BY
COUNCILLOR WILLOUGHBY GREEN,
# *
(SMITHFIELD IROK WOBKs).
LEEDS ;
PEIOTED BT "WILLIAM ASKET, 12, SWISTEGATE; SOLB BT
A. MAHN, DITIíOAK" STEEET ; AND ALL BOOKSELLEES.
1869.
g-eMMaîi.
To THE IlSTHABITAKTS ge THE BOROUOH OE LeEDS.
^ôllow^^ townsmen^
c/ dôdiccot& this worTo to tJio J'nhaHtants of
tTio SiorougTh of Sßeeds^ to wliom^ as a largo in^
dustrial and commorcial community^ J- venturo
to tTvinlo it can Tiardly fail to prove interesting^
if not instructive.
c/ have endeavourPyd to treat the sulject
popularly, and with a view to throw some light
on the present actual state of affairs,
dhe question is rapidly increasing in im~
portance^ and it lehoves every man^ whether he
ii •
I ie an employer or employed, thoroughly and
carefully to investigate the whole question,
' t c/ am,
V /
4 Siours most respectfully.
WILLOFGHBT GEEEjST,
i&runswiclc êPlace^ Sßeeds^ 1869,
-1.78
INTEODUCTIOK
-I. I.
HAYE endeavoured to give, witHn a moderate
compass, and at a reasonable price, statements
wbicb I bave considered for years, as to the rights and
obligations of master and servant, as will serve, I tbink,
tbe wants of botb parties, and at tbe same time act as a
work of reference or popular guide. Erom works I
bave consulted, tbis does not appear to bave concerned
gentlemen in tbe bigber spheres of literature on tbe
same subject, whose superior learning, greater opportu¬
nities, and additional leisure ought to give their works an
additional value. Had I known tbe task was so
great, tbe present work would not have been written,
as it is for no pecuniary benefit on my part. I rely
upon tbe indulgence of tbe public at large, and trust
that tbe spirit of fairness wbicb tbe press always mani¬
fests towards any man who strives to contribute some¬
thing to tbe common stock of useful knowledge, will be
extended to myself. I have ventured upon a task wbicb
I hope will give satisfaction.
If tbe results of my investigations with regard to tbe
British workman be accomplished, my object will be
attained. I trust that my endeavours will prove accep¬
table to tbe employers of labour, and it would be a disap¬
pointment to me if they did not fulfil tbe other, and,
«
VI
indeed, the chief purpose for which I have written, viz. :
to enable masters and workmen to understand each
other more thoroughly, and to form a Board of Con¬
ciliation, for the settlement of their differences. I have
given such an outline of procedure as I think may ren¬
der it an easy matter for any person to judge of the
relative positions of employer and employed.
The common law on the subject should be useful in
England, Scotland, and Ireland, and I trust that my
attempt to explain, will provoke abler men to devote, at
least a portion of their talent, to the duty of assimi¬
lating the laws of the three kingdoms—to demonstrating
the identity of the principles to be found in each, and
to educe from the consiitutiones autea confusa^s (which
may signify a previous confusion of terms), that lucU"
lentam consonantiam—^^t '^obvious consistency"—■
which was the boast of Justinian. I hope the Sovereign
of these realms may be able to employ, but in a more
precise and definite sense, the language of the same
royal reformer, omnes vero populi legibus tarn a nobis
promulgatis quam compositis reguntur, which, it is to
be hoped, may soon be interpreted, as meaning that
all the people of these'kingdoms are governed by one
and the same code, founded upon imperial legislation."
I trust that the efibrts I have put forth, to the best
of my ability, may be one means of causing a revision
of the existing laws, which would be of great benefit in
stopping the disputes which so frequently occur.
WOBKMEH ÄNO TH3IR WIQSS.
WIST referring to this subject I do not hesitate to say
(xÄ that few men of any weight and importance will
dispute the fact that, in all the leading and substantial
elements of national prosperity, this country may
justly claim precedency over any community, whether
it be in the Old or in the JN'ew World, although the
working classes may be suffering under some acute in¬
ternal disorder. It is certain we possess a periodic
recurrence of a contradictory phenomena. Our advan¬
tages may assail us or they may not be sufficiently
appreciated. In this country there has been a rapid
increase and ascendancy of manufacturing wealth, I
have always endeavoured to compare the sudden
growth of an opulent commercial and manufacturing
class, to a numerous self-willed", and in some respects
ail intelligent body of working men. Alternations of
prosperity and depression, extremes of wealth and
destitution, increase of intemperance and spread of
education, the growth of independent opinion on every
public question, and the confiicting claims of capital
8
and industry,, and otlier anomalies lend tteir aid
to perplex the problem. A sudden inquiry is raised
by the transition from agricultural to manufacturing
Supremacy. We have to contend with that powerful
heterogeneous body forming three-fifths of the commu¬
nity. Therefore I look to a field of industrial inves¬
tigation. The relation between capital and labour in
America and on the Continent is a momentous question.
It is the social condition of the working classes that ren¬
ders them ablq to raise a discussion. The Lords of the
soil possessed a guarantee that their social and practical
views would be enforced. The people were divided by
war and natural difficulties of intercommunication
•
Hence arises the steam engine, electric telegraph, the
cheap press, notwithstanding the war-cloud occasionally
darkening the horizon of modern civilization. Therefore
we profess to change for ever the sword and the pruning-
hook. The result of all this is that since the reign of
G-eorge III England has passed through a great social
revolution, and the increase of wealth and prosperity has
given increased independence to all classes of the com¬
munity. In proportion to the spread of education
amongst the working classes there is a guarantee for an
extension of the franchise. In no country in Europe
are the working classes so free from enforced taxation
as they are in Great Britain. The Erench peasant is
saddled with a salt tax, a coiitrïhuiïon personelle et
mobiiitre^ and a license tax ; if he lives in a town, he has
9
also to pay tlie vexatious and burdensome octroi,—The
G-erman workman pays a poll tax, a class tax, a trade
tax, and sometimes a malt tax, and also an octroi in cer¬
tain places. The English workman pays no direct taxes
whatever; he is taxed only for his luxuries ; and in this
case if he chooses, he can be entirely exempt from diree t
or indirect taxation. He has much to be thankful for,
inasmuch as there is probably no nation on the face of
the globe where sober, industrious, young mechanics, and
labourers, can so soon raise themselves to ease, indepen¬
dence, and comparative comfort. Though the Legislature
no longer interferes with regard to the precise terms res¬
pecting Capital and Labour, a set of Laws were enacted»
and were acted upon up to 1824, by which workmen were
severely punished for combining to oppose their reduction.
—These laws were unjust, having their origin in a dark
period. The plague which decimated England in 1348-9,
having destroyed great numbers of the labouring poor,
a greater competition took place with those that survived,
who consequently obtained much higher wages. Parlia¬
ment, however, instead of leaving this rise of wages to be
reduced by increase of population, passed in 1358, the
Act of 23rd Edward III, for regulating wages at the rate
which prevailed before the pestilence. But what has occa-
èioned a great many disputes, an Act was passed, fixing
the amount of wages to be given. Several other Acts were
passed to enforce these statutes, but were repealed by
Mr. Huskisson in 1825. In speaking impartially upon
10
tills subject I must admit tbat many acts were passed
removing tbe constitutional protection of a jury, thereby
producing an infringement upon tbe rights of the work¬
men. Now I would ask, have combinations raised wages ?
Some of you will think they have produced depressions ;
and the weight of evidence preponderates in favour of
those who entertain the latter view. "When strikes have
taken place with regard to the Iron Trade in Leeds, I
have always been inundated with travellers at a cheaper
rate for orders in the Iron Trade, and many of the north¬
ern men have confessed that they gain nothing by com¬
binations. One Union expended upwards of £4,000 in a
fruitless attempt to bring a master under their control,
the result of which was to cause fresh workmen to enter
the trade, and thus by competition to lower the rate of
wages. Workmen as a rule are injured by their success.
High wages, as a rule, induce more labourers to enter the
trade in which they are given than can be supplied with
work ; and the unemployed must be supported by those
who get work, else the competition of their numbers will
béat down the advance that has been attained. Until
the last twenty-five years, the greatest fallacy existed
vdfch regard to combinations, i.e., the establishment or
maintenance of a fixed rate of wages in a particular
employment. Many workmen, and particularly those
belonging to strikes, have used coercion in order to com¬
pel their fellow-workmen to comply with their requests.
Now, in doing this, they were denying to others the
11
ríglit tliey are claiming and exercising for themselves.
I believe that property in labour is the foundation of all
other property, so it is the most sacred and inviolable ;
for the patrimony of a poor man lies in the strength and
dexterity of his hands, and to injure him, from employ¬
ing this strength and, dexterity, is a plain violation of
the most sacred property. Therefore, the exchange of
labour for capital in every respect ought to be free as
the exchange of any other commodity. With this the
labourer is on an equality with the capitalist, his em¬
ployer. What I want, is that the working classes
should understand the economic laws by which they are
governed. Now every commodity is cheap where there
is a large supply in the market in proportion to the de¬
mand. So it is with labour. One of the pet fallacies
of the working-men is the following :—"What," jauntily
exclaims one of them, "avouM be the use of the masters*
capital Avithout our labour? Is it not this that makes
capital productive ? Is it not labour that gives real
value to the soil and Avhat it produces ? It is our skill
and industry aa^hich makes them worth anything. The
Avhole value is created by us, and should chiefly, if not
entirely, belong to us. But is it so ? Quite the reverse.
The labour is ours—the profits are monopolised by our
masters. They live in luxury and Ave are ahvays in
poverty. Noav will you admit there are tAvo sides to a
picture ? " Let us for a moment glance at the opposite
* side. Does the Avorkman ever ask himself what would
12
be tbe use of his will and his ability to labour without
his employer's capital '? "Where would he get the
money to buy the materials ? Who would maintain
him while he was working them up ? If he could not
aiford to give credit, would that lesson the risk of
having a bad debt ? These are difficulties, inconven¬
iences, and risks which the master takes upon himself.
The fact is, the master depends upon the labour, and
the labour upon capital. I am sorry to say that no
trades' unions ever encouraged invention. There is u.
strong leaven of communism in trades' unions ; each, in
its peculiar way, doing its best to merge the individual
in the mass. Trades' unions say to the working-man,
" Don't work so fast, nor do so much during the day ;
you are injuring your fellow-workmen, who are slower
than you ; and if you produce too much, there will be
less work for all to do." This is sufficient to make a
man who can work, only half a man; but it cannot make
half a man who never could work, a man, if you will
allow the expression.
Let us pursue this subject a little further. One man
in the workshop has great physical strength, another
very little ; another is weak, but clever ; now I ask, are
you to put these men on an equality of wages ? Are
men to work according to their respective faculties, and
earn as much as they can ; or are they to be on a fixed
standard, by which the strong and energetic man shall
be kept down to the same level with the weak, and com-
13
paratively indolent man ?- I want workmen to earn as
mucli as tkey possibly can for tkeir wives and cbildren,
and not to be put to a fixed standard of wages. Otlier-
wise, piece-work would not be adopted. What we are
created for it is difficult to tell—but to me, the commu¬
nity at large seem to be a selfish lot of people. To set
before the workman a good bait, is very much against
the union laws. I hold that a man has a right to have
as much for his work as he may produce.
I say, learn the working-man to respect himself and
his family. He that labours much should have much,
and he that labours little should have little. I believe
in having a free and unrestricted market, but capital
and labour should be justly balanced by a steady opera¬
tion. Why should we in the nineteenth century insti¬
tute a Eoyal Commission to investigate the relations
between employers and employed ? Why should we be
disgraced by the murderous outrages of Sheffield,
Manchester, and other places? Here stands violence
and illegal pressure, which will never enable the artisan
to maintain his security. JSTow I generally find the
public at large say many things in favour of Tree Trade,
but they rarely study the objects of Tree Trade and the
employment of the poor. I ask, are the principles of
Tree Trade as beneficial as has been predicted ? Has
not the question received a quietus at the annual meeting
of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce ? When a
Mr. Bazley, M.P., told his audience, that in proportion
14
aä tte exports Had increased, employments and profits
Had increased. The general exports Had increased from
£60,000,000 in 18é6, to £225,000,000 in 1867, and tHe
exports of cotton from £25,500,000 in 1846, to more
tHan £71,000,000 in 1867 ; Hut instead of demonstrating
tHat a corresponding increase of employment Had taken
place. He made a gratuitous onslaugHt on tHe public
expenditure, and reckoned up How many persons could
be supported by one million per annum, and How many
migHt be supported by tHe twenty-one millions tHat tHe
public expenditure Has increased since 1846, leaving His
audience to infer tHat tHis increase was a sHeer waste,
and tHat tHe same sum would suffice in 1869, witH our
vastly extended commerce, tHat sufficed in 1846, and fool-
isHly wound up by saying tHat Pree Trade Had employed
an increasing number of individuals, and in proportioii
tHat our exports Had increased from £60,000,000 to
£225,000,000, in tHat proportion we Have afforded em¬
ployment to labour and capital.
Mr. Bazley may Have tHougHt tHat He was in tHe
midst of an ortHodox assembly, but Had He taken
tHe trouble of turning over a few leaves in His blue book
He migHt at least Have doubted the propriety of assert¬
ing so confidently wHat He did assert. I find tHat Bree
Trade, as it is called. Has caused a great number of able-
bodied men to seek parisH relief. To put it at its lowest
ebb, say one in one Hundred and twelve sougHt parisH
relief, and during tHat period tHe exports of British
15
äad Irisli produce and manufactures increased from
£96,688,085 to £165,830,725, an increase vastly out of
proportion to the almost nominal decrease of pauperism.
Therefore whatever benefits Pree Trade may have con¬
ferred, it has not conduced to such an extension of
employment as to redeem able-bodied persons from
pauperism.
Cotton retained for home consumption :
1850
Lbs.
561,107,144
Tarn exported 131,370,368
Piece goods 1 p 35^^8^2,941
exported )
Employed. 371,777
1860
Lbs.
1,140,699,712
197,343,655
Yards.
2,776,218,427
Persons.
456,646
increase per cent.
103
50
104
12
1857 Increase compared with 1850.
Lbs. Increase pef centi
Cotton retained for ") min-iA/inc at r
V ^ ^ r 9il,91U,49o bl.5
home consumption j ' '
Yarn exported ..... 169,356,528 28
Y ards.
Piece doods - 2,830,417,875 ,103
The proportion of the increasing individuals to whom
the cotton trade afibrded employment in 1860, the most
prosperous cotton year on record, was to the increase of
the cotton trade like 12 to 103.
16
Now, under an ordinary sense TÎew tliese figures
represent any tiling but a proportional increase of
employment. Perhaps if the number of operatives
employed bad doubled witb tbe produce of tbe cotton
mills, and tbe profits of tbe millowners bad only increased
12 per cent., Mr. Bazley migbt bave found sometbing
disproportionate. Yet tbese figures sbow an increase
in favour of tbe operative. As near as I can tell, for
every 15 lbs. of cotton wool wbieb tbe factory operatives
bad to convert into manufactured produce in 1850, be
bad to convert 25 lbs. into sucb produce in 1860 ; be bad
to do quantitively and qualitively, as mucb in tbree
working days, in 1860, as be bad done in five in 1850 ;
and every tbree factory workers accomplisbed, on an
average, as mucb in 1860 as five would bave acoomplisbed
in 1850. Tbe effect was as if four working days bad
been added to eacb week.
Had tbe productiveness of labour remained tbe same
as in 1850, more tban 760,090 operatives would bave
been required to manufacture all tbe goods tbat were
produced in 1860 ; tbe increased demand for labour in
tbe cotton mills would, bave exceeded tbe increase of
population by 86 per cent., but owing to tbe improved
processes of production, 450,000 individuals sufficed.
Tbe demand for labour was two per cent, less tban tbe
increase of population.
Working at tbe rate of 1850, tbe goods produced in
1867 would bave required an efficient working staff of
17
604,000 persans; at tlie rate of 1860 it reqinred but
358,000, or 13,000 persons less to convert 61,5 per cent,
more cotton wool into manufactured produce tban in
1850. But as tbe progress of improvements bas not
baited since 1860 tbe probabilities are tbat a much
smaller number sufficed. Tbus we arrive at tbe incon¬
trovertible conclusion tbat in the cotton trade the chances
of employment, instead of having increased in proportion
to extension of tbe trade, have positively diminished,
even with a still greatly increased trade compared with
1850 and 1851.
Tbe prospects of tbe labouring poor of bettering their
condition, and the chances of an extension of trade lead¬
ing to an increased demand for labour and a consequent
rise of wages, are constantly frustrated in the long run
by improved process of production. And though this
tendency is more manifest in the cotton trade than in
any other it is by no means peculiar to it. During the ten
years preceding the last census, the exports of hosiery
increased 344 per cent., the number of persons employed
but 30 per cent. The export of woollen yarn increased
99 per cent., that of piece goods 20 percent., the work¬
people employed 1 per cent. The produce of the iron
mines increased 55 per cent., the number of miners 6
per cent. The produce of the lead mines increased
5,000 tons, the number of miners decreased 2,000. The
exports of machinery increased 266 per cent., the people
employed in making them 43 per cent.
18
These same agencies have been and aie still busily at
work to supersede manual labour as they were before
1861, and it requires no great gifts of research to dis¬
cover the reason why on the slightest adverse fluctuation
in trade thousands are thrown out of employment, and it
requires a very credulous person indeed to believe with
Mr. Eazley, M.P., that the free trade policy has afforded
increased employment to the labouring poor in proportion
of 60 to 225. The most marvellous extension of trade
that has exceeded the expectations of the most sanguine
free-traders of other days has not been able to afford
employment to all who are willing and able to work for
their living. Even in a slowly increasing population
there remains an unemployed surplus both in and out of
the workhouse, even in times of great prosperity. How¬
ever, if the increase of employment has lacked in
proportion, the increase of large employers both in
numbers and substance has compensated the deficiency.
Their increase has far outdone both the extension of
trade and the increase of the public expenditure. In
1816 their were 319 gentlemen in G-reat Britain returning
incomes under Schedule D that averaged £17,783 per
annum ; for the year ending April 5, 1866, there were
959, exactly treble the number, returning incomes that
averaged £19,366 per annum. With £50,000 and
upwards, 16 returned incomes under Schedule D, that
averaged £71,715 per annum in 1816 ; in the year end¬
ing April 5, 1866, there were more than eight times as
19
many—133, witli incomes averaging £100,617 per annum.
Mr. Eazlej's calculations abdut tbe public expenditure
will not assist the poor in getting employment. One
million expended by Grovernment may not support quite
so many people in tbe Grovernment workshops, the men-
of-war, &c., as one million would keep at work in cotton
mills, slop-sbops, merchant vessels, &c., but there are at
present considerably more in every calling than can be
employed, and to cut down the public expenditure by a
few millions, and throw the people who in the humbler
ranks of the public service receive the money in the
shape of wages or salary into the labour market to swell
the unemployed surplus, will be assisting the poor with
a vengeance ; nor will Mr. Bright's cherished emancipa¬
tion of the breakfast table from custom's duties procure
employment for the half-starved millions, and cover
their table at breakfast-time ; nor will the abolition of
the laws of primogeniture effect a change in the proper
direction. A strict enforcement of the already existing
factory laws and a further reduction of the hours of
labour would effect more to improve the condition of the
labouring poor than all the remedies of the Badical
factory lords put together.
With all deference to the late Mr. Ed. Cob den, whom
I always admired for his indomitable perseverance, I
say that in 1842 Mr. Disraeli argued that the cardinal
point of Mr. Pitt's Conservative policy was the French
Commercial Treaty, that free trade was not as new a
20
propüsitien as some people at tliat time seemed to think,
and that Sir Eoht. Peel in his free trade measures only
carried out Mr. Pitt's opinions. So that in this case
Mr. Pitt was the first free trader and not the whig party,
although his exact views on the subject have not been
carried out. Free trade means to cheapen the price of
things.
The Saturday Review^ in 1866, after Mr. Bright's
speech at G-lasgow, says—It is true that selfishness '
was one of the motives for imposing and maintaining
the obsolete duties on corn, but it is not less certain
that landlords and farmers shared sincerely in an error
which was rejected by a small and enlightened minority
of the nation. When the corn laws were passed almost
every other domestic production was satisfactorily pro¬
tected, and it was only when English manufacturers^
found that they could undersell foreign competition
that they became advocates of free trade in what they
sold, and agitators for free trade in the food which
formed a part of their cost of production. Food may,
in a certain sense, be called more necessary than any
other article of consumption; but if it is wrong to
exclude foreign corn, it cannot be right to exclude
foreign clothes. Mr. Bright would destroy the English
Constitution, amongst other reasons, because the landed
interest was many years ago strong enough to tax the
rest of the community for its own advantage. The
landlords have since been either converted or outvoted.
21
and tlie Parliament which, according to Mr. Bright,
they still control, is almost the only legislative assembly
in the world which now steadily maintains the rights of
the consumer against the anthsocial demands of the
producer. In the TJnited States a Congress elected by
universal suffrage has enacted an extravagantly protec¬
tive tariff under the direct influence of manufacturers
and ironmasters. If America were a corn-importing
country, it is certain that protective duties would have
been imposed on foreign corn, as well as on hardware
and on textile fabrics. In the English colonies, the
democratic party always advocate protection, while the
champions of free trade are popularly regarded as a
servile oligarchy. Is it not the business of foreigners
to object to American legislation, but when protective
systems are attributed to deliberate dishonesty on the
part of English Parliaments, it is necessary to enquire
into the economic working of univeral suffrage. If
Lord Derby had not been turned out in 1852, Mr.
Cobden said that the Crimean war would never have
taken place, and the country, in addition to the valuable
lives that were lost, would have saved £71,200,000.
Mr. Disraeli, in the Reform Bill, has shown himself to be
a man of astonishing genius. He has been the consis¬
tent advocate and supporter in Parliament of every
measure, come from what quarter it might, which had
for its object the amelioration of the condition of
the working classes and their social improvement.
22
In every division in the House of Commons bearing
upon the state of the people, you will invariably find him
recording his votes in favour of the working-classes, in
the case of the Ten Hours' Bill, and theBill to abolish
what is called the Truck System, Mr. Bright, and
J
sometimes Mr. Gladstone, have given their votes against
the working classes. If there is a real friend to the
English people and especially to the working part of
the population, it is undoubtedly Mr. Disraeli. History
vindicates him as a man of great talent, honesty, and
really liberal in his opinions, and as a man who is emin¬
ently qualified, intellectually and morally, for the part
of a great Parliamentary leader, capable of administering
the government of a prosperous nation like this.
' The working classes belonging to the great centres of
industry in Prance entertain similar views to those of
the working classes of this country, in relation to
employer and employed. The Prench O werter is,
perhaps, a little more advanced in his opinions, as
regards the institution of property, than the English
workman is. "When 1 say advanced, I mean in the
direction of communism, which ignores the rights of
property, and is an uncompromising enemy to its indi¬
vidual accumulation. Both the Prench and English
working-men, however, are under the influence of the
same Utopian dream, they imagine that they can
regulate wages by artificial means, and that they can
enforce their demands upon their employers by strikes
23
and combinations, which, however, seldom end as desired.
If the great object of art is to make the useful
ornamental, and the ornamental useful, especially as
regards the manufacture of textile fabrics, in no place
in Prance has that object been more fully attained
and more widely extended than in the province of
Alsace. It is from this province that emanate the
excpisite cotton prints which adorn and beautify the
shops of European capitals, and are in periodic demand
throughout the civilized world. Science and art, as applied,
to production, never perhaps exercised their magic
powers to greater effect than they do upon a piece of
first-class cotton print, which has passed through the
workshops of Mulhouse; and the names of Koechlin,
Schluinberger, and Dolfuss, as the heads of the leading
houses, are as duly recognized as are certain familiar
names in the more elevated arts of sculpture and painting.
The manufacturing industry of Lorraine is somewhat
varied, though not, in a single instance, upon so large
a scale as that of Alsace. G-lass, crystal, and wool,
in almost all the applications, are the principal articles
manufactured, the greater portion of which are exported,
and find a ready sale in this country and in the United
States. Saint Die, Schirmeck, Bar-le-Due, N'ancy,
. Mirecourt, Saint-Quirin, Cirey, Baccarat, and Saint-
Louis, are the principal seats of manufacture, and some
thousands of hands are dej^endent upon them for a
livelihood. Cotton spinning is carried on at Saint-Die
c
H
ànd Schismeck, in tke department of the Vosgeö, which,
united, wnrk from 140,000 to 150,000 spindles. The
spinning is of a very inferior kind compared to that of
Alsace, on the other side of the mountain range, and
the hands are badly paid ; but all kinds of labour are at
the lowest point of remuneration in the department of
the Vosges, and the means of living are of a corresponding
character. At Bar-le-Due, cotton cloth is manufactured
of a medium quality as compared to that which is
-made in Alsace ; but, unfortunately for the work-people,
the articles of food are dearer than thev are at Schismeck,
which has occasioned some severe struggles and bitter
altercations between the men and their masters.
Kheims is the seat of woollen manufactures, and
employs from 30,000 to 40,000 hands in that branch of
industry. These hands are not living within the limits of
the city, but are spread over a radius of from fifteen to
twenty leagues, having Bethell, a town of 60,000 souls,
for its centre. The annual value of the wool consumed
in the manufactory is estimated at about 50,000,000 of
francs ; and, although the establishments are not upon
so large a scale as those of Alsace and î^ormandy, still
they enable from 400 to 500 hands to work from
5,000 to 6-,000 spindles. All the spinning is done in
factories, whilst the weaving is done at home by the
weaver, there being no instance of a loom worked by
steam power in that district. There is, however, a
middleman or factor, as he is commonly called, who
25
^tepä in between tbe master and tbe workmen. This
middleman, having collected the work done during the
week, takes it to Eheims everj Saturday, and brings
the masters' orders to the workmen for the following
week. For this service the middleman deducts a certain
sum from the workmen's wages, amounting sometimes
to nearly half, if the deductions be made from the sum
paid for the commonest tissues. He is therefore, as
middlemen too frequently are, considered more in the
light of an evil than a good, and is distrusted accord¬
ingly by the workmen.
The workmen of Lyons are suigenertus^ a great
exception to all other bodies of workmen in France.
Lyons is a city of weavers, whose industry is exclusively
confined to one material—silk. Unlike other cities in
which weavers abound, Lyons, however, has no great
factories, no gigantic workshops, in which is to be heard
the increasing whirr of machinery, and in which produc¬
tion is regulated with mechanical force and 23recision.
The discipline and regularity of a mill are unknown to
a Lyonese weaver ; he therefore works intermittently,
and just as his fancy inclines him, with only this restraint,
that his work must be completed at a certain definite
time, however regular or irregular he may have worked
during the interval of taking-out and taking-iii of work.
The disputes between employer and employed never
have been reconciledr The Conseil de Prude liommes
was first established in France in 1806. The necessity
26
of organising a practical body of men, for tbe settlement
of tbe disputes wbicb frequently arise between employer
and'employed, was long felt in France; and certainly no
tribunal could be more economically constructed, or
could bave given greater satisfaction tban tbe Conseil,
as organised in France, appears to bave done.
Strikes are strictly probibited by law in Austria, and
therefore rarely occur ; but wben tbe first signs of tbeir
existence are given, tbey are immediately put down by
tbe police, tbe ringleaders being liable to imprisonment
for a term of from eigbt days to tbree months, according
to tbe provisions of tbe Penal Code of that country.
Tbe provisions of tbe Italian Penal Code against
combinations, whether of tbe workmen or of employers,
for tbe purpose of unduly raising or lowering tbe wages
of labour, are severe. In tbe latter case tbe offence is
punishable with imprisonment for a maximum term of
one month in addition to a fine, varying in amount from
100 to 3,000 francs. In tbe case of operatives and labour¬
ers, on tbe other band, entering into combinations for
tbe suspension of work, or for an increase of wages, tbe
penalty is imprisonment for a period not exceeding tbree
months.
There are in Grenoa forty-seven workmen's associations
or trades'-unions. Tbe majority of these unions are,
however, more occupied with political than with material
matters, and limit tbeir duties to assisting tbeir members
wben ill or out of work. As to strikes^ there never has
27
been a general one in any trade, as the unions have
neither the means nor the influence, with the trades they
profess to represent, necessary to maintain a serious
strike. Workmen, however, employed by individuals
occasionally strike, but they are generally unsuccessful,
as no simultaneous action is organised; such strikes,
therefore, are an injury both to the employer and employed.
The one successful strike on record was that of the
^^Tacchini" of the Porto Tranco, who resisted the admission
of labourers not belonging to their guild, and were al¬
lowed to carry the point through the weakness and want
of decision of the municipal body of Grenoa. Thirty-one
of these associations are of a comparatively recent date.
Trades'-unions have not as yet attained any important
character or development in Naples. There is, however,
one trades'-union (of which Gruiseppe Qarabaldi is
perpetual honorary president), formed of several bran¬
ches, each branch being composed mainly of workmen
of a distinct trade. In 1860 there were twenty-eight of
these branch associations, at present there are about half
of that number. The president of the trades'-unions is
Sign or Tavassi, a jeweller by trade, and a man of
remarkable eloquence and great influence, and has
been examined by the Poyal Commission at Whitehall.
Though professing violent democratic opinions, he is
believed, in political feeling, to have more leaning to
the so-called Consorteria, or old moderate party. NTot
more than 2,000 working-men are members of this
28
imion. Tlie executive or directing council is composed
of a president, tnx) vice-presidents, and a fluctuating
nuinber of deputies or Console," elected by tbe mem¬
bers of the various branches. The union does not
interfere with the separate administration of the
branches, but has a general control over them,
Worli men's associations exist in nearly every town in
Fiedmont, especially in the manufacturing districts ; but
ill the towns (as in Turin), these associations are,
in principle, "benefit societies," and have but little
influence on strikes, owing in some measure to a want
of special organisation, and likewise to the limited number
of members enrolled in the separate trades'-unions.
These societies are founded upon the authority of the
82nd article of the statute which proclaims the right
of peaceful meeting ; but unless they submit to a certain
amount of official control, as is the case with other
charitable institutions, they are rather tolerated than
recognized by the Grovernment.
The system of trades'-unions and co-operative societies
in Lombardy has been in operation for upwards of sixty
years, the oldest of these bodies being the " Vio Instituto
Topográfico^' of Milan, which dates as far back as ISOá.
iNuinerous societies were formed after the liberation of
the province in 1859, some of which, however, had buta
short exisi-ence. Others have maintained themselves more
or less successfully, and, at the present time, the trades
and professions in Lombardy are without co-operative
29
ßocieties. Tlie practical working of these Tarions societies
may be said to have differed considerably ; for, left en¬
tirely to their own resources, without government ad¬
visers, the rules of many were found to be based on
wrong calculations ; promises were made which could
not be fulfilled, and thus discredited many lost the sup¬
port they would otherwise have received.
Our experience of strikes in America is principally
confined to those that periodically occur in New York,
which are limited to a certain class of working-men.
These strikes occasionally entail great misery upon those
who participate in them, and inflict a serious injury upon
the peace and prosperity of that city. Some of these
strikes are got up from sheer wantonness of feeling, or
(to use the conventional slang of the day) for the express
purpose of ^ ' having a spree with the funds of the society.' ^
Both Irish and Grerman emigrants are the victims of
these strikes, and fall an easy prey to those who take
the lead in them, and who may be said to be the wire¬
pullers of the movement. The Irishman, however, is
generally a more prominent participator in the New
York strikes than the German ; and his excitable nature,
being relieved from the pressure of poverty, which he
sensibly feels while at home, breaks out into the wildest
and most ungovernable excesses, when he begins to "feel
his feet " in the great Atlantic city.
If we closely enquire into trades'-unions, and study
the rules by which they are governed, or the spirit in
30
wticli ttey are worked, we can scarcely fail to come to
one conclusion, namely, that they are a costly delusion
and a deceitful snare to the majority of those who belong
to them. These unions however, are spreading far and
wide, and are intruding themselves into every nook and
corner of the domain of industry ; and as they already
occupy the entire area of skilled labour, and are quietly
taking possession of the mind of the unskilled portion
of the industrial fraternity, the time may shortly arrive
when not a single trade or pursuit involving labour but
will be under the directing influence of these unions.
The condition of the working classes is a subject
worthy of the gravest consideration and the most careful
study. The upper strata of the social pyramid, the
middle class, and those immediately above them, cannot
be altogether in a satisfactory state, while the lower and
broader strata upon which the structure mainly ^ests,
is not in so steady and stable a position as political
prudence would wish it to be. Many attempts have
been made during the last quarter of a century, to solve
the interesting problem as to the relative capacity, con¬
dition, and prospects of British and foreign labourv
Tours at home and abroad have been undertaken for fhe
express purpose, and the most minute enquiries have
been made, and the most elaborate deductions
drawn, in order to arrive at just conclusions upon this
important subject. Little success, however, has hitherto
rewarded the researches and the reasonings of^ those
3Î
wto have devoted their attention to it ; and we must
attribute their failure to their having either grappled
with facts in order to extort from them a confirmation
of some preconceived opinions, or their having weighed
those facts by a false balance—for facts in political econ¬
omy have very often a différent weight from their apparent
weight.
I have no prejudice against the working classes, for
the following reasons :—When the working classes
became a distinct body in the social state, when they hadv
partially emancipated themselves from the authority of
the guilds and corporations which were gradually dying
out, there naturally sprung up what may be termed
combinations amongst particular trades, whose object
was to maintain the rate of wages, and to uphold the
presumed interest of the men against that of their
masters. The combination of the operatives of a par¬
ticular trade for the purpose of regulating wages was
therefore, only formed when the declining power of
corporations was insufficient to uphold the monopolies
which had been committed to their charge.
As an employer of labour, I acknowledge the services
of two members of Parliament whom I personally know,
viz., Sir Henry Edwards, and W. B. Eerrand ; whose
exërtions in the ten hours' bill, is a credit to this country.
In referring to the price of labour, I wish to bear in
mind the full and absolute right of all individuals to
bring to market the commodity they have to dispose of,
32
wlietîier it be labour or capital, as loug as tbey exercise
their own rights, without injury to the rights of others.
The principles which regulate the wages of labour
form, perhaps, the most important division of political
economy.
The labouring classes compose the great bulk of the
community, and a nation is flourishing and contented^
as they are well or ill supported with the necessaries and
enjoyments of life. Therefore, every writer on political
economy, must dii'ect his earnest attention to a practical
explanation.
The distribution of profits is a matter which has
attracted my attention. The old dispute between cap¬
ital and labour, as to the distribution of profits, which
are the joint production of both, divides the opinion of
the working classes, and a few of the capitalists. The
workman sees his employer, to all appearance rapidly
advancing in the world, in spite of the vicissitudes of
trade, which inevitably occur ; while he, in consequence
of these vicissitudes, is left to struggle in vain for daily
subsistence. The workman is disgusted and enraged at
an unequal division of the profits, in which it is said,
he alone can find an explanation. This arises from a
principle in human nature which must always make
e^ eiy man an unjust judge in his own cause, and an un¬
reasonable distribution of funds to be taken from the
pockets of others. Therefore, there is not prima facie
evidence that this discontent is weU founded. If labour-
33
ers are to participate in tlie advantages of successful
enterprises, they must also participate in the losses,
resulting from those of a contrary description, and must,
consequently, in cases of failure, he deprived of their
accustomed and necessary means of subsistence. But
it so happens that men who depend upon the issue of the
enterprise generally think for themselves. In every
failure of an enterprise, the labourers engaged in it
would be thrown upon the workhouse, or on the contri¬
butions of the benevolent. It is absurd to ask for more
than security, and a rev^ard proportional to the deserts,
and that which conduces to the well-being of the working
populace.
I have endeavoured to be as impartial as possible on
the subjects I have dilated upon, and find that the
disturbances between employers and employed princi¬
pally arise from trades'-unions, and should be obviated.
The Boyal Commission makes the following statement
with regard to the tyranny practised by the trades'-
unions:—''We believe that, if this state of things
is to continue, we shall not retain the industry, the
skill, or the capital on which our manufacturing
superiority, our power, and superiority, and with that
almost our existence as a nation depends. But though
we believe in the truth of these premises, they are
not the grounds on which we wish now to proceed.
Our immediate object is to give freedom to the
labourer ; and we firmly believe that, as soon as
M
te is made master of his own conduct, he will
use his liberty in the way most useful, not only to him¬
self, but to the rest of the community."
The relative capacity of British and foreign labour
cannot be determined by reference to one and the same
standard of excellence, for each has a standard of its own.
The relative amount of the remunerations which they
really receive cannot be determined simply by the
nominal amount of money-wages which they receive, but
depends alsp upon the real value of their productive
power, and also upon the relative value of money measured
by the sumptuary commodities which the same amount
of money will command in different countries.
It is ridiculous to argue the future from the present.
Each particular Grovernment can do much for the future
condition of its working classes ; and that Grovernments
are at a loss what to do, is evident from the fact that no
two Grovernments in the world are as yet agreed upon
what is the wisest course to pursue for this end.
The working classes must depend more upon them¬
selves ; and then the civilized wmrld will become freed
from the narrow jealousy, illiberal feelings, the dread of
competition, and the contempt of rivalry, and all other
contradictory passions and circumstances. Amongst
these conflicting elements, it is impossible to say what
direction the irresistible will of the working classes will
take in any country, whether for their own good or evil.
Look at the confusion of ideas with regard to England's
35
manufacturing superiority, in consequence of wbich
there cannot he a very clear understanding as to the
probability of the permanency of its superiority. I
have often thought we did not owe this unsatisfactory
position to national circumstances.
England, I believe, has progressed so much in the
absence of what should have been free-trade proper, in
consequence of its geographical and insular position ;
the superiority of its machinery ; abundance of mineral
wealth, and superfluity of capital, and the innate
energy of the Anglo-Saxon race. This goes far to
explain, but does not explain. The industrial supremacy
is not due to, nor dependent upon, any one or two great
causes, but on the rare union of many. Up to now, the
extraordinary industry of our people has formed the
chief feature and position of our empire.
Every statesman should endeavour to give unlimited
means of immediate transport of goods to any part of
the globe on equal terms from English ports.
The condition of the working classes must be judged by
outward appearances. The Swiss operative apparently
enjoys a greater degree of comfort than the English
operative, and the English operative a greater degree
than the Erench operative, but this proves nothing with
regard to the descending scale of England. When a
spinner's wages at Manchester were, according to a
document drawn up by the Manchester Chamber of
Commerce, from 20s. to 25s. a week ; in the Canton of
36
Argoíiia, in Switzerland, tliey were only 6d. a week;
wkile in Erance tlie spinners in the large works of Giueb-
willers averaged Í2s. per week. "Wko can sbow that
anything has been done to affect these discrepan¬
cies ?
Now, antecedent to the repeal of the Corn Laws and
the reform of onr commercial tariff, the price of the
necessaries of life in Switzerland was not more than one
half the price in England ; and therefore Swiss wages,
considering also that the Swiss operatives usually live
on their own freeholds, may be considered to be approx¬
imated to English wages. I find that the prices
of provisions in England during the last twenty-five
years, or so, have been reduced by 35 per cent., while
the prices in Switzerland have been advanced about 5
per cent.
An algebraist, therefore, would have no difficulty in
showing that if the English spinners and the Swiss were
on an equality in point of wages, considered in reference
to what those wages would purchase, the English spinners
must now have the advantage of the Swiss spinners, to
the extent of 30 per cent. On the contrary, the price
of provisions has advanced in France, during the inter¬
val (say ten years) about 2 per cent., giving the French
operative a slight advantage over the Swiss operative,
leaving him^ in the progressive means of comfort
far behind the English operative.
Trades'-unions are as old as the trades themselves.
37
ïliéy have existed in all ages of the world amongst men
following the same industrial pursuits. In early times
they united for personal security, hut this has been
superseded by the progress of industry, and an improved
policy of government. We have now to contend vdth
the high rates of profits on the part of capitalists on the
one hand, and a high rate of wages on the part of tlie
workmen on the other.
Eirst, a regular weekly contribution was levied from
every member according to the wmges he received. The
sum expended by the Committee of the Glasgow cotton
spinners, during the latter part of 1836 and the first
four months of 1837, amounted to the enormous figure
of £11,831. In a better written by a prisoner, Sichard
M'Hiel, secretary of the association, there is the follow¬
ing account of the way in which this large sum was
disposed of up to May, 1837, wj
liich was
exclusive
of the
charges of the Glasgow strike
£
s.
d.
To Johnstone
. 999
10
0
„ England
713
16
6
„ Combination Laws
360
0
0
„ Time Bill
... 721
0
0
„ Emigration
... 4325
0
0
Public Question
100
0
0
5, " Liberator" newspaper
... 978
0
0
Cabinet makers
180
0
0
Carried forward
£8,377
6
6
38
£
s.
d
Brought forward
8,377
6
6
To Block-printers
840
0
0
„ Duntocher Strike
3,024
0
0
„ Voters
... 90
0
0
Total
£11,881
6
6
The evils of the Grlasgow trades'-unions were not
limited to mere expenditure, however wasteful and
extravagant that might he. Oaths were administered to
the members of the union, which bound them, first, to
keep secret the taking of the oath ; and secondly, to obey
in all matters, legal or illegal, the will of the majority,
as expressed by the ruling committee. The taking of
such oaths was long practiced in the union.
Other combinations cite the following report:—"We
are inclined to believe that the state of the law in this
respect is not generally known. It seems to be supposed
that combinations are not punishable, unless accompanied
by violence, intimidation, or molestation. This is true
as respects the statutory punishment, but not as respects
the far heavier punishment awarded by the common law.
All meetings or agreements whatever, for the purpose oí
aíFecting the wages or hours of work of persons not
present at the meeting, or parties to the agreement, are
conspiracies. So are all agreements for controlling a
master in the management of his business, in the persons
he shall employ, or the machinery which he shall use.
So of course are all agreements not to work in company
39
with any person, or to persuade other persons to leave
their employment, or not to engage themselves.
In fact, there is scarcely an act performed by any
workman as a member of a trades'-union which is not
an act of conspiracy or a misdemeanour.
Lord St. Leonards, on the subject of Strikes, in a
letter to the editor of the Times, says —"Sir,—J have not
been an inattentive observer of the strike and its conse¬
quences. It is no longer necessary to point out the evil
consequences of strikes as at present conducted, although
strikes properly conducted would no doubt be legal, and
may at times become expedient. It is hopeless to expect
that they can be altogether prevented ; but surely, in
the interest of both masters and men, but especially of
the men, they should rest upon better foundations than
the present strike. 'No one denies the right of a work¬
ing-man, or of any number of working-men, fairly to
resolve, for example, not to work under a given amount
of wages; but there must be individual action. A
central committee of trade with all its branches issuing
A
its mandates for a strike, which all members must obey
under severe penalties, and which, if truth, compels them
to coerce, as far as they can, working-men who are not
members, is an odious, insufferable tyranny, which
degrades the free men of England into mere slaves.
If a law were to be passed placing the free workmen
of England under such a rule, we might expect an
insurrection. And yet vast masses voluntarily place
40
themselves under a yoke which they would resist in the
shape of authority with all their energies. Tens of
thousands of intelligent workmen, with wives and chih
ren to support, happily in full and'yet moderate work at
fair wages, ^nd themselves suddenly deprived, as hy
paralysis, of the use of their right arm. It would,
indeed, spread consternation throughout the land if
suddenly, hy the will of Providence, the hand of labour
was deprived of its power and cunning.
What shall be said of the workman if he voluntarily
withholdsfor unfair purposes labour which he is destined
to undergo, his contribution to the common stock, and
which a kind Providence has given him power to execute ?
It cannot be denied that the present strike was com¬
menced on false grounds, and was intended to place
the master-builders entirely at the mercy of their
workmen. The act of the master was a defensive
measure. The declaration which they required might
perhaps have been improved, but it does not seem to be
open to any objection."
One of the most striking and lamentable effects of
the want of knowledge, producing disunions amongst
mankind that are injurious to the interest of each and
all, is the belief which still exists among many of the
working-men of these kingdoms, that the powers and
arrangements which capital has created and devised for
the advancement of production are injurious to them
in their character as producers. The great forces by
41
wMcK capital and labour now work are aecumulatiorL of
skill and division of employments. The application of
science to tbe manufacturing arts bas the eifects of
ensuring cbeap production and increased employments
These applications of science are principally displayed
in the use of machinery»
The fact is, that through machinery we all principally
possess, however poor we may be, many of the comforts
and conveniences which constitute the difference between
man in a civilized and man in a savage state. I say that,
in consequence of machinery having rendered produc¬
tions cheaper, and therefore caused them to be more
universally purchased, it has really increased the demand
for that manual labour which, according to the reasoning
of some, it has a direct tendency to diminish, Some
curious and interesting facts have been evolved from the
history of strikes. One of these is that strikes are
hardly ever resorted to except by workmen who are in the
habit of receiving high wages : and another is, that the
time of their occurrence is invariably when trade is brisk
and prosperous. After the terrible and afflicting disclo^
sures resulting from the enquiry at Sheffield, Manchester,
and elsewhere into the trades'-unions and strikes,
government wisely determined to grapple with the
question, and raised a Eoyal Commission, armed with
great and general power, with the view of thoroughly
investigating the subject. That Commission has pushed
its enquires into almost every quarter, and their reports
42
appear to be a fall and ample repertoire of all tbat can
be said upon tbe subject. A Mr. Eane in tbe close of
tbe Eeport of tbe Eoyal Commission, makes tbe following
practical remarks :—" It would appear tbat tbere is, if not
an antagonism, at least a competition of interests
between capital and labour, wben distinctly represented
in a joint enterprise, wbicb, except nnder moral condi¬
tions wbicb cannot be predicated as normal, tends
fatally to interfere witb tbeir harmonious co-operation.
It would also appear tbat tbe combination of skill and
labour cannot in tbe present day successively manufac¬
ture without tbe aid of sufficient capital; and tbe
deduction from these propositions is tbat tbe workman
should aim at becoming in some measure a capitalist
himself, before be seeks to become a co-operator witb
capitalists in industrial enterprise." He concludes
bis able Eeport witb tbe cheering remark:—-"I am
led to touch upon tbe enquiry, as to whether tbe facts
wbicb have been under consideration suggest tbe prob¬
ability of France becoming a dangerous rival to England
in tbe commercial competition of tbe world. I venture
to think not. As regards tbe wealth and enterprise of
her capitalists, and tbe energy and industrial aptitude
of her people, England has no reason to fear a com¬
parison witb France, while, as regards tbe command of
mineral wealth, and tbe possession of experienced
knowledge in commercial and industrial enterprise, tbe
advantage is clearlv on her side,"
i''
43
The laboiir market is similarly affected by the same
cause in France as it is in England.
During the present century, Prussia has treated in^
dustry in three different ways, and legislation on this
important subject has, therefore, proceeded on three
distinct principles. In the years which followed the
terrible disaster of Jena, the genius that emancipated
the land betook itself to emancipating labour; the me¬
diaeval crafts and guilds that hitherto have been estab¬
lished throughout Prussia, were abolished by Steim and
Hardenberg; and Prussian citizens were allowed to en^
gage in almost every occupation, with no qualification
but a license, imposed as a tax for fiscal purposes.
An extraordinary impetus was given in this manner
to Prussian industry, but between 1845 and 1849, a re¬
markable re-action set in. The State in Prussia not
only endeav^oured to regulate industry at its will, but
shackled it v/ith a series of impediments. Licenses be¬
gan to take the form of monopolies; the old guilds and
crafts were practically revived, the period of apprentice¬
ships were extended; examinations, even for trades, were
adopted; and attempts were made to restrict the number
of workmen employed in some occupations, and in some
casps to confine them to one. At the same time, conn
binations of men to raise wages, were made criminal,
for, otherwise, when artificially limited, labour would
have been able to dictate its own terms ; and an anala-
gous rule was applied to masters, apparently from a dis«
4é
like of free capital. This false system was long nplield
by powerful interests in tbe Legislature ; and tbe history
of Prussian industry of late years is that of a struggle
of enlightened men against these absurd and pernicious
arrangements. At length, reason has triumphed over
ignorance and prejudice. There used to be a political-
economical congress, which had its affiliated societies all
over the Confederation, and met once a year alternately
in the various states of Grermany, took cognisance of all
practical questions of economical reform, and caused
these questions to be agitated in the several Legislatures
of the Confederation in a common spirit, and in a like
direction.—Side by side with this body were the general
assemblies of the co-operative societies, and the work¬
man's education societies, each with their network of
affiliated branches, and each worked by the same body.
of men as those who presided over the more purely
scientific political-economical congress.
Any workman joining a trades' -union sells himself into
slavery—not to laws, but to human will, and undertakes
beforehand to submit to, and to ratify, whatever a ma.
jority may decide, and be it observed, a majority of a
great part of which he can know nothing.
A levy may be made for a strike of which he does not
approve, for a strike made by one trade, not for griev¬
ances of its own, but to help another trade which may
feel itself aggrieved. He is responsible, to an unlimited
extent, for whatever may be decided on in his behalf.
45
The majority in the trades'-union can assist a strike for
any object it may think proper ; there is no limitation
to its power. The report of the Commissioners furnish
a mass of evidence of the modus operandi of the unions,
and the difficulty is to make the most pertinent selection
so as to fitly represent the actions of these bodies. They
rest upon force and coercion, and upon a contempt and
disregard of the liberties of others. The following lang¬
uage is an outrage on the civilization of the nineteenth
century " We, the operative plasterers of Bradford,
do hereby give you notice, that all your sons that are
working as plasterers, which are above twenty-one years
of age, are requested to join the society, and failing to
do so, all our men will cease work on Monday morning,
and not return again unless you pay all expenses of the
strike."
Mr. Dixon, master plasterer, Bradford, received the
following missive :—" We wish to inform you that you
have not complied with our request, therefore we wish
you to do so to night, or all our men will leave work on
Monday morning.—P.S. Please send an answer by six
o'clock ! " The request was for 21s. entrance-money for
Mr. Dixon's two brothers, who were working at the
trade without belonging to the union. Mr. Dixon, being
under heavy contracts, was obliged to comply, and paid
down the money at once. The union does not permit
the master the choice as to which of his men he shall
discharge. Space does not allow me to go far into de-
áe
tail on tiiís subject, but the proceedings of tbe Blacks
pool Operative House Painters^ Association are most
abominable. Tbe bricklayers of Darlington bave been
ordered not to carry any bricks to tbeir employer, so
tbat an employer is prevented working for bimself. In
tbese trades'-unions tbere exists an example of tbe con¬
tempt of tbe rights and feelings of others.
Tbe Bradford Lodge of tbe Labourers' Union, have
this rule :—" You are strictly cautioned not to overstep
good rules, by doing double tbe work you are required
by tbe society, and causing others to do tbe same in
order to get a smile from tbe master. Such foolhardy
and deceitful actions leave a great portion of good mem¬
bers out of employment all the year round. Certain in¬
dividuals have been guilty, who will be expelled if they
do not refrain." "Wages must therefore be paid by tbe
average, and not by tbe worth of tbe individual.
I am told tbat espionage of tbe vilest kind is prac¬
tised in some of tbe unions, as tbe following rule of tbe
Leeds Bricklayers' Labourers' Lodge will testify:—^
"Any brotlier of tbe union professing tô carry more
than tbe common number, which is eight bricks, shall
be fined one shilling." It must not be forgotten tbat
tbe masons prohibit the dressing of stone by machinery,
and consequently two valuable patents for obtaining a
smooth surface (one by grinding and tbe other by saw¬
ing), remain almost useless. Masons have refused to
use machine-made bricks. This is an obstruction to
47
the progress of science, and here I find the employes^
mistake against the employer, for it is patent that the
employers can always compete with the employed.
The carpenters of Blackburn gave notice to the
"builders, on the 16th of November, 1866, that they
would not fix any machine-made work on buildins^s that
were worked outside Blackburn on any job inside
Blackburn.
The plasterers' Society wrote to Mr. Peacock, of
Scarhro',—''The operative plasterers are bound not to
work with any bricklayers, or to cover any work of any
description that has been previously commenced by any
person or persons but plasterers."
Such is the power of trades'-unions, and the question
is how do they use that power? The union forms a
court which acts on ex-parte information, and without
local knowledge. The masons of Carlisle and Exeter
decide on the wages that shall be demanded by the
masons of "Wolverhampton, guiding themselves, not by
the circumstances of the trade, but by the necessities of
the employers.
A Mr. Bussell, of Bolton, was fined £5, which he
paid, by the operative "bricklayers of Bolton, for setting
a mason to widen a window, which he could not get
finished because the bricklayers were drinking, and
would not work. The fine was imposed by the delinquents
themselves. ~ Mr. Stone, of Newton-in-the-Willows, was
fined 15s., because his foreman remonstrated with his
48
men for talking and smoking wken tkey skould kaye
been at work, and tbe foreman's son was fined 5s. for
taking part with his father. I say again, it is not an
extension of the franchise we require, but an improve¬
ment in the social condition of the working classes. A
vote can never make a man, but a man may give a vote.
Suppose we knew nothing of trades'-unions, except
what is now told us, could we believe that their ex¬
cesses were now limited ? The Sheffield outrages with
all their diabolical surroundings, fully prove all that I
have stated. Space will not allow me, or I might.say
a great deal with regard to the deliberate assassins of
Sheffield. The brickmakers of Manchester may be a
shade better than the sawgrinders of Sheffield, but each,
one and all, are bad enough.
If the present Grovernment had retained the Tenian
prisoners, and disfranchised all who adhered to the
abominable practices, good would have accrued to the
public at large.
Trades'-unions can only be carried on by means fatal
to every right that a free people respect. They contain
the germs and elements of injustice, they are founded
upon the claim of the many to coerce the few.
There has been misgovernment on our part with
regard to Ireland, but when compared with the misgov¬
ernment from which many European races, who are
now high in the scales of civilization have suifered, it
reflects credit upon the English Grovernment.
49
Had tlie Scotch people, for instance; had any people,
with a true, organising faculty, been forced to work out
their national history under similar conditions, would
they have failed as completely as the Irish have done ?
There must be some deeply-seated organic defect in
the character of a nation which misfortune has been
made to tutor, and which has learned none of the lessons
of ad\ ersity Tor, as Herrick says :—
"A wise man every way lies square,—
And like a surley oak with storms perplext,
Grows still the stronger the stronger vext."
The Irish are a pure breed if Celts, and the Celt has
never shown any true aptitude for the art of govern^
ment. Even the Trench Celt, who had the advantage of
being subdued by the Bomans, and who for many
centuries lived side by side with that strong, scientific,
and legislative people, has manifested throughout his
whole history an exceptional incapacity for maintaining
free institutions. Mr. Troude, in an address, lighted by
genius, and sparkling with epigram, told the St. Andrews'
students the other day that they came of a fine race, and
inherited a great history. Had Scotland, however,
remained exclusively Celtic, it may be doubted how far
that history would have been written. The real govern¬
ing power in Scotland has always been lodged in the
Lowdand races, and the true Scotch Celt, such as are
still met with on the western lakes, was as improvident,
as unsystematic, as indolent—as disorderly, in short—as
50
any íace could well be. In Scotland tbis purely Celtic
population is now a mere bandfub wbereas in Ireland it
comprises four-fifths of the nation.
Although individual labour may be occasionally dis¬
placed by the substitution of machinery for manual
dexterity, all are great gainers in the long run by the
use of that power. Through machinery, we all princi¬
pally possess, however poor we may be, many of the
comforts and conveniences which constitute the différ¬
ence between man in a civilized and man in a savage
state. AVe may go further than this, and say that, in
consequence of machinery having rendered productions
of all sorts cheaper, and therefore caused them to be
more universally purchased, it has really increased tbe
demand for that manual labour, which, according to the
reasoning of some, it has a direct tendency to diminish.
Yet, there are a considerable number of the working-
classes who have a lingering, lurking dislike to machin¬
ery, which they cannot rationally explain, and who
look with the liveliest apprehension at any improvement
which may be efiected in that grand aid to human
industry. The recent riots at Coventry, in relation to
the application of steam-power to the manufacture of
certain kinds of ribbon, and the émeutes at Northampton,
Kettering, and "Wellingboro', against the introduction
of the sewing-machine for the manufacture of boots
and shoes, are two cases in point. The hand-loom
weavers of Grlasgow, as early as 1827, had, however, a
51
different view of tlie matter, wliicli was liigUy creditable
to tbeir intelligence. In tbe ye^r 1827, the Emigration
Committee of tbe Honse of Commons examined,
amongst otber persons, Joseph Foster, a hand-loom
weaver, who answered the following questions :—
Q. Are the Committee to understand that you attri¬
bute the insufficiency of your remuneration for your
labour to the introduction of machinery ?—A. Yes.
Q. Do you consider, therefore, that the introduction
of machinery is objectionable ?—We do not. The
weavers, in general, of Glasgow and its vicinity do not
consider that machinery can or ought to be stopped, or
put down. They know perfectly well that machinery
must go on, that it will go on, and that it is impossible
to stop it. They are aware that every implement of
agriculture or manufacture is a portion of machinery,
and, indeed, everything that goes beyond the teeth and
nails (if I may use the expression) is a machine. I am
authorised, by the majority of our society, to say that I
speak their minds, as well as my own, in stating this.
The class of men to whom we allude have an hatred
to improved machinery, simply because it has a tendency
to disturb the rules and regulations which they have
laid down for labour, and which, from an extreme
narrowness of view, they deem conducive to their inter¬
est. This is surveying the great question of labour from
a very limited point of view, and as though no one had
so immediate an interest in its proper solution as those
52
wlio are engaged in its direction. Tlie capitalist—^tHe
co-producer—-is scarcely recognised, and the consumer^
the most important party of all, is completely ignored.
There is a story told of a Bedfordshire farmer, who^
being consulted by the clergyman of the parish as to the
propriety of putting up a prayer soliciting, in the recog¬
nised reverend form, for a shower of rain or so, replied :
" Aye—aye, sir, just enough to wet the turnips." The
objectors to the general improvement of machinery
entertain the same views as the simple farmer we have
just cited. " If improvements do make their appear¬
ance," say they, '^let them only be in conformity with
our views, and adapted to our rules and regulations of
work." In fact, they would dwarf the genius of inven¬
tion, and its mechanical application, to their own narrow,
selfish, and contracted views, utterly regardless of other
classes, both producers and consumers.
During the last fifteen years, the wages of the work¬
ing men have been very large, and the hours of labour
very limited. "We have never had so many combi¬
nations set on foot for the purpose of rendering the
condition of the working man more comfortable and
independent. ^N^othing gives me greater pleasure than
to hear that a community of working men is prosperous
and happy; but the relative positions of the labourer
and the capitalist}, or, in other words, the employer
and the employed, have been made to appear as
especially antagonist]c, and that has caused continuous
6É
struggling between tbem for supremacy. Tbis, lio doubt^
is in consequence of a vast amount of misapprebension
as to tbe terms by wbicb tbe conflicting parties bave
been brought into juxtaposition.
In considering mankind in a primitive state of society,
we are carried back to a time wben tbe comforts of
civilized life were unknown, and wben satisfaction was
a desideratum.
In all stages of society tbere exists, in diflnrent in¬
dividuals, a difference in qualifications. Some men are
stronger and more energetic tban others. Some men
must be more successful tban others; what one lacks,
another may have in abundance,, therefore it is wrong
for trades'-iinions to demand that tbe labour and skill
of one person should be given in exchange for that of
another. It is a barter of industry that is daily coming
into use. It is desirable that the labourer should
devote his energies to a particular branch ; because by
that means he would rise as an artizan. Every man
should be recompensed for the amount of work he does.
Every man should be paid in proportion to the produce
of his own exertions and dexterity. Hence our produce
a barter of industry.
The wealth of the capitalist is simply an accumula¬
tion of industry and skill.
The given amount of metal is the exponent of labour,
and that is the potentate of the universe. He who
holds money is simply an accumulator of labour aná
54
skill, in otker words, a barter of industry. "With re¬
gard to trade and commerce, the ignorant portion, as a
rule, are the "upper ten thousand," who have inherited
the special good fortune of their fathers or forefathers.
After all, if this state of things was altered, we might
possibly be struck out of the root of national industry,
which would be more fatal to our country's general
weal than anything which the history of England has
yet had to record.
'No strikes would accrue if working-men understood
the real position which labour and skill occupy. Manly
independence forbids anything to the working-man but
quid pro quo. Why should there be grounds of hostile
feeling to a cautious employer? The conventional
terms, masters and servants, are misnomers. The
matter is simply either a question of business or not ?
We only possess names for different quantities of one
and the same commodities
" All is the gift of industry ; whate'r
Exalts, embellishes, and renders life
Delightful. Pensive winter cheered by him
Sits at the social fire and happy hears
The excluded tempest idly rave along."
Labour and skill are marketable commodities: conse¬
quently, any workman is justified in trying to get the
best price for his industry, of course the same privilege
being allowed to the employer in the opposite direction.
Any number of men, having a right to combine and
act collectively, and that when unions or combinations
are formed on the one side, that they should be met by
55
unions or coin'')inations on the otlier. How far are tliese
desirable ? Ho working-men consider tbe ebbs and
flows of tbe articles of daily consumption to wbicb tbey
are liable ? A variation from a medium standard is
continually exbibited. Huring tbe summer of 1866 tbe
price of young pigs was exceptionally bigb. In tbe
following summer I knew a farmer wbo sold a cart-load
in "Wakefield market, for five shillings each, for wbicb
be told me be could easily bave obtained twenty-six
shillings each tbe previous summer. Ifc is inconvenient
that prices thus fluctup^te ; but this is unavoidable, for
prices regulate themselves. Our very existence depends
on tbe fluctuations of prices. Why do we have foreign
merchants sending corn to England?—because our own
.supply of corn in good years is inadequate. Abundant
harvests create low prices, but low prices never fill our
granaries with corn.
England is great in consequence of tbe energy and
persevering industry of her population; and tbe profit¬
able manner in wbicb that industry has been employed,
Some men labour bard, but their labour is injudiciously
expended, and therefore tbey become poor; although
people may be dissatisfied because tbey are poor, and
poor because tbey are idle. In consequence of tbe use
of steam power, we have added to our national wealth,
yearly, more than we have diminished it by luxury and
tbe use of foreign productions. This state of things
being reversed, would produce England's decline.
0B
Anytliing tliat tends in one brancli of industry to hè
ítoore remunerative tlian another, sui generis^ tends at
the same time to multiply unduly the number of persons
\vho qualify themselves for its duties. The price of
labour is now exorbitant, for we require two men in the
present day to fill the place of that where in former
times one was required. In many trades, prior to the
establishment of unions, their employment, if not so well
remunerated, was steady. The owners of coal pits have
stacked near the pits' mouth, surplus quantities of coal
in summer for winter, when they knew all would be
used up ; thus causing uniformity of work. The
Unionists desired that no more coal should be stacked.
They aLso decreed that our workmen should not get more
than a certain weight of coals per day, and, a local strike
has actually taken place, because one or two workmen
had exceeded the quantity, and the manager had allowed
it. The fact is, the people are fettered by laws which no
Grovernment would be allowed to pass, and no enlight¬
ened nation be persuaded to obey.
A practical lesson has been taught by trades'-unions-,
which is not unlikely to issue in their dissolution. No
trades'-union can threaten the prospects of England,
nationally considered. The wages question is a vital one ;
and are we to be driven first out of one market and
then out of another, simply because there is a system
in England by which workmen have become masters cf
the sitiiationj and can dictate successfully their own
m
têi^msî As one writer says, tlie clotli pnrcliaseâ. în
Leeds is now manufactured in Grermany. The iron
pillars used in the principal improvements in Leeds,
come from Belgium. "What do we receive from Norway
and Sweden in consequence of trades'-unions ? The
existence of a trades'-union is fearfully significant. It
will never, however, ring the knell of England's su¬
premacy as a manufacturing country.
These facts only show the unhappy state of things
these trades'-unions cause. We have got to that pitch,
lately, that as employers we scarcely dare to make out
an estimate. It is in consequence of the freaks which
the unionists generally play. We have powerful machin¬
ery which can prepare work at a cheaper rate than hand
labour ; but the trades'-unions, as a rule, try to prevent
these advantages taking place. There is no doubt that
in time masters will face up. Absurdity has its limits^
and retribution will be at hand.
I am informed that our industrial exports last year
were exceeded by our consumable imports. If unioniz¬
ing will make trade brisk, why not take the present
opportunity. At a meeting at Methley, a pitman
stated that he would not cease striking till he had ob¬
tained his shilling an hour. But where is the pitman
now ? Since this statement, not one hour's more work
has the employer been able to give him. I consider
trades'-unions revolting to every sentiment of justice
fiumanity, and personal freedom, by which not only
58
prívate property lias been wantonly destroyed, but tbe
greatest vagabonds rutblessly engaged ; and tbe energies
of society sbould be brongbt by all lawful and honour¬
able means to put them down. "Without steps in this
direction be taken, England is destined to fall.
"With regard to strikes in general, we have some inter¬
esting facts. One of these is that strikes are hardly
ever resorted to, except by workmen who are in the
habit of receiving high wages ; and another is, that the
time of their occurrence is invariably when trade is
brisk and prosperous. An intelligent v/itness, examined
before the Combination Committee, said, in reply to
certain questions :—•
The men never turn out when trade is bad.
Another witness, of considerable experience in the
cotton-spinning trade, said:—
Q. According to your experience, it was when wages
have been high, that the combinations have taken place,
and not when they were low ?—^A. Yes ; it has been
when they (cotton spinners) have got most, that they
have turned out.
Again '
They (journeymen hatters) take care to turn out in
the spring of the year, and that is the time when every
master wants his journeymen, and, of course, is standing
stül ; his customers want to be supplied with hats.
Q. Have you found that when the men were in demand,
combinations for rise of wages were most frequent ?—
69
A. Yes, thsùt is on& of the greatest misfortunes a master
has to encounter ; he makes his contract, and the mo¬
ment he does that, the men turn out for rise of wages.
The reason of this is obvious. There is greater
likelihood of an employer yielding to the wishes of the
employed when he has numerous orders on hand, than
when he works, as it were, on speculation. In the
former case, his non-compliance may benefit his rivals
in the trade, and he is better able to comply, as prices
are generally higher ; in the latter case, his profit being
precarious, a cessation of his works would, in all proba¬
bility, bë less hurtful to him. Besides, it is only when
work is abundant that those who strike can depend on
being supported by their fellow-unionists vv^ho remain
employed ; at other times, the weekly subscriptions are
so irregularly paid, that the funds of the combination
are wholly inadéquate to maintain, even scamtily, its
idle members. We do not affirm that strikes are always
coincident with a prosperous trade, but their occurrence
in any trade affords a strong presumption, approaching
almost to certainty, that it is in a well-to-do and thriving
condition.
One of the most deplorable features of the unions is
their hostility to piece or task-work, and the consequent
discouragement they give to the exercise of superior skill
and industry. The man who does task-work," says an
authority on this head, " is guilty of less defensible con_
duet than a drunkard. The worst passions of our
60
nature are enlisted in support of task-work. Avarice^
meanness, cunning, liypocrisy, all excite and feed upon
the miserable victim of task-work, while debility and
destitution look out for the last morsel of their prey.
A man who earns, by task-work, forty shillings per woek^
the usual wages by day being twenty shillings, robs hi^
fellow of a week's employment." This points to " an
equalisation of wages," a state in which everyone is to
earn an equal sum, without reference either to his abil¬
ity or his diligence. This, in sober simple phrase, would
be premium upon incapacity. To this desire is owing,
we presume, that modest rule of the I^ational Eriendly
Society of Operative Worsted Manufacturers, which is
a model of innocence and simplicity :—
lY. That should any member of this society be known
to boast of his superior ability as to either the quantity
or quality of work he can do, either in public or private
company, he shall pay a fine of two shillings and sixpence^
or be expelled his society.
This is the spirit which guided Owen, St. Simon, and
Louis Blanc, when Vorganisation du travail was the
daydream of the latter's political life. An universal,,
eosmopolitan enthusiasm for the good of the human race,
is to produce that skill which is ordinarily considered as
the eftect of rivalry, and emulation is not to be scouted
as the enemy of man's highest industrial development.
The trades'-unions have been compared, under certain
aspects, to the Poor-Laws. When their rules are.
61
strictly followed, they produce similar results, though in
a more aggravated shape, to those which arise from a
poor-rate and labour-rate, in their worst forms of abuse.
If a worliman throws himself out of employ because he
is not satisfied with his wages, a weekly payment, say, of
eight shiJlings, or ten shillings, is ready for his accept¬
ance, which he can demand as his right, and enjoy in
idleness. He can gain nothing by superior qualifications
for his business, and lose nothing by the want of them ;
industry wfill not increase his wages, nor negligence de¬
press them ; but the earnings of all are reduced to one
common level, an attempt to raise which, by any one man,
is treated as an offence to the general body.
One of the worst results of combinations is the delu¬
sion which they sanction, that wages are not subject to
the general laws of demand and supply, but are mainly
depeadent on the pleasure of the employers. Wages,
say the men, would be beaten down by the masters to
the lowest point that would suffice for a maintenance,
were it not for our unions. Yet the earnings of men
who have never joined the unions have not been so
beaten down. Strikes have been scarcely known among
the overlookers in cotton-factories, and yet they are paid
more than any other persons in those establishments,
Hine-tenths of the cotton-workers have never thought
of forming unions, and the alleged advantage has never
been taken of them by their masters. The wages, for
instance, of the throstle spinners have scarcely raried
62
for mâiiy years past, and are consequently, if measured
in clothes and provisions, at least 30 per cent, higher
than they were formerly. Have the mule-spinners, on
the other hand, gained more by their combinations and
strikes ?
In those places where strikes have been most frequent,
a complete severance of feeling seems to have taken
place between masters and men. Each party looks upon
the other with distrust, and a vague suspicion renders it
quite hopeless for amity or goodwill to prevail amongst
them. A diminution of speculation is an obvious'
result of this state of feeling on the part of the manu¬
facturer, and enterprise loses its pith and moment
throue:]! the action of those whose immediate interest it
is to encourage it. In several places benefit Bocieties,
legally enrolled, bave been made the cloak for combina¬
tions, and thus violence and intimidation have been
practised by bodies, orga-nised under the apparent sanc¬
tion of the law. This is one of the most disastrous re¬
sults that can be apprehended from the spirit of nnion ;
it is turning nourishment into poison, and making, what
is calculated to confer the greatest benefit on the work-
ng classes, a source of unmitigated evil. Two of
the rules of the Manchester Benevolent Society, in
relation to the wage-question, and the difference of
opinion as to its regulating cause, are immediately to the
point
That, if any foreman, or follower, or dyer, or dresser,
63
áfiould be discharged, the next man that takes his situ¬
ation must ask the same wages ; and if he goes for less,
he shall be fined £1, and the members of the shop shall
be fined five shillings each for working with him ; and
if this rule be attended to, the price of labour will be
kept up.
That, if any man belonging to any other trade should
get employment at a,ny legal shop in the trade, or any
illegal man that is not a member of the union, in the
course of any week, the members of that shop shall give
notice to their employer, that they will not work any
longer than that week with such characters ; and if they
neglect so to do, the members of that shop shall be fined
five shillings each, and not be entitled to any benefit until
the said fine be paid.
Could the working-classes, as we often hear repeated,
be instructed in the lavv'^s which regulate their wages,
combinations of this kind would cease to exist, and the
dense ignorance which enshrouds the faculties of the
working-man would be quickly dissipated. He would
learn that wages are not dependent on the wdll of those
who pay them, and that they can only be altered by
changing the proportion between the number of labour¬
ers, and the funds set apart for their maintenance. They
would then see that they might as well attempt to changé
the physical laws of the universe, as to extract from
their employers the wages they are paid at present,
ànd to give a third less of their labour in return. Could
64
tîaey gatliei" sometMng like a knowledge of tlie nature
and constitution of society, tkey would perceive tkat
tliose wlio are above tbem in station, wbom tbey some-
tiines designate as enemies, would be neglectful of tlieir
own interest, did tbey desire less tban tbe prosperity and
advancement of tbe labouring population. Would tbey,,
also, turn tbeir attention to tbe inseparable connection
between cause and effect, as well as to tbe actual history
of combinations and unions, tbey migbt, perhaps, be
persuaded that strikes cannot permanently raise wages,
but, in nineteen cases out of twenty, must have a ten¬
dency to lower tbem. If tbe working-man could only
grasp this great truth, be would, in all probability, more
quickly advance in tbe social scale tban be has hitherto
done, though that has not been very slow.
I have endeavoured to be earnest, clear, and exhaus¬
tive, and beg to introduce tbe following, from tbe justly
celebrated work by Ward, which I consider important
on this subject ;—
"Tbe admission into tbe Yorkshire unions, with its
absurd ceremonials, its vulgar and repulsive oaths, and
its pompous inanity of invocation, presents a curious
phase of mental credulity. Tbe old adage of Omni ig-
notum pro magnifico was never more truly verified. Cer¬
tain of those, however, who have gone through tbe
inaugural rites, have sometimes been unable to recover
tbeir proper senses and usual composure of mind for
some weeks after their admission. The following is tbe
05
performaiice enacted on the reception of members inta
the "Woolcombers' Union:—
DEAMATIS PEESOK-®.
Outside Tilbb.—^A member of the Union, who keeps
gnard on the outside of the room in which the members
are assembled.
IifsiDE Tiler.—Ditto on the inside.
peiîfcipal Conductor.—The person who conducts
to the Lodge those who are to be initiated into the mys¬
teries of the Union.
President.
y ice-President.
Warden.
Secretary.
Members oe the Union.
Workmen about to be Members.
The scene is generally the first-floor of a tavern,,
which is supposed to be doubly planked throughout,
and the interstices filled up, in order to prevent anyone
overhearing the ceremonies. The time is eight or nine
o'clock in the evenings, at which hour the dramatis per-
sonœ, with the exception of the principal conductor,
and those who are about to enter the union, are sup¬
posed to be collected together for the performance of
the drama. One side of the 'apartment is a skeleton,
above which is a drawn sword and a battleaxe, and in
front stands a table, upon which lies the Pible. The
66
„principal officers of tte union are clotlied in surplices.
(Àierribers sait the following prayer f
0 Grod, wlio art tlie autlior of peace and lover of con¬
cord, defend us in tMs our undertaking, tkat we may
not fear tke power of our adversaries, tkrougk tke
merits of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
{Outside Tiler hnochs at the door,)
lîtside Tilee.
Who comes here to disturb the peace and harmony
of this our most worthy and honourable order ?
Peifctpal Co^iyvcTon—from without.
1 am not come here to disturb the peace and har
mony of this your most worthy and honourable
order. I am a brother, with strangers who wish to be
admitted into yoar most worthy and honourable order.
IlS-sibe TIlee.
Most worthy President, Vice, Secretary, and brothers
all, a brother stands at the door with strangers, who
wish to be admitted into your most worthy and honour¬
able order.
Peesideistt.
In the name of the Lord, admit them.
/
{Enter Prmcipal Conductor^ followed by the strangers^
with their eyes bandaged. Members salute.^ and then
sing a Hymn,)
Peikcipal CoisruFCTOE.
I
Strangers ! within our secret walls we have admitted
67
Hoping yon will prove Iionest, faithful, just, and true.
If you cannot keep the secrets we require,
Go hence—yen are at liberty to retire.
Are your motives true ?
Strangebs.
Yes.
Priiícipal Cokductoe.
Ho you declare they are ?
Steaiígees.
Yes.
PeIIS^CIPAL CoiVnTTOTOE.
Then, brethren, to initiate these strangers we will now
proceed,
And our most worthy master may proceed to read.
( Members sing a Hymn J
"WAEUEîir.
Stand, ye presumptuous mortals ! strangers' steps I hear,
And I must know your trade and business here.
By my great power, there's nothing can from vengeance
If you come hear intending to betray us. [stay us,
Peesideivt.
Most worthy guardian of our sacred laws ! [cause.
They are woolcombers, and wishful to protect the united
"Waeden.
Then all is well.
y ice-Peesibeîît.
Strangers ! you are welcome ; and if you prove sincere.
You'll not repent your pains and labour here.
"We have one common interest, and one common soul,
"Which should by virtue guide and actuate the whole.
68
0\ïr trade requires protection, by experience sad we know^
Our duty is to prevent recurrence of our former woe.
Our commonwealth was like some savage land,
Where the weak are slaves, and strongest hear command;
Where tyrants rule with uncontrolled sway,
And degraded subjects do their will obey.
Such was our domestic lot* Our suffering and our care
Enraged our minds with sadness and despair.
And when we had united, and our rights obtained,
We found that only half our point was gained.
Our interests were so many and so various.
The tenure of our rights so frail and so precarious.
That, had we not invented lodges, our protection to
ensure.
All, all would have come to nought, as it had done before.
Strangers 1 the design of all our lodges is love and unity^
With self-protection, founded on the laws of equity ;
And when you have our mystic rites gone thorugh.
Our secrets all will be disclosed to you. [deuce to share,
We deem you worthy our friendship, trust, and confi-
See that you make the prosperity of our cause your
constant care. [its trust ;
Let your tongue be always faithful, your heart conceal
Woe—woe and dishonour attend the faithless and unjust I
Lruards, give the strangers sight.
{ The bandages are removed from the eyes of the Strang^
•ers^ and they are placea opposite the skeleton.
m
PeesidEîît (pointing to tli&slíeleton)
Strangers ! mark well tlie shadow which yon see ;
It is a faithful emblem of man's destiny.
Behold the head, once filled with pregnant wit—
Those hollow holes, once sparkling eyes did fit ;
This empty mouth nor lips nor tongue contains.
Of a once well-furnished head, see all that now remain^s^
Behold this breast, where a generous heart once moved,
Billed with affection, loving and beloved.
Mark well these bones ; the flesh hath left its place—^
These arms could even a tender wife embrace.
Those legs in gay activity could roam ;
But, alas ! the spirit's dead—the life is gone.
O Death ! O Death 1 thy terrors strike us with dismay,
Only the spirit just, which hath left its empty clay,
Can set thee at defiance, and in triumph say, [victory ?
0 Death, where is thy sting? O G-rave where is thy
The sting of death is sin—are we not sinners all
Then upon us one day the heavy stroke of death must falh
Yice-Peesident.
Strangers ! hear me, and mark well what I say :
Be faithful to your trust, or you may rue this day.
You are now within our secret walls, and I must know
if you can keep a secret.
Steaííoees.—Yes.
Y ice-Peesideivt.
Then amongst us you will be entitled to the endearing
name of brother,^
70
And what yon hear, or see here done, yon mnst not dis¬
close to any other ;
"We are nniting to cultivate friendship, as well as to
protect onr trade,
And due respect must to all onr laws be paid.
Hoping you will prove faithful, and all encroachments
on onr rights withstand,
As a token of your alliance,—give me your hand.
And now, shonldst thou ever prove deceitful, remem¬
ber thy end—remember ! Gruards, put these strangers
into darkness, and conduct them to our worthy master,
to be further instructed in this onr most worthy and
honourable order.
( The eyes of the strangers are again bandaged, and
they are then made to walk several times round the
room, while the members stamp upon the floor with
their feet. They are then led to the table upon
which the bible is placed ; the right hand of each is
laid upon the Sacred Volume ; the bandages are then
removed from their eyes, and they take the following
oath.)
I, A B, "Woolcomber, being'in the awful presence of
Almighty Grod, do voluntarily declare that I will perse¬
vere in endeavouring to support a brotherhood known by
the Briendly Society of Operative Stuff Manufacturers,
and other industrious operatives : and I solemnly declare
and promise, that I will never act in opposition to the
brotherhood in any of their attempts to support the wa-
n
geë, but willj to tbe utmost of mj power, assist tbem, on
all lawful and just occasions, to obtain a fair remuneration
for our labour« And I call upon Grod to witness this mj
most solemn declaration, tbat neither hopes, fears, re¬
wards, punishments, or even death itself, shall ever
induce me, directly or indirectly, to give any information
respecting anything done in this lodge, or any similar
lodge connected with the society; and I will neither
write nor cause to be written, upon paper, wood, sand,
stone, or anything else, whereby it may be known, unless
allowed to do so by the proper authorities of the society,
and I will never give my consent to have any money
belonging to the society divided or appropriated to any
other purpose than the use of the society and support of
the trade : so help me Grod, and keep me steadfast in this
, my most solemn obligation ! And if ever I reveal either
part or parts of this my most solemn obligation, may all
the society I am about to belong to, and all that is just,
disgrace me so long as I live and what is now before me
plunge my soul into the everlasting pit of misery ! Jlmen^
ViCE-PRESinEîfT.
Gruards, put these strangers into darkness. Eise and
stand {to the strangers).
{The strangers having heen hlindfolded^ the members
sing a hymn, and then salute. 2 he strangers are
then led out* Members then say the following
prayer.)
72
O God, wto art tîie author of peace, &e , {saune as at
the eommencemenf),
Peesideot.
In tiie name of King Edward the Third, (in this king's
reign the woollen Manufacture was introduced into
England,) I declare this Lodge to be duly closed, and
m it is.
Grod save our noble King
"William the Eourth let's sing.
Brethren, ere we depart, let iis join hand and heart
In this our cause.
May our next meeting be blest with sweet harmony,
Honour, and secrecy in the mechanics' cause ! {Exeunt,
Kevolting as this oath is in some respects, there is
reason to believe, says a competent authority, that it^
was originally still more strongly worded. " In Decem¬
ber, 1832, a murder was committed in the neighbourhood
of Leeds, of aman who had refused to join in a turn-out
that had been ordered by the Clothiers' Union. In the
commission of this crime the members of the union were
strongly implicated, and at the inquest held on the body,
a vdtness who had once belonged to the union, the father
of the murdered man, gave an account of the mode of
making members. His statement of the ceremonial tal«
lies pretty nearly with that which has been given, but
being an illiterate man, and having to trust to his memory
aione:^ Ms testimony is meagrely and confusedly given*
73
From wliat can be gathered, however, from this witness,
it is obvions that the oath he took on joining the union
included a more dreadful denunciation of himself, should
he violate the oath, than that given above. The public¬
ation of this evidence naturally excited in the public
mind considerable disgust against the union, and in the
next grand meeting, held six weeks afterwards, we find,
by a book of their proceedings, that a resolntion was
passed substituting the present oath for the one previ¬
ously used. There is, therefore, reason to suspect that,
owing to this murder, and the circumstances that arose
out of it, the terms of the oath were considerably soft-
tened, with the view of preventing the union suffering
so milch in public estimation, should the actual words
ever be known. What the words were before the
alteration can only be conjectured, but the oath contained
in the above ceremonial is so nearly identical with one
used by a political society at Grlasgow in 1817, that
probably the Scotch oath was taken entire. If this
supposition be correct, the Yorkshire oath, before the
murder, must have contained a clause by which the taker
of it invoked upon himself, should he prove false, the
punishment of death, ^o be infiicted on him by any
member or members of the society."
Happily, combinations in England, though they hai e
been fertile in assaults and outrages of various kinds,
have rarely led to murder. The only crime of late years
that can be laid to the charge of northern unions, is that
74
whicli took placé at Earsley, a small village in tlie iieigli-'
boiirhood of Leeds, in December, 1832. The murdered
man had become obnoxious to the unions by refusing to
join a strike ; and though the charge could not be proved
against the members, the circumstances told so strongly
against them, that the jury which sat on the inquest
gave in their verdict - That they had too much reason to
fear that his murder had been the consequence of
fidelity to his master.' This was a euphemistic declara¬
tion of guilt against whoever committed the crime. On
the night of the murder the union had a long and
violent discussion, which lasted from six to eleven
o'clock; at h?df-past eight the object of their'hatred
was attacked in a lane by thirty or forty persons, and
beaten to death by clubs. ISTot one of those cowardly
and brutal assaikmts ever made a sign of contrition, and
the perpetrators of the foul deed are to this day undis¬
covered,"
It is really surprising to me that this question is not
better understood for the benefit of that large and im¬
portant class of society, who rank as contractors,
builders, carpenters, joiners, cabinet makers, wheel¬
wrights, &c. This book applies to trade generally, and I
trust will be found exceedingly useful, as I have given
in some instances a copious mass of information on
various matters, requisite for every employer of labour;
a species of information which is at present only known,
by those, and only in part by them, who are immediately
75
connected witli the respective trades. There are serions
questions to be taken into consideration,- in order to
conciliate society, and I may name the following :—The
national and individual character of the human race ;
leaders of industry ; inventors and promoters ; applica-
cation and perseverance ; helps and opportunities ;
scientific pursuits ; workers in art ; industry and the
English peerage ; energy and courage ; business quali¬
ties ; money—use and abuse ; self culture ; facilities
and difficulties ; example-models j character and the
true gentleman.
If working-men would only take the following two
statements into consideration, a very different opinion
would be formed with regard to society in general, viz. :
^'The worth of a State, in the long run, is the worth of
the individuals composing it."—J. S, Mill.
put too much faith in systems, and link too
little to men."—B. Disraeli.
Heaven helps those who help themselves," as Smiles
says in his Self Help, is a well-tried maxim, embody¬
ing in a small compass the results of vast human ex¬
perience. The spirit of self-help is the root of all
genuine growth in the individual; and, exhibited in the
lives of many, it constitutes the true source of national
vigour and strength. Help from without is often en¬
feebling in its effects, but help within invariably in¬
vigorates. "Whatever is done for men or classes, to a
certain extent takes away the stimulus and necessity
76
of doing for tliemsel?es ; and wliere men are subjected
to over-guidance and over-government, tlie inevitable
tendency is to render tbem comparatively helpless.
Even the best institutions can give a man no active
aid, perhaps the utmost they can do is, to leave him free
to develop himself and improve his individual condition.
But in all times men have been prone to believe that
their happiness and well-being, were to be secured by
means of institutions rather than by their own conduct.
Hence the value of legislation as an agent in human
advancement has always been greatly over-estimated.
To constitute the millionth part of a legislature, by
voting for one or two men in three or five years, however
conscientiously this duty may be performed, can exercise
but little active influence on any man's life and charac¬
ter. Moreover, it is becoming more evident every day
that the functions of government are negative and
restrictive, rather than positive and active ; being resol¬
vable principally into protection of life, liberty, and
property. There is no power of the law that can make
the idle man industrious, the thriftless provident, or the
drunken sober ; though every individual can be each
and all of these, by the exercise of his own free individ¬
ual powers, and self denial.
" Indeed all experience serves to prove that the worth
and strength of a State depend far less upon the form
of its institutions than upon the character of its men.
Eor the nation is an aggregate of individual conditions^
77
and civilization itself is but a question of personal
improvement."
' ' This above all,—To thine own self he true ;
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then he false to any man."
Shakespeare
*'Rich are the diligent, who can command
Time, nature's stock; and could his hour glass fall.
Would, or for the seed of stars, stoop for the sand,
And, by incessant labour, gather all."
D'Avenant.
We find tbat tlie Englisb. spirit bas generally stood
out strongly and distinct in all its past history, and we
bave as striking a characteristic of it now as we have
bad in former times. The spirit of the imperial Parlia¬
ment of England has built up the greatness of our empire.
Eree industrial energy, without being crippled by trades'-
union laws, can only produce the general industria
energy of individuals ; this is the case, whether cultiva¬
tors of the soil, producers of articles of utility,
contrivers of tools and machines, writers of books or
creators of works of art. This spirit is the vital principle
of the nation, it has been its saving and remedial one,
counteracting from time to time imperfections in our
constitution. It requires application and perseverance
to produce greatness :—
" See first that the design is wise and j ust ;
That ascertained, pursue it resolutely,
Do not for one repulse forego the purpose
That you resolved to effect."
Men with great talent rarely make money, for tbe
greatest results in life are usually attained by simple
78
means, and the exercise of ordinary qnalities. From
common life we liave ample opportunities of acquiring
experience of tlie best kind, and its most beaten paths
afford room for the most abundant effort and improve¬
ment. I mean the human character lies along the
highway of steadfast well-doing ; that which requires a
persistent spirit to be successful.
Bacon says : Neither the naked hand, nor the under¬
standing, left to itself, can do muchthe work is ac¬
complished by instruments and helps, of which the need
is not less for the understanding than the hand.
Opportunity has hair in front, behind she is bald ;
if you seize her by the forelock you may hold her, but,
if suffered to escape, not Jupiter himself can catch her
again."—From the Latin,
A friend of mine once told me that accident did very
little towards the production of any great result in life.
Though sometimes vfhat is called a "happy hit" maybe
made a bold venture, the old and common highway of
steady industry and application is the only safeguard.
It is said of the landscape painter, Wilson, that when
he had finished a picture in a tame, correct manner, he
would step back to some distance, with his pencil fixed
at the end of a long stick, and after gazing earnestly on
his work, he would suddenly dash up, and by a few bold
touches give a brilliant finish to his painting. But it
will not do for every one who would produce an effect
to throw his brush at the canvas, in the hope of pro-
79
dücing a picture. The capability of putting these last
vital touches is acquired only by the labour of a life ;
and the probability is that the artist who has not care¬
fully trained himself beforehand in attempting to
produce a brilliant effect at a dash, will only produce a
blotch.
As I have spoken with regard to workers of art, I
will quote the following :—
If what shone afar so grand,
Turn to nothing in thine hand,
On again, the virtue lies
In the struggle, not the prize."
E M, Milnes.
Sir Joshua Eeynolds was such a believer in the force
of industry, that he held that excellence in art,
however expressed by genius, taste, or the gift of
heaven, may be acquired." Writing to Earry, he said:
" Whoever is resolved to excel in painting, or indeed
any other art, must bring all his mind to bear upon that
one object from the moment that he rises till he goes to
bed." Those who are resolved to excel must go to their
work, willing or unwilling—morning, noon, and night ;
they will find it no play, but very hard labour. Eut
though diligent application is no doubt absolutely neces¬
sary for the achievement of the highest distinction in
art, it is equally true, that without the inherent faculty,
no mere amount of industry, however well applied, will
make an artist. The gift comes by nature, but it is per¬
fected by self-culture, which is of much more avail than
the imparted education of the schools.
80
People often compare industry with the English
Peerage ; in consequence, I cannot do better than quote
the following :
" Active doer, noble liver,
Strong to labour, sure to conquer."
Browning.
Practical industry, wisely and vigorously applied,
never fails of success. It carries a man onward and
upward, brings out his individual character, and power¬
fully stimulates the action of others. All may not rise
equally, yet each, on the whole, very much according to
his deserts.
Though all cannot live on the piazza," as the Tuscan
proverb has it, ''every one may feel the sun."
Energy and courage are matters to be taken seriously
into consideration.
" In every work that he began he did it with all his heart, and
prospered."—II Cheon., 31,21.
There is a famous speech recorded of an old IN'orse-
man, thoroughly characteristic of the Teuton, "I be¬
lieve neither in idols nor demons;" said he, "I put my
sole trust in my own strength of body and soul."
I call this practical materialism.
Under these circumstances, I am bound to allude to
business qualities.
"Seest thou aman diligent in business ? he shall stand before
Kings." Proverbs of Soloman.
" That man is but the lower part of the world that is not brought
up to business and affairs." Owen Feltham.
Hazlitt, in his Essay on Thought and Actions, repre-
81
sents the man of business as a mean sort of person put
in a go-cart, yoked to a trade or profession; alleging
that all he has to do is, not to go out of the beaten
track, but merely to let his affairs "take their own
course." The great requisite," he says, "for the pros¬
perous management of ordinary business, is the want of
imagination, or of any ideas but those of custom and
interest, on the narrowest scale."
Of course there are narrow-minded men of business,
as there are narrow-minded scientific men, literary
men, and legislators; but there are also business men of
large and comprehensive minds, capable of action on the
very largest scale.
As Bm'ke said, in his speech on the India Bill, he knew
statesmen who were pedlars, and merchants who acted
in the spirit of statesmen.
"Within the last few years general attention has been
directed to the unsatisfactory nature of the relations
between employer and employed, which, to use the em¬
phatic language of Lord Ormidale, amounts to a public
scandal. The alarming extent to which the disputes
between masters and workmen have extended naturally
suggest the inquiry, how far the evils resulting from
them should be met by legislative enactment ? Strikes
have occurred in almost every branch of trade, and
seldom have they continued in individual cases for such
lengthened periods.
At no time were they so likely as they are now to
82
cause the forfeiture of that remarkable pre-eminence in
the world's industry, so nobly won for us by the skill
and energy of our forefathers. Thousands of workmen
and their families must have suifered great privations, of
which we can never know the extent; while many
employers have doubtless sustained losses which it may
take years of esxertion to repair.
I do not understand much about law ; but the invete¬
rate character of these disputes seem to me to have
arisen from the want of more adequate machinery in
our judicial system, by which the questions involved can
be fairly determined. There requires a forum to decide
differences. Each blindly holds particular views upon
the subject of their contention, and in most cases have
a deaf ear to compromise. The results of their contests
prove that both have suffered.
It is like a cockfight, each combatant leaves the field
considerably worse for the encounter. Here is a country
vfhich prides itself upon the wisdom of its laws, the
extent of its manufactures, and the strong common
sense of its people, and no method has been devised by
which these ruinous disputes could have been settled,
except by strikes and lock-outs.
Our mercantñe jurisprudence readily adapts itself to
the various changes required by an increasing trade and
extending commerce. We have made remarkable pro¬
gress in social and political economy, but the other
matter seems to have been mismanaged.
83
"We have numerous Acts of Parliament, forming al¬
most a penal code, with regard to the liabilities of work¬
men, servants, and apprentices for breach of contract,
and others which to some extent relate to the obliga¬
tions of employers; but they fail to constitute, as a
whole, a comprehensive system, by which the rights and
interests of the parties can be satisfactorily determined.
In France, it is otherwise, for courts have been specially
constituted and organized, for hearing and determining
differences between workmen and their employers.
These tribunals are called the Conseils de Prude hom¬
mes, These have been adopted to meet the various
exigencies of trade and manufacture ; the members being
elected by the masters and workmen, both sides being
equally represented. They have been found to work
admirably, and there can be no reason why they should
not also do so in our own country, as it adapts all prac¬
tical ideas to its own wants and institutions. Accord¬
ingly, in the beginning of February, 1867, a bill was
introduced into the House of Peers by Lord St.
Leonards, intituled "An Act to Establish Equitable
Councils of Conciliation to adjust differences between
Masters and Workmen."
The introduction of this Bill did not attract the atten¬
tion it deserved ; this is surprising to those who think
of the all-absorbing topic of Eeform. It is confessedly
based upon the principle of Prud^ hommes in France,
and shQuld it after being proved by practical experience
84
take root as one of the institutions of this eountrj) it
will he of immense advantage to the working classes, as
well as to their employers. We should have a sincere
devotion to the exclusive treatment of industrial legisla¬
tion, as affected by the laws both of England and Scot¬
land, with the view of bringing the involved and scat¬
tered enactments embraced in it into something like a
compact and systematic form, to answer the require¬
ments of the lawyer without being too technical for the
purposes of unprofessional men. The difficulty of
traversing a field so extensive as that which it is neces¬
sary to examine, so as to avoid unnecessary details, and
at the same time to unfold what is really necessary, will
only be apparent to him who has really gone over the
numerous Acts relating to the subject. After careful
consideration, I find it best, in or<ler to obtain a clear
view of the whole course of civil and criminal industrial
legislation, to seek some stand point situate as near as
o
possible to the centre of the cycle comprehending the
legislation from the union of the two countries to the
present time. Searching for such a "coign of van¬
tage," the eye rests upon the Arbitration Act of 1824,
as being a suitable point to take a comprehensive view
of the subject.
The principle of conciliation, in reference to disputes
between employers and employed, being an innovation'
upon our ancient practice, and clearly an off-set from a
Erench stem, affords a convenient basis for prosecuting
85
aïL enquiry, rendered necessary by tbe inauguration in
onr own country of a new system, modelled upon an in¬
stitution wMcb bas long been a favourite of tbe law of
Erance."
Space and time will not allow me, or I would explain
tbe constitution of tbe Courts of Prude hommes in
Prance ; explain tbe nature, constitution, and functions
of tbe courts of justice in England ; sbow tbe state of
tbe British statutory laws ; sbow tbe progress of in¬
dustrial legislation, and notice tbe practical working
of Courts of Arbitration. Tbis mode of treatment is
comprehensive enough to include all I have a desire
■—and it may be at some future period—to write upon.
It is possible that tbe scrupulously honest man may
not grow rich so fast as tbe unscrupulous and dishonest
one ; but tbe success will be of a truer kind, earned
without fraud or injustice. And even though a man
should for a time be unsuccessful, still be must be
honest ; better lose all and save character. Eor cha¬
racter is itself a fortune ; and if the high-principled
man will but bold on bis way courageously', success will
surely come ; nor will tbe highest reward of all be with¬
held from him. "Wordsworth well describes tbe " Happy
Warrior" as be
*'Who comprehends his trust, and to the same
Keeps faithful with a sing-leness of aim \
And therefore does not stoop, nor lie in wait
For wealth or honour, or for worldly state ;
Whom they must follow, on whose head must fall,
laike showers of manna, if they come at all."
86
In referring to tlie use and ' abuse of money, I find
tbe following appropriate passages :
"Notfor to hide it in a hedge,
Nor for a train attendant,
Bat for the glorious privilege
' Of being independent."
Burns.
"Neither a borrower nor a lender be :
For loan oft loses both itself and friend ;
Aiicl borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry."
i Shakespeare.
How a man uses money, makes it, saves it, and spends
it—is, perhaps, one of tbe best tests of bis practical
wisdom.
Although money ought by no means to be regarded
as tbe chief of man's life, neither is it a trifling matter,
to be held in philosophic contempt, representing as it
does to so large an extent the means of physical com¬
fort and social well-being. Indeed, some of the finest
qualities of human nature are intimately related to the
right use of money, such as generosity and justice, prac¬
tical virtues of economy, &c.
Socrates said, " Let him that would move the world,
move first himself." Or, as the old rhyme runs:—
" If every one would see
To his own reformation,
How very easily
You might reform a nation."
In the minds of some men it is easier to reform the
Constitution in Church and State rather than to reform
the least of our own had habits ; and in such matters it
87
IS usuallj found more agreeable to our tastes, as it cer¬
tainly is tbe common practice, to begin with our neigh¬
bours rather than with ourselves. But the discipline
will be found most valuable which is acquired by resist¬
ing small present gratifications, to secure a prospective
greater and higher one. It is the noblest work in self-
education; for
Beal glory
Springs from the silent conquest of ourselves ;
And without that the conqueror is nought
But the first slave."
If we have no special object to struggle for, we find
time hang heavy on our hands ; we remain morally and
spiritually asleep, and our position in society is often no
higher than that of a polypus over which the tide
floats.
" His'only labour is to kill the time,
And labour dire it is, and weary woe,"
" Every person has two educations, one which he re¬
ceives from others, and one, more important, which he
gives to himself!"—Gtibboît.
" These two things, contradictory as they may seem,
must go together—manly dependence and manly inde¬
pendence—^manly reliance and manly self-reliance."—
"WonnswoBTH.
Self-culture includes the education and training of
the whole of a man's nature. Each must be developed,
arid yield something to satisfy the claims of society.
In the athlete or the savage you cultivate physical
a
88;
power exclusively, and you get an enthusiast or a-
maniac ; and you have a diseased oddity, and produce a
monster.
The fact is the whole three require wisely training '
together, in order that a complete man may he formed.
The possession of the mere materials of knowledge is
very different from wisdom and understanding, which
are reached through a higher kind of discipline than
that of reading."
Knowledge dwells
In heads replete with thoughts of other men;
Wisdom in minds attentive to their own,
Knowledge a rude, unprofitable mass,
The mere materials with which wisdom builds,
Till smoothed and squared, and fitted to its place.
Does hut encnmher whom it seems t' enrich."
Too much reading without deep thought produces dis¬
traction as well as culture, the process leaving no more
impression upon the mind than gazing through the
shifting forms in a kaleidoscope does upon the eye. To
read properly we require an active effort of the mind in
the transaction. Our reading as a rule simply implies
literary epicurism, or in other words an intellectual
dram-drinking, imparting excitement without the
slightest effect in improving and enriching the mind, or
building up the character of the man. Many men think
they have acquired knowledge whilst they have only
been killing time; merely keeping them from doing
worse things. In referring to what are called facilities
89
and difficulties, I will quote tlie following remarks by
Jobn Hunter :—
Is there one whom difiSculties dishearten—who bends to the
storm? He will do little. Is there one will conquer? That kind
of man never fails
Our nation is pre-eminently distinguisbed for tbe
facilities which it affords for human intercourse and the
spread of knowledge. We have travelling, telegTaphing,
printing, and postal communications which surpass every
other nation. We have machine-made paper, machine
printed books ; machine printed newspapers ; steam
ploughs ; mowing machines, for farm or lawn purposes ;
steam boilers for horticultural purposes, and many other
inventions, which are spread abroad at a marvellously
low price, and we can congratulate ourselves upon the
marvellous "progress of the age." The printed matter
9
in circulation must have a tendency to produce wiser and
better men, actuated by higher and more benevolent
principles of action than existed in times comparatively
dark—I mean the times of Shakespeare, Milton, Bacon,
and Jeremy Taylor. These days are different; we have
facilities for acquiring knowledge without that effort
required formerly, and it may have a tendency rather to¬
wards superficialism than depth or vigour of thinking ;
for while readers are tempted by the multitude of books
to skim many subjects, they may become so distracted by
the variety as to be induced to bottom none of them
thoroughly.
90
Necessity may be a bard scboolmistress, but sbe is
generally found tbe best. Tbougb tbe ordeal of adver¬
sity is one from wbicb we naturally sbrink, yet, wben it
comes, we must bravely and manfully encounter it.
Burns truly says.
Though losses and crosses
Be lessons right severe,
There's wit there, you'll get there.
You'll find no other where."
In my remarks, I deem it necessary to speak of ex¬
ample and models.
" Ever their phantoms rise before us,
Our loftier brothers, but one in blood ;
By bed and table they lord it o'er us,
With looks of beauty and words of good."
♦Tohn Steeling.
There is no action of man in this life wbicb is not
tbe beginning of so long a cbain of consequences as
tbat no buman providence is bigb enough to give us a
prospect to tbe end.
Thomas, of Malmesbury, tbe potent instructor, called
example a teacher without a tongue. It is tbe practical
school of mankind, working by action, wbicb is more
forcible than words. Precept is very good, but silent
continuous example is tbe thing wbicb cherries us along.
Grood advice must have tbe accompaniment of a good
example, and it will be found tbat tbe common saying of
' Do as I say, not as I do," is usually reversed in tbe
actual experiences of life.
In my own exertions I have endeavoured to exercise
91
an elevating influence and a power for good. "We
have model and example set before us, to make ourselves
the most suitable for all the necessities of life ; examples
which we can only follow afar off and feel after,-—
" Like plants or vines which never saw the sun ;
But dream of him and guess where he may be,
And do their best to climb and get to him."
We often hear people say, you are no gentleman—in
this case, I deem it necessary to speak of character, it
being also necessary to know a true gentleman when
we meet him.
For who can always act? but he,
To whom a thousand memories call,
Not being less but more than ail
The gentleness he seemed to be,
But seemed the thing he was, and join'd
Each oiSce of the social board
In noble manners, as the flower
And native growth of noble mind ;
And thus he bore without abuse
The gl and old name of gentleman."
Tennyson.
"Everything in Asia—public safety, national honour,
personal reputation—rests upon the force of individual
character. The officer who forgets that he is a gentle¬
man, does more harm to the moral influence of this
country than ten men of blameless life can do good."—-
Lord Stanley.
In that, we may conclude that character is a crown
of glory, it being the noblest possession of man, dig-
92
eveiy station, and exalting every position in
society. I have often been in company with talented
people, and people of genius, who exercised a greater
J) o wer than wealth, but who never secured honour with¬
out the jealousies of fame.
The true gentleman's influence always tells, for he
carries Avith him honour, rectitude, and consistency-
qualities which command the general confidence and
respect of mankind.
"Tlie youth," says Mr. Disraeli, AA^ho does not look
up will look down ; and the spirit that does not soar is
destined, perhaps, to groA^el."
George Herbert Avisely AATites—
" PiU'ljL thy behaviour low, thy projects high,
So «hall thon humble aud magiuinimona be,
Sink not in spirit ; who aimeth at the «=ky
Shoots higher much than he that means a tree."
The tyrant, it lias been said, is but a slave turned in¬
side out. Strength, and the consciousness of strength,
in a right-hearted man, imparts a nobleness to bis char¬
acter; but he will be most careful Iioav be uses it; for
" It is excellent
To have a giant's strength ; but it is tyrannous
To use it like a giant."
IVe are required to be chaste in our life, just in our
dealings, merciful to those that are under ns, and hate
nothing so much as idleness; Ave should not rely upon
other men's care, hoAvever trusty or skilful, they may
seem to he, hut be men of every turn, where courage,
skill, or industry, is to be employed.
93
' Eör a country so essentially ruled, as ours is, by laws
framed by representatives of tbe people, it is amazing
•how long it takes before obvious truths become generally
manifest ; and even when they do, it is equally matter
of surprise to observe how much wrangling and fighting
requires to be gone through before they can be turned
to practical account. Tears of systematic agitation by
means of the platform and the press, by the aid,
perhaps, of the banqueting hall and tue ball-room, by
speeches and toasts, by Hip ! hip ! hurrah ! and one
cheer more," and the Eritish public become slowly alive
to the fact that something involving a principle very like
•"^he one which proves that two and two makes four, has
been stoutly fought, and—all but won. The public
delight to witness the monster shows held under the
auspices of associations, now in one locality and now in
another, to exhibit the newest phase of the occult
truths to be evolved by the adoption of the decimal
system, or by improved dwelling's for the working
classes, just as it delights to patronize Mr. Wombwell
and his caravans, with the newest things in sea serpents
and gorillas. The public walk in, and, in the language
of the showman, having paid their money, they have
their choice. Eut while one set of agitators arm and
equip for the special purpose of promulgating these
great and marvellous truths, another set array them¬
selves to resist them to the death. The nation, inert
and sluggish as some huge and unwieldy animal, is buifed
9á
mà kicked on one side by way of rousing it into con¬
sciousness of tbe vast importance of tbe new discoveries
in social, legal, or political science, while it is as
vigorously kicked and buffed on the other, upon a prin¬
ciple of counter irritation, intended to destroy the effect
sought to be produced by the opposing faction. This
process goes on perhaps for years before the aforesaid
animal becomes sensible of any inconvenience in its
normal condition, or is in the slightest degree mo^'ed by,
the recalcritant operations upon its mighty flanks, until
what could not be accomplished by the gravity of the
situation, backed by incessant thumping upon the hide,
is perhaps suddenly brought about by the tickling of a
nostril, or a whirring in the ear, by an audacious fly.
Behemoth gives a few preliminary snorts, indicative that
he is dimly conscious of something to his advantage.
The "party of progress," as it delights to be called, take
advantage of the long expected change ; while their
opponents, by an involuntary whisk of the animal's tail,
are temporarily swept aside, and—the nation ha\ ing
slightly altered its position, dozes off into a profounder
sleep.
Sometimes, however, but rarely, this state of matters
is reversed, and it is the nition that rouses its represen¬
tatives. This has been the case to a limited extent in
the matter of courts or boards of conciliation for settling
differences between masters and workmen. While our
legislators were talking about it, either afraid to trust
95
the people with the organization and management of
courts of their own, or considering the propriety of
appointing a commissioner to examine into the working
of the system in Erance, the manufacturers and work¬
men of Kottingham liad the wit to see that it was not
necessary to go to Erance to inquire into the working
of a principle which recommended itself by its sim¬
plicity to the common sense of mankind. They, there-
Tore, about some seven or eight years ago, formed a court
Or board of conciliation for themselves, instead of
waiting indefinitely for the slow progress of doubtful
legislation.
The frame knitters' condition is thus summed up by
Mr. J, "Ward, to whose book upon "Workmen and
Wages " I must here acknowledge my obligations :—•
"He agrees, " says he, " to hire a frame for a week ;
the master agrees to find him full employment, but he
only employs him for a portion of the week on certain
days and within certain hours, and refuses to permit the
workman to work in a hired frame except upon his
material. A workman, for instance, goes on the Mon¬
day morning to work, and .receives as much materiaEas
will last him perhaps six hours ; he again goes to the
master for more' to go on with.' The master says,
' Well, you must come again in the morning 5 I've not
got any stuff.' The man replies, 'Well, I can get a
little work from my neighbour, if you have no objec¬
tion to my working in his frame, master.' The master
96
rejoins, 'But T have, thoiigli, and will not allow it.'
This may he the case every day in the week, and at the
end the man may only have been employed half the
week, and consequently have only earned half the wages
he would have done had he either been fully employed
bv the master or allowed to obtain Avork elsewhere.
These facts must speak for themselves."
Whoever considers the Embezzlement Act of 1777,
passed in the very year of futile parliamentary
struggles of the workmen, in the light of preceding
facts, and more especially the successful opposition of
the masters to the bill, truly characterized by Lord
Carrington as " moistened and saturated by the tears of
the poor distressed families," can be at no loss to ac¬
count for the disgraceful and tyrannical penalties of
hard labour and whipping numbered among its multi¬
farious provisions. With regard to the petty ofteiices
to which these punishments were awarded, they may be
considered as almost directly attributable to the sys¬
tematic grinding of helpless workmen by hard and
griping masters, whose influence seems to have swamped
the House of Commons of those degenerate days,
which legislated eflectually for the "pirns, bobbins, and
remnants" of the masters, but left the poor workers no
alternative but to starve or steal ; yet it was only last
year that this act, which is still a blot upon the British
statute book, has been modified in a very faint and half
and half manner by the "Master and Servant Act,
97
1867," wMcli, imperfect as it is, and as, if fearful tliat it
liad gone too far, its promoters liave provided siiall only
endure for a year.
Throughout the present century, down to the year
1860, strikes and lock-outs were frequent in Notting¬
ham and other neighbouring towns, and in years of
brisk demand the trade was constantly subjected to loss
and embarrassment consequent thereon. Trades'-unions
existed in every branch from about 1780.
It is not to be supposed that the workmen of Not¬
tingham were worse than those of other places, or less
intelligent or independent, or that the frightful state of
matters which at one time existed was the fault of the
operatives. On the contrary, one who knows them
well, and to whom we are indebted for important infor¬
mation on the subject, Mr. Mundella, who was himself
a workman, but who by his talent and energy has raised
himself to be an employer, and is now president of the
Board of Conciliation and Arbitration in Nottingham,
bears forcible testimony the other way. According to
this gentleman, they inherited a legacy of traditional
hatred of employers from their fathers and grandfathers.
Strikes were a sort of daily bread with them, and he
honestly admits that the fault lay as much with the
masters as with the men. The strike of I860, which
took place immediately before the formation of the
Court of Conciliation, occurred shortly after the orders
for the American fall trade were taken in, and when the
98
time appointed for tlie delivery of tlie goods came, none
had been manufactured. After it had continued some
eight or ten weeks, the masters assembled together to
consider what steps should be taken to bring it to
an end. There seemed to be a general feeling that there
were just two courses open-—one was to submit to the
demands of the workmen, the other to stop all the other
brandies of the manufacture, and to lock up all the fac¬
tories. Happily, there were some present at that meeting
who, wearied with the constant strife, suggested that
conciliatory means should be tried. After considerable
discussion a handbill was issued; asking the workmen to
meet the masters and endeavour to come to a settle¬
ment. The workmen accepted this invitation, long dis¬
cussions followed, and the strike was settled by mutual
concessions, upon the express condition " that a board
of arbitration shall be formed to prevent such calami¬
tous disputes in future."
Mr. Mundella, who took the most active part in ac¬
complishing the scheme, says emphatically—" I do not
say that the rules by which we are governed are ia them¬
selves models of unerring sagacity, but I do say, for the
encouragement of all those who desire to achieve the
like happy results, that from my own past experience,
whenever men meet together with the honest desire to
arrive at the truth, and to do justice to each other, a
good understanding is almost sure to follow." I have
no doubt that he is right in his opinion. At all events,
99
the sooner masters and workmen pnt it to the test the
better.
^The hatchet of war/ as Mr. Mundella well ex¬
presses it, ^ has been buried, and if it were dug up again
to-morrow it would be found to be rusted and blunt, and
■^he arms that formerly wielded it would be unaccus¬
tomed and unwilling to do so again.'"-—Macdonald on
Conciliation and Arbitration Courts,
The statutory law, with regard to master and servant,
has been allowed, for more than a quarter of a century,
to grow up, without any attempt having been made to
give it system or method.
Dealing with matters of imperial application, and
national importance, it is doubtful whether some of the
acts passed are intended to apply to the whole of the
United Kingdom, or only a part of it. "With regard to
others, it takes all the knowledge and acumen of West-
minsterllall, the Parliament House, and the four Courts to
\
determine how far, if at all, some statutes, or portions of
them, have been repealed or superseded, and what effect,
if any, should be given to provisions liable more or less
to the common reproach of being a mere cento of imma¬
ture legislation. The acts which have been passed with
regard to the relations between employers and em¬
ployed, from their mixed, and, in many instances, con¬
fused character, furnish very indifferent materials, for a
systematic treatment of the working-classes generally.
The great defect of our legislation consists in the readi-
100
ness witL. wMcli, on all occasions,-we have recourse to
make-shift remedies—in dealing even with radical evils—
a mode of proceeding which springs naturally from a
state of things in which no change, however desirable,
can be accomplished, without incessant, and clamourous
demands, frequently, perhaps peremptorily, preferred ;
but always reluctantly conceded; leading, in many cases,
to results similar to fchat which we might suppose to be
obtained from the action of some complex machine,
worked by two opposite forces. For it would be the
province of a certain class of operators to move in one
particular direction, while a second set, by a series of
ingeniously-devised grooves, contrived that every point
as it presented itself should be morfcined and tenoned
in another; so that when at last, after having been
planed, squared, and put together, the article comes
from the hands of its manipulators, it is discovered, in
too many instances, to be the embodiment of almost
everything but what each of them expected, and they
are astonished to find that their efforts have merely re¬
sulted in the creation of an image of " iron, clay, and
brass," similar to that spoken of by the Prophet Daniel,
liable to be broken to pieces, and to become "like the
chaff of the summer thrashing-floors."—Theoretically, it
is no doubt a very excellent thing "this double impelling
and repelling action ; this so called building up of the
new, while you are pulling down the old; dove-tailing the
ancient into the modern parts'of the structure ; pruning
101
tlie brandies, instead of lapping tiiern off or digging up
the tree itself bj the roots. Festina lente may be
safe policy, and sure in the end ; but there can be little
doubt that this system has landed us in a mass of hetero¬
geneous laws, to codify and systematize which, would
almost require another Justinian to ñnd us a second
Tribonian, Theophilus, and tlie rest. The schools of
Berytus and Constantinople would have ample employ¬
ment and kindred work in expurgating, arranging, and
codifying the multifarious enactments, and antiquated
customs which go to form laws of the British empire.
102
In tlie Press, and will shortly be published, a companion
work to the present one, entitled
"THE FALLACIES OE HOESE-EACINa
AISTD BETTIlSra,"
by cotocilloê willottuhbt ueeen,
in which will be proved the folly of the working-classes,,
especially, risking their hard-earned wages in the sport¬
ing circle.
Wm. Askey, Steam Peinteb, 12, Swinegate, Leeds.