BRITISH WORKING CLASS MOVEMENTS Also ~y G. D. H. Cole * AN INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMIC HlSTORY, 1750-1950 A HISTORY OF SOClALIST THOUGHT, Vols. I-V ATTEMPTS AT GENERAL UNION: A Study in British Trade Union History, 1818-34 CHARTIST PORTRAITS THE CASE FOR INDUSTRIAL PARTNERSHIP BRITISH WORKING CLASS MOVEMENTS * SELECT DOCUMENTS 1789-1875 BY G. D. H. COLE AND A. W. FILSON Palgrave Macmillan 1965 ISBN 978-0-333-08563-9 ISBN 978-1-349-86219-1 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-86219-1 This book is copyright in all countries which are signatories to the Berne Convention First Edition 1951 &issued 1965 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1965 978-0-333-01125-6 MACMILLAN AND COMPANY LIMITED St Martin's Street London WC.2 also Bombay Calcutta Madras IIfelboume THE MACMILLAN COMPANY OF CANADA LIMITED 70 Bond Strut Toronto .2 ST MARTIN'S PRESS INC 175 Fifth Avenue New ror/, 10010 Nr PREFACE THIS volume has been designed to serve as a companion to G. D. H. Cole's " Short History of the British Working-class Movement", which, first published more than twenty years ago, was revised throughout and extended in the new edition of 1948. It can also be used with "The Common People", by G. D. H. Cole and Raymond Postgate, of which a thoroughly revised edition was published in 1946. As both these volumes give book references, it has not been considered necessary to repeat them here; but references to both these books J have been given for each main section. The passages inclnded in the present volume are taken from many sources. A large number have been quoted from books and pamphlets included in G. D. H. Cole's collection, now at Nuffield College, Oxford. Others come from the Place and other collections in the British Museum; from the Horne Office Papers at the Record Office; from the George Howell collection at the Bishopsgate Institute, London, or from similar familiar gathering grounds. Our special thanks are due to Professor Aspinall of Reading University for allowing us to supplement our own excerpts from the Horne Office Papers by quoting from his volume, " The Early English Trade Unions"; to Dr. S. R. Driver, for two documents given in his life of Richard Oasder, published under the tide, " Tory Radicai"; to Mrs. Barbara Hammond and to Messrs. Longmans, Green & Co. for several documents quoted from " The Skilled Labourer " and " The Village Labourer"; to Mr. A. W. Humphrey for documents quoted from his" History of Labour Representation "; to Mr. Ness Edwards, for a passage from his " History of the South Wales Miners "; to Dr. M. W. Thomas, for several extracts from his book, "The Early Factory Legislation "; to Mr. R. W. Postgate, for a passage from " The Builders' History "; and to Mr. Reg. Groves, for permission to quote a labourers' song from his" Sharpen the Sickle ". We began work on this volume in 1937, and had prepared the greater part of the material before war broke out. We had then to lay it aside, and have only now been able to finish it. It was fully in shape before, in 1948, aseries of small volumes, forming a series calld " History in the Making " and covering apart of the I Referred to respectively as " Short History " and " Common People ". v British Working Class Movements same ground in a substantially different way, began to be issued, and our own selections were made entirely without reference to these volumes. We have done our best to be accurate ; but in transcribing from copy in libraries, and especially in dealing with manuscript material, some errors are bound to creep in. Weshall be grateful to any reader who draws our attention to mi stakes of any kind. G.D.H.C. A.W.F. May 1949 VI CONTENTS CHAP. PAGE I. THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION. INTRODUCTION I. THE LABOURERS. From Rev. D. Davies, "The Case of the Labourers in Husbandry ", 1795 . 3 2. THE STATE OF THE POOR. (a) From Sir F. M. Eden, " The State of the Poor", 1797. (b) From the same 4 3. THE MANUFACTURING SYSTEM. From Robert Owen, " Observations on the Effect of the Manufacturing System ", 1815 . 8 4. THE WOOLLEN INDUSTRY. From aReport on the State of the Woollen Manufacture of England, 1806 I2 5. THE COAL MINERS, 1765. From the Annual Register, 1765 14 6. THE SEAMEN. From the Horne Office Papers, 1792. Reproduced from A. AspinalI, "The Early English Trade Unions", 1949 . 16 7. THE SKILLED ARTISANS. From the Place MSS., 27,834 f. 108 (1834) 19 8. FOOD RIOTS. (a) From the Annual Register, 1766. (b) From the same 20 9. THE SPEENHAMLAND SCALE. From J. L. and B. Ham- mond, " The Village Labourer, 1760-1832 " (19II). 25 11. POLITICAL MOVEMENTS TO 1789 27 INTRODUCTION I. WILKES AND LIBERTY. A Test for Parliamentary Candi- dates, 1771 28 2. THE AMERICAN WAR. From William Cobbett, "the Life and Adventures of Peter Porcupine ", 1796 29 3. " TAKE YOUR CHOICE !" (a) Extracts from John Cart­ wright's" Take Your Choice ! ", 1776. (b) A Letter from Richard Price. From" Life and Correspond- ence of Major John Cartwright " 30 4. THE YORKSHlRE REFORMERS. From the Wyvill Papers, vol. i (1794) 32 5. THE WESTMINSTER COMMITTEE. From the ' Report of the Sub-Committee of Westminster', 1780. From the same 34 6. THE SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CONSTITUTIONAL IN­ FORMATION, 1780. From the Society's volume of Tracts, 1783 35 vii British Working Class Movements CHAP. PAGK III. GREAT BRITAIN AND THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 37 INTRODUCTION I. THE REvOLUTION SOCIETY. (a) From a Congratulatory Address to the National Assembly in France, 1789. (b) From Dr. Richard Price's " Discourse on the Love of Our Country ", 1789 . 39 2. THE RIGHTS OF MAN. (a) From Thomas Paine, " Rights of Man ", Part I, 1790. (b) From the same, Part 11, 1791. (c) From the same, 1791 40 3. THE LONDoN CORRESPONDING SOCIETY. (a) From " An Address to the Nation from the London Cor­ responding Society", 1793. (b) From the Place MSS., 27,812 f. 75. [1793]. (c) FromJohn Thelwall, " The Rights of Britons ", 1795. (d) From" Revolu- tions without Bloodshed ", 1794 43 4. THE SOCIETY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL INFORMATION. From " An Address by John Frost and Joel Barlow, Mem­ bers of the Society for Promoting Constitutional Information " 52 5. THE SOCIETY OF THE FRIENDS OF THE PEOPLE. From an Address of the Society, 1794 54 6. THE BRITISH CONVENTION, 1793. (a) From the Second Report of the Committee of Secrecy, 1794. (b) From the same, 1794 . 54 7: lIog's Wash, or Politics for the People. (a) From Daniel Isaac Eaton, Hog's Wash, 1793. (b) From the same, 1793. (c) From the same, Part 11, No. I, 1794 56 8. THE RADICALS AND THE FRENCH WAR. From the same, Part 11, No. 8, 1794 58 9. THE MANCHESTER REFORMERS. (a) From "The Whole Proceedings on the Trial of an Indictment against Thomas Walker and Others, for a Con­ spiracy", 1794. (b) From Thomas Walker, "A Review of some of the Political Events which have occurred in Manchester during the Last Five Years ", 1794. (c) From the same, 1794 60 10. THE LOYAL ASSOCIATIONS. (a) From Debrett's Parlia- mentary Register, vol. xxxiv. (b) From the Reeves MSS. [1792] 65 1 I. THE TRIAL OF THOMAS MUIR. From" State Trials ", vol. xxiii . 66 12. THE COMMITTEE OF SECRECY, 1794. (a) From the First Report, 1794. (b) From the same, 1794. (c) From the Second Report, 1794. (d) From the same, 1794 67 13. THE TREASON TRIALS OF 1794. From" The Trial at Large of Thomas Hardy for High Treason", October 28 to November 5,1794. (RepOl:ted by John Newton, 1794) . 69 viii Contents PAGE 14. THE NAVAL MUTINIES OF 1797. Manifesto of the Delegates to their Countryrnen: Address handed to Lord Northesk, .Tune 6, 1797. Frorn" Revolution frorn 1789 to 1906 " (1923) 72 15. REPRESSIVE LECISLATION, 1795-1800. (a) Frorn the Seditious Meetings Act, 1795. (b) Frorn the Unlawful Oaths Act, 1797. (e) Frorn the Corresponding Societies Act, 1799 74 16. THE RADICAL REVIVAL, 1806-1807. (a) Frorn Cobbett's Weekly Politieal Register, 1806. (b) Frorn the Place MSS. 27,850 ff. 19-20 [1806]. (e) Frorn the same, 27,838 ff. 19-20 [1807] . 77 CHAP. IV. TRADE UNIONISM TO 1815 82 INTRODUCTION I. TRADE UNIONS AND THE LAW BEFORE 1799. (a) Frorn A Bill of Conspiracies of Victuallers and Craftsrnen, 1548 (2 & 3 Edw. VI. c. 15). (b) Frorn Notes and Queries, 1867. (e) From 12 Geo. I. c. 34 (1726). (d) Frorn' Rex v. the Journeymen Tailors of Cam­ bridge', 1721. (e) Frorn" The Trial of the Journey- rnen Printers", 1798 85 2. THE COMBINATION ACTS OF 1799 AND 1800. From The Cornbination Act, 1800 90 3. THE COTTON TRADE IN 1812. From Alexander Rich- rnond's Evidence before the Cornrnittee on Artizans and Machinery, 1824 93 4. THE ENFoRcEMENT OF THE COMBINATION LAWS.From the Horne Office Papers. Reproduced frornA.Aspinall, "The Early English Trade Unions ", 1949 (16 extracts) . 99 5. THE SKILLED CRAFTS. (a) Frorn The Gorgon, 1818. (b) Frorn "The London Scale of Prices for Com­ positors' Work: agreed upon, April 16th, 1810, with Explanatory Notes, and the Scales of Leeds, York, Dublin, Belfast, and Edinburgh " 105 6. THE STATUTE OF ARTIFICERS, REpEAL OF WACES AND ApPRENTICESHIP CLAUSES, 1813-1814. From the Statute of Artificers, 1562. (5 Eliz. c. 4) 109 V. THE LUDDITES . III I NTRODUCTI ON I. THE MIDLAND LUDDITES. The Declaration of the Frarnework Knitters, 1812. Horne Office Papers, 42{1I9 lU A· ix British Working Class Movements PAGK 2.