Combination Laws.
The Times, 1824-06-05T00:00:00

(Fromn the Mechank;c' Magazine.1 The following are sole.essential^portions of the evidence whicli has been adduced before the Committee of tle House of Oommons -appoinled toin4isjre into the stite-of the Combination Laws,- and their effects. ' AIr. Maltineau, whose testimony strikes us as altogether remark- able for the combination of philosophicalintelligence and gentleman- ly proprietv which distinguish it, examined- " Do you not think that there should be some sinmmary way of enforcing the fulfilment of a contra-t ?-No good workman iE a ma- nufactory properly conducted would be inclined to leave'his work un- finished;and as a manufacturer, 1 should sav, that if 1 had men of dlifferent description, the sooner they were gone the better." MIr. Place, f-rom w/hose evidence (though that of a friend to the cause) we anticpate bat little good to the cause of the workmenn, examined_.. "Have you had much experience with respect to clubs, and com- bination of workmen and their employers ?-Yes, I was for some years a journeymaiti mvself, and got sadly punished by the masters combiining not to cmpfoy me; this was for having interfered in a combination of the men, with which I had nothing to do, until forced by the masters to Join it. I afterwards formed several clubs, for the purpose of compelling the masters to' give an ad- vance of wages. I thought then, and still think, it was propcr. Wages were very low in some trades, and the workmen had no otber mReans whatever to procure .an iherease. These colabinations of the men were all of them ultimately successful. " WVere the combinations to which you allude the consequence of any supposed understanding or combination among the masters to keep down the wages, or did they begin witlh the men ?_Theybegan witn the men. Whbat was the foundation of tbem ?_The desire to increase tbeir Wages. I give, as an instance, the leather.breecbes-makers, the trade to wlichlI had been bred. NLo man could in tbat trade, in the regular way, earn more than l4Y. per week on an aveage; other journeymen, in trades not requirin trore time to become expert, could earn about a guinea a week. Under my direction, therefore, a sOCiety was formed, and within two years trom its commencement the masters were obliged to giveanadvancenf wagestoavoida strike. "WVhat opinion have you formed of theeffects of tie present cam. bination laws, so far as they prohibit combinations of workmen, to raise their wages, or regulate theirhours of working ?-I think thoEe laws produce'no good eftects whatever; they appear to me to be wholly pernicious. They are a bond of union to the men. 1 know, practically, that the mnen have been kept together by them, when no combination would otherwise have existed. "Is there not a combination among thejourneynmen tailors ?-The journeymen tailors have a perfect and perpetual combination among them. - I have known only of two combinptions among the masters; orne was to resist the men, the other was to obtain an act of Parlia- ment; the first failed, and the last was not persevered in. " lVhat was the cause of the journeytmen tailors' combination, and what is the system they now pursue ?-The svstem is all buta tilitarysystem. The orders come from their executive, and are al- ways obeyed. There are upwards of 28 regular, or flint houses of caU in London ; each house has a delegate, and they elect five other delegates, who are technically caled thbe Town. In many cases, the power of these five men is almost unlimited over the trade, and obedience follows as matterof coarse. The whole bodv never, in Any instunce, discuss thie propriety of a strike, as that would subject them to prosecution tinder the combination laws. Unlimited confi. dence is, therefore, given to the five; and this it is which constitutes their power. " Do the men generallv know who are the regulators ?-No. It is whispered among them 'that there is to be a strike, but they never discuss the subject; they strike when bid. " By whom is the rate of wages fixed ?-By the men, The Town, as it is caUcd, announce the sum, to which the men conform. cWill you explain why the masters never sutfer: suppAse the Town should say, that it is necessary to have 7s. for a day's work instead of 6s. ?-They have never struck fot wages but when circum. stances have justified them. They have rnever demanded an unrea. sonable sum, as conipared vith the actual value of the sum they formerly received.t " Do all journeymen tailors receive the same wages per day, wbe. tiet they are good or bad, workmen 9-There are several ways of settling wages among tailors. They are divided into two classes, called flints and dungs. The flints ail work by the day, and all re- ceive the same wages; the dungs work by the day or the piece, but generally by the piece. No inconvenience to the master arises from any of their arrangemenLt; they all get a day's work for a day's pay. "Are the dungs promoted to be flints ?-Some dungs becomne flints. Day-work, in oar business, may be called piece-work-, with this limitation_that a man will only do a certain quantity in a day. We have books ruled in columns, in which are inserted the name of the workman, the name of the garment, the name of the person it is intended for, and the time the man is erployed upon it. Thus a complete check upon the men is established, an4 every one of them must do his stated quantityv. " What proportion is there of ilangs to flints ?-I think abont one in four. " Have you ever known a master prosecuted by the men for com- bination ?-No; I believe it would be nearly impossible to prose. cute a master to conviction. To prosecute at all, money must be raised; to raise money, there must be a combination amiong the men, and then they may be prosecuted by the masters tf, as the law now stands, the men were to prosecute the masters, there woultl be a crosS pTosecution. The combination law compels the men to give evidence againct one another, and thus the prosecution may almost always be efFectual. No lavw compels the masters to give evidence against one another; thus it is almost impossible ever to convict a master. " Are the committee to understand that no combination of mas. ters car, be prosecuted unless the men combine for that purpose, an, that this combination of the men to defend themselves is imniediately prosecuted, and that this prevents the masters being convicted ?- Y'es;thc men can never prosecute the masters without a fund ; a fend can only be raised by combination; for this they may be prose. cuted: but suppose there should be no cross prosecution, still, as the masters cannot be sompelled to give evidence against one another, as the men are compelled to do, a conviction is all bat impossible. " You think, theretbre, that the combiation laws press on the men, and not upon the masters ?-They are unequal and unjust. " }ave notthejourneymenin onetrsde assisted the journeYman in another trade with money to support them during a strike ?-Yes - I have no doubt that the tailors have given away riore money to others in this way than anv other trade; they arealagebody of men, and caii easily raise a large sum by a smnU contribution from each; they have, as I have been informed, given a hundred or two hundred pounds at a time in this way the cause of this is wholy ascribable to the Combination Laws. h Is not money always subscribed to sunport a strike, and would that be the case it the law were repealed ?_It has always been the case; it woald no longer be necessary if the law were repealed; if the meus could legally combine, disputes would seldom occur, but when they did, they would be settled by compromise between the parties.+ Workmen dread a strike; I know well, trom experience, that a strike is always a matter of serious consideration, and never can be effected urless it be actually necessary : except among the tailors, whose executive enjoys the fullest confidence of the men, of wh1ich it is really w orthy, a strike is a most difficultthing to accom. plish, Alany interests and many tempers mu:st becensu:lted,soothed, and compromised; and so greneral must be the sense of its necessity, that irmoney must he voluntarily subscribed for a considerable time before the attempt can bc made. The influence of the women in the case of a strike is of miuch imortance: they never consent but in extreme cases they suffer by far the most in a protracted strike; and those who can sunpose that their apprehensions and persuasion have but a SmaU influence on the men, know nothing of the prin- ciples of mankind, and nothing from experience." X We advocate unreservedly the abolition of the combinatIon laws, but not, certainly, in order that combination nmay be produced. 'We hav-e no corner in otur toleration for tue idea th't 1'1 if the eon could legaily combine." There mlay be such a thinl-as a legal comibination, as that whicit is now open to the masters proves. buit we hold that. wvere all Interests on an equal footing. ia point of legal protection, ali combination on either side must be as unfair as lnjurlous. The pic- ture which Mlr. Place-gives of the existing combination among the ioturneymen tailors of London, and on which be seems to dwell with pride and satisfaction, presents to oir naiids only matter for com. miserstfon and sorrowy. That so "large a body of me," should be linked in " a perfect and perpetual combination," under "all but a mnilitarrsystem of government:" that they should have "alwiys vbeyed," and be altvays prepared to obey, the nrders of an executive of dve, wtitout once taking-the matter into their own "serious eon- sideratmon." i5 Siit, deplorable. Depend upon it, Mechsnles, should you now foj' in your eudeav,eurs to o~tan the abolitionrof thetruly ol- noxons combination laws, It will be these military tailorswbo have unc,fe vou_,kd it.- iTo suppose that they never will do so, however, s to suppose ht- rnan nature is infallible, and the pastgoodeonduct of the fraternity ean therefore beno reason for not providing,as far aslaW can provide that this and every other colnbination shail henceforth cease. A combination to obtain a certain price for labour is buts species of Intimidation, and that is always provided against by common law.- Edit. 41?This is not evlidence. but prophecy, and as Is ordinarily the case with prophecy, every thing is required to be taken ,-upon trust. - We should like to know on which of " the principles of mankind" the witness founds his forwvard conviction tbat "if the men could legally combine," they would always" compromise" matters with their em- ployers. Does be mea to say that absolute paverecan be a safe thing only in thehanids of journeymen mechaniis? And to what else than absolute Powver does all com-.biniation tend? The vorkmen may rest assured that till combination on both sides is utterly done away with. the respective rights and Interests of both parties will never be placed on their limper footing. Let things take their natural course, let every artxf5cial eftrt to exalt or depress bc abandoned, nnd labour, like any other commodity, wvilt be as sure to obtain its real value In the market as water,when left toitself, is sure to settle at Its natural COiMlBINATION LAW.