CHAPTER II THE STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE [1799-1825]
THE traditional history of the Trade Union Movement
represents the period prior to 1824 as one of unmitigated
persecution and continuous repression. Every Union that
can nowadays claim an existence of over a century pos-
sesses a romantic legend of its early years. The midnight
meeting of patriots in the corner of a field, the buried box
of records, the secret oath, the terms of imprisonment of
the leading officials all these are in the sagas of the older
Unions, and form materiaj out of which, in an age untroubled
by historical criticism, a semi-mythical origin might easily
have been created. That the legend is not without a basis
of fact, we shall see in tracing the actual effect upon the Trade
Union Movement of the legal prohibitions of combinations
of wage-earners which prevailed throughout the United
Kingdom up to 1824. But we shall find that some com-
binations of journeymen were at all times recognised by the
law, that many others were only spasmodically interfered
with, and that the utmost rigour of the Combination Laws
was not felt until the far-reaching change of policy marked
'by the severe Acts of 1799-1800, which applied to all indus-
tries whatsoever. This will lead us naturally to the story
of the repeal of the whole series of Combination Laws in
1824-5, the most impressive event in the early history of
the movement.
6 4
The Society to enforce the Law 65
There is a clear distinction at any rate, as regards
England between the various statutes which forbade com-
bination prior to the end of the eighteenth century, and the
general Combination Acts of 1799-1800. In the numerous
earlier Acts recited anci .repealed in 1824 the prohibition of
combination was in all cases incidental to the regulation of
the industry. It was assumed to be the business of Parlia-
ment and the law courts to regulate the conditions of labour ; and combinations could, no more than individuals, be per- mitted to interfere in disputes for which a legal remedy was provided. The object primarily aimed at by the statutes was not the prohibition of combinations, but the fixing of wages, the prevention of embezzlement or damage, the enforcement of the contract of service or the proper arrange- ments for apprenticeship. And although combinations to interfere with these statutory aims were obviously illegal, and were usually expressly prohibited, it was an incidental result that combinations formed to promote the objects of the legislation, however objectionable they might be to employers, were apparently not regarded as unlawful. 1
Thus one of the earliest types of combination among
journeymen the society to enforce the law seems always
to have been tacitly accepted as permissible. Although it
is probable that such associations came technically within
the definitions of combination and conspiracy, whether
under the common law or the early statutes, we know of
no case in which they were indicted as illegal. We have
already described, for instance, how, in 1726, the woollen
weavers of Wiltshire and Somersetshire openly combined
to present a petition to the King in Council against their
masters, the broad clothiers. The Privy Council, far from
deeming the action of the weavers illegal, considered and
dealt with their complaint. And when the employers per-
sisted in disobeying the law, we have seen how, in 1756, the
1 An elaborate account of this legislation will be found in Labour
Legislation, Labour Movements, and Labour Leaders, by G. Howell, 1902, pp. 21-42.