The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1876-07-29

of the labourers, and their meager powers
Of combination at the dawn of the nine
teenth century. Everywhere the combiha-
ton laws were in full force /; the truck sys-
TEN was almost universally established and
still further to make the workmen de-
pendent, he was paid at long intervals !;
and any advances kindly made to hin by
generous employer was charged for at the
rate Of 260 per cent per annum. Add to
these the fact that the men we're kept to
work sixteen hours out of the twenty-four,
and it will be no matter of surprise that
they were driven to defy the cruel and un-
just laws which oppressed them, and to
carry out their object not only in the most
natural Of ways, but by the means with
which they were most familiar namely, by
combination.
The progress Of industry at last rendered
this imperative. The application of steam
power to the processes of manufacture,
followed by the inventions of Arkwright,
Crompton, Hargreaves, and others, almost
annihilated the domestic system of manu-
featuring. Hitherto weaving had been
carried on in private houses and in sheds
al Joining them, as is still the case IN some
parts Of Yorkshire, as, for instances, the
villages about Huddersfeld and Leeds.
Apprentices lived with their masters as
part of the family. 1t was a common oc-
currence for the apprentice to marry his
masters daughter, and enter into partner
ship with her father. With the improve
ment of machinery, however, when several
looms were worked by one engine, the
domestic system was supplanted by the
factory system. The rapid production Of
new machines ruined the trade of the hand
loom weaver There can be no doubt that
the introduction of machinery was at frst
extremely injurious to those whose means
of living were effected, as, indeed, every
improvement III machinery must injure
those who are only able to keep in the old
groove. BY the invention Of machinery
the public who paid less for their goods,
and the manufacturers who produced IN ore
cloth for the same or less outlay, were the
gamers. The old weavers were the only
losers.
Ii was customary at this time for men
from various factories to meet at taverns
e. pay their instalnents into the friendly
society, the benefit or burial club. At
such gatherings the new state Of affairs s-
as being the subject nearest every work
mans heart naturally became the com
mon topic Of conversation. Every phase
If the question was thoroughly discussed,
and the conduct Of several employers was
freely criticised. They would naturally
inquire why the hardest work and the
least pay generally went together. They
would see that everything around them
was emproving except their condition,
which would appear to be deteriorating.
At length some few who worked under a
specially severe taskmaster would rebel.
They would agree to combine to resist the
injustice and oppression under which they
suffered. Their friends would not only
sympathise with them, but knowing not
how soon they might be placed in a similar
position, would help them in their fight I;
and thus. what was at irst merely chat
over glass Of beer, soon became a-Trades
Union. Men" says Mr. w. T. Thornton,
are seldom collected together i'll large
masses without speedily discovering that
union is strength, and men whose daily
avocation obliged them to be constantly
using, and by use Of constantly sharpening
their wits, we're not likely to be backward
in makins this discovery.
The origin of the Trades Unions accounts
for great many Of their peculiar features.
As combining was illegal. the unions dis
guised themselves as friendly societies.
In framing the rules the founders naturally
looked at such models as they were already
possessed Of and, as wiser men have done,
thew selected much that was bad as well
as much that was good. 1t is a remarkable
fact that those rules at present in existence
4 nf
fence to employers, are all actual copies of
the rules Of the ancient guilds, or repro
ductions of the provisions of ancient stat
utes The working men invented no alb
surdities 1t cannot be to often borne III
mind that Trades Unions are as much .
natural development as is the British Con
stitution ITSELF and it Is foolish to expect
perfection in the one as finality in the
amendments already effected in the order
The history Of the world teaches us that
so universal is fraility that it is not until
every variety Of error has been passed
through and exhausted that things at last
settle into the right course.
The working men, therefore, cannot be
blamed for not discovering that some Of
the rules they adopted were hardly con
ion, and it is greatly to their credit that
experience has taught them better. The
foolish rules are never introduced into
new societies, and they are becoming grad
ually expunged from the rules Of the old
ones. This must necessarily be work Of
time, because several Of the old rules have
at first sight and appearance Of justice,
and do certainly contain within themselves
much that would naturally commend itself
to the workmen. Take for instance, the
rule limiting the number Of apprentices.
This rule is nor only characteristic of al
most all the guilds and Of some Of the
statutes, but it is one which would especi-
ally commend itself before the introduc-
ton Of machinery. In the first place,
there was and is the desire to limit the
number of competitors as much as possible.
With a market sufficiently well stocked
with worknen, each new arrival would be
regarded with great jealousy. Nor is there
anything wrong in the notion of restricting
the supply of labourers. The point where
evil may creep in is found in the means
taken to bring about such restrictions. A
great authority like Mr. j. S. Mill urged
upon the wOIkmen the necessity of restrict
ing their numbers as a means of increas-
ing their wages. The plan he recommended
was the prudential check" of Nautilus.
What, however, seems easy and roseate to
the philosopher often appears difficult, if
not impracticable, to the ordinary mortal !;
and the last generation of British workmen
took such steps as instantly occurred TO
them, or which was suggested to them, and
the results of which were actually before
their eyes. Each man would say to him
self, 1.-The less number Of workers in my
trade the better it Is for me-" 1t requires
high state of developmentto perceive the
various and intricate ways in which the
laws Of production and distribution work
so as to bring about the greatest happiness
to the greatest number. another point
which would naturally occur to the work
man wo aid be that he taught the appren-
tice and rece we'd no remuneration. ALI