Charles Turner Thackrah on the Health of Factory Workers, 1832 s2

Benjamin Wilson on Chartism in Halifax, 1839-1853

(Benjamin Wilson, The Struggles of an Old Chartist, (Halifax, 1887), pp. 3, 13-14, 22- 23; in J. F. C. Harrison, ed., Society and Politics in England, 1780-1960, New York: Harper & Row, 1965, pp. 167-70.)

JOSEPH WILSON, my uncle, was a small piece-maker in the village and it was about this time that I went to help him in the warehouse, and wind bobbins. My aunt was a famous politician, a Chartist, and a great admirer of Fergus O'Connor. It was whilst there that I first became acquainted with the Chartist movement. The delegates to the convention broke up at Whitsuntide, and forthwith addressed meetings throughout the country. On Whit-Monday, 1839, a great meeting was held at Peep Green, which I attended along with Samuel Jackson, a neighbour; we joined the procession in Halifax, which was a very large one headed by a band of music, and marched by Godley Lane and Hipperholme, at which place the Queensbury procession joined us; on reaching the top of the bill above Bailiffe Bridge we met the Bradford procession, headed by Peter Bussey, on horseback, and wearing a green sash. On our arrival at the place of meeting some thousands of people had already assembled, and for almost an hour we witnessed the continuous arrival of processions from different directions, with bands playing and flags and banners flying, a great many of them far superior to any that I have seen in our late demonstrations. At the commencement of the meeting I had never seen anything to compare with it in numbers, and scarcely ever since have I seen anything to equal it. The proceedings opened with prayer by Mr. William Thornton, at the close of which Fergus O'Connor put his hand on his shoulder and said "Well done, Thornton, when we get the People's Charter I will see that you are made the Archbishop of York." Thornton I knew well for he lived at Skircoat Green; -he was a fine speaker; I had beard him lecture in the Wesleyan School in the village. He was very popular in the Chartist movement, but very soon after went to America in order, it was said, to avoid imprisonment. This was my first meeting in the Chartist movement. Fergus O'Connor's paper 'The Northern Star," was the recognised organ of the Chartist movement, and was doing great service on its behalf; it had a large circulation in Halifax and neighbourhood, and its total issue was reputed to be 60,000 per week. . . . [In 1848] A great many people in these districts were arming themselves with guns or pikes, and drilling on the moors. Bill Cockroft, one of the leaders of the physical force party in Halifax, wished me to join the movement, I consented, and purchased a gun, although I knew it to be a serious thing for a chartist to have a gun or pike in his possession. I had had several years practice in shooting, as the farmer for whom I worked supplied me with gun, powder, and shot for the purpose of shooting birds in summer. I -saw Cockroft who gave me instructions how to proceed until, wanted, which did not occur as the scheme was abandoned. It might now be said we were fools, but I answer young people now have no idea of what we had to endure. Tom Brown's Schooldays would have had no charm for me, as I bad never been to a day school in my life; when very young I had to begin working, and was pulled out of bed between 4 and. 5 o'clock in the morning in summer time to go with a donkey 1 1/2 miles away, and then take part in milking a number of cows; and in the evening bad again to go with milk and it would be 8 o'clock before I bad done. I went to a card shop afterwards and there had to set 1500 card teeth for a 1/2 d. From 1842 to 1848 1 should not average 9/- per week wages; outdoor labour was bad to get then and wages were very low. I have been a woollen weaver, a comber, a navvy on the railway, and a barer in the delph that I claim to know some little of the state of the working classes. I well remember only a few years ago having some talk with a friend who told me he was moulding bullets in the cellar in 1848; he bad a wife and five children dependent upon him, but was unable to get work, trade being so bad. Since then, however, under the blessings of free trade and by dint of perseverance he has succeeded in saving a considerable sum, and is now living retired from business. Many a time in winter have I known what it was to be short of the commonest of food, and thousands in this parish were in the same condition. A great many tales of sorrow could be told, but enough has been said to shew that those were times to make men desperate, for life then was not so valuable as now. Many persons were arrested and imprisoned, and several had narrow escapes of being caught with arms in their possession, whilst many who had arms were getting rid of them as fast as possible. The Chartists were called ugly names, the swinish multitude unwashed and revellers. I never knew levelling advocated amongst the Chartists, neither in public or private, for they did not believe in it, nor have I known a case of plunder in the town, though thousands have marched through its streets to meetings in various places. What they wanted was a voice in making the laws they were called upon to obey; they believed that taxation without representation was tyranny, and ought to be resisted; they took a leading part in agitating in favour of the ten hours question, the repeal of the taxes on knowledge, education, co-operation, civil and religious liberty and the land question, for they were the true pioneers in all the great movements of their time. . . . The death of Benjamin Rushton occurred on the 19th June 1853, at his residence at Friendly, in Ovenden, in his 68th year. He was highly respected by the Chartists of Yorkshire and Lancashire, and was looked upon in this town and neighbourhood as the "grand old man;" he had been a reformer before such as myself were born, and a leader amongst the Chartists since its commencement. He bad been the chairman of some of the greatest demonstrations of his time; was a good speaker, although using rather broad language, but never failed to make an impression upon an audience. He died poor, as many other reformers have done, and it was decided by the Chartists of Halifax that his funeral expenses should be borne by them, and his funeral to take place on Sunday, June 26th, and be a public one. It was arranged that six of the oldest Chartists should bear him to the grave, and twelve of the younger be conductors, with wands crape-tipped. We met at Nicholl's Hotel, and marched from there, with Ernest Jones and Mr. Gammage, to the Northgate Hotel fields, which had been engaged purposely, and mounted the platform. Mr. Jones wished the people to join in the procession. The field at an early hour presented a dense mass of human beings, through which it was almost impossible to force a way; we had not much difficulty in forming the procession, as all appeared willing to obey the orders given here. It was led by Ernest Jones and R. Gammage, after them came the public walking six abreast; the hearse, a modern one, was drawn by two horses. At the entrance of the village the Odd-fellows were waiting at their lodge to the number of 140, and walked in advance. On approaching the house of the deceased patriot they opened out in double line. The sight was magnificent, and whilst waiting the notes of a band of music were heard, and soon came in sight the Bradford procession, led by Chartist veterans, including our old friend, Joseph Alderson. The coffin-a double one, covered with black cloth, and very elegant-was borne from the house at twelve o'clock.

Chartists weep, and let your grief be true, A nobler patriot country never knew,

The coffin was carried by six veteran Chartists, and the splendid pall by six Odd- fellows. The return to Halifax was then commenced, the distance from the Cemetery being about two miles, and from one end of the route to the other the people lined the streets, particularly in the heart of the town, where the processionists had scarcely room to walk, whilst at the Cemetery the gates were closed after the corpse had entered to prevent the crush of the people. The wish of the departed patriot was that no paid priest should officiate at his funeral. Mr. Gammage spoke at the grave side, and after him a member of the Odd-fellows said a few words, and then Mr. Ernest Jones delivered a long address . . One of the local papers, I believe it was the Guardian, gave the numbers marching in the procession from 6,000 to 10,000, and it took an hour and half to pass through the town. I will not give any numbers myself, but I will say that I saw more people in Halifax that day than I had ever seen before or since, and the public funerals that I have seen in this town have been a mere nothing in comparison to this.