thing." There would, in a purely co-operative state of society, bo no struggle, no desire on the part of men to make a choice of anything, and the " human faculties of perception, judgment, discriminative feeling, mental activity, and even moral preference, are exercised only in making a choice." To eat as much as possible and work as little as possible would be the natural result of a state of society in which gratitude is the only wages, and in which even that wages is dealt out alike to the feeble and idle, as well as to those who have borne the heat and burden of the day. Capital possessed by an individual would be "accumulated shame ; " and if a man were found to have accumu- lated ever so little, he would be spurned as " false to his fellow-men," while he w^ho attempted to secure a comfortable independence would be regarded with horror and repugnance. The Utopia pointed out by M. TITKIR INFLUENCE. 151 , to cmas- 3st all its 3h creates [ill points )ut which, a people ivo would principle 'ould bow and " it is also what lan nature I set to do ec, which ;s, accord- h make it operative the part 5 " human re feeling, exercised ,s possible natural de is the dealt out hose who Capital umulated accumu- " false to :o secure ded with out by M. Comtc, and to whicli trade unionism in many respects tends, is far more likely to be realized. That great French philosophci' and reformer ])oints out that man- kind, liaving io act together, are necessarily ''organized and classed with some reference to their unequal apti- tudes, natural or accjuired, which demand that some should be under the direction of others, scrupulous regard beiug at the same time had to the fullilment towards all of the claims rightfully inherent in the dignity of a human being ; the aggregate of which, still very insufficiently appreciated, will constitute more and more the principle of universal morality as a])plied to daily use." Trade unions are particularly fitted to in- culcate such principles as these ; while the self-sacri- ficing tSea which pervades the rules of most trade societies, and to which attention will be directed in the course of the following pages, is an excellent means of preparing men's minds for the doctrine that it is their duty to !e.-5train the pursuit of personal objo' ts when that pursuit is of no benefit to others ; and ultimately a state of morality so high may be reached that men will feel themselves called upon to sacrifice even innocent indulgences for the benefit of their fellow-men. " Love thy neighbour as thyself " was an excellent command, now superseded by " Love thy neighbour better than thyself." When the above remarks were first written, in 1874, the author was severely criticized for what w^as called an "onslaught on co-operation." I, however, have been much misunderstood. I am a co-operator and believe in co-operation, though much more in industrial partnerships. All trade unionists are co-operators, as is shown by the fact that at nearly every Trade Union 152 TRADE UNIONS. Cojisrress steps have been taken to further the co-opera- tive movement, and at co-operative congresses trade union delegates are often officially present. In co- operation and industrial partnerships, as in trade unionism, lies the solution of many great social ques- tions. The difference between the two kinds of associa- tion is that trade unionism tends to abolish middlemen by bringing capital and labour into close contact ; co-operation by bringing them into coalescence. The former considers human nature as it is, and may there- fore obtain its ends under existing social arrangements ; co-operators argae as if human nature were as it ought to be, atid the ultimate goal will not be in sight until the perfectibility of man is ^rst reached. The co- operation, however, Mr. Thornton speaks of in his book " On Labour," is really socialism of the worse type. Now the British workman, though sympathizing with many socialistic views, is far from a socialist. He believes hard work should be recompensed with pro- portionately good pay, and is not prepared to accept a doctrine which says that, however much or however little he may Avork, his pay shall be the same, and that pay to consist, over and above his actual wants, of nothing but the gratitude of those around him. The trade unionist has no faith in a phantasy. He is not prepared to abandon his individuality or to shirk his responsibilities. He asks not for an equal division of wealth, but for its equitable division, in which the claims of capital, labour, and ability shall be duly acknowledged ; and the results of his own thrift properly protected. The essence of trade unionism is sacrifice by the individual for the benefit of all : the essence of socialism is sacrifice by the industrious for D co-opera- (sses trade b. In co- in trade )cial ques- of associa- middlemen 3 contact ; 3nce. The may tliere- .ngements ; as it onglit sight until The co- of in his the worse mpathizing ialist. He with pro- ;o accept a however and that wants, of iim. The He is not shirk his livision of i^hich the be duly tvn thrift lionism is all : the trious for THEIR INFLUENCE. 153 the benefit of the indolent. The socialist would sacriL je others ; the trade unionist sacrifices himself. There is another economic effect of trade unionism which deserves at least a passing mention. The know- ledge that men have the powei* to strike stimulates the inventive faculties of masters. A strike is not always confined in its effects to the particular branch of the trade that makes demands from the employer. A strike of puddlers enforces idleness on other ironworkers ; while " finishers " cannot work, if " fullers " won't. It is, therefore, to the advantage of the masters to have the various processes of manufacture as independent of each other as possible, so that if one department strikes, the necessity of another being idle may be reduced to a minimum. This is accomplished by the introduction of machinery, rendering less and less necessary the skill of workmen. Mr. Nasmyth, by mechanical contriv- ances, reduced the number of his men from 3000 to 1500 without reducing the production. It has been observed that, in consequence of almost all great strikes, the masters have set their wits to work, as the saying is, and have invented such improvements that they — and through them the world — have been very great gainers. A notable instance of this is found in the history of the struggle in 1851 of the engineers with their masters, to which reference has been already made. The process alluded to is going on at present very rapidly. In the iron industries especially, the improve- ments in material, and the almost daily introduction of newly invented labour-saving contrivances have re- sulted in one man being able to do what two and a half men were required to do thirty years ago, to say nothing of the important fact that the material is ten times 154^ TllADK UXIONJ^. more durable tlian it was, and the macKi'nes wear out much more slowly. These facts not only bear out the argument, but should induce the men to strengthen their unions, to compete with the displaced labour; and, wherever possible, reap two jorofits by becoming owners of the machines they construct;, as was long ago suggested by the late Mr. John Kane. Having shown, then, that trade unions cause material profit and an increase of general wealth, it remains, finally, to consider what are the effects of unions on those who belong to them ; and if it can be shown that those effects are beneficial, then it will readily bo acknowledged that they yield to society through their moral acts still more important services than they yield to commercial progress by their effects on trade. It seems strange that in this enlightened age there are persons who believe that men can have more Avages than are good for them. There is no such thing as being too well paid. The men who think so are, as a rule, those who are i^lentifully provided with the blessings of this life, and who opposed the movement in favour of universal education, because they objected to working men being too well educated, as it would make them discontented with their "station," as if there was such a thing as too much education. Orators who advocate these views quote startling facts by wholesale in support of their theory. We are told to notice the enormous increase in the consumption of whisky ; but we are not reminded of the fact that in the middle class, where beer was formerly the principal beverage, the spirit bottle is now always at hand to irear out out the 'engthon labour; ecoming ras long [H cause ealtli, it effects of it can be 1 it -will > society services ir effects ge there •e wages tiling as are, as a ■ith the ovement objected it would ," as if Orators acts by 3 told to )tion of that in •rincipal hand to TIJEtR iNFLrENCK. ^ •• 00 welcome the friend or speed the parting guest. We hear a deal about the money squandered on the race- course; but why is it not impressed upon us that the increase in the number of depositors in the Post Office Savings Bank alone far surpasses the dreams of the most sanguine social reformers ? The men spend their time and their money in dog-fancying, says one ; but he forgets that the magistrates of Cheshire are as famous for cock-fighting as the county is for cheese. A newspaper editor dwells with horror on the fact — or perhaps it is not a fact — that, somewhere or other, the miners go to work on horseback : it w^ould have been more satisfactory if he had shown why the man at Birkenhead, who is said to be making between £400 and £500 a year by working at a Nasmyth's hammer, cannot ride with his grimy hands and face to business with the same propriety as the manager of a branch bank receiving only the same amount of salary. All such talk is no argument. There are foolish men and there are foolish masters. We have no wish to hold up the former as saints, and no desire to believe the latter are devils. All that is maintained here is that, though some evil may creep in with a rise of wages, as it seems to do with an increase of wealth, yet that good wages are a great blessing, and ought to be gladly welcomed by those who even have not yet reached that stage of morality of endeavouring to love their neighbours as themselves. At the very w^orst, all a man's increased wages are not squandered in wastefulness ; and, after all, it is only what he ought to have saved that the imprudent man has spent in riotous living. Men who ought to know better do the same thing. The working man reads in his newspapers accounts of the disgraceful 156 TRADE UNIONS. bankruptcies of noblemen and educated men of position, and he will not very much blame his fellow -work men's indiscretion when he finds that those who should be patterns to the nation, Avith incomes in some cases of £80,000 a year, cannot keep the wolf from the door. If the wages of working men rise so rapidly that the recipients do not know w^hat to do with the surplus, there is this consolation, they will soon learn. Of all the agents of civilization money is the most powerful. When men see the comforts within their reach that hitherto they have only beheld afar off there can be no doubt they will buy them. Comforts once enjoyed are tardily relinquished. The man who has lived in a cottage has no desire to change it for a hovel, or he who has once been a prosperous workman will never long to join the militia or the army. With men in better homes there will be little crime ; and without soldiers there can be no fighting. It is a w^ell-established fact that in prosperous times recruits are difficult to find, and high wages, therefore, tend to bring about what Sir Charles Dilke wants when he says, " Rather than help the next generation to fight, I would prefer to so leave taxation as to make it hard for them to do so." It has been well said, "As the homes, so the people." There is no crime in happy homes, and if trade unionism can lift out from the depths of misery, and vice, and idleness those who are now a standing reproach to the civilized age in which we live, it will be entitled to an amount of gratitude from the country it has benefited, compared to which the praises sung in honour of the noblest achievemei. . of the philanthropists, though uttered with the tongues of men and of angels, will be but as sounding brass and as tinkling cymbals. position, ork men's lioiild be 1 cases of ! door. r that the I surplus, L. Of all powerful, eacli that can be no joyed are ved in a 3r he who ever long in better t soldiers ished fact t to find, )out what tber than efer to so lo do so " people." Innionism ice, and ;h to the [led to an leneiited, T of the though I, will be THEIR INFLUKNCK. 157 TLic doctrine tliat that policy is best which gives the greatest "good to the greatest number has become an axiom. Now, in every community the majority must always consist of working men and their families, and it does seem a natural way of proceeding that, if you give a greater happiness to a greater number, a step is being made towards realizing Bentham's celebrated dictum. The moral effects, then, of high woges are great. Of course they might be greater, but a httle experience will bring that about. " Strikes, therefore, and the trade societies which render strikes possible, are for these various reasons not a mischievous, but, on the contrary, a valuable part of the existing machinery of society." It would be a work of supererogation to discuss here the great advantages of more leisure to the working class, but as it is one of the objects of a trade union to obtain shorter hours, and as the realization of such a policy has a very beneficial effect on those who belong to trade societies, the question cannot be passed over without a few words.* The advantages of recreation are acknowledged, but few steps are taken to afford the means to indulge in it. It is still quite common for young girls to walk early in the mornings — winter and summer — a distance of three or four miles, carrying their whole day's provender with them, work, standing in a factory, all day long, and then walk home at night. * It has already been pointed out (see page 89) that a long hour's day means dear labour. Mr. Thorold Rogers has shown in his recent work that it is also incompatible with good workman- ship. Speaking of the excellent masonry of Merton Tower, Oxford, four hundred years old, he says, **Iam persuaded that such perfect masonv^ would have been incompatible with a long hour's day ! " 158 TRADE UNIONS. It) is too mucli to oxpact these, immediately tbey get home, to rush off to the " Institiite " — perhaps a mile or two away — to be taught the mysteries of knitting or the history of Joseph and his brethren. Their whole time is spent in working or sleeping, with perhaps a little flirting on Sunday with lads similarly placed to themselves; and any action of the unions that can lop off another hour a day which these poor creatures may devote to improving or enjoying themselves will be very beneficial indeed.* The men, too, in various trades are not only showing a desire to generally improve themselves, but to obtain a deeper knowledge of their own particular trades. This was mentioned in the first chapter, but it will bear repeating here. Some time ago, Mr. Wilcock, the then president of the London Royal Lodge of the General Union of Carpenters, initiated a series of lectures to its members, and the president himself delivered one on " The Knowledge and Use of Scales p« Applied to the Building Trade." The folloAving month Mr. Disc gave a lecture on freehand drawing. At pre- sent, in London, there are several technical classes conducted by artisans, and the City of Guilds Institute, as well as the Polytechnic Institution, and the Artisans' Technical Association, are doing much to promote that obiect. There can be no doubt as to the effect of thus teaching men that what their hands find to do should be done with all their might, however weak that might may be. Men are made for something better than to be hewers of wood and drawers of water ; and Jeauie Dean's father was not far wrong when he said : " If ye * In many trades cliildren thirteen years of age still work ten hours a day. tbey get ps a mile aitting or eir whole perhaps a placed to it can lop :are3 may 3 will be J showing to obtain ir trades. Lit it will Wilcock, go of the series of ) himself Scales p° ng month At pre- al classes .nstitute, Artisans' note that of thus should lat might than to id Jeanie " If ye 1 work ten THKIll INFLIIEXCK. mo neglect yoiiv warldly duties . . . what confidence have I that ye mind the greater matters that concern salva- tion ? God knows our bowies, and our pipkins, and our draps o' milk, and our bits o' bread, are nearer and dearer to us than the bread of life." Indeed, the plan of lecturing just rcfei'red to rapidly bcais fruit, and some of the members of the union mentioned have, on account of their superior knowledge of their trade, been appointed clerks of the Avorks and head foremen to some of the principal lirms in England. Other unions have similar means of improving their members and raising their tastes ; and it is to be hoped that ere long the practice will bo universal. The more time the unions can obtain for their men to do this (and workmen thus educated will be better workmen) the better it will be ; and it is, therefore, for the unions to struggle with all the means in their power in order that the men may get as much wages as they can (without infringing upon that limit when their productions would be unremu- nerative) for as little work as possible, performed with a minimum of inconvenience. Indeed, the great advantage of union men over non- union men is being discovered by the masters, and the masters are beginning to acknowledge the fact. A Liverpool carpenter recently told the author that the masters knew the union men were the best workmen, and that it was a regular thing to give them one penny per hour more than the rate fixed upon by the society.* This is not surprising, as no man can be an amalga- mated carpenter unless he "be in good health, have worked five years at the trade, be a good workman, of steady habits and good moral character." If, too, a * Tlio master tailors have publicly borne similar testimony. 160 TRADE UNIONS. man has been dismissed llironf>'li misooiiduct,* siicli as drunkenness or disorderly conduct, be is not entitled to donation until ho has again been in employment two months at the average rate of Avages paid by the town ir which he is working ; while if he even boasts of his ii i )r,on Jenoo towards his employer or employers, on aco 'in if his being a member of the society, "he is fined hall .• crown." Other unions have similar safe- guards. Unionists are not desirous of having incom- petent or unsteady workmen as associates. They can see that such men do as much to lower wages as any- thing else. The good workmen know this, and they crowd into the unions as fast as they can. Of course it is not maintained here that all unionist workmen arc proficient. There are, as a matter of fact, several unionists who are not good workmen ; bub there are few good workmen who are not unionists. The men out of union are, for "the most part, either inferior Avorkmen, employed on inferior work at reduced rates, or those who have belonged to it and are erased. Of these last, some left because they did not wish to pay to it, or, indeed, to anything else that they could avoid ; and the rest, by far the greatest number, are those who have been erased for non-ioayment through their unfor- tunate habits of intemperance, which left them no means of paying." The trade unions may fairly con- sider w^hether or not it comes within their province to take even stronger measures to ensure the efficiency of their members. A " more definite standard of efficiency " than at present might be decided upon, so that a man's * Workmen are also dismissed from their unions for incom- petency, and may be even prosecuted for violence by their own society, hii oil: of CI the tatij tha^ higll andf worl sizi] artif THEIB INFLUENCE. lUi :,* sucli lis eutitled to ^mcnt two y the town oasts of his ployers, on iety, " lie is itnilar safe- ving inconi- They can ttres as any- ds, and tbey 0£ course it vvorlcnien arc fact, several i )ub there are ts. The men ither inferior :ednced rates, j •e erased. Or )t wish to pay y could avoid ; are those who rh their nnf or- \eft them no nay fairly con- eir province to be efficiency of ^d of efficiency" so that a man's unions for incom- lence by tlieir own y union ticket would be a standard of competency, and ac- cepted as such by the employers. An idea similar tc .his seems to have occurred to the Glasgow englne-keej^ers, as, at a meeting- September 2Gth, 1874, it was resolved to petition Parliameat to appoint a board of examiners for the purpose of granting certificates of competency to engine-keepers in Great Britain and Ireland ; and, failing in this, it was decided that a local board of examiners should be appointed. A-lmost every year the Trade Unions Congress forniallj u ^es a similar view, and it is to the credit of Mr. Tokn Burnett and Mr. Thos. Burt that they so persistently insist that Parlia- ment should take the matter i^i hand. If something of this kind were practical 3 in every trade — and the unions have an excellent organization for carrying out the suggestion — it would be of infinite benefit to the community. The masters would readily acknow- ledge certificates of proficiency issued by the unions, because they accept the principle now, by giving higher wages and more responsible positions to those unionists who have held office in their societies, natu- rally concluding that when a workman has earned the respect of his peers, he is also entitled to the confidence of his superiors ; and, what seems very strange, in cases of disputes between masters and non-unionist workmen, the latter very often select a unionist as their represen- tative at the board of arbitration. It may be added that the unions are showing a laudable desire to take a high tone in regard to this matter. They have over and over again protested against the "scamping" of work and cheating of purchasers, against jerry building, sizing cotton, etc., etc. They are not " the fault of the artisan — they are his misfortune,'* says an official report, 1(32 TRADK UNIONS. and continues: "We know from experience tluit the properly trained and higlily skilled workman is tbe first to suffer by the sliameful process. Wlien circum- stances press him into this circle of competition he has to undergo a second apprenticeship to acquire this sleight-of-hand system, during T'hich he earns less wages." Mr. Thomas Hughes thinks the unions '' arc powerful enough now to insist, if they choose to do so, that no unionist shall work where such practices pre- vail." Mr. Thorold Rogers takes a similar view, adding that the men should j^rotect the public, denouncing aiul exposing " dishonest and scantling work." I may add that the desire of the workmen in the direction aboA'c indicated is shown by the objection on the part of artisans to clerks and others studying in technical classes, lest such should learn just sufficient to bo dabbler at the trade, and thus cause to be thrown in the market a quantity of incompetent labour. The same feeling is shown in the desire for sound regula- tions in regard to apprentices, for it is obvious that any skilled trade not protected by an apprenticeship system must always occupy a low status. The most important educational work which the trade unions are performing is that of familiarizing the work- men — and, for that matter, the master as well — with the true relations of capital to labour. The men must learn to submit to reductions when it is proper they should do so ; and the masters must learn to abandon that dominant spirit they assume whenever an advance is respectfully solicited. An ironmaster in the north of England writes to the author; "I have had twenty years of pretty close acquaintanceship with both artisans and labourers of all kinds, and I know many of them THEIR INFLltKNCi:. 163 tbat the m is tbe 11 cii'cum- 3n lie has [uirc this )arns less ions " arc 3 to do so, ;tices prc- SAV, adding ncing and I may add tion above LO part of technical ent to bo thrown in our. The id regula- nous that enticeship the trade :he work- men — with men must oper they abandon 11 advance e north of ,d twenty h artisans of them havo much sounder views of common-sense political economy than the middle classes in general hold. I look upon trade unions as admirable training schools for the workmen, where they will soon outgrow thoir heresies on the subject of capital and labour; whereas, if they are browbeaten and scolded in a violent manner, they will begin — as some of tbem, I fear, have already — to think tbat masters arc to be regarded as their natural enemies, and treated accordingly. The unedu- cated workmen are, as a rule, a rather violent set of fellows, it must be admitted ; but I can see that, under the training and leadership of the foremost men in the unions, these are fast becoming a very small minority, as they are very plainly and forcibly told that the old Avay of settling disputes with their employers is about the very worst that could be adopted. This, coming from men of their own class, they are daily becoming more and more ready to listen to with respect, which would not be the case if it emanated from the emioloyers' class, whom they have good grounds for regarding with distrust and suspicion. I know enough of the unprin- cipled conduct of the employers, through their agents in our iron industry, to understand and excuse much in the conduct of the unionists that would be indefensible on any other grounds than those of extreme injustice and most heartless provocation — not that the employers have directly perpetrated such things personally, but they must be held responsible, seeing that they have seldom or ever taken the trouble to find out the rights and wrongs of disputed points ; but in ninety-nine out of one hundred cases the underlings have been left to take their own course and represent their own case as, of course, decidedly angelic. The unions have done 1()4 TRADE UNIONS. immense HCrvico in briiigiiif^ about a dill'erciit state of tilings, and, to my certain knowledge, it has been due to the influence of the lenders of the unions that the system of arbitration has been adopted hitely in bo many industnes ; and this, bear in mind, in si)ite of the dogged resistance of many of the emiiU>yers, who don't like the system, as I have heard them say, because it puts a weapon into the men's hands to fight them with when a dispute arises about the rate of wages. i> This passage is given, not only because it contains some cogent reasons in favour of the present argument, but because, coming from where it does, it justifies what might otherwise appear as the too strong language used against the employers in the course of this essay. Of course such strictures do not apply to all capitalists, and they are only directed against those whom they concern. It is well known that there are others who — but good wine needs no bush. Combination in bad hands may mean something very terrible — suoh as a strike — but in good hands it may mean calm delibera- tion and prudent counsel. When Mr. Macdonald induced some men to accept a reduction of 20 per cent., he was doing more than giving them friendly advice. He naturally gave them reasons fox* pursuing such a policy, and such reasons were not only a lesson in prudence and forbearance, but the solution of a problem in political economy. The very terms* upon which an arbitration shall be conducted are pregnant with useful instruction such as the men have never received before. Not only is the influence of trade unions of such a nature as to make men better cconomii' ts, but it t state of been due that the L'ly in so a spite of >yers, who horn say, lIs to fight 10 rate of t contains argument, it justifies y language this essay, capitalists, fhoni they tliers who on in bad suoh as a [i delibera- acdonald of 20 per 1 friendly ; pursuing )t only a e solution ery terni!=» ucted are men have of such Its, but it THEIIl INFLUKNUK. 105 also has a tendency to make them better politicians, using the word in its proper and not in a party sense. A groat deal of the time of the legislature is, and has been, and will again be, taken up in discussing measures specially affecting the labouring population ; the unions debating upon abstruse questions, and deciding upon vigorous and intelligent parliamentary action. They think — and rightly so — that this cAn best be done by having men of their own order, and practically acquainted with their wants and wishes, elected as their representatives in the House of Com- mons. The unions have done good work in parlia- mentary action in the past. Indeed, when it is remem- bered that all the disputes, desires, and wishes of tho men have always been inquired into, decided upon, and legislated for by tho masters, the wonder is, not that the men have obtained so little, but that they have achieved so much. Tho opposition to measures which the men had initiated, or for which they clamoured, has been something stupendous, and they may, there- fore, with pride contemplate their victories. It was the unions who cried aloud for the Factory Acts ; it was, and is now, the unions who demand laws to enforce the better ventilation of mines, and to secure miners against accidents, caused by a selfish economy. It was the unions, and not the masters, who asked for the inquiry in 1850 ; and when the Act which was passed in consequence of that inquiry proved insuffi- cient, it was again the unions who, in 1852, d landed further inquiry, the result of which was the moio com- plete measure of 1855. Who was it demanded com- pulsory education, and demanded it in opposition to the masters ? It was the workmen in combination, 16(5 TRADE UNIONS. who, suffering from the accidents of ignorance, were well alive to the blessings of intelligence and educa- tion. So keenly did they feel on this point, that in a petition to Parliament, signed by 50,000 persons, they expressed their willingness to pay for that which thoy prayed by contributions from their wages, on the very natural condition that some of their order should sit on the governing body. Not only have they fought and won in the House of Commons, but they have often been placed on the defensive in the Law Courts, and, with a few exceptions, have won there also. When the masters, with a tenacity the wickedness of which is only equalled by its audacity, took from the men, under the name of forfeits, one- fifth of the payment on the coal raised — that is, oiie-fiftli of their wages — Parliament stepped in and ordered the appointment of a " check weigher," to be chosen by the men. So grasping, however, were the employers — so determined to rob the collier of one-fifth of his wages — that they evaded the law by forbidding the man chosen of the men to enter their premises. Mr. Normansell, who had been chosen by the men, Avas ejected eighteen times, and carried his case from court to court, finally Aviniiing the day in the Court of Queen's Bench. The old spirit again showed its head in an attempt to send Mr. Halliday to a felon's cell ; and although there are masters and men hoping and sighing for the good time coming, yet there is sadly too much evidence that intolerance is not dead, but sleepeth. Although the unions have done such glorious work in the past, there is ample left yet to be accomplished. The masters, true to instinct and tradition, displayed a THEIR INFLUENCE. 167 ice, were id educa- )iiifc, that d persons, lat wliicli vages, on leir order »nly have oaons, but ve in the have won laeity the audacity, feits, one- — that is, id in and gher," to >ver, were collier of le law by nter their hosen by arried his ay in the n showed a felon's en hoping there is not dead, ious work raplished. splayed a warlike front in the memorial which the National Federation of Associated Employers of Labour presented to the Home Secretary. '"Men have been convicted," says Mr. Henry Crompton, " for simply standing still in the street, when there was no attempt at intimidation or coercion, without word or gesture having been used. Seven men were sent to jail in one batch in Perth for doing nothing more than this picketing — that is, the men waiting for a fellow-workman, accosting him, and endeavouring to influence him by argument or per- suasion, has been declared to be a crime by a com- petent legal tribunal. On one occasion seven women were sent to prison for shouting at a man who was walking away from the pit where he had been 'working, and who is reported to have said, in his evidence, ' I heard shouting, but I cannot say where it came from.' " Men have been imprisoned for breaking a contract to save their lives. '^ It takes days," says Sir Wm. Harcourt, " and sometimes weeks, to examine a ship, and we have a law which keeps a seaman in prison under a labour contract until an investigation has proved her to be un- seaworthy. In one case the men were kept in prison during the process of the investigation, and when found innocent were discharged without any compensation for the false imprisonment they had undergone." A man who broke a bad bargain was liable to imprisonment ; the master who did so was merely subjected to a pecuniary consideration. In the face of these disgraceful pro- ceedings, were not the men justified in demanding an amendment of the Master and Servant Act, and in asking for a repeal of the '* Criminal Law Amendment Act" ? and the law was amended in these respects by the divegt action of the trade unions. The federated 1G8 TRADE UNIONS. empl')yers announced their intention to oppose the efforts of the men in their attempts to obtain both. Again, there arc the laws on conspiracy. Attention has ah^eady been called to the vagnc and unintelligible nature of these laws. They are a puzzle to the shrewdest lawyers, and hardly any two judges on thr Bench are agreed as to what criminal conspiracy really is. Attempts have been made to bring the officers of unions within the statute, and although no jury has yet been found to convict them, yet on the slighcst provocation the masters have hoped, by continued pro- secutions — paid for out of the imperial exchequer — so to hamper and harass the unions, who are mulcted in large sums of money for the defence of their officers, that in time they would become tired of the game. The men think this state of things should be altered ; and here again they know \vell enough tliat a strong opposition would be m.ade. So, too, the Truck Act, which fined a master £20 for the infringement of an Act — by which infringement the master made £30,000 a year out of his men, and could, therefore, well afford to pay the penalty — was to be denounced by the men as unjust and iniquitous, and upheld by the masters — naturally — as the pink of perfection. The Factory Bills and others, too, were an eyesore to the federated masters, and, indeed, everything that was for the amelioration of the working classes was to be opposed to the bitter end by the union of those who denounce unionists; and this body, by an "intrigue," as Mr. Frederic Harrison calls it, succeeded in post- poning legislation by the appointment of a needless Parliamentary Commission. All these reforms that the trade unionists demand a| SJ til SI si pose the oth. Attention telligible 3 to the s on thr Lcy really )fficers of jury has ! slighcst tiuecl pro- 3quer — so mulcted of their cd of the ?hould be ugh that he Track ingemont ter made herefore, enounced pheld by ion. The 'e to the bhat was ^as to be Lose who ^trignc," in post- needless demand THEIR INFLUEXOK, 169 are such as will remove from the statute book all that savours of class legislation. No new privilege — except that of freedom, Avhich has hitherto been Avithheld — is asked to be invented on the workman's behalf. Tlio labourer does not need, and therefore does not desire, special legislation. All ho asks is, that the remaining shreds of inequality in the treatment of employers and employed shall be removed, and that before the law ho may stand face to face with his master on equal terms. There are, as Mr. Henry Crompton has pointed out, in the statute book a vast number of the most extra- ordinary laws intended to crush all combined action and freedom of expression. They have not been put in force for many years, but other obsolete acts have, and those may at any nioment. If that w^cre done, they would probably render all trade societies and most political associations criminal. The British workman demands that these should be repealed. IIo asks no favour. Knowing justice to be on his side, he de- mands that it shall not be w^ithheld. The thinking working man, for instance, cannot understand Avhy there should be such a law of conspiracy as at present exists. If an act be not a crime when committed by one person, it can hardly bo a crime when thought of by two, or two hundred ; w^hile, if it be a crime when committed by one, surely it is a fortiori a crime when committed by more than one, conspiracy or no conspiracy. If a man, or men, of v/hatevcr class, be guilty of a crime, surely there is at present — or if not, there soon can be — sufficient law to punish him without disgracing vjur Statute Book with obnoxious, partial, and invidious Acts. It is an opinion of some eminent jurists that conspiracy ought only to be a *w^., 170 TRADE UNIONS. crime in the case of treason. Tho Conspivac^' Laws at ])resent, too, are dangeronsly yagnc, and the various constructions that can be put upon them are ofcen con- tradictory. Truly it is difficult to conceive that there should be any special laws relating to the employed and their employers. The law of contract ought to be enough for all purposes. Laws relating to violence and intimidation, to be just, must apply to the whole communit}', and must not be directed against trade unionists aione ; while the law which singles out the worlcman alo7ie for imprisonment for breach of contract can have but one effect : "It gives no protection to good masters, but means of oppressioD to bad ones." In fighting for these reforms, trade usnonists are not only striving for Avhat will benefit themselves, but, by diffusing a spirit of liberalism and justice, are bestowing an incalculable benefit upon their fer>vr-men. The unions are doing good w^ork in another direction. Their attention is not solely confined to questions affecting capital n;ui labour. The trade unions not only wish the labourers to be good workmen — they are also determined to make them good citizens. They are anxious to do away with all class distinctions. It is not forgotten that at the first attempt at arbitra- tion when the miners in South Staffoidshire met the masters, the latter were seated comfortably at a table, with pens, ink, note paper, etc., and a chairman duly installed; but the men were directed to a bench at the bottom of the room, as though they were culprits awaiting trial, rather then fellow-men assembled to Agree upon a contract to the benefit of all concerned. All such snobboj-y is to be annihilated. The men are beginning to feel "the glorious privilege of being so Tsiw^;:.'*' 'P THEIU iNFLUENr^F. .171 ■^ Laws at e various 3f cen con- tliat there employed lo-lit to be ) violence the whole inst trade js out the f contract itection to )ad ones." ts arc not es, but, by bestowing direction. questions mions no fc — they are ns. They ctions. It it arbitrp.;- e met the at a table, man duly nch at the e culprits enibled to oncerned. e men arc of being c independent." It is time they did. Nothing teiids so much to desfrade a class as the knowledn:e that '• is dependent.* The day has gone by when a man n; st; feel loyal and dutiful to another simply because ho has been born on his estate, or because ho works in his factory. The men are willing enoagli to receive the ambassador of the employer with all duo respect, but they demand (on the peril of a strike) that their own delegates shall be equally well received. It is now acknowledged that the demeanour most fitting towards the poor is that which is most fitting towards every one. The leaders of the unions have perceived that the general tendency of human progress is in this direction, and they have determined not to oppose, but to assist it. Their demands, therefore, are for the assimilation of tlie county to the borough franchise ; a redistribulMui of seats ; payment of election expenses out of the rates, so that if being a labourer be no reason woy a man should be sent to Parliament, it equally ^ho!! bo no reason why he should not ; a general appci - Imont of stipendiary magistrates, so that justice may be more fairly meted than at Chipping Xorton and eiscs )y[)tlan war, of which the said nionil)ci's disa{)provcd, are giving up their liberty to refuse these payments, it has always been an acknowledged principle that a man may voluntarily submit to certain restrictions on his liberty for the common good. Thus a man must drive on the left-hand side of the road, and he must not erect noxious works in crowded neighljourhoods. Childron must be educated, and too many persons must not crowd into one sleeping-room. The trade unionist, too, is much freer in regard to his union than is the citizen in regard to the State. It is with great difficulty the latter can throw off his obligations, and then but to rest under fresh restrictions ; but the former can do so with the greatest facility, though, for reasons mentioned in a former chapter, he seldom avails himself of the opportunity. In addition to the huge moral eftects which have been already noticed, there are a crowd of smaller ones, that in the aggregate are very formidable. The assistance afforded to emigrants has been alread}^ touclied upon. It is worthy of note that during times of distress union men seldom apply for parochial relief, and according to a competent authority trade unions have kept hundreds of thousands of persons off the poor rates. Of course this influence is chiefly due to that portion of the trade union which is more properly a friendly society. Too much stress must not be laid upon the half-suggestion contained in the last chaptei', that perhaps it would be better if the societies contented themselves with the business of trade unions, leaving the work of friendly societies to be accomplished by another organization. 176 TRADE UNIONS. Inasmuch, liowcvcr, as most trade iniions arc bcnefifc societies, they have all the influence (and none of the flummery) which flows from those bodies. To teach men to prepare for a rainy day, to lay by for old age, to protect themselves from i)overty in case of accident or failing health, loss of tools, etc., and to reward merit and inculcate the principle of brotlierly love and benevolence, are surely laudable objects, and so long as the criteria are sound, they cannot help but have a good influence upon those who are 2)rudent enough to deny themselves to-day, in order that they may enjoy to-morrow. These societies, too, are exceedingly useful in the mass of valuable statistics they collect. The death rates and the causes of death in various trades point to a field in which medical men may work to great advantage ; while the fluctuations in the rates of wages, and the gradual shortening of hours present an equally interesting problem to political economists. This in- formation, too, is given for, comparatively speaking, small districts, and tlic i)rGblems refeiTed to can there- fore be studied when local influences interfere with general laws. Altogether there is ample food for both the student, the philosopher, and the statesman, in the vast amount of literature that is annually issued by the trade societies of Great Britain ; and which, by the way, must keep employed a great number of printers, thus benefiting a trade by the mere action of recording the experience of their existence. Not long ago a committee of the British Association for the Advancement of Science was ai^pointed to consider the great question that has been discussed by such incompetent hands in these pages. This com- TO l)cnefifc one of the To teach old age, to ccident or rard merit love and so long as lut havo a enongli to may enjoy fal in the The death [es point to : to great }s of wages, an equally This in- speaking, can there- rfere with d for both nan, in the ued by the h, by the : printers, recording Association 3ointed to cussed by This com- THEIR INFLUENCE. 1 ( i mitteo, liavlniv studied the ''extensive literature which has accuniulatcd on the subject,' and having had a conference between masters and men, wns unable to arrive at any better conclusion than that the '' questions arc as yet but insufliciently ajiprcciatcd, especially by the parties most interested," ;ind could sugu'est no plan by which the question might be settled. They there- fore rccommendeil " the reappointment of the committee, with instructions to renew the eont'erence already in- augurated, and to report vn the general question." When failure characterizes efforts in such a quarter, what can be expected from the attempts of the author of this pai)er ? He, however, will yield to none in admiration of trade unions and faith in their mission. However inadequately the ideti may be expressed in this work^ it seems to the writer that opposing trade unionism is lighting against the inevitable. It lias been pointed out that combination amongst workmen has existed ever since men had the intelligence to understand that they were oppressed by those whose position gave them the power to opi3r'\ss. The power to combine became more and more generally acknow- ledged, until at length, in spite of unjust and partial laws, trade unions became a fact. From combinations against oppression they developed into associations having for their object the amelioration of the con- dition of the working class. It has also been shown that the organization of a trade union is pre-eminently fitted to carry out that object, and as proof of that it has been argued: 1st, That trade unions have succeeded in raising wages and reducing the number of working hours. 2nd, That these reforms do not benefit the labourer at the cost of cither the capitalist or the consumer; as, ^, - ^ ^t<.^. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // ^ >V 1.0 ^Ks I I.I 2.5 u£ yi2 12.2 •a m lii us u 140 2.0 iim |i.25 1 1.4 |,.6 ^ 6" ► V y] Hiotographic Sdences Corporation ^^^ 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 873-4503 '^ ^ .^% K^ J / % ^ 178 TRADE UNIONS. between certain limits, it is found tliut high pay and the prospect of an early cessation from work are such incentives to industry that the produce of labour is actually greater tliaii under a system of long hours and low pay. ord, That the workmen have such confidence in the benefits they derive from union, that, after the experience of " half a millennium," they are crowding into societies, into unions, in a greater ratio every year. 4th, That their declared object is to prevent strikes, and substitute arbitrations ; and although the latter mode of settling disputes is often proposed by the men and refused by the masters, it is seldom proposed by the masters and still less often refused by the men. It has been argued further, that such being the objects of trade unions, and such their success in obtaining those objects, the influence of that success must be very beneficial ; 1st, Because high wages means increased comforts, which are not only a social but a commercial advantage. High wages means increased production, also the double blessing just mentioned. 2nd, Because high wages does not mean enhanced prices, but tlu^ contrary. 3rd, Because the principles of trade unionism teach men the prudence of denying themselves some- thing to-day in order that they may have gi*eater ad- vantages to-morrow ; and the duty of self-sacriticc, by calling upon them to contribute, out of their meagre wealth, towards the alleviation of the sufferings of their fellow-men. 4th, Because trade unions endeavour to obtain for the working classes more leisure for recreation and study, 5th, Because, by lectures and other means, the uniorxi3 endeavour to make their members better workmen; and by rules which stigmatize and punish the idle, the vicious, and the incompetent, do all in their pay and are such abour is ours and Dnfidencc lifter the [•rowding ery year. b strikes, ic latter the men posed by men. It )bjeots of ing those be very increased mmercial oduction, Because but the nionism es some- E?ater ad- iticc, by meagre of their ivour to creation H' means, s better nish the in their THEIR INFLTTENCE. 179 ])0wer to make workmen better citizens. Gtli, Unionism makes men better politicians ; while it teaches them to submit to unchangeable laws, it shows them how to take advantage of these laws. It thus makes them indepen- dent, and enables them to demand as their right what has hitherto been withheld from them. It makes clear to them that capital does not make the man, and that a labourer is no worse because he works. Jack is as good as his master ; and the men know that if em- ployers would only acknowledge this — if they would only meet their workmen as men on an equal footing with themselves, and discuss the wages system with them, as the late Mr. Brassey, Mr. E. Akroyd, Mr. W. E. Forster, and others were in the habit of doing — then strikes would be impossible. It is really difficult to conceive how an institution with such noble objects, having attained those objects, can be anything but a great blessing to the community in which it is placed. There are some persons, how- ever, who can find a dark side to everything, and because trade unions have sent three of their own class to Par- liament, these persons imagine that the destruction of the world is not far off. What Avill such people think when trade unionism extends its influence to domestic servants ; and the freakish clause in the Employers and and Workman Act which excludes them from the benefits of its provision is repealed ? To those, on the other hand, who look at the bright side of things, there appears in the future everything that can be hoped and wished, nothing that needs be feared. Good will always prevail over evil in the end, and whatever evil there may be in trade unionism will soon die for want of sustenance. 180 TRADE UNIONS. In contemplating tlie great future which .i in store for trade unionism, the present unhappy relations that exist between employers and employed must not be forgotten. One of the steps to be taken first, because of its importance, is that which brings together the two classes of society in harmony and good will. As Mr. Henry Broadhurst told the Paris Conference of workmen last year (1883), working men should raise themselves, not by depressing others, but acting with them in friendliness. The present state is one of all- abhorred war, with lucid intervals of peace. This is slowly — too slowly — passing away ; and every means should be taken to bring about a happier and a brighter time. The evils are old, and the experience is great. What is wanted is the intelligence to discern the e\nls, the charity to acknowledge them, and the wisdom to remedy them. "Light, more light" should be the desire of all. There are already signs of daj. The dawn is visible. Some of the most intelligent of the masters have already acknowledged the justice of unionism, and others are day by day following that example. Support comes whence least expected. The candidate for the throne of France, who of all others in a similar position is best fitted to be a king, has written to his countrj^men a fair and honest descrip- tion of trade unions in England. He has done so in the hope that the working men of his own country will adopt the same means of improving their con- dition, and of becoming more and more useful to themselves and the world. It is hoped that there is no ]3resumption in saying that others, like Mr. Thornton, have viewed the promised land. Afar oif it may truly be, but still promised, In that happy region the in store ons that not be becauRo tlier tlio nil. As rence of ilcl raise ing witli J one of e. This vy means brighter is great, cern the 3 wisdom cl be the ly. The it of the stice of ing that id. The 11 others ing, has descrip- ne so in country ir con- beful to ?re is no lornton, ly truly lion the THEIR INFLUENCE. 181 labourer is worthy of his hire. There are no animosi- ties, no strugg'les between class and class; no wars or rumours of war. The men have long ago discovered what is a fair day's work, and the masters have found a means of ascertaining what is a fair day's wages. There, men — even working men — are known as men, having a "God-created form," and there each has his own reward. " Wishes o'erjoyed witli Immblo things, A rank adjudgotl by toil-worn merit ; Content that from employment springs, A heart that in his labour sings ; A heritage it seems to me, A king might wish to hold in fee." * Ti-ade unionism, then, has a great future before it. Its ultimate result cannot be otherwise than to con- vince both employer and employed that they are tlu* truest friends, each of the other, for each derives his revenue from the other. The prosperity of the* country is greatly due to the influence of unions on ti^de, and therefore that influence benefits the capitalisi as well as the Avorkman. Indeed, it cannot be too often remembered that in the exchange that takes place between master and man, the one ought not to be ex- pected to reluctantly yield what the other imperiously demands ; but that each should give what he can best spare for that which he most wants. The master parts with his capital because he wants the man's labour, and the man parts with his labour because he wants a part of the master's capital. There is a mutual obligation, a fact which has hitherto been too often forgotten. The * J. Russell Lowell. 182 TRADE UNIONS. men, however, liave not forgotten it; nor was it likely ihcy would. Could it be thought for one moment that the men who liavo made England what she is, who havo honeycombed this country Avith great cities, who havo cultivated every inch of its cultivated area — could it bo thought for one moment that, knowing how nmch they had done towards this, and how few of the benefits of it all were awarded them, they would He down, submit, and remain silent and patient for ever under such per- petual exclusion from participation in the fruits of their labour? What did the workmen do to remove that deep and widespread feeling of injustice ? The past history of their country told them of secret con- spiracies, of midnight drillings, of rick burnings, and of riots. These things, however, seemed to them the bai'barous customs of a barbarous age ; and they found in their unions that strength which singleness of pur- ])osc and a thorough faith in the justice of a cause alone can give. They believed that the principles of trade unionism were sound. They believe now that they are us sound as those of any other institution, and the unionists are to be congratulated on having for years kept the light burning in the midst of the dismal dark- ness that surrouzided them. They are to be honoured veiy much for having, through a great deal of evil I'eport and very little of good report, through much tribulation, and when in a small minority, kept up the advocacy of principles which they believed to be true, and which the people of this country will more and more come to believe to be true. s it likely >incnt tbiit who have who have :'Ould it be much they benefits of n, suhmit, • such per- ( fruits of to remove ice ? The jccret con- •nings, and them the they found ss of pur- 3ausc aloiic s of trade t they are and the ;' for years mal dark- honoured al of evil gh mucli ept up the |o be true, more and INDEX. Agricultural labouror.s, 21, 17, 53, 81, 107 Aldcrshot aliocmakers, 85 Allan, Williarn, 92, 103 Alliance cabinet-makers, G5 Amalgamated Boot and Shoe- makers, 54 Amalgamated Carpenters and Joiners, 45 Amalgamated Engineers, origin of, 32 (and note) ; description of, 48 Amalgamated Tailors, 68 Amalgamation, beginning of, 18, 53 Applegarth, lloberfc, 101, 103 A})])rentices, 114 Arbitrations, 9G; first proposed by the unions, 101 Arch, Joseph, 92 Aristotle on the common- ■wcalth, 2 Association, first signs of, 8 B liad rules in unions, 114, 118, 121 liailey, E. W., 61 ]^ak :b (Scotcli), 33 Bassett, John, on foreign manufactures, 19 "Benefits," 111 Bill of Mr. Nealo, M.P., 36 Bill to protect trade union funds, 37 Birkenhead Trade Council, to Birtwistlo, Thomas, 93 Black Death, the, 5, 8 Boilermakers, the, 35 Brassey, Sir Thomas, 69, 137 Brentano, Dr. Lujo, 11 Bricklayers, the, 74, 118, 121 Bright, John, 83, 91, 100 British Association, the, 176 Broadhead, 91 (note) Broadhurst, Henry, 61, 92, 180 Burnett, John, 01, 92, 93, 161 Burt, Thomas, 02, 93, 94, 161 C Cabinet-makers, in Antwerp, etc., 65 Cabmen, the Paris, GO Canada Works, Birkenhead, wages at, 69 Cairns, Professor, 140 Capitalist artisan, the, 4 Certificates of competency, 161 Chamberlain, Joseph, 147 184 INDEX. I ■\ Child labour, long hours of, 17j 185 Coal price of, 111, 171 ; and wages, 145, 140 Coalowncrs, 100 Church, the, and serfdom, 3 Coinage, dobasomont of, 14 Colliers, West Yorkshire, 145 Combinations, first signs of, 8; forbidden, 11 ; of saddlors suppressed, 11 ; severe laws against, 15 ; legislatioJi against, 18 ; laws against repealed, 19 ; become a necessity, 24 ; be- come legal, 35; first begun by employers, 31 j of em- ployers, 97 Compositors, London, 45; 51 (note) Confiscation of the guilds, 14 Conference, the first, 35 ; its Bill, 37 ; of unionists at Paris, 01 Conspiracy, laws on, 16S Co-operation, 103, 148 Corn laws, repeal of the, 22 Craft guilds, 9 Crompton, Henry, 167, 1C9 Creasy, Sir E. S., 3 Criminal Law Amendment Act, 167 D Duibj News, anecdote from, 99 Debasement of the coinage, 14 Denny s, Mr., 87 Dilke, Sir Charles. 156 Dissolution of the monasteries, 14 Domestic servants, 179 Domestic £.ystem, decline of, 24 Donation, origin of, 30 Dunning, J. T., 43, 99, 112, 120 E Eight hours, a day*B work, 14 Emancipation of serfs, 3, 11 Emp-oyers, attempts to reduce wages, 145; combinations of, 97; and employed, decisions on acts relating to, 39; law amended, 39 ; federation of, 108 ; have seldom raised wages unasked, 77; strike against each other, 100 Engineers, 161; society of, indict- ment against, 32 ; reasons for expulsion from society of, 173 Errors of unionists, 91 Expulsion from a vmfon, reasons for, 173. F Factory Acts, dawn of, 17 Factory system, rise of, 25 Fawcett, Henry, 43, 47, 140, 1 IS Federal principle, 53 Federation of employers, lOS, 167 Federation of trades, 59 Financial Reform Association, 127, 120 Foreign competitior, 138 Foreign manufactures, outcry against, 19 France, trade unions in, 62 F'^eemasons, the, 9 G " Geo-chenk," 30 GifEen, Robert, 70 Girdleston, Canon, 08 Gladstone, W. E., 118 (note), 119, 120, 174 INDEX. 185 •'a work, It icrfs, 3, 11 ipta to rodiici^ mbinations oi, yed, (Icciaious 1^ to, 39; law federation of, m raised wages strike agaiii5«t )ciety of, indict - {2 I, reasons for society of, 173 8,91 vm:on, reasoin kvu of, 17 ise of, 25 3, 47, 14G, 1 IS 53 mployers, 108, lies, 59 11 Association, lov, 138 jtures, outcry )n3 in, 62 08 Ll8(note),lll>, Glassmakcrs, the, 105 "Good old times," the, 2 Goitrick, Joseph, 44 Green, J. 11., 16 Grostete, a serf, 12 Guilds, 9, 25; confiscation of, 14 Gurnoy's, Russell, Act, 42 H Halliday, Mr., 93, 1G6 Hand Male Spinners' Association, 54 Ilarcourt, Sir William, 143 (note), 167 Harrison, Frederic, 41, 4^, 55, 104, 130, 145, 1G8, 172 Ileatherly, Mrs., 02 Henry II., alluded to, 2, 5 High wages, benefits of, 130 ; not nnremimerative, 135 ; do not cause increased prices, 141 ; effects of, 155 Hornby v. Close, 35 j petition to parliament, 38 Hours of labour, 85 ; shorter hours, more work, 89 ; benefits of short, 157 House painters, alliance of, 03 Howell, George, 55, 66 (note), 104 Hughes, Thomas, 162 Iron founders' Society, the, 20, 55 Ironmaster, an, on trade union- ism, 102 Iron shipbuilders, 35 Justices, power to fix wages, 18 K Kane, John, 92, 93 Kettle, Rupert, 95, 101 King, J. R., 110 Income of the people, 72 Indictment against engineers, 42 Industry, legal restrictions on, 21 International Society, the, 59 Invention stimulated by strikes, 153 Laws, unequal, 35 Labourers not subjects, but "fragments," 2 Labour, future price of never fixed, 102 Lectures to artisans, 158 Limitation of work, 113 Lock-out, the agricultural, 78 Lollards, the, 12 Luddite rising, the, 24 (note) M Macclesfield weavers, 78 Machinery, introduction of, 23 Macaulay, Lord, 3, 19 Macdonald, Alexander, 45 j work as secretary, 52, 93, 96, 164 Macdonald, Mr. (house painters), 103 Magna Charta, 2 Manchester, Bishop of, 33, 81 Manchester Bricklayers' Associa- tion, 118, 121 18() INDEX. MaBon, IInp:li, 88 MaRons, wages of, 8, 10 ; higher tyian otiior crafts because of "union," 11 Masters and servants, decisions on Acts relating to, 39 : law amended, 39, 107 Mill, J. S., 28, 39, 77, 120, 1 18 Millers, the, 171 (note) Miners, condition of, 22, 33 Mines llogulation Act, 89 " Mistaken men," 109 Monasteries, dissolution of, 1 1 Moro's Utopia, 10 Morley, John, 72 Muudclln, A. J., 88 N Nasmyth, Mr., 153 Neale's, Mr., Bill, 30 New Zealand, trade unions in, 05 National Federation of Em- ployers, 57 Non-producers, 131 Non-unionists profit by unionism, 84; refusing to work with, 84, 118 Normansell, Mr., IGG Norman Society, the, 26 Nortl umberland and Durham miners, 45 O Odger, George, 115 Operative house painters, alii- ance of, 08 Outrages at Sheffield, 40 Paris, cabmen, GO; conference at, Gl, 180 J workman's wages in, 63 Parin, Comto de, 180 Paterson, Mrs., 110 Peasants' llovolt, the, 13 Peopl(», inooine of, 72 Petition in re Uornby v. Close, 38 Pickard, Mr., 92 Piecework, 90 Phitt, ISfessrs., dispute with, 32, 40 Plimsoll, Samuel, 50 Poor laws, 18 '* Poor Priests," Wiklif's, 12 Prices of coal and rates of wages, vo Prior, J. D., 77 Profits, go to capitalists, 31 B Railway servants, French and Belgian, 60 Rattening, 30 Recapitulation, 178 Repeal of the corn laws, effect of, 22 Rogers, Thorold, 4, 6, 7, 11, 22, 01, 102 Royal Commission, the, 35 (note), 41 S SacLllers' combination sup- pressed, 11 Sale, Sir Robert, a serf, 12 Salmon and Scotch labourers, 7 (note) Saunders, William, 40, 82 (note) " Scamping," 101 Scotch bakers, the, 33 Scotch labourers and salmon, 7 (note) LbO .0 the, l:{ ,72 irnby r. Close, sputo ^vitll, 32, riklif's, 12 rates of wages, italiats, 31 g, French and 78 I'll laws, effect 4, 6, 7, 11, 22, lion, the. 35 [ination sup- serf, 12 |ch labourers, 7 ^, 40, 82 (note) ), 33 laud salmon, 7 INDKX. 187 Secretary of union, dillicuUics of hiti position, 02 Serfdom, 2; notyot abolished, 3 Serfs, 2 ; emancipation of, 3, 11 Shediold outrajifcs, the, 10 Shakespeare, nlludod to, 2 Shipbuilders, the, 35 Shoemakers, im]»risoncdfor com- bining;, 11 Shopkeeper8,help those on strike, 132 Short hours, effect of, 157 Sinicox, Mr., G2 Smith, Adam, 80, 120 Socialism, 50, 152 Spitalficld weavers, 33 Statistics collected by unions, 170 Statutes of labourers, 5, 7, 15 Statutes referred to, 23 Edw. 1 11. c. 1, 5; 37 Edw. III. c. 11,7; 34 Edw. IV. c. 0, 11 ; 3 lly. Vr. c. J 11; 2 & 3 Edw. VI. c. 15, 15, 18 22 & 23 Chas. II. 18; Gr iV. c. 120, 10; 13 Geo. IV . S, 33 Strikes, assisu^l by shopkeepers, 132 ; benefit other ti*ades, 84 ; caro taken to prevent, 02, 03 ; decided by ballot, 54 ; at wrong times may prevent a rise, 05 ; in early days were numerous, 10; the first one, 0; money expended on, 55 ; prevented by trade unions, 102, 105; safe- guards against, 53, 54 ; stimu- late inventions, 153 ; " unsuc- cessful strikes succeed," 78. Strikes and lockouts referred to — Ashton and Stalybridge, 70 ; agricultural labourers, 81 ; bricklayers, 74; builders, 78, 70, 80; engineers, 47, 73, 77, 80 ; ironworkers, 80 ; Preston, 70; St. Helens and Wigan, 03 ; spinners, 70; tailors, 80, 81, 100 Sumptuary laws, 7 Sunderland, disputes at, 47, 77 T Tailors of London, the chief cloth importers, 4, 08, 80, 81, 100 Technical education, etc., 122, 158 Thornton, W. T., 27, 31, 44, 68, 80, 107, 112, 148 Towns, growth of, 5 Trade councils, 57 Trade unionism, growth of, 106 ; its unsellishness, 56 ; not a violation of free trade, 128 ; an ironmaster's opinions on, 162 Trade unions' congress- none but delegates take part at, 50 (note) ; functions and work of, 67 Trade unionists, sometimes refuse to work with non-unionists, 84; number of, 106 ; bad practices of, 123 ; are good workmen, 150; good character necessary for, 160; do not saerilicu their liberty, 174 Trade unions, the first, 20; their origin, 26 ; secret meeiings of, 26; disguised as friendly so- cieties, 27 ; founded on the old guilds, 27; early faults, 30; forced into existence, 32; at- tempts to crush, 34 ; first con- ference of delegates, 35; Bill to protect funds, 37; petition ill re Hornby v. Close, 38; ob- jects of, variously stated, 43 ; not solely protective, 44; their efficacy, 07; admitted by cm. 188 INDEX. ployci'rf, lOy ; bavo raiHcd Avnj^cs, G8, vt ^•^<7.; raise wa^^oti Booncr, 75 ; caunot tlotcrmiuo rate of wa^cs, 111; help nou- nnionifttf, 81-; sometimes orr, 01 ; cannot cause strikes, 105 ; prevent them, 102; are not protectionists, 127 ; publioit y of proceedings of, 122; women's tinions, 115; "benefits," in- suraneo, etc., Ill; as friendly societies, 175 ; their influence, 126; as political educators, 161; collect statistics, 176; keep record of wages, 71, of prices, 91; make good citizens, 171 ; agitato for beneficent legislation, 165 ; bad rules iu, 114, 118, 121; in New Zea- land, 65 ; in Franco, 62 Truck system, the, 76 (note) Tyler's rebellion, 13 U Unequal laws, 35 Unionism, see trade unionism Unionists, see trade unionists Unions, see trade unions Uto-pia, 16 Villeins, 2 W Wages, enormous rifte of, after black death, 8; masons', 8, 10 j justices' power to fix, 18, 20 ; failure of attempts to regulate, 20; clothworkera', 20; fifty years ago, 70 ; lower whore unions are not, 85 ; natural rate of, 91; must sometimes fall, 104; minimum rate of, VIO', are always below value of work done, 75; high, effects of, 155; and the price of coal, 145, 146; of Paris workmen, 63 Wales, wages in, 09 Watchmakers' Society, the, 20 West Suffolk farmers, 97 Wiklif's " Poor Priests," 12 Wilcock, Mr., 158 Women's Protective and Provi- dent League, 116, 117 Women's unions, 115 Woods, E., 55 Work, quality of, 161 Working class, formation of, 5 ; wages of, 5 ; halcyon days of, 8 ; decline of, 13, 21, 24 Working Men's Association, 35 Yorkshire and Derbyshire coa^ owners, 100 I 354 I'UINTED UY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, .ONDON AND BECCLES. C^ w loas ri«c <»fi after 8; masons', 8, 10; Wcr to fix, 18, 20 ; tempts to regulate, voikera', 20; fifty 70 ; lower where not, 83; natural [.; must Bomctimes minimum rate of, always below value mc,75;hi2li, effects lid the price o£ coal, of Paris workmen, is in, CO rs' Society, the, 20 c farmers, 97 oor Priests," 13 rotectivo and Provi- Tue, 116, 117 iiions, 115 55 ity of, IGl iass, formation ot, &;< ', 5 ; halcyon days of, ne of, 13, 21, 24 Ion's Association, 35 and Derbyshire coa' 100 NS, LIMITEU,