Mr. Nicholls then left the chair, and he with Mr. Winfrey retired from the meeting. Mr. W. B. Harris occupied it for the rest of the business, but the meeting was too excited to transact much business and it ended in confusion. Thus ended the first chapter of the Union.
I left the meeting greatly perplexed, wondering if the child I had brought into being was going to be killed in its infancy. I knew its life was in terrible danger, having passed through a similar experience in the years that were past. I had, however, great hopes for the future.
I think that I ought not to close this stage of the Union's history without paying a tribute to those who were going out of the movement and who jointly with me had done their best to build up the Union to its present position. In the previous pages in giving the facts of the struggles we had to pass through in the early stages of the Union it might appear that I complain rather bitterly of my colleagues who had worked with me during the four years, but nothing of the kind is my intention. No body of men have worked with greater honesty or were prepared to make greater sacrifices in the cause of human progress. Neither the president, Mr. Nicholls, nor Mr. Winfrey nor Mr. H. A. Day ever took a penny piece for time, rail fare or out-of-pocket expenses, and on one occasion these three gentlemen paid for the delegates' lunch at one of the General Council meetings. No member of the committee ever charged more than 2s. per day and his rail fare, and for the first twelve months took only their rail fare. In fact, in March we had a balance at the bank of £1,569 0s. 10d. saved in less than four years, and, when it is remembered that the members only paid 2d. per week contribution or 8d. per month, it must be admitted that there is great credit due to those men who had given so much time and labour to build up a movement of this kind. Most of them were inexperienced so far as Trade Unionism was concerned.
The only mistake they made was that they endeavoured to build a strong labourers' Union on strictly commercial lines, which was not humanly possible; but the mistake was a creditable one, and these pioneers of this movement will go down to history as having laid a foundation of one of the finest movements in the world's history. I can look back with my connection with these men in the early stages of this movement with the greatest pleasure. The work was hard but it was of the pleasantest kind, and although Sir Richard Winfrey, M.P., has since allied himself with a party that is anti-progressive, he has done some good work for the agricultural labourers. I am sorry we shall always have to remain in opposite camps, and I feel it my duty to appear on a platform in opposition to him, still he must be given credit for the good work he has done.
The same must be said of my friend Mr. George Nicholls. I only wish he had stayed with us. He could have done far more useful work, but this separation is only what has always happened in times of strikes. I have never known a strike so far as agricultural labourers are concerned without it has either ended in a split or a large number of the labourers concerned leaving the Union, and that is one of the reasons all through my long connection with the Labour movement why I have always been against the strike weapon being used until every other means have failed to secure justice. Even a victory by a strike is dearly bought. I would commend this experience to my young readers who are coming along in the Labour movement in the future. For strikes in the future will be more dreadful than they have been in the past.
CHAPTER XV THE NEW MODEL
The General Council being over and the new Executive being elected, they were called upon to bring to a close the strike according to the decision of the old Executive, which, though we soon found it to be a very difficult matter, we set about in a business-like manner. In our President, Mr. W. R. Smith, and Mr. Holmes we had two men who had had wide experience in settling such things; this made the task much more easy, and we closed the dispute without inflicting more hardship than we could possibly help. Apart from this nothing eventful happened during the year. I set myself to work to prevent the split taking wider dimensions than could be helped, and I soon found that I had got a most sympathetic Executive Committee which made my task very much easier. The General Council meeting was held at Fakenham on March 9, 1912. The President, Mr. W. R. Smith, presided. To show the progress we had made during the year and the task devolving upon us, I will give my report as I presented it to the General Council:—
Respected Brethren,—In presenting you with my Annual Report and Balance Sheet, I wish again to thank you for the continued confidence you have placed in me during the year; also to thank the officers and friends who have rendered me such valuable service in carrying on the work of the Union.
Our worthy president, Mr. W. R. Smith, J.P., has thrown his whole soul into the work and has attended a large number of meetings, has cycled hundreds of miles without fee or reward, and in business meetings has proved himself a most able president. Mr. H. A. Day, our treasurer, has rendered most able assistance in putting the affairs of the Union on a better financial basis, while Messrs. J. A. Arnett, R. Green, W. Holmes and other members of the Executive have all done useful work. We have also had the assistance of Messrs. Reeves, George Roberts, M.P., George Lansbury, M.P., Keir Hardie, M.P., Noel Buxton, M.P., and Joseph Fell.
We commenced the year under a very dark cloud. Differences of opinion had arisen over the conclusion of the unfortunate strike at St. Faith's, and because of these differences some of our old friends left us. Others prophesied that the doom of the Union was cast. We had also been seriously handicapped by hostile criticism in some journals, while others had not given us the same publicity as hitherto.
One of the first things your Executive did on coming into office was to put the Union on to a thoroughly business-like footing. All monies are now banked in the Union's own banking account. All monies are now paid by cheque drawn by the treasurer, and an entirely new system of book-keeping has been adopted and every account receives a double entry.
The Executive on coming into office had to bring the dispute to a conclusion according to the decision of the late Executive, and this we found to be a most difficult task. It could not be done without causing a deal of heart-burning amongst many of the members affected, and we had also to deal with one or two clear cases of victimization which we were bound to take up. Yet, notwithstanding this serious crisis, we have been able to hold our own. We have admitted during the year 617 new members. Our organizers have cycled thousands of miles in attending meetings. Mr. Coe has attended 183 meetings in Norfolk, 14 in Oxfordshire, 13 in Kent, total 210, and has cycled 3,240 miles. Mr. Codling has held 242 meetings in Norfolk, has walked 202 miles, and cycled 2,840 miles. I have attended 153 meetings in Norfolk for the Union, 12 in Kent, 18 in Oxfordshire, total number of meetings for the Union 183. In addition to these I have attended 83 meetings in connection with my duties as Guardian and County Councillor. I have attended altogether 266 meetings and have cycled 1,866 miles and have travelled by rail 1,563 miles. The total number of meetings held in Norfolk is 751 and in other counties 57, giving a grand total of 808. Early in the autumn we received urgent appeals to visit other counties, and the committee yielded to the requests. So we have for some weeks past been carrying on a campaign in Kent, Oxfordshire and Bedfordshire, and have been able to open several new branches in these counties. New branches have been formed in the following places: Aylsham, Larkfield, East Malling, West Mailing, Offham, Ivy Hatch, Wateringburgh, Roughton, Monchelsea, Barming, Wardington, Croughton, Chacombe Evenly, Clifton, Souldren, Chipping, Warden, Cople, Biggleswade and Morening. Sixteen small branches have become defunct in Norfolk. We have held fifteen Sunday meetings during the summer months, which again proved a great success and were attended by several thousand people. Collections were made at each meeting to defray expenses and there is a small balance left. The committee had hoped to have a good balance left to form a benevolent fund to help needy cases. The collections, however, did not come up to those of last year and several of the meetings did not pay their way, but the committee have been able to deal with some few cases out of the fund.
We have been called upon again this year to place a large number of cases in our solicitor's hands, and these he has dealt with in a most able and successful way. In three cases he was able to effect a settlement which put into our members' pockets £256 12s. 6d. In other cases he has been successful, as his report will show. I think the Union ought to congratulate itself that it has such an able advocate and adviser as Mr. Keefe. The committee wishes me to press upon all our members that they must not in any case settle the matter themselves without the solicitor's instructions when once they have placed the matter into our hands.
Our Union was again this year represented at the Trade Union Congress held at Newcastle in September. The committee sent two delegates, Mr. James Coe and myself. We were treated with great respect by the delegates and much sympathy was expressed towards our class when we related the great difficulties and the hardships they have to endure. The Trades Board Act resolution was carried unanimously and the Parliamentary Committee has already taken action. I attended the deputation to the President of the Board of Trade on February 26th and pointed out to him that a labourer with a wife and children, when he had paid for rent, coal and clothing, had only just a little over ¾d. per meal, and therefore you as a class were receiving much below a living wage. The President of the Board of Trade, whilst admitting that you were underpaid, asked for the Government to have time to work the Act before any more trades were included.
The President of the Board of Trade did the Union the honour of appointing two of its organizers on the Advisory Committee of the Labour Exchange.
Our President also has a seat on the committee, and I think that as time goes on we may be able to do some good by preventing Labour Exchanges being used to import blackleg labour in time of disputes.
Brethren, in closing my report let me give you a note of warning. We are on the eve of a great social upheaval, the greatest the world has ever seen. It has already begun with the great labour unrest through the industrial world. It is a proof that the workers are determined that better conditions of labour shall prevail. A commencement has also been made in Parliament with social legislation, such as Old Age Pensions and the Insurance Act. The latter will come into operation during the year, and for the first time in the history of this country the State has recognized that it owes a duty to its workpeople by insuring them against sickness. There is, however, a grave danger that the capitalist class will use every means in their power to saddle the entire cost of the Act upon the shoulders of the workers by a reduction in their wages and an increase in their cost of living and thus prevent the toiling masses from obtaining the benefits of the Act. Unless our class take a timely warning they will be helpless. The capitalist class will fight with all their force to delay the day of social emancipation, and it will require the united action of the workers to prevent the capitalist and privileged class from crushing noble efforts that are now being made for industrial freedom. Your Union has now been in existence for five years. Its progress has not been so rapid as some of us had hoped after the bitter experience of the rural workers during their disorganized state. We thought that long before now at least 90 per cent. of the labourers would have been organized. That a large amount of time and money would have to be spent we were well aware, and that a great deal of opposition would have to be encountered, but the cost of establishing the Union has been beyond the wildest dream of any of us. I think the time has come when some steps ought to be taken to obtain some financial help for organizing work, because, as is shown in the financial statement, the contributions of the members have gone down during the year in Norfolk, which means that there has been a decrease in members largely due to a number of young men leaving the country for other spheres of labour. Notwithstanding this there has been a good awakening in other counties, and there is now a prospect of the Union becoming a national movement, which is essential if we are to take our part in the social battle that is about to be fought.
Yours faithfully,
(Signed) George Edwards,
General Secretary.Wensum House,
Hempton, Fakenham,
December 31, 1911.