CHAPTER XIV. CONCLUSION-GENERAL REVIEW, AND FUTURE OF TRADE-UNIONS. IN the preceding pages we have traced the history of trade-unions from their origin to the present day; we have seen their inception and birth, watched their development through infancy and childhood, and followed their progress through youth up to the time when they became partially recognised by law as an institution and social force in the state. We have marked their struggles, step by step, to free themselves from the last vestige of the old combination laws, and have indicated the several victories won by them until in 1871 the Legislature declared them to be lawful assemblies, and extended its protection to their corporate property, although even then the objects only were legalised but not the means by which they sought to attain them; and we have seen them obtain their full legal majority under the Labour Laws of 1875, which not only sanctioned the objects but justified the means, so long as they are peaceable and do not attempt to interfere with the liberty and freedom of action of others. We now behold them in full vigour, unshackled and free, with a long history, immense resources in numbers and in wealth, and possessed of no mean advantages with which to wage the great battles of industrial life. The important question which now arises is, are not great dangers to be apprehended from those vast organisations of the industrious classes, lest they should wield their enormous power imprudently and unwisely, nay, mischievously, and to the disadvantage of all those not within their own ranks? Danger? Yes, there is always danger to the body politic in the combinations of classes unless they are restrained by a wise prudence, and their deliberations are open to the light of day. It is sometimes necessary to call in the power of the Legislature to adjust the incidence of the force thus created, to temper its action, or to punish the excesses of those who trespass beyond the clear line of social order and just law. The old feudal barons used their power with terrific violence until municipal law stepped in to curb its force and reduce it to some kind of limit. The aristocracy which grew out of the old system of feudalism wielded an immense and destructive power, until the middle and the working classes combined in 1830 and wrenched from them a portion of their monopoly of power. The middle classes having obtained their ends in 1832, soon forgot their promises to the working classes, and used their newly acquired influence almost exclusively for their own benefit; they developed their resources and their strength, and made rapid inroads upon the power of the aristocracy, but the new party did not extend a helping hand to those who were struggling for their own emancipation from the effects of earlier legislation. They unwisely and ungenerously continued the laws against combination and free contract, and very often aggravated their force by countenancing a new engine of repression in the shape of the conspiracy laws, or the application of the common law of conspiracy to trade disputes, which, after the Reform Bill of 1832, became more than ever frequent. The repeal of those laws was chiefly due to the energy, perseverance, and indomitable will of the workmen themselves, backed up by the wealth and power of the unions, organised and controlled by men who knew what they wanted, and the requirements of those for whom they worked. These leaders were earnest, capable, and honourable men, and they had to battle with every political party in the state in order to accomplish what they deemed to be a fair and just settlement of their demands. In the monopoly of power, in class privileges, in combinations for special interests, there will ever be a source of danger. As there has been in the past, so would there be in the future, if the government of the unions were left in the hands of violent, aggressive, and ignorant men. This, however, is not generally the case; we may therefore look forward hopefully to their future, with the full confidence, inspired by their past history and their present work, that their authority will be exercised with moderation, with a due regard to the rights of others and the duties they owe to the state, which is bound to extend its protection to all, without favour or preference, whether to individuals or to classes. Hitherto their work has been necessarily confined to objects and measures chiefly affecting their own members as trade-unionists, but their action is no longer narrowed to their own limited sphere. It disregards class, party, and sect; it is becoming broader day by day now that they are freed from legal restrictions and disabilities. This will extend in proportion as they take their proper position as free citizens in a free state, and as they realise their strength through the organisations which they possess in every constituency in the kingdom. The voting power of their associations is enormous if properly utilised, and could well be used for the purpose of sending into Parliament some picked men of sufficient ability to defend their interests and maintain the concessions already granted by the Legislature. This influence can also be used for local and municipal purposes as well as imperial. It is said that local Acts are being used to override the Labour Laws of 1875; if this be true, the fault lies with the workmen, for they could alter and amend local Acts just as easily, aye, and more easily, than general Acts which apply to the entire country. They ought to contest for places in the local and municipal government of the towns as some of them have done for seats in Parliament, and they must remember that seats are won by numbers, and by voting, and not by mere talking. The labourers are showing a good example in this respect; let Glasgow and Manchester, which have been so loud in their complaints, imitate those who have already contested for a share of representation in the local self-government of the towns and villages of the agricultural districts of the country. As a proof that the unions are adapting themselves to the new conditions under which they now live, the Parliamentary programme for 1878 may be cited. It is divisible into two parts, the first having reference to measures directly affecting the working classes, while the second embraces those which have an important bearing on the whole community. They are as follows: a. (1.) To amend the law of compensation in cases of accidents, so that workmen or their families may recover damages from an employer in the event of injury or death from accidents due to negligence on the part of employers. (2.) To secure the passing of the Government Bill to amend and consolidate the laws relating to factories and workshops. (3.) The extension of the Employer and Workmen Act, 1875, to English seamen whilst in British waters. (4.) Compulsory certificates of competency for men in charge of steam-engines and boilers. Of the above, (2) and (3) are Government measures, the Factory and Workshops Bill having been already before Parliament, and the other relating to seamen has been distinctly promised by a cabinet minister. The remaining one must commend itself to the judgment of the country, for it simply deals with accidents and injuries to the person, which everybody deplores. The method is a mere matter of detail. b. (1.) This deals with the administration of justice. First they ask for a reform in the matter of summary jurisdiction of magistrates, with the view specially of securing the right of an appeal to, and of trial by, jury, and of rendering less frequent unnecessary imprisonment. Second, an alteration in the mode of appointing unpaid and unqualified magistrates. Third, the reform of the jury laws by lowering the qualification for jurymen, so as to admit a large number of workmen to the discharge of the important duties of jurymen, and thereby prevent the necessity of men serving as jurors so frequently, and provide reasonable payment for loss of time. (2.) They ask for a codification of the criminal laws. Few persons will be disposed to question the advisability of most of these measures; the chief difference of opinion which can arise will be as to the precise alterations to be made; some would possibly demur as to the direction which the changes should take, and the provisions proposed to be substituted for those now in force. Scarcely a day passes without allusions in the press to the administration cf the law, and in con |