New-York tribune., 1906-04-16
TRADE UNION LAW
Made By English Judges, InpoE
dated by a Liberal Governmsnt

London, March Z,
Judse-made law cannot be unmade -,
evasion and compromise. Trade unionlyr,
eeived it's charter not from the courts ~. =
Parliament. As disturbing force betvs., .0r
pIoyers and employed it had no legal sta.,. N
til 1871. when the unions were empowa-.,
appoint agents to hold property and - 80 80
systematic activities In defence OF orra,,,.s-t
Dor. BY legislation the unions- wer. Ia-.a
and their criminal liabilities were Ur,,..s ~ ~
their responsibilities under the civil 1.,r w
not defined For thirty years they vs-. 'a
posed to be outside the common law ,~s p
combinations Of wOrkmen to be eutirsI,, - =
from legal liabilities for the conduct a. ny
agents Tho courts could not tolerate a. ~sf
that corpora tiOns or associations formed -
ganized conflict with capital as wsu -
benevolent work for the mutual beneet 40
bers have been armed with irresponsible -
They took UP the controversy at the min,
Parliament had left II unsettled-ths nahr,.,'
of the unions under the civil Iaw-ana -
Taft Vale decision enabled employers "a 60
damages from them for the acts OF au,bo-s.
or unauthorized officials. Iuwas judxe-nad.l--
grounded not upon the trade union cb,-.-
but upon the common law Of connbira.to.
agents. and u rendered strikes inpracticabl..~s
restricted the activities OF the unions IA -.
able negotiation and benevolent work F,..,
last five years the reversal of the Tar u.
Judgment and the restoration OF the n-s-,.--
status OF absolute-immunity from legal u,sn
ties have been the supreme objects az t,,s.
union agitation.
The trade unionists in the last general .,
tiOns deserted Tory Democracy because ro,,,..
had been done to countsract the ersc. a, =,
Taft Vale decision The Liberal governmsnt A,
tanned it's immense majority because n wa.rr
der pledge to take up the question OF the s,vs
liabilities of organized labor but with pror,,n.r.
lawyers like the Lord Chancellor, Mr. Asouss
and Mr.. Haldane 10 consider the drsfr =,
trade union dispute bill ar Cabinet rnssti,,,
and with scores Of large employers on the I'm.
eral side OF the Commons. il has not baan a,,r
to prepare a formula Of non-IabIlity for act,o,
committees or agents There were two ohy.n,
methods OF procedure. One was the radical :,
luton Of exempting trade unions from the ard.
nary operation Of the laws OF combination ,-s
agency and from financial liability for the srt,
Of members. The other was the expedisns a.
limiting their responsibility 70 acts OF duly an
thorized agents. and to that extent adautns
them to judge-made law The former was tbs
only settlement which would satisfy the Lsbe-
party; the latter was the only compromise whha
the House of Lords would be likely 10 accent
The government instead Of ending in compro-
mise has begun with it, and at the same timsh
has left the door open for a reverson to the
stronger policy at the pleasure Of the Con-
mons: and thereby 1t has committed itssl,
in advance to the half measure which mar
be sent back by the Lords Probably II
the end the Taft Vale Judgment will b
partially instead Of fully reversed. and the
Liberal government will be held responsible for
the Lords amendments. IL would have been BET
ter politics If the Lords had been left TO do thar
work without coaching from Downing Street
The government measure as explained by ths
Attorney General exempts trade unieas from
the ordinary operation OF the law Of conspiracy
or combination. This is done logically by the
extension Of the original principle Of the act e
1871 from criminal 10 civil liabilities. Whg
would be lawful for an individual is pronounced
equally lawful for a combination. For example
when strike has been declared the employer
attempts in seIf-defence 70 hire substitutes for
the men who have ceased 10 work for him. and
the strikers in order to carry their point aEs
bent upon calling of the fresh relays Of vOrk-
men. The Attorney Generals bill sets up ths
standard Of the individual act 1t would be law
full for one discharged workman 70 stand out
side the factory; and consequently II will De
equally legal for a hundred or a thousand men
. be massed around the works II would b
lawful for one striker TO approach substitute
and to persuade him peaceably that he ought
70 give UP his job; and it will be equally legal
for hundred or a thousand men acting IN con-
bination TO bring their collective infuenes to
bear upon the whole body OF new workers
The Attorney Generals measure Will restore
as statutory rights combination and pieketnE
which. under the Tan Vale decision. have been
condemned as infringements upon the employ
er's liberty Of action and consequently valid
cause for suits for damages levied against Ihs
trade union funds. 1t also modihes the law o'
agency so that the unions will not he fnancsE
responsible for illegal acts which have not oeea
explicitly authorized by their own officers
does not put the unions outside the common sN
by exenpting their funds from action for Dam
ages; but by drawing a close distinction De-
tween authorized and unauthorized agents
enables them TO evade responsibility by htls
dexterity. Mr.. Shackletor, who followed 'hs
Attorney General in the opening debate. ae-
clared that under the proposed bill the OFFICIALS
could easily do everything for which the unioas
were held liable under the TaT Vale deels''A
and that all the legal consequences eouia
avoided by executive reputation OF any "S
which employers might complain
The government certainly goes iohS
when it legalizes combination and Pickeths -
releases unions from responsibility foi 'H0 .
of non-aecredited agents. but 1t stops sio..
restoring the previous state OF immunity 80 -,
civil suits for damages and the LABOR hs'ass .s,s
will not be content with any other result -,
contend that liabilities were not coh'si'p.
when the trade unions obtained theif -
thirty years ago. and that. as the IA" -
have invented them. the Taft Vale decis'O" -
be annulled IN principle as well as IN p'ses
Their own measure. which was deos'eu
day sympathetically by many Liberals anu