M.A. (HISTORY) PART-I (SEMESTER-II) PAPER-II

HISTORY OF THE WORLD (1815-1870)

UNIT NO :- 2 SECTION : B

LESSON NO. : n

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t England Act of 1832

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c 2.2 : Growth of Parliamentary System in l

u England Act of 1867

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E 2.3 : Rise and Growth of Socialism in

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s 2.4 : Labour Movements in Europe

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2.5 : The Unification of Italy, 1789-1848

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2.6 : The Unification of Italy, 1848-1870

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g 2.7 : The Unification of Germany, 1789-1848

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U 2.8 : The Unification of Germany, 1848-1871

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l 2.9 : Eastern Question (1800-1832)

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e 2.10 : Eastern Question (1832-1870)

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Note : Students can download the syllabus from the department's website www.dccpbi.com M.A. (HISTORY) PART-I PAPER-II HISTORY OF THE WORLD (1815-1870)

LESSON NO. 2.1 AUTHOR : DR. S.K. BAJAJ

GROWTH OF PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM IN ENGLAND- ACT OF 1832

Background The English Parliament is one of the unique representative institutions that appeared in Europe during the later Middle Ages. Its humble beginning can be traced to the Magna Carta of 1215, but it was in the reign of Edward I (1272-1307) that the expedient calling elected representatives of the countries and towns or brought to the King's Council or Parliament, was adopted The purpose of calling such representatives was to obtain their assent to the levying of taxes to meet the expenses of wars. In due course of time these representatives began to sit separately from the Peers ; this assembly thus, came to be known as the 'House of Commons'. But the close of the sixteenth century, the role of the Parliament in the making of statute law had become fully established, and the gentry had grown ambitious and sought election to Parliament. The Tudors and Stuarts created many new Parliamentary bouroughsnot on the basis of wealth of population but simply as convenient means of strengthening the parliamentary support of the Crown. Over two hundred such seats were created by them, while the Act of Union with Scotland added 45% more and Irish Union another hundred, bringing the total to 658. Despite the grave crisis during the Stuart period, the attempts to reform anomalies and make the Parliament more representative could not succeed. The revolution of 1688, however, was a momentous landmark in the history of the British Parliament and prestige of the Parliament. But the settlement that followed froze the pattren of parliamentary representation. With the exception of the Septennial Act of 1716, which fixed the tenure of Parliament as seven years, there was no material change in the framework of Parliament (except the addition of Scottish members after the Act of Union, with Scotland, 1707) and of the Irish members, under the Act of Union with Ireland of 1800 until the passing Reform Bill of 1832. This long period of quiescence represented not only a reaction to the traumatic experience of the seventeenth century revolution, but also marked the triumphant ascendancy of the landed classes who found the un-reformed Parliament an ideal means of prepetuating their role. Causes Impact of Agrarian and Industrial Revolution : Agrarian and Industrial 1 M.A. (History) Part-I 2 Paper-II revolution brought about profound social and economic changes. Mass of rural population converted into a landless proletariat owing to enclosure system migrated to new industrial towns, where urban population rose enormously ; for example, the population of Liverpool rose from 82,000 to nearly 400,000 and of Briston from 61,000 to 137,000. North gained most by displacements of population, linked together by improved means of communication, railways macadamised roads and steam ships. These changes helped England to grow into the workshop of the world. The aforesaid social and economic changes and political effects of great importance. The predominant influence in the affairs of the nation began to be slowly placed from landed to industrial and financial class Their rivalry had grown quite sharp during the second half of the nineteenth century, although landed interest remained predominant throughout this period. "Since Parliament was the essential instrument of political power, control of which was necessary to any interest desirous of serving its own purposes, the early nineteenth century witnesses a violent conflict between the landed class which wishes to attain its monopoly and its industrial rivals who intended to capture that instrument for their end", remarks David Lindsay Keir (p. 168). Their conflict brought to the fore necessity of parliamentary reform. An important effect of industrial revolution was the change in the economic institution. Decline of mercantile system and emergence of the laissezfaire principle was one of the significant feature of the age. Again, change in the herited organisation of industry also led to subjecting to political institutions as parliament, the administrative system and law and justice to test and re-examination. It was keenly felt by the social philosophers of the age that representation to Parliament should be modified in such a way that it should reflect interests Preponderant in the nation. Atmosphere of Reform : The Change in the temper of the nation posed a challenge for the Tory Party. Representing landed interest during the reign of George III and George IV, it was opposed to remodelling of the Parliamentary system. Yet this period embraced long 'sequence of reforms - financial, administrative and judicial. Most radical among them were Test and Corporation Acts and Act for Roman Catholoic emancipation. The Whigs, supported by the radical group professing the doctrines of Benthan, i.e., Utilitarians, who believed that maintenance of existing institutions, depended primarily on their success in serving "the greatest good of the greater number." The pursuit of individual interest led not to harmony but to anarchy. The problems of poverty, disease, ignorance and insanitary conditions awoke the government to new social realities and persuaded them to impose external regulation and restrain the individual. Under such circumstances, reform in the Parliament became imperative. Although personal authority of the Crown was declining after the collapse of M.A. (History) Part-I 3 Paper-II American Colonies the King supported by the Lords kept firm on his prerogative. Decline of the royal control had taken place primarily for two reasons - incapability and insanity of George III and the development of cabinet system. For half a century before 1832 the administration was ceasing to be the personal concern of the sovereign. Cabinet began to free itself from the sovereign's control. The functions of the government were increasing rapidly. Monopoly enjoyed by the Anglican got undermined with the entry and local governments of England of control. These profound changes touching every branch of administration were bound to affect the chief institution of the country, the Parliament. Extension of representation and remarking of constituencies were measures consistent with democratic principles which were expected to end the ascendancy of the landed class and introduce that of industrial capitalist. Growing Demand for Parliamentary Reform : The reform of 1782 concentrated on removing the abuse of influence and refrained from remodelling the electoral franchise or distribution of seats. The main defect of the electoral system was considered to be the immense preponderance in the Commons of members representing rotton borough. In the old structure it was never conceived that the purpose of the electoral system was to elicit the views of a numerical majority of the nation. It was intended to voice the opinions of those 'interests' which dominated the country. Such as landed interest, "So long, in fact, as England continued to be as it has been, a stable and mainly agricultural society, its unreformed House of Commons was no adequate embodiment of its principles, interests and prejudices", remarks Keir. The first attempt was made in 1762 to check bribery at elections by imposing a fine on offenders. In 1770, under the Grenvile Act committees were appointed to investigate into the abuses. The inquiries showed how deep-rooted were the evils and how difficult it was to eradicate them by penal statutes. The remedy must be radical. The first amongst people to rise cry for reform were from (Middle sex) and Yorkshire. A comprehensive parliamentary motion for extension of franchise, redistribution of seats, the first of its kind, was made in 1776 by a Radical member from (Middle sex) John Wilkes, whose proposal envisaged giving additional members to London and to more populous countries, disfranchsing rotton boroughs and providing for separate representation of such large towns as Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Birmingham. The cause was taken up no less a person than the Pitt the Younger, two introduced motions when out of office in 1782 and 1783 and again while Prime Minister in 1785, but with no success. His programme of electoral reforms was quite radical as it envisaged to extinguish by purchase the right of fifty boroughs to return members, to redistribute the hundred seats thus made available, and to enlarge the electorate by admitting copyholder to the franchise. He did not succeed in getting his measures passed as the King was hostile to the bill, the cabinet divided M.A. (History) Part-I 4 Paper-II and the Commons unfriendly. The French Revolution initially gave a stimulus to the forces of reform, but a reaction quickly set in as the terror spread in France. Nevertheless, the Whig Party under Charles James Fox's leadership continued to play lip service to the cause of Parliamentary reform. After the Peace Settlement of 1815, a small Radical group nicknamed 'Mountain' moved a serious reforms proposals, but they could not secure support of their own party as some of the old aristocracy treated these motions without much regard. Outside Parliament, the demand for parliamentary reform spread during the war. With the formation of clubs and political unions, public meetings were held and petitions began to be sent to Parliament . The development of the press provided yet another means of bringing Parliament into closer relation with public opinion and popular will. Consequently the forces of reform outside Parliament gradually became very powerful, obliging Parliament to submit before the will of the people. After the Vienna Settlement the Whig minority which included Burdett, Cartwright before Parliament plans of reform which could not be passed but certainly exposed scandals, bribery and corruption and weakened the hold of Tory Party on the people. The Tory party began to crack as Protestant Ultra Tories were defeated over the issue of Catholic emancipation. This also led to Wellington's downfall. The elections necessitated by the death of George IV and the accession of William IV constitute a landmark in the constitutional history of England. In the course of these elections the whigs made reforms their party programme. Wellington, despite government support, failed to secure a stable majority and when Lord Grey pressed the matter in the House of Lords, Wellington's government fell for refusing reforms. The July Revolution in France (1830) stimulated the public mind and demand for parliamentary reform became voiciferous. Grey's Ministry and the Reform Bill : After the fall of Wellington's ministry the King immediately called Grey to form the new ministry which included persons like Lord Durham and Russel who were committed to Parliamentary reforms. Anxious to solve, what is called, 'the perilous question' of reform Grey appointed a Cabinet Committee under the chairmanship of his son-in-law, Lord Durham. The committee recommended a wide range of proposals which the House of Commons found unacceptable Consequently, the Government was defeated on an amendment leading to dissolution of the Parliament. Fresh elections were held which benefited the government, for there was increase in the supporters of the reform bill. So the second reform bill was passed with one amendment, i.e., Chandos Clause which extended the country franchise to 50 pounds tenants-at-will. But unfortunately the bill was defeated in the House of Lords, arousing public indignation. Serious riots with loss M.A. (History) Part-I 5 Paper-II of life and property broke out in Derby, Notingham and Bristol. New political unions sprang up and worked for the spread of movement for reform with added vigour and enthuaism. Extent of public fury led the ministers to recall Parliament in December, 1831, with a promise that the King would appoint sufficient members of peers to guarantee the passage of bill through the House of Lords. Later, when the king refused to fulfil his assurance, Lord Grey again resigned. The Duke of Wellington was again called to form government. Grey's exit led to a period of tense suspense and tremendous public excitement. Those nine days are known as "Days of May" when the whole country was in the grip of crisis. The political unions redoubled their activities, large meetings were held everywhere, workers demonstrated, reform leaders planned programme of action. At this juncture, Wellington's Government wished to pass reform bill with the support of the Tories. As some of the Tories refused to support Government, the Tory reform bill could not be passed, resulting in the fall of Wellington's ministry. Grey again returned to office on 18th May, 1832. The King now agreed to fulfil his assurance. The mere announcement of this was sufficient to overcome the opposition of majority of Tory peers. On June 4, 1832, the bill was passed by a vote of 106 to 22. Three Notable Points : In connection with the circumstances leading to the passage of the Reform Act, three points are notable. First, it is very difficult to say to what extent the pubic agitation was responsible for passage of the Act. Professor Homburger, the author of James Mill and the Art of Revolution, is of the opinion that Mill and his friends frightened the ministers for supposed anger or revolution of the nascent industry society. The fear of revolution was certainly there which got inextricably mixed up with a variety of political and personal considerations involving the king, his ministers and political leaders. Secondly, in the eighteenth century as K.R. Smelle (Great Britain Since 1688) believed "the link of influence was the principal method of securing harmony between the executive, the commons and the Lords. As the Crown never had beyond a few dozen members to support, it always made arrangements with private persons. "No government could function without the support of the king and members of the Parliament. The heads of many families sat in the House of Lords and their younger brothers and dependents in the Commons. Such a link of influence was threatened with crisis on the eve of the Reform Act as it was unsuited to the industrial society. Thirdly, both the whigs and the Tories believed that democracy was unpalatable and even dangerous form of government for England. They believed that a "stake in the country" was an essential qualification those who claimed political power, and landed property had a special part to play in the guaranteeing the stability of the political order. But it was essential to satisfy reasonable demands and to remove all rational grounds of complaint from the minds M.A. (History) Part-I 6 Paper-II of the intelligent and independent portion of the community. In other words, it was a question of balance and proportion between the old landed interest and the emerging prosperous middle classes. Main Provisions of the Reform Act The Reform Act of 1832 contained provisions about defranching of old rotton boroughas, redistribution of seats and extension of franchsing. The total number of voters was doubled by the extension of the franchise in boroughs to householders who part 10 pounds rent annually and in the countries to tenants-at-will who paid 50 pounds annual rent, as well as a number of lease-holders and copyholders. AS a whole, the electorate was increased by 217,000. As regards redistribution of seats the act disfranchised 55 borough completely and other 35 partially which made possible the redistribution of 143 seats. Sixty-five of these seats were distributed among new English boroughs to give representation to large cities like Manchester, Birmingham, London, etc. Another sixty-five were distributed among English countries which were still unrepresented, and thirteen were transferred from England to Scotland and Ireland. Significance and Results of the Reform Act According to Keir, "the effect of the Reform Act on the first impression was to constitute a veritable resolution. "But analysis of the distribution of seat s reveals certain glaring anamolies. Right to vote in the Victorian England was extricably bound up with the ownership of property. Moreover, as Professor Ghosh has observed in his study Politics in the Age of Peel, the old system of influence remained predominant even after the Reform, for the franchise was still restricted to upper and middle classes Of the 187 English Parliamentary boroughs, 123 had less than 1000 electors, and out of these 31 had not more than 300. Owing to registration difficulties the increase in the electorate was less than anticipated. In 1832, it rose from about 500,000 to 815,000 (including many plural votes). In terms of adult male population, this produced a ratio of 1 to in (United) Kingdom as a whole, but 1 to 5 in England and Wales as compared with 1 to 8 in Scotland and 1 to 20 in Ireland. The new voters were drawn from the middle classes; for very few working men outside. London as yet paid 10 pounds rent a year. As a result of redistribution of seats between boroughs and countries, the latter no doubt gained more seats, yet the predominance of boroughs remained effective . In a reformed Parliament, countries had 253 seats with 464,000 electors and boroughs 405 seats with only 859,000 votes. The boroughs were essentially agricultural and returned representatives of the land owing the North had only one eight. Thus, the landed classes continued to dominate the House of Commons and to hold most of the high offices. The purpose of the Reforms Act have been, in the words of Professor Ghosh, to destroy "the illegitimate and not the legitimate influence of property." M.A. (History) Part-I 7 Paper-II The indirect consequence of the Reform Act, says J.S. Mill, political philosopher of the last century, surpassed every calculation. It created consciousness of change. It gave a shock of old habits. "It meant that the constitution would not be treated as something fixed for ever, but as set of institutions which could be changed as public opinion changed." Keir also believes that it caused a profound constitutional transformation. Elimination of completely closed or rotton broughts and the moderate extension of franchise made more members of Parliament susceptible to public opinion than in the past, and in the larger boroughs candidates were forced to make pledges to the electors to take up causes like free trade which tended to (create) a new political climate and institutions during the next thirty years. It was no condition the prerogatives of the Crown, the conventions of cabinet government, the development of parties, and the relation between the opinions and interests which, as K.B. Smellie says, "are the mind and body of social life, and the political institutions which must serve and guide them." The effect of the extended franchise was to make it possible for the Crown to secure a House of Commons amenable to the ministers of his or her choice. With diminished patronage and nominations, the crown was deprived of determining the composition of ministers and securing from the adequate Parliamentary support. Consequently, the independence of the cabinet and supremacy of the Prime Minister was practically secured. Peel once warned in the debates that Crown would be unable to change ministers without deferring to the wishes of the Commons. For the Crown apprehended that its association with a particular party might result in crushing its prestige and authority between an increasing electorate and an intensified party struggle. The solution was for the Crown to recognise that the choice of ministers must be determined by the result of a great election. "This also implied", in the words of Smellie, that organised opposition to the government in power was not only constitutional, but political respectable, because such an opposition was a latent alternative government. ready to take over when the government in office should resign, either with or without elections as circumstances might make convenient." Organisation of public opinion began to develop after 1832. In fact, passing of the Reform Bill itself had involved reference to public opinion on a major political issue. Although relation between the House of Commons and the electorates was uncertain before 1837, for the development of political parties between the two Reform Bills was tentative and confused. The reality presented a complex situation. The electorate was not large enough to provide basis for an effective, radical party, although Radicals in the House of Commons were few in number and represented the cause of those who did not yet have the right to vote, yet registration of voters. Limited as they were in numbers, required the parties to cover the country with a net-work of M.A. (History) Part-I 8 Paper-II organisations. The central party organisation began to establish association-the Carlton Club of the Tory party centre of the Whigs in Brooke, and Reform of Radicals established in 1836. They were clubs for electorate information, meeting place of the party election committees and main collecting point for party subscription. The period from 1832 to 1867 was verily the golden age of the political clubs. After 1832, the political parties began to develop ideological basks. The Whigs would protect liberty by keeping government weak. The Tories wanted a strong government which would reform traditional institutions. But the traditions of having ministry to implement the party programme started later. Peel's ministry showed that it got support from Whigs, who did not share his views either on the nature of society or importance of political economy. Another significant development after 1832 was an increase in the business of the House of Commons. One of the essential tasks was that the ministers who must be the members of the legislative should state and defend a policy and be able to secure legislation. The dependence of the ministers on the House of Commons involved the development of collective responsibility. Increase in the prestige of House of Commons led to a decrease in the prestige of House of Lords. The Lords had at first opposed the reform Bill but when the king anounced his decision to create new peers, they readily passed it. The sole development depended the cleavage between the House of Lords and House of Commons and thus a conflict started which was finally settled by the Reform Act of 1911. The Parliamentary Reform Bill was passed in 1832 under the leadership of the Whigs, backed by intense popular demand in the country. The manner it was passed, says David Thomson, proves "that the British constitution was flexible enough to reform itself without revolution." The other thing it proved that in the tide of general reform movement, this bill was the centre-piece, resulting from socio-economic change of the period. SUGGESTED READINGS 1. David Lindsay Keir : The Constitutional History of Modern Britain. 2. George Bourton Adams : Constitutional History of England, Chapter XVII. 3. James, B. Conacher (ed) : The Emergence of British Parliamentary Democracy in the Nineteenth Century, I-II. 4. K.B. Smelle : Great Britain Since 1688, pp. 138-76. 5. David Thomson : England in the Nineteenth Century, pp. 73-76. 6. F.W. Mariland : The Constitutional History of England, pp. 353-60. M.A. (HISTORY) PART-I PAPER-II HISTORY OF THE WORLD (1815-1870)

LESSON NO. 2.2 AUTHOR : DR. S.M. VERMA

GROWTH OF PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM IN ENGLAND- Act of 1867 While referring to the indirect consequences of the Reform Act of 1832, J. S. Mill once observed, "It meant that the constitution would not be treated as something fixed for ever, but as a set of institutions which changed as public opinion changed." This was contrary to the belief of the Whigs who argued that the Reform Act of 1832 was so extensive that it would be the final settlement. They were wrong for the fact that the Reform Act remained in effect only for a generation, and it began to be felt its electoral system required change to adopt itself to new changes. After the passage of the Reform Act of 1832, Great Britain witnessed rapid changes in the distribution of population under the pressure of continuing industrial revolution. It was accompanied by changes in the composition, interests and ideas. According to K.B. Smellie, "the Reform Act had created constituencies and political habits which could survive a stage-coach stage. It could not be adapted to the age of railways, increasing literacy and the development of the organised interests of employers and working men" (pp. 177-8). For the convenience of study and understanding we may explain the change under the following : 1. The Electoral and Political Habits : The redistribution of seats, though remedying the worst of the old anamolies had left the franchise unjustly and unevenly distributed. Moreover, rapid growth of the big industrial towns aggravated this situation even after the Reform Act of 1832, there was boroughs which were small in their electorate and had not changed the tradition of serving as pocket boroughs for wealthy landlords and amibitious monied men. As it has been indicated in the previous lesson, the chandos clause, granting vote to tenants-all-will in the countries ensured that a large portion of the electorate should remain at the mercy of their landlords and subject to pressure at elections so long as there was no secret ballot. On the other hand, increase in number of voters electoral registration and technical qualification as laid down by the last Reform Bill led to many corrupt practices. Votes were purchased and every device was adopted to increase the number of supporters. Huge sums of money were spent on the elections which not only became more expensive but also disorderly than before. Before the Reform Act of 1832, the composition of Parliament till 1867 reflected the continued power of the landed and aristocratic class, of course, responsive to industrial and commercial middle class. In fact, as K.B. Smellie remarks, "the political system continued to register, that 9 M.A. (History) Part-I 10 Paper-II influence in all the forms it took-landlords over tenants, masters over servants, employer over workmen, clergy over their predominant. The electoral system as introduced by the Reform Act of 1832 and practised thereafter has been well starized by Charles Dickens in his famous novel Pickwick Papers. As regards the person who got elected after 1832, the members of Parliament in 1855 were the same sort as in 1832. In 1833, there were 217 members of Parliament who were sons of peers of baronets, in 1860, there were 110 and in 1880 there were 170. To void exaggeration of this significance, is fact it may be pointed out that it became now easier for men not of aristocratic patronage to reach very high political office. For example, men like Peel, Melbourne and Disraeli did not belong to aristocratic class. But "it is true that until after 1867 governments were led mostly by men of old aristocracy-Grey, Russel, Derby, Palmerson-and only after 1867 did Gladstone, Disraeliy and more middle class men came to Predominate in Cabinet office", observes David Thomson (p. 123). One of the significant facts of the period between the Reform Bills of 1832 and 1867 is that the rudimentry form of modern political parties, clubs and associations began to develop with a purpose to win elections. As the rental qualifications were fixed on monetary value, number of voters began to increase, for the value of money began to decline. Moreover, the number of voters reached the figure 1056,000 but by those standards the number was still small. This complexion of the 'semi democratised Parliament, however, remained narrow and that of franchise complex. Attempts were, therefore, made to influence Parliament from outside. Two attempts were outstanding-The Chartist Movement and the Anti-Crown Law League. The Reform Bill of 1832 caused a great disappointment to the working class, for it merely transferred political power from one domineering faction to another. They had expected that the reforms would provide such legislative change as would facilitate removal of their grievance. In 1836, an exclusively working class movement, known as the Chartist Movement, was launched for political and social rights. They attacked the new House of Commons as the whose majority was elected by only 151,423 votes, one-fourth of the total male population of the country. In 1838, William Lovett produced on their behalf, a revolutionary charter which included six points-manhood suffrage, vote by ballot, annual parliaments, no property qualifications, salaries for members of Parliament, and equal electoral districts arranged after each census. But the movement at that time failed, ending in 1848. The anti-Crown Law League was a more sophisticated movement, based on laissez-faire (let alone) principles. It had wealth, able leaders, single purpose and solid middle-class support, Its technique was to distribute tracts and handbills. It M.A. (History) Part-I 11 Paper-II was the first time when Parliament was successfully moved from outside to pass legislation of repealing Corn Laws which the latter did in 1846, two years before the general elections of 1848. Another factor which necessitated a change in the Reform Act, 1832, was that the industrial revolution had brought into prominence centres such as Manchester, where a few working men had the right to vote. The working classes distributed middle classes as they did not like the idea of free trade on labour. Their pressure on Parliament was great and it was felt that some change in the franchise and considerable redistribution of seats were necessary to link it up with popular power. 2. Economic Changes : The economic changes during this period also influenced the pattern of political events which in turn necessitated introduction of reforms in franchise of 1867 and 1884. From 1820 to 1849, prices were falling and from 1849 to 1874 they were rising. In the first period the working classes of the country were worse off than in almost any other period of English history. The money wages were practically stationary, prices of commodities like iron and not those consumed by working classes also fell, in the second period, i.e., 1849 to 1874, with the discovery of gold in Australia and California, industry and trade witnesses a rise. Due to development of new modes of transport, increase in production, money wages rose fast accompanied by slight rise in prices. The relative price changes were in favour of the consuming classes. The wage bill rose 80 percent during 1861-71. The population in England and Wales rose by 25 percent. These changes had led to a rise in the standard of living of working classes and they were in a position of bargaining because the government was relatively feeble for it persuaded the laissez- faire policy, allowing various interests like those of the rail was, cities etc. to operate freely. This had resulted in piecement improvement of social condition. Moreover, the changes brought in focus the contrast-the nation dominated by the commercial and industrial interests and Parliament the cousinhood of landed families as half of the members belonged to this class. Reform of Parliament was necessary. 3. Change in Political Philosophy : The movement of thought penetrated beneath the evil of common political practice. Broadly, the substance of liberalism in home policy was still laissez-faire in economic life. It meant minimum state interference. The utilitarians from Bentham to J.S. Mill explained that the proper scope for the government was the extension of individual liberty as the proper means of ensuring the greatest happiness of the greatest number. But rapid industrialization, and consequent adverse social change forced the government to increase its scope of activity. As free trade movement swept away the old fiscal system and privileges, the consolidation of business made combination of workers essential. This development required legislation to regulate the freedom of workmen to combine. M.A. (History) Part-I 12 Paper-II But it was not until the Trade Union Act of 1871 that trade unions were given a clearly defined legal scope for their various activities. That was beginning when a new popular pressure was recognised. Renewal of the Movement of Parliamentary Reform Bills The radicals and especially, the politically minded working classes outside Parliament were soon disillusioned by the results of the Reform Act of 1832. The demand for reforms was made dramatically by the Chartists, which had little direct effect on parliamentary opinion. But the Radicals in the House of Commons continued to urge further extension of the franchise and vote by ballot. In 1852, appeared the first ministerial proposal for a new measure of reform. Between that date and 1860, four bills were brought forward, three of them by Russell. With variations in details, these proposals aimed, on the one hand, at widening the property qualifications for voters and on the other, at allowing the entry of poorer and presumably less educated classes to the electorate. The England of 1860 was different from that of 1830's. Expansion of industry and efficient network of railways, repeal of Corn-laws, rise in the standard of living of masses and level of literacy created such conditions that the middle and upper classes had less reason to fear the extension of franchise to the working classes. A variety of other factors helped to produce the necessary impetus, such as success of North in the American Civil War, unification process which Italy was undergoing under the leadership of Garibaldi, the pinch of economic distress in England followed the earlier prosperity, renewed agitation led by John Bright, and newly formed reform Union which was reinforced by the more military Reform League of 1865 and the death of anti reform leader, Palmerston. Perhaps more than anything else, the conversion of W.E. Gladstone, now a liberal leader and the framer of the bill of 1866, pointed to the ultimate success of reforms. In 1866, the question of reforms was revised by Russel and Gladstone but the bill failed because of opposition of the Liberal cabinet members and disaffected Liberals known as Abullmites. The short-lived conservative government of Derby and Disraeli, however, "dished the Whigs" by enacting a Reform Bill of their own which after great discussion on details was passed on 15th August, 1867. Next year separate reform acts were passed for Scotland and Ireland. Provisions of the Act of 1867 1. The country franchise was left unchanged except that qualifying lease hold or copy hold was reduced from 10 pounds to 5 pounds annual value was introduced. 2. An occupancy franchise was introduced in respect of premises of 12 pounds rateable value. The country electorate thus increased from M.A. (History) Part-I 13 Paper-II 540,000 to 790,000. 3. In the boroughs household, franchise condition on the payment of rates and lodger franchise in respect of lodging of 10 annual value was introduced. 4. Households who paid rates through their landlords as an addition to the rent were also registered as voters. They are known as compounders. The act on the whole added 938,000 voters to an electorate of 1,056,000. The implications of the new franchise were much greater than the purely electorate changes. 1. Something like lodgers franchise was given to the boroughts. As a result voters in the boroughs were doubled or trebled; and in some cases they rose four times. 2. After the Act there were politically two Englands- a democratic England of the towns and aristocratic England of the countries. The increase was most striking in industrial boroughs. The sole counter- poise to the industrial vote lay in the disparity between the number of electors and the number of seats. Four million people living in ten larger towns returned only 34 out of the Wash and Savern. A number of small boroughs were partly or wholly disfranchised and of the 25 seats thus made available, 25 were allotted to the countries, 19 to boroughs, one to London University, 2 to the Scottish Universities and the remaining 5 to Scottish constituencies. The Reform Act of 1867 was an extensive measure that brought Britain in a step closer to democracy. Dr. F.B. Smith is of the opinion that the Act of 1867 went a long way on the road to democracy by its enfranchising provisions. But the majority of members who had voted for the hill probably agreed with Disraeli that it would never be the fate of the country under a democracy. Yet they had admitted themselves to mass electorate to which party leaders much now appeal. Moreover, the electorate was also required still more elaborate party organisation than had sufficed after 1832. There were still many anamolies in the electorate structure, as the Reform Act of 1867 scarcely touched the country franchise and left glaring discrepancies in the distribution of seats. But one of the major defects in view of the fact that the idea of mass electorate had been introduced was the absence of vote by ballot. About the new problems Keir (p. 466) divides them into four : (a) The new democracy had to emancipate itself from the coercion and bribery still prevalent in the electorate system. (b) Defects in the method of registration, which impeded many voters from establishing their qualifications, had to be eliminated. (c) The electoral franchise itself had to be made simpler and more uniform, M.A. (History) Part-I 14 Paper-II and the qualifications lowered. (d) The discrepancies between population and representation required to be remdied. Bribery and other corrupt practices like intimidation were ripe during and between the elections. One of the demands of the Chartists was secret vote. But did not attract much attention as it lacked powerful advocacy. Opposition to this measure involved a principle, i.e., "the motive under which meant act in secret are as a general rule inferior to those under which they act in public." But the evils revealed by a parliamentary enquiry into the conduct of elections won many converts to the idea of secret voting. Gladstone's government of 1868-74 introduced a bill which rejected by the Lords in 1871, was finally carried in 1882. Thus the age long practice of public voting came to an end. This change had a salutary effect. Disorder and bribery was considerably reduced. But some of the inveterate evils continued. Corruption and coercion continued, for it needed improvements in the ethical standards of the people to destroy them. However, Gladstone in his second administration (1833) did a commendable job by restricting the election expenses in proportion to the size of constituency and then specifying subject on which expenditure could be incurred. Corrupt practices were more closely defined and the list of such offences amplified. Conviction for corrupt practices were made punishable by imprisonment and fine. The Reform Act of 1867 did not make registration of voters easier. It was a complex affair, for in boroughs and countries alike, a variety of different qualifications existed. In the former, besides ancient right franchise, these were both of 10 pounds occupancy qualification of 1832 and the house-holder lodger franchise of 1867. In the later, a substantial portion of ancient right voters and those qualified by various Reform Act 1867 still existed. This complication, in the opinion of Keir (9.417), was perhaps "less effective in stimulating the demand for reform than the anamoly that the franchise wes notably less democratic in countries than in the boroughs." In the countries landlords still help power as they considered leaders of society. Consequently, in England Conservatives before 1885 used to win more than twice as many seats as their opponents. The Reform Bill of 1884 was inspired by radical pressure backed by public demonstration and was championed in a divided cabinet by Chamberlain. Gladstone, the Prime Minister, was reluctant to sponsor a large electoral reform in the closing year of his ministry. Yet the opponents to the extension of principle that the household franchise should be introduced into the countries had decreased in both the political parties. This problem of redistribution of seats was linked with change in franchise. The Bill was passed in the House of Commons and the expected opposition of the House of Lords was averted by the timely intercession of the Queen. Thus, the two M.A. (History) Part-I 15 Paper-II statutes were passed during 1884-85.

SUGGESTED READINGS

J.A.R. Marriott : England Since Waterloo. Winston S. Churchill : A History of English Speaking People, Vol. IV Siche : Disraeli. CR.K. Ensor : English 1870-1914. H. Peeling : Modern Britain 1855-1955. D.C. Somervell : English Thought in the Nineteenth Century. David Thomas : English Thought in the Nineteenth Century. A.J.P. Taylor : English History. M.A. (HISTORY) PART-I PAPER-II HISTORY OF THE WORLD (1815-1870)

LESSON NO. 2.3 AUTHOR : S.M. VERMA

RISE AND GROWTH OF SOCIALISM IN EUROPE The chief merit of the pre-industrial agrarian economy was the independence of craftsman. He worked in his own home, with his own tools, on his own raw materials, at his own sweet will and was the owner of the finished product. To relieve monopoly, he could alternate between industry and agriculture. Although his house usually a straw- thatched mud hovel, he was compensated by the pure and fresh air of the village. He had also the satisfaction of working in the midst of his family and could get the assistance of the wife, son or daughter whenever needed. The introduction of the putting out system deprived him of the ownership of the raw materials and the finished product. But he still had the satisfaction of working in his own home and with his own tools though sometimes the tools had been purchased with the money advanced by the middlemen. The coming of the central workship forced him to go and work away from his home and with tools not owned by him. Thus, he lost his independence and was reduced to the level of a wage slave. With the coming of the Industrial Revolution, the worker had to bow to the discipline of the factory. His degradation to a mere seller of personal labour was complete. He was reduced to the status of a tender of machines. Men, women and children were compelled to work long hours in the unwholesome factories. Economic necessity forced them to give up their holidays, their winter slack seasons, their ties to agriculture and cohesiveness of their families. The housing conditions in the new factory towns were unspeakably bad. While the work or steam driven machines poured out more goods the benefit of plenty was confined only to the manufacturers and owners of capital. The lot of the workers was one of misery and penury. Hunger, dirt and disease was the lot of a large majority of them. Exploitation of child and women labour reached the enormity of a social crime. To support the new industrial order, the classical economists provided the doctrine of 'laissez-faire' or 'let things alone'. It looked upon competition as the chief regulator of all economic activity. It guaranteed the survival of those who rendered economical service at the lowest prices, profits, wages etc. It made factors of production obtain a reward equal to its deserts. Ricardo, the Newton of political Economics, laid down that the best of population kept at the wages at subsistence level. Everybody was the best judge of what was beneficial to himself. Interference of any kind to 16 M.A. (History) Part-I 17 Paper-II control prices, wages, quality of goods, supposed benefit they were made. Extended to commercial relations among stages, the theory of laissez faire advocates free trade. According to it, free exchange of goods results in widest benefit for all. Most desirable goods come to be supplied at the lowest price, and every country tended to specialise in the production of goods for which it was best suited. The law of comparative costs got the fullest scope and free play. The economic machine was to be allowed to function under its own momentum. The government was to keep its hand off business and not attempt to improve' the condition of any body by enacting laws. To make the abstract idea of laissez faire clear to the poor and uneducated classes in Britain, a number of popular writers like Samual Smiles and Miss Hannah mere produced books showing that "there was always room at the top and that the patient and non-grumbling people were ultimately well-rewarded." But the horrors of industrialism and urbanisation which followed in its wake aroused the conscientious people every where to protest against them and to advocate steps to ameliorate the lot of suffering poor. The challenge elicited different responses. They varied from the destruction of machinery to the laying down of ideology seeking world revolution. 1. Luddism The hand workers who were left to fight a losing battle against mechanisation of industry naturally looked upon the machines as their enemy. They sought either to prevent its introduction or to destroy it. The first method was tried in Wiltshire and South West England from 1802-09 to prevent the use of machines for raising the nap on the woolen cloth. But thee was little success. The Luddites who operated in the North and Midlands from 1811, burned the factories and smashed the machine they hated. The law came heavily on them. Some were hanged, some were transported to be boarny-Bay in Australia while a large number were sentenced to long terms of imprisonment. 2. Factory Laws An effort was also made to improve the lot of workers by enacting laws to regulate conditions of the work in the factories. The first Factory Act, called the "Health and Morals of Apprentice Act" was passed in 1802. It had a limited scope. But subsequent acts made these wide in scope and more comprehensive. The freedom of the factory owners and certain other groups of employers to exploit the workers by keeping them at work for long hours, paying them low wages, insanitary conditions in factories and certain other malpractices indulged in by them came to be checked. They were asked to ensure wholesome conditions to work in their establishments. Children and women who were prone to be exploited to greater degree were given M.A. (History) Part-I 18 Paper-II special protection. A series of factory mines and shops acts enacted from time to time over a long period could achieve some relief for the workers. Strict enforcement of the provisions of these acts came about only gradually. Factory regulation on the continent was more general than in Britain. It was also undertaken at a much later date. Instead of adopting separate laws for different industries broad principles were incorporated in the basic law. As the law makers on the continent were not great admirers of the policy of the laissez-faire, there was little hesitation in passing these laws. In Prussia, factory legislation was undertaken in order to ensure healthy recruits for the army, as it was found that factories wee sapping the vitality of the children. It was reported in 1828 that he military fitness of the people of Rhine land had been impeared by impassing hard labour on children. In France, the housing and factory condition in areas where industry had grown was repotded to be as bad as in Britain. But France was not highly industrial; such conditions were limited to only few districts. The new factory acts remained unenforced till after 1870 for lack of factor inspection. In social legislation, France lagged behind both Britain and Russia and later behind Germany as a whole. 3. Rising and Political Action There were a series of workers in uprising. Britain beginning with 1817 when the Habeas Corpus Act had to be suspended to deal with them. The "Battle of Peterloo" a conflict between labourers and soldiers took place in 1819. The rising of 1820 was far more general and more serious. The participants caught were adjudged culprits and a large number transported to Australia. From 1831-48, the workers pinned their faith in chartisam hoping to better their lot through political action by demanding 6-point reform of the Parliament. But the Chartists movement failed finally in 1848, leaving workers to seek relief elsewhere. Workers took a prominent part in French Revolution of 1830. There was rising in Paris in 1832 and in Lyons in 1831 and 1834. There were stray strikes of carpenters, miners from time to time. The Revolution of 1818 was Europe wide. England was the only exception. In France, it assumed the character of a worker revolution. Under Louis Blanc's leadership the 'right to work' came to be the principal demand of the Patisian workers. The National Workshop' was an ideal of Blanc but the workshop were deliberately mismanaged by his enemies to discredit him. "When France sneezed the whole of Europe caught cold." Mazzini proclaimed are public in come. The revolts in Berlin and capitals of lesser German states. Workers took prominent part in their risings. A Paris revolution in 1870 drive Napoleon III from his throne. The national guards and the working men of Paris revolted in March, 1871 and proclaimed the "Commune". It was hailed by Marx and Engles as an example of " dictatorship of the M.A. (History) Part-I 19 Paper-II proletariat". The revolt was crushed and about 30,000 rebels were executed. 4. Trade Unions As industry developed in Britain, the workers tried to organise themselves into trade unions in order to protect themselves against exploitation by the employers. An Unionism spread, the employers who had the ear of the government got apprehensive. The Government passed the "Combination Laws" in 1799 and 1800 forbidding all combination of workmen. Thousands of workmen were punished for coming to raise wages or to resist their reduction , or to ask regulation of the hours of work. The combinations acts were replaced in 1824, largely through the efforts of Francis Balance a master tailor. Under the strikes which followed, led to a reimposition of restriction in 1825. Robert Owen "Grand National Consolidated Trade Union" with a half million members belonging to all sots of Unions was organised in 1833. But its inability to protect the six Dorchesters labourers (the Tolyuddle Labour Union's case) from prosecution and bickering among the leaders led to its dissolution in 1834. After 1848, unions in Britain gave up militant and strike action. The Amalgamated Society of Engineers" which emphasized the futility of strike action became the new model. In 1871, the unions were given legal rights to exist which the Parliament assed a law to this effect. In France, the guilds and all associations of employers and workmen were outlawed in 1798. The law remained in force for nearly one hundred years. This delayed rise of the French trade union movement. The penal code, drawn up under Napoleon, prohibited associations of more than twenty persons. A law of 1834 for bad association even of went persons if they were part of larger whole . In 1864, Napoleon III relaxed the anti-union restrictions. Trade unions, although not fully legalised became to be tolerated. Trade unions appeared late in Germany. Until 1860, many of the states restricted free entry into many traders. The guide system was prescribed to regulate the setting up of business in the interest of all masters. Anti-combination law prevented the growth of genuine trade unions. These laws were abolished first in Saxony and later in Prussia in 1860's. Unions sprang up and made rapid strikes. J.B. Von Schweitzer, a disciple of Ferdinand Lassalle organised social democratic trade union movement in 1868 in opposition to the socialist union Max Hirsch and Franz Dunker organised liberal unions who did not believe in class struggle and social revolution. The Marxist Social Democratic Labour Party also began organising trade unions in 1869. The Lassallean and Marxist Unions merged under the Gotha Programme in 1865. 5. Co-operative Enterprise Besides trade union activity many philanthropists interested in industrial M.A. (History) Part-I 20 Paper-II reform at the beginning of the eighteenth century were thinking in terms of cooperative enterprises. Cooperation could raise the standard of living by freeing the workers from their dependence upon capitalist producers. It would speed but surely to supersede the capitalist system of productions and exchange. In cooperative exchange the workers would seek to buy and sell without the intervention of middle men. In cooperation production, they would themselves make the goods which they could then use or sell. The prophet of cooperation of Robert Owen (1771-1858). He believed in industrialism but not in capitalism. He aimed at transferring the workers the control of production which was vested in the capitalist class. His idea of "villages of cooperation" or a parallegrams" was unpopular with the workers at that time but was welcomed by many intellectuals. A number of enterprises of this sort were started. In France, similar projects were set up by St. Simon (1760-1825) who advocated a cooperative stage directed by scientists and engineers. Fourier (1722-1837) sponsored the organisation of society into cooperative groups. Both agreed that the system of capitalism control would have to be abandoned. 6. The Rise of Socialist Ideologies (i) The Utopian Socialism : The earlier type of socialism which sought to remove the evils of industrial capitalism was the utopian variety. Robert Owen, St. Simon and Fourier and some others of their generation who produced similar plans were labelled as Utopian socialists as their proposals got nowhere because they ignored the realities of the economic situation Loius Blanc (1811-82) falls in the same category because his 'national workshop' to be financed by the state to remove the worker oppression were equality visionary . They may be called utopian, but these men should be regarded as socialist since all of them were opposed to individual demand and hoped to replace it by some form of cooperation of collectivism. The utopians gave birth to an anti-individualist movement which may be appropriately named socialism. In fact the term socialism was first used by Robert Owen. Charles Fourier exposed the waste and misery involved in the competitive industrial system. He wanted to establish a harmonious society. The fundamental unit of such harmonious society was the "Phalanx" with 1620 people cultivating 54000 acres. Unlike St. Simon and Robert Owen who stood factory for production Fourier wanted an agrarian handicraft economy. Colonies based on Fourier's idea was organised in Europe and the United States. One of the most famous was the Brook Farm Boston (Massachusettes) U.S. It lasted from 1841 to 1847. Some outstanding figures as Albert Brisbane, Horace Greely, George Ripley, National Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo, Emerson and James Russel Lowel Participated in it. Another phalans was at Red Bank, New Jersey None of the Phalanxes M.A. (History) Part-I 21 Paper-II in Europe and America survived more than a few years. In Britain Robert Owen was the leading exponent of Utopian Socialism. He was a successful manufacturer and a friend of the poor. He believed that he had found the secrets of the regeneration of mankind in the formation of cooperative groups. All the means of production necessary for their common life were to be owned and used by these groups. Though his projects failed for variety of reasons, his writings and labours greatly influenced the working class in Britain. The utopians insisted on a possibility of creating an ideal moral order.They condemned the capitalist order and proposed a revolution which should remedy its evils. They fails to take into account the great complexity of human nature of the respect for tradition which stands on the way of change. They assumed that their beautiful theory of harmony would induce men to find a new social order. Their modus operandi was to appeal to the upper classes for aid in realising their dreams. They did not make any attempt to organise the workers into political parties for the purpose of getting controls of the Government and the forcing it to promote their ideas and plans. The modern socialists treat the Utopians with contempt as mere unpractical and simile minded dreamers. (ii) The Christian Socialism : A second stream of socialist thought was Christian socialism, its intellectual roots were to be found in the condemnation of the doctrines of classical economy by the Catholic writers. These writers attacked the cold blooded economy which absolved and employer of all responsibility to labour even in times of industrial crisis when thousands were on the verge of starvation due to wide spread unemployment. These writers idealised the old feudal relations in which superior persons protected and subordinate persons served. There could be no reconciliation between the new economy and Catholic Church. The Christian socialists attacked the existing social inequalities. They made use of Christ's teaching to justify improved condition of workers. They exerted to revive the cooperation movement. They advocated sanitary reforms and favoured 'worker' education. The experiment in producers cooperation into which they put most of their effort and funds were not destined to succeed. On the continent, Le Play and Villeneuve Bargement were leaders in the Christian socialist movement. The leading Christians Socialist in Britain was Charlest Kingsley (1819-75) He was a famous novelist, clergyman, journalist and professor of modern history at Cambridge. He lent support to the Christian movement. When it failed he decided that religion must come to the aid of the workers. It might seem rather strange and ironical that the famous phrase "religion is an opium dose for the people" inscribed on the wall of Kremlin in Moscow was written by him in the Christian Socialist Journal M.A. (History) Part-I 22 Paper-II "Politics for the People". This mode of thinking also found eloquent exponents in Thomas Carlyle and John Ruskin. The former was the philosopher of idealised feudalism. He contrasted the beneficent order of the middle ages with the misery and starvation in industrial Britain. He sheered at classical economics, democracy, laissez faire, utilitarianism and all the defensive theories of capitalism as sheer non-sense and hypocrisy. But for the evil which he portrayed he could offer only a vague solution. He made an appeal for a new aristocracy of leaders who would protect and care for the tower orders of society. John Ruskin was Carlyle's companion in criticism of political economy. But he was more definite in his solution for the problem of poverty and misery. He argued that the directing classes of a nation were bound to promote its welfare. To call a manufacturer, who lived in luxury while his workers starved in a period of unemployment, a caption of a ship who is the last to leave the ship in case of wreak and to share the last crises or the sailors in case of a famine. He must bound himself in any commercial crises or distress, to take the suffering of it with his men. In fact he must take more of it on himself. He required each class to do its duty fully. He also proposed that the state should set up workshops. It should act as a model employer and manufacture honest goods at a fair price. Both Carlyle and Ruskin advocated a fixed order of society. It should be headed by aristocracy of virtue. It should be dominated by the ideal of a just price and living wages rather than competition for profits. (iii) State Socialism : This was another variety of protest against the evils of industrial society, and especially against laissez Paire. Advocates of this type of socialism regarded the state as an imperial power. It was pulled this way and that by contending classes as it tried to moderate their quarrels. 'The labour becoming strong enough would influence the state to introduce socialism. The three outstanding sate socialists were Louis Blanc, Lassalle and Roberts. Louis Blanc could be called the founder of state socialism. Lassalle helped that universal suffrage would make the state subservient to the socialists. He met Bismark, the Prussian Chancellor, to convince him on the need for universal suffrage. He also wanted him to oppose the supporters of the laissez doctrine. John Karl Red Bertus (1805-77) was a Prussian land owner. He anticipated some of Karl Marx's economic theories. But he was opposed to class struggle which was favoured by Karl Marx. He was of the view that socialism could be made a reality through the Prussian monarches which would abolish economic and social antagonism. They were dubbed by their opponents as the "Socialists of the Chair". The State Socialists were socialists only in name. The Fascist party of Mussolini M.A. (History) Part-I 23 Paper-II in Italy and the Nazi Party (National Socialist Party) of Hitler in Germany in the twentieth century might be taken as imbibing the philosophy of state socialits. These parties combined and insistence on the ultimate right of the state to control every aspect of the economic and social life of community with a preference for leaving economic matters as far as possible in the bias of the private entrepreneur. They stood for 'statism' rather than socialism. (iv) Communism or Marxian Socialist : The so called scientific socialism was developed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engle the two faithful friends. Karl Max (1818-83) was born in Prussia and educated at the Universities of Bonn and Berlin. After receiving his doctorate in philosophy as a discipline of Hegel, he became a journalist. His attack on Prussian Government led to the suppression of his paper . The Surveillance of the police led him to migrate to Paris in 1843. He returned to Germany during the Revolution of 1848. He was again exiled and after living in Paris and Burssels for sometimes, settled with his family in London for the rest of his life. Friedrich Engles (1820-93) was a philosopher, a political theorist and textile manufacturer. He took part in the Revolution of 1848 and was exiled from Germany. He took charge of his father's textile business in Manchester. Marx and Engles met in 1842 and again in 1844 in Paris. A life long friendship and intimate collaboration began between the two. Engles provided the means of subsistence to Marx and his family. Engles was happy to play the second and the ruling power once wrote to him that he (Marx) was always slow to grasp things and that he always followed him (Engles) in his footsteps. Engles spent the later part of his life in editing Marx's manuscripts. The first joint work of Marx and Engles was the "communist Manifesto" in February, 1848. The very first sentence they write was a challenge flung at the ruling power in Europe. "A spectre in hunting Europe-the spectre of communism." The manifesto ended with the battle cry of "workingmen of all countries, united you have nothing to loose but your chains". Though Marx and his close friend and collaborator, Friendrich Engles, clearly repudiated the theories of the utopian Socialists they had grown up at a time when the air was surcharged with these ideas. They had known many of the exponents of these doctrine personally. They also studiously studied the classical economy of Adam Smith, Ricardo and Malthus, Ideas from both these schools of thought were worked by them into the Hegalian philosophy of everlasting change. In fact, their arguments drew strength from all the three systems of thought available at the beginning of the nineteenth century. From the iron law of Ricardo they extracted the iron law of the economy. From Hegel's philosophy they took the concept of inexplorable M.A. (History) Part-I 24 Paper-II change. Admitting his debts to the German philosopher Marx declared that he found Hegel standing on his head and that he turned him over, putting him on his feet and substituting material circumstances, climate, soil, inventions, the economic struggle of classes and similar material forces for the ideas of God as the cause of changes. The inevitability of change was destined to make an end of capitalism as it had to feudalism. From the utopians, Marx and Engles drew the concept of socialism as a kind of ideal state, which was to follow the downfall of capitalism. The Marxism as at once a prophecy of a future development and a promise of good things at the end. Marx differed from the utopian theorist, St. Simon, Fourier and Owen in repudiating the idea that socialism could be introduced by voluntary agreement among kindly disposed persons. He claimed that the new order could not be established artificially. It would come as an inevitable result of the Industrial Revolution which created capitalists and factory workers and introduced intense competition. He said in the communist Manifesto 'The history of all (hither to) existing society is the history of the class struggle." From ancient time, society has always been divided in classes :freeman and slave, politician and plebain, lord and serf, guildmaster and journeyman, in a word, oppressor and oppressed, have stood in constant opposition to one another. They have carried on an uninterruped warfare, sometimes secret, sometimes open. The warfare in every case ended with in the revolutionary reconstruction of society at large or in the common ruin of the classes. The contemporary society was also split into the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. In his struggle, Marx believed that the working class would win by uniting to overthrow the capitalist class. The ownership of productive capital would be transferred to the nation or the state as a whole. It would then come to be employed for the direct of the people. Marx contended that the very development of modern industry favoured the establishment of socialism. Wealth and industries were getting concentrated in the control of great companies, trusts and corporations, which were administered by salarie managers. The capital was fast becoming only a stock holder, and idle drove receiving dividends earned for him by other men. The capitalist was being reduced to mere owner to property. He was becoming as useless as the feudal lords in the eighteenth century. He predicted that in time the capitalist's right to ownership would be abolished. The salaried employees of great corporations would become the salaried employers of the Government. The Government would take all the industries for the common good. And this way, socialism would be established. The ideas of Marxian socialism may be summarised briefly as follows : The Concept of Surplus Value Marx introduced the concept of surplus with a view to explain the capital law M.A. (History) Part-I 25 Paper-II of exploitation. It was the perennial source of gross injustice and exploitation in the capitalist system. According to Marx, labour is the sole creator of value. Of the factors of production, land, capital and organisation are sterile. They reproduced what is put in them. Only labour is capable of producing surplus value over and above its equivalent, labour produces two values : (i) necessary value and (ii) surplus value. The first equals the wage which the labourers sent in exchange by the capital and represents exploitation. This will disappear when means of production come to be owned by the Government. Materialistic Interpretation of History The economic cause is the basis of the dynamic law of history. All historical changes are determined by the modes of productions which constitute in them the economic forces. The (hand mill) create a society with the feudal lords; the steam mill a society with the industrial capitalist. The economic system is the basis on which the political, legal, ethical and intellectual super-structure of society is built. Whether Marx was right in assigning primacy to the economic forces in the causation of historical changes is a controversial issue. But there is no denying that economic factors play an important role in the causation of historical changes. The Dictatorship of the Proletariat It is the very essence of Marx's teachings. "Between capitalist and communist society lies the period of change from one into the other. The transaction period can be nothing else than revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat." It succeeds the overthrow of capitalion and will last till there is withering away of the state. It is needed to complete the task of revolution. It will also wither away with the completion of its revolutionary task. But the snag in his logic was that those who possessed power would not voluntarily relinquish it. It was in the very nature of dictatorship that it tended to grow. The changes of intra class power conflict also could not be ruled out. The development in later day Russia prove that the apparatus of the state is available not only for fighting against the bourgeiosie but can be used for holding down power conflicts with the proletariat. Karl Marx did not formulate in detail the organisation of the dictatorship of the proletariat. He just provided an idea. It is transitional stage in which state is languishing. The state has society, the final stage of man's journey towards full freedom will come about as the result of plan education. The distinction between socialism and communism is the socialism is a half- way house on the road to communism, while under socialism, the reward for labour is appointed according to merit though an effort is made to keep down inequalities M.A. (History) Part-I 26 Paper-II as far as possible, under communism the principle adopted is "free everyone according to his capacity and according to his need." Marx's Das Capital is considered to be the "bible of communism". The first volume appeared in 1867. The second and the third volumes appeared posthumously in 1895 and 1894. They were prepared and published by Engles. Marx figured prominently in organising the "First International" in 1864. The international advocated the organisation of the workers as an independent political party, the extension of factor, legislation, the establishment of 8 hour day, the building of cooperative societies, nationalisation of mines, banks, and system transportation and communication, opposition to war, and eventual taking over of political power by workers. But the international expired in 1876 due to internal bickerings among its leaders. Uptil 1870, the socialist movements were in a formation stage. They became a force gradually and Sir Harcourt Butler in 1865 declared that "we are all socialists now. Socialist as political force belongs to the twentieth century. Modified like Syndicalism, fabianism and Guild Socialism are developments which occured subsequent to 1870. M.A. (HISTORY) PART-I PAPER-II HISTORY OF THE WORLD (1815-1870)

LESSON NO. 2.4 AUTHOR : S.M. VERMA

LABOUR MOVEMENTS IN EUROPE By the mid-19th century, the importance of agriculture in the economy of some of the European countries had declined. The manufacturing industries had become the principal occupation of the people in the leading European nations. The economic and social consequences of industrialization were profound. Disturbing elements came to be introduced into the European society. The importance of landowners and peasants declined while that of traders and industrialists steadily increased. There emerged a new class that of the industrial wage earners of the 'Proletariate'. It was destined to be the storm centre of the social warfare of the future. They made an organised attempt to improve their wages and standard of life. The labour movements reflect the organised efforts of workers to achieve their goals of better wages, better conditions of work etc. At first the workers made efforts to wrest concessions direct from their employers by voluntarily organising themselves into economic associations known as trade unions. The weapons employed by them were persuasion, strikes, boycott and failing which they were to resort to other pressure tactics. Soon it was realized that they would not succeed in their aims without the clout of political power. This lead to the movement to have two wings. 'A- The industrial movement comprising trade unions as first step toward reconstruction of social order to their benefit. 'B'-The Labour Party meant for political activity to capture the machinery of the state to promote their interests. A Industrial Labour Movement Webb says "the organ of the industrial labour movement is the "Trade Union continuous association of wage earners for the purpose of maintaining or improving the condition of their working lives. All wage earners working either with their hands or brains are entitled to join. Trade unionism is the child of industrialism. When the development of capitalist production proceeds so far that the workers realize that they are condemned to be wage earners, all their lives, then they combine in self- defence with their fellow workers and Trade Unions come into existence. England was the first country where industrialization came first and hence the trade union started there. Trade Unionism in England A deep cleavage was to be noticed among the workers and the owners in clothes, 27 M.A. (History) Part-I 28 Paper-II tailoring and gold beating industries of the 18th century England. The earliest trade unions were mostly local clubs. Their main object was to get enforced the labour laws passed for the protection of workers. One such early law was in the times of Queen Elizabeth known as statute of Apprentices-1563. Although till 1793, there was no legislation against trade unionism, yet it had been felt by employes that trade unions were a threat to their rights, authority and interests. The combination laws of 1799, 1800 were the first laws to be enacted, they too were passed out of fear and panic created by the French Revolution. No distinction was made between political parties and Trade Unions. The latter was declared a criminal movement. Their members were exposed to criminal penalties. But these laws did not crush the movement totally but kept them underground. Repeat of Combination Laws : In 1804, France's place, the radical tailor of Charging Cross, reorganised that the law was unduly weighted against the workers came in contact with the leading radical of House of Commons, like Joseph Huine and succeeded in getting a bill passed. Trade Unions became lawful bodies. They were exempted from the common law of conspiracy. But the immediate consequences of the news surprised as the workman engaged in a series of strikes were got engulfed in industrial dispute. A powerful lobby to get the bill amended, made strenous efforts. On 1825, an amending act was passed which deprived trade unions of the exemption from the law of conspiracy. From legal, they became non-legal bodies, though not illegal bodies. The amendment crippled the Trade Unionism activities for next twenty years. Idea of Industrial Union During the next few years, the idea of one vast industrial unit embracing all workers haunted the imagination of trade unionists. On 1834, a Grand Nation consolidated Trade Union was formed. Agricultural as well as industrial workers were enrolled in it. The founder of this was Robert Owen who later on was known as The Father of the factory legislation. He proposed that the trade unions should take over the principal industries of the country and run them on behalf of the workers. But the grandiose plan was unpractical as each constituent of the Grand Nationol had peculiar grievances of its own according to its trade. The Grand Nations suffered loss of prestige when the agricultural labourers of Tolpuddle, Doresthsire were convicted for conspiracy. The high hopes gave place to disappointments. It led to the transfer of their activities to chairtism, a political movement (Discussed in detail in 'B' part of this question). New Unionism : During forties and fifties efforts were on for organising a new type of union. The Amalgament Society of Engineers was the earliest and the best example of Trade Unionism of this new type. It was formed in 1850 with a fusion of M.A. (History) Part-I 29 Paper-II small engineering crafts. It was national union, not a local union. It was confined to skilled workers only. It gave friendly society benefits to its members. It had high subscriptions and therefore, could afford to pay for sickness, unemployment and furtherance of trade disputes. New unionism was a new concept, its industrial policy was of peace. It discouraged strikes. During the middle sixties, Trade Unionism suffered a set back. There were outrages in Shafford, wheel the grinders were in the habit of using violent means to coerce non-unionist. The other event was a legal decision which deprived trade unions of protection for their funds. The situation called for a legislative action and the government appointed a Royal Commission to look into the matters. Royal Commission : On 1810, Gladstone appointed a Royal Commission to study in detail the various problems and grievances of the working community. Tom Hughes and Frederic Harrison were also its members, the two over middle class sympathisers of unionism. The Commission acknowledged that the majority of Trade Unions were peaceful and law abiding bodies. There was no question of reviving the 'Old combination laws'. But difference of opinion emerged on the issue of legal cognition. After deliberations Trade Union Act known as 'Charter of Liberties' was passed in 1817. Strikes were no longer considered illegal. Trade Unions were to be treated as powerful pressure groups in national politics. Unionism among Unskilled Workers : It was only in 1880 that unskilled workers were brought within the scope of Trade union organisation. It was done to the activities of John Bums, Tom Mann and Bem Tillet. They were the apostles of 'New Unionism'. They held that time was ripe for a new kind of union, a purely fighting body without friendly society benefits and with low subscription rates. The new unionism gained ground as a result of number of strikes. The most colbruted was the 'London dock strike' of 1889. The doctors won their rights because of the public support. This led to the formation of new trade organisations. TAFF Vale Case : Early in the beginning of the 20th century Trade Unionism was in conflict with the law courts . In 1901, in the famous Taff Vale Railway Company Case' union funds were held liable for payment of damages for any action on the part of the members. This decision was a blow to unionism. An organised agitation was launched and the Trade Union Act of 1906 was passed. According to it, the funds of the union were not liable for damages. This act also legalised peaceful picketing. The years immediately after the conclusion of the Ist World War, Trade unionism gained strength. Membership rose from 4 millions to 8 millions in 1920. The unions developed tendencies to form federations. The growth of industrial unionism was a symptom of a general consolidation of working class forces which was taking place at this time. There was general strike in England in 1927. As a M.A. (History) Part-I 30 Paper-II reaction to it, the government passed the Trade Union Act of 1927 by which general strikes were made illegal. Trade Unionism in France : Even before the advent of industrialism a workman's combination known as'Compagnonnage' had come into existence in France. The custom of 'Wonderjahr' a regular practice on the centinent was the source of origin of this interesting organisation. Each journey man, before starting business of his own, used to make tour of the Chief industrial centres of his country working for short period at each and adding to his technical knowledge and experience. While travelling he was helped by his 'compannage', which was an association of unmarried journeymen, not in one particular trade but in several of them. This each important won, the 'Compagnonnage' maintained an hostels where or osel, wheel travelling journeymen might obtain rest and refreshments. Two of the best 'compagnonnage' in France were 'children of Solomon' and 'Children of Master James'. Usually the 'Compagnonnage' included the workmen in a number of traders, but it was sub- divided into smaller sections which roughly coincided with the division into crafts. They had elaborate initial rites, ceremonial methods of greetings, secret signs and pass words. Their members wore specially coloured ribbons and carried loaded cane which they used on slight provocation against the members of a rival craft. Pitched battles often lingering for days between rural sections, necessitated the use of the soldiers to restore order. Gradually, the workmen's combinations gave place to fighting type trade unions of the modern brand. They were known in France as 'Societies de resistance'. They became more numerous in thirties and forties, a period which coincided with the beginning of industrialism in France. It was a great period of great unrest, unlimited strikes and a period of uneasy transition through which the country was passing. On 1831 and 1934, there were strikes among 'Lyon Silk Workers'. The 'weavers set up barricades, used slogans like 'live working or die fighting'. Both rising were put down with the help of the Army. On 1844, a serious dispute occured among the miners of the Saint-Etienne Coalfields'. Again the military had to be employed. In Paris, however, the carpenters who were on strike were able to wrest an increase in their wages from 4 to 5 francs. The 18th century workmen combination were working outside the law of the land and were, therefore, illegal. Even the revolution of 1789 did not care to grant them legality. The legislators of the revolutionary assemblies distrusted all forms of associations. On an average, more than 200 workmen were imprisoned annually for participating in illegal combinations. Many trade unions evaded law by disguising themselves as 'multualtities' or 'friendly societies'. On 1864, there was a change in the system. In that year, the penalties against M.A. (History) Part-I 31 Paper-II illegal combinations were abolished and workmen became free to form combinations and conduct strikes the law still forbade the formation of permanent associations of workmen or 'Syndicates' . On 1868, the government announced that it would take no proceedings against workmen's syndicates, despite their technical illegality. Babaret Efforts : During the early year of IIIrd Republic, the Trade unions were under a cloud, Barbaet, the journalist, made some efforts to bring about a change. He was a believer in the substantial identity of interest of masters and workmen and laboured to and recreate a pacific type of trade unionism in France. He was encouraged to do so by the government and revived unions by directing their activities into peaceful channels. A trade unions congress assembled at paris in . 1876, and adopted a mild reformist programme. In 1879, Barbaret lost the leadership of the Congress and it passed into the hands of socialists, who adopted Marxian programme and it came to be called 'The Socialist Labour Congress'. The change over weakened the Trade Unionism in France as it came to be identified with a particular political party. This led to the formation of new set up known as 'bourses-du-Travid'. It was a peculiar French institution. It was a combination of a labur exchange and a trader Council. The 'Bourse' was, however, in a building where a local Trade union had its office. There was also located in it the office where unemployed workmen could be put in touch with the employers. It acted as a friendly society, supplied reading material, newspapers, classrooms, propagated principles of Trade unionism and supported workmen in a strike. It fulfilled the local needs of the Trade union. It was not a political organisation. The first 'Bourse' we founded in 1887 and before the end of the century there were a large number of them in existence. A Federation was formed in 1892. Generate Da Travali : Meanwhile a movement had also appeared among Trade unions in 1886 and it resulted into the formation of a National Federation of Syndicates. Initially this organisation was under the influence of Marxian philosophy. But later on it was replaced by Syndicate ideology. This lead to the dissolution of the Federation. A new organisation known as generate du Trvial (C.G.T.) was formed in 1865. It was only for industrial purposes and was opposed to be political action. Its leaders desprised party action and parliamentary methods . They looked ahead for the time when the French industries would be run by the Trade unions themselves in the interests of the workers. In the early years of the 20th century the French Labour Movement under the influence of the Syndicalists, committed itself to a drastic revolutionary policy. 'All or nothing' became the motto of unionism. The war period was marked with no activity. After 1918, C.G.T. organised a general strike but with little success. Its prestige suffered a big blow. M.A. (History) Part-I 32 Paper-II The peculiar feature of the French unionism was that the unions were small were large in number and were financially weak. Subscriptions were low and their realizations were irregular. It was said that the French worker would rather support a resolution by raising both hands instead of putting one into his pocket. The concept of central federations played a great role in France than in England. Trade Unionism in Germany An industrialization started only in the last quarter of the 19th century, the development of Trade unionism was slow. The earlier combinations of workmen appeared in the printing trade as this was the first industry, where machinery was used. There was, however, a printers union in existence in 1848. Prior to this date the workers combinations were illegal in the German states Napoleon IIIrd's concessions to the French workmen had its influence in the German states and the German workmen were granted rights by 1869. The connection between Trade unionism and politics had always been much closer in Germany than in other countries. German Trade unionism was divided into three defined groups. I. The Free Socialist Group II. The Liberal or Democratic Group III. The Christian Union. 1. The Free or Socialist Group The socialist groups were generally the most powerful Trade union of group. Their founder was 'Schweitzen" who at a party conference in 1868 proposed that the party should directly undertake the formation of workmen's unions as adjunct to its organisation. This fellow associates formed nine unions and organised a Federation with 35,000 members. But this new set up came under attack by the police which harassed, and prosecuted them. This led to its unpopularity and its membership shrank to 4000 only. A similar fate was of the union in the southern states under the leadership of Bebl met a similar fate. The fusion of the two into one in 1878 gave stimulus to the Trade unionism. But there was set back because of anti-socialist laws passed by the Bismark's government. After the fall of the Bismark, the unions formed a federation and its membership rapidly increased. In 1943, it reached 2-1/ 2 million. II. The Liberal Unions These were mainly the handiworks of two Liberals, HIRSCH & DUNKAR. They wished to have peaceful Trade Unionism in Germany. They were firm believers in the virtues of thrift and self help. They had schemes of sick and unemployment benefits. The first union was framed in 1868 among the engineers and metal workers. Later on, four more unions came up and they formed a Federation. They organised a strike M.A. (History) Part-I 33 Paper-II of the miners at Waldenburg in Silesia. The strike was a complete failure and liberal unions lost prestige. Their main opponents were socialist groups and they lost their thunder unpopular when the government announced the state system of social insurance. "They were decidedly the weakest of the three union groups. III. The Christian Unions The Christian unions were the outcome of the socialist movement promoted in the seventies by Bishop Kettoler. They were formed to provide catholic working men with industrial orgnisation of their own and there to save them from the injury to their faith and morals which might result from association with anti-clerical Liberals or socialist. They followed a peaceful industrial policy. But with the passage of time, they became more aggressive and sometimes in the hour of need, would associate with the socialist groups. Their membership was mainly from the catholic parts of Germany. The revolutionary changes at the end of the first would give the German Trade unionism an entirely new and almost a privileged position in the state. The Trade Unions were recognised as the accredited representatives of the workers and collective agreement made by them with employer were given legal force. The important concession of universal eight hour working day boosted their prestige. The Nazi triumph in 1933 brought their downfall and transformed them into stage regulated corporation with no power to pursue an independent trade policy. The now formed part of the Nazi Labour Front. Strikes were forbidden, wages and hours were fixed in each district by government officials called labour trustees. B. The Political Labour Movements The political aspect of the labour movement was actuated by the idea among the trade union bodies that for the re-structuring of the social order for the amelioration of the conditions of the working class, it was necessary to capture the apparatus of the state. Only by seizing the reins of the government, could the working men be in a position to secure economic and social well being. In all the important countries of Europe, the workers drove to achieve this goal. ENGLAND : In the thirties and the forties of the 19th century England, the poor people were living in abject miserable conditions. In 1837, the year of Queen Victoria's accession, one tenth of the population at Manchester and 1/7th of Liverpool lived in cellers. In 1840, 5/6 of the population had hardly a blanket between them. At BOLTON, it is recorded the poor undled in corners upon chopped dirt, the sweeperings of a henhouse, mingled with a proportion of sparrows nest . In such circumstances, it was not surprising that many people grew important of government effect to deal with the public distress. The reform act of 1832 did not create heaven on earth. It did not enfranchise the working classes. It was a great disappointment M.A. (History) Part-I 34 Paper-II and it led to political aspirations of the working class to turn to definite demands of the chartist movement or charitism. The movement was so called because it believed in presenting a charter of demands to the Parliament. Chartist Movement : The Chartist memorandum had six points. They are : (i) Manhood suffrage (ii) Vote by Ballot (secret voting (iii) Annual Parliaments (iv) Abolition of property qualifications (v) Payment to members (vi) Equal electoral Districts. The capture of the political power by the workers was to be the first step towards the establishment of a rotton social system. This charter was originally drafted by a small group of artisans of London under the directions of William Loyctt. It was welcomed by the factory cooperatives of the north and the south. The other leaders were O' Conon an Irishman, who owned the Northern Star, a newspaper of the Chartists. They used to hold large meetings in various towns, with the object of attracting the attention of the government and in the ruling classes. A petition in favour of the charter was presented to parliament in 1839. After a careful consideration, it was rejected. This brought about split in the ranks of the chartists. The 'moral force' advocates like Lovett wished to continue the agitation by peaceful means. They 'Physical Force' believers favoured resort to violence either by the declaration of a general strike or by the organisation of an armed rebellion. Feargus O' conon supported the second alternative. The policy of the 'Physical Force' men was worse than useless. They could talk but they could not perform. A small rising of the chartist took place in New Port in 1839 and three years later an epidemic of strikes broke out.The Principal chartists were locked up. In 1842, there was a general strike. But Robert Peel's government arrested more than 500 chartists and it belowed off chartism as active movement. The last phase of the chartism came in 1848, a year of revolutions abroad. A petition was drawn up, signed by 5 million persons and a gigantic meeting for presentation to John Rusell, the Prime Minister was manned. It was to be carried in procession to Westminister. The government filled the capital with soldiers. The demonstrators around 20,000 in number, were refused permission for demonstration. O'conor took the petition in three cabs to the House of Commons, where it was received with ridicule and laughters. Chartism never recovered from this fiasco and the movement gradually died down. Its failure was inevitable. It failed because of raw leadership, divided counsels and impreacticable policy. Above all it was premature. By 1867, a combined effort of middle and working classes led by Gladstone and Bright got the right of Franchise for town workers. The agricultural labourers were given manhood suffrage in 1884. Keir Hardie : The first impulse towards setting up a working class party came M.A. (History) Part-I 35 Paper-II from Scotland. In 1888, Keir Hardie, a young miner stood for a by-election against both liberal and the conservative candidates. He was beaten but it led to the formation of a'Scottish Labour Party'. With the passage of time he got convinced that no labour movement was practicable without the backing of the Trade Unions. Accordingly, he and his friends made efforts for the formation of working class party. The outcome was the 'Labour Party'. The Parliament elected in 1900 had only two labour M.Ps. But by 1906, the number rose to 29, by 1924 and 1929. They were asked to form a government. The achievements of the first two labour governments were small. They remained in office for a short period. Political Labour Movement in France : The France revolution of 1789 was not a socialist movement. It was inspired by the ideals of economic liberalism. It did much more to protect the rights of property than to protect the rights of man. The Babeufs Communist Conspiracy in 1797 was Babeuf-Baseful and his society of equals and aimed at the equalization of wealth and visioned a society in which private property was non-existent. In this conspiracy,Babeuf was executed. He was one of the prosecutors of the French Revolutionists a movement which revealed how feeble were the forces opposed to the existing order. The man of Property, the burgeoisie and the peasant properties profited by the revolution. A less worker gained nothing not even the barren freedom with the declaration of the 'Rights of Man' declared to be his by natural law. A watchful government seriously interfered with his mobility. Each workman had to carry a 'Livert', a little book containing the names of his previous employers with report on his conduct. Without this, he could not obtain a job. Workman's combinations were forbidden by law. In the highly centralized political system of France, governments were made and unmade in Paris. Once the change of government had taken in Paris, it would mean a change all over the country. They supplied the revolutionaries with a insurrectionary fighting force. This happened in the July revolution of 1830, which was pre-eminently a middle class movement. The owners closed their workshops and sent their workmen to man the barricades. During the closing years of Louis Phillippe's (1846-48), all the opposition parties were openly bidding for the favour of the industrial workers. The 1848 revolution was to great extent the hand work of the industrial workers. The workers also resolved to exact certain concession for their contributions. The socialists ideals like right to work, the organisation of the labour etc. were taken as secrets of a new and beneficial order. In the 1848 revolution, the proletariat class found itself in a position to dictate to its middle class (Bourgeoisie) allies,. The provisional government after 1848 found itself at the mercy of the parisions mob and made all efforts to keep the populance in good humour by yielding to its demands. The worker leaders like Louis Blanc, M.A. (History) Part-I 36 Paper-II suddenly found himself as the most powerful man in France. He was able to get the right to work approved by the government. A labour commission headed by himself was conceded. This Commission had its setting in the Luxemburg palace. The practical result came of the deliberatios of this labour parliament. Most of the recommendations were shelved. National Workshops : To check the distress and unemployment the government opened National workshops as a means of relief to the workers. These workshops were labour exchanges for the provisions of relief work or of doles in default of work. These workshops were entirely different from the social workshops of the Louis Blanc. Two francs were paid to the employed men and one franc to the others. The great majority drew the lower rate of pay and were exposed to all the demoralising influences of idleness. The number of unemployed rose alarmingly. The expenditure was a drain on the national exchequer but it ensured peace in the capital. With the passage of time, the government gained strength and was able to bring troops to the capital in June Luxemburg Commission was dissolved. National Workshops were closed. The insurrection of the working was quelled with a savage fighting in the streets of Paris. These events rendered the french labour movement important for another twenty years. The rebellion of the Commune in 1871 gave the Parisian workmen control of the capital for a few months. A regular socialist party was constituted in 1880, under hardwork of GUSEDE, Alleman, Taures, Miller and Briand , Despite these different shades, they fought together the parliamentary elections. Forty socialist representatives got elected in 1893. By 1910, the socialist kept on gaining strength and their number rose to 149 in 1910. But the association of JAURES and the beginning of the war gave a blow to the party. In 1924, this set back was partly repaired as it secured 102 seats. By 1936, the party secured for the first time, the largest representation in the chamber and an alliance of socialists and radicals, the so called popular Front, was formed. Germany The founder of the German Social Democracy was Fedion and Lessalle (1825- 64), a middle class jew from Breslau, who combined conspicious talents with the takes and habits of man of fashion. He was a gifted political agitation. It is his distinction to have turned the German working class into a political force. He remained in eclipse from 1848 to 1862. In that years (Bismarck) was engaged in a fierce quarrel with liberal over the question of Army Bill which he wanted to push through the legislative despite the opposition of the lower house. In a public lecture at Berlin Lassalle violently attacked the liberals, poured scorn on their constitutional doctrines and proclaimed himself a nationalist, though a democrat and socialist. M.A. (History) Part-I 37 Paper-II Shortly afterwards, he founded a universal German working Men's Association placing in the forefront his demand for universal sufferage. This purely political measure, however, was intended merely as a stepping stone to important social reforms, which should secure the economic emancipation of the working class. Lassalle provided to be a better man of action than a thinker. He succeeded in weakening the German workers to political consciousness and endowing them with a party organisation for realisation of their ideals. In Southern Germany, a parallel socialist movement as growing under the leadership of 'Liebloncept' and Bebel. They drew their inspiration from Marx. After German political unity in 1871, thes two groups united together in 1875. They succeeded in forming a new political party known as Socialist Workmen party a name which was later changed to the German Social Democratic Party. Bismarck kept a strict watch on the activities of this party and in 1873, he resolved on a vigorous attempt of exterminate it by force. Two attempts on the life of the emperor were attributed to this party. This gave an excuse to get through the Riechstag an anti-socialist law which placed a ban on all forms of socialists activities. It remained in existence for 12 years but it failed to achieve its purpose. The party flourished and its voting strength steadily increased. By 1890, the government changed its policy towards the socialists and repeated the anti-socialist laws. Next year, the socialist principal party met as 'ERFURT' and drew up a new social programme based on Mariar principal of Karl Marx and did not approve of this programme. By 1912, it became the strongest group in the Reichstag. The revolution of 1918 brought a great accession of strength of the socialists and it was a socialist who carried through the transition of strength from the entire to the republic. After 1922, the socialists were mostly in the opposition. Their party was still the strongest in the Reichistag but it was a minority compared with the combined anti-socialist groups and its power to influence political events was greatly weakened. It was overwhelmed by Nazi Revolution in 1933. Its failure was due to its weak and ineffective leadership. The Party chiefs would neither pursue a revolutionary policy independently nor unite loyalty with the constitutional parties in defence of the Republic. Their lack, of political courage and insight made them an easy prey to unscruplous minority, which knew what it wanted. International Labour Movements The course of international labour movement has been bound up with the fortunes of the three great internationals. The first international was very largely the creation of Marx in 1862. Napoleon III sent a delegation of French working men to visit the exhibition at London by Marx who was in political exile there took advantage of their presence to discuss the creation of a international socialist organisation. M.A. (History) Part-I 38 Paper-II After discussions and negotiations in 1864, the First International Working Men's Association was formed. Its branches were also set up in the other European countries. It excited great alarm and was denounced in the conservative press. But it had its inherent weaknesses. The authority of Marx was continuously challenged by the anarchist Bankunin. He wanted to take charge of it. After a factional fight in 1872, Benkunin and his followers were expelled. Marx shifted to HQ of the international to New York. The IInd International was formed in 1899. A conference was held in Paris and arrangements were an International Socialist Bureau was set up at Baussels. By 1914, twenty seven countries had become its affiliated members. It was dormant in its activities during the First World War and again revived its activities in 1919. Its main programme was one of moderate socialism to be achieved by constitutional means. The IIIrd Moscow International or "Comitern" came into being in 1919. It was a Bolshevist Party, proclaiming the class war and the dictatorship of the proletariat. Its chief strength was derived from Russia. After Stalin's accession to power its activities were discouraged by 1943, the organisation itself was dissolved. QUESTIONS 1. What is the Trade Union? Give a detailed account of the history of the industries labour movement in Europe. 2. Write a brief history of Political Labour Movements in Europe. 3. What do you know about Chartist Movement in England? Why did it fail? SUGGESTED READINGS 1. Cole : A Short History of the British Working Classes Movement. 2. Russel, B. : German Social Democracy. 3. Sand B., Webb : History of Trade Unionism. 4. S.P. Gregg : A Social and Economic History of Britain, 1760-1950. 5. Birnnie, : Economic History of Europe.