W Hamish Fraser - British Trade Unions, 1707-1918, Part II, Volume 5

Volume 5

Volume 5
18651880

Edited by

W. Hamish Fraser

First published 2008 by Pickering & Chatto (Publishers) Limited

Published 2016 by Routledge

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Taylor & Francis 2008

Editorial material W. Hamish Fraser 2008

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BRITISH LIBRARY CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION DATA

British trade unions, 17071918

Vols. 58

1. Labor unions Great Britain History 18th century Sources 2. Labor unions Great Britain History 19th century Sources 3. Labor movement Great Britain History 18 th century Sources 4. Labor movement Great Britain History 19th century Sources

I. Fraser, W. Hamish

331.88094109033

ISBN-13: 978-1-85196-831-2 (set)

Typeset by Pickering & Chatto (Publishers) Limited

By the mid-1860s there were signs of a new confidence among trade-union leaders. In the trades councils that had been formed in many of the major cities, they found a forum to discuss the wider issues affecting the working class. The leaders also found themselves being courted by political figures and key individuals who were keen to get even greater commitment by trade unions to the campaign for further political reform that was gathering momentum. The size and efficiency of some of the large craft unions was being presented as evidence that at least some of the working class, the so-called aristocracy of labour, were capable of self-government and, therefore, deserving of the vote. Middle-class reformers began to see the labour aristocracy as potential allies in their campaigns against the continuing domination of the landed class. Trade unionists began to involve themselves in campaigns in support of the North in the American Civil War and for Italian and Polish independence, where they made contact with middle-class radicals. On the other hand, there was a wariness on the part of many trade unionists about political involvement, fearing that it would prove divisive and a diversion from the industrial struggle. But, persuaded by the arguments put forward by George Howell and the Reform League, increasing numbers began to believe that a political voice at Westminster was necessary.

Confidence also arose from the fact that in the London Trades Council there was now a coterie of highly capable leaders of some of the new large amalgamated societies. In William Allan of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers, Robert Applegarth of the Amalgamated Carpenters and Joiners, Daniel Guile of the Friendly Society of Ironfounders, Edwin Coulson of the Operative Bricklayers Society, and George Odger, the secretary of the Council, Sidney and Beatrice Webb identified a increasingly powerful junta, who saw themselves as the natural leaders of the trade-union movement. Although they were never as united or as powerful as the Webbs suggest and their initial reactions to various disputes could be different, none the less there was clearly a great deal of discussion and collaboration between these men and they achieved a national standing. Attempts to dictate to the rest of the movement led to tensions. Personal animosities and offended