From Crow-Scaring to Westminster: An Autobiography

At this time I received an application from the East Winch Branch secretary to hold a Sunday meeting on the common in that village. I objected, and only consented on the condition that the meeting should be of strictly religious character. This was agreed to, and on the last Sunday in July the meeting was held, and I advertised it as follows: —

Eastern Counties Agricultural Labourers'and Small Holders' Union

A Camp Meeting will be held under the auspices of the above on Sunday on the Common, East Winch. Services to commence at 2.30 and 6.30 p.m. Addresses will be given by C. Reynolds, George Edwards, General Secretary, and others. The Westacre Brass Band will be in attendance. Sankey's hymns will be sung.

It was a beautifully fine Sunday, and the services were attended by over 2,000 people. Such a sight had never been witnessed before in the village. The singing was most hearty, accompanied by the band. I took for my text in the afternoon "The labourer is worthy of his hire," and in the evening my text was "Thy kingdom come." The evening discourse was fully reported in the Lynn News. This caused a great stir. Some denounced it as mixing up politics with religion, others said they had never heard the Gospel preached like it before, and demands for Sunday meetings came in rapidly. Before the summer was over similar meetings were held at Wells, South Creake and Swaffham, which were attended by thousands of people. The later meetings were addressed by Mr. George Nicholls, M.P., Mr. R. Winfrey, M.P., Mr. H. A. Day and myself. This was the beginning of the Sunday meetings, and so long as I was responsible for conducting them they were always conducted on strictly religious lines. We always opened with prayer and lessons from the Scriptures were always read. Large collections were received. So great was the interest taken in them that the committee decided to continue them in 1909. They also decided to have some Labour hymns of their own, and Mr. Day, Mr. Green and I were asked to make a selection. Mr. Green composed some of the most beautiful verses I have ever seen, and they were set to Sankey's tunes. I often wish the Union had kept them, for they have never found better. The following are a few of them: —

THE MODEL CHURCH(Tune: Sankey 608.)Wife, I have found the Labour ChurchAnd worshipped there to-day:It's not like those so long we've knownWhere parsons preach for pay.But one that's built of human loveTo bless the human race,No church that ere before it stoodFilled so divine a place.It's such a church that I, dear wife,This very day have found.There's no deception in its faith,It stands on hallowed ground.Ground sanctified by martyr's bloodWho o'er its surface trod,When battling for their libertyTheir Conscience and their God.Oh, come with me, I pray thee, wife,And worship at its shrine,Give thy adhesion to its Cause,And make its interest thine,Its songs are of the right to liveFor every one who toils,With their freedom of accessionTo live upon the soil.My heart grew restive at its words,My spirit caught the fire,I joined the utmost of my voiceTo that most ardent choir,And sang as in my youthful days,Let tyrants prostrate fall,Bring forth the honest man of toil,And crown him, crown him, crown him.Crown him best of all.Come, wife, that fight will soon be o'erThe victory's nearly won:The better land is just ahead,I see its rising sun.We're nearing now its happy shore,Where streams of plenty run,And there we'll never want again,There'll be no sorrow there,In that just land where all is love,There'll be no sorrow there.THE UNION LIGHT(Tune: "Stand up for Jesus.")Stand up, the men of Labour,Who toil upon the land,For better homes and wagesMake one united stand.Your captains, they will lead you,If you will follow on,Now is the time, O comrades,Haste age to come along.STRONG HUMAN LOVE(Tune: "Lead, Kindly Light.")Strong, human love! within whose steadfast WillIs always peace.O stay with me, storm-tossed on waves of ill;Let passions cease.Come thou in power within my heart to reign.For I am weak and struggle has begun.

This book, which contains some of the finest phrases with twenty-six songs, was used for years at our meetings as our official hymn-book, but after a time it was revised and in my judgment some of the best hymns were left out. Still, I must not complain, as young folks are anxious to keep up to date.

The committee at their last meeting took the step of forming Conciliation and Arbitration Councils, and they decided to move the following resolution at the General Council Meeting: —

That the Executive be authorized to endeavour to form Conciliation and Arbitration Boards for the area in which the Union works. On such Boards the employers and labourers be equally represented and an outside Chairman be appointed, and they shall have power to consider all questions in this area of wages and conditions of work and for the immediate future. Pending the carrying out of this, the Executive Committee be instructed to request the Farmers' Federation to agree to a rise of 1s. per week from March next.

So far as this resolution was concerned the Farmers' Federation refused to meet us. It was, however, evident that the men were getting restless, and I could see that unless the Farmers' Federation were prepared to meet us there would be a grave danger of a serious outbreak in the near future. We closed the year 1908, however, with a balance of £997 18s. 6d.

In September 1908 Mr. Rippingall of Langham died and a vacancy was caused in the Walsingham County Council Division. At the request of the members living in this district and with the permission of the Executive I was put forward as a Labour candidate. This time I decided I would run purely as an independent Labour candidate, and that I would have nothing more to do with either political party. I had all my bills printed in the Union colour, green. I also used the motto I selected for the Union: "Be just and fear not." I fought the election single-handed. I acted as my own agent and arranged my own meetings, the only assistants I had being my colleague Mr. Thomas Thacker and Mr. Robert Green. My assistant did the clerical work. We addressed all the envelopes, folded all the addresses ourselves and posted them. We had meetings in every parish in the district. The labourers were very enthusiastic. I soon found the leading Liberals were most anxious to find some excuse to vote against Labour in spite of what I had done for the party in North Norfolk. The excuse they found was no party politics in County Council elections. Yet, strange to say, my opponent Mr. Walker and his agent were strong Tories. No one thought I stood a shadow of a chance as a direct Labour candidate. The contest lasted three weeks and it was a most strenuous fight. My colleague Mr. Thacker and myself worked night and day. We threw all our strength into the contest, holding meetings and addressing envelopes during the day. As the election drew near we realized it would be a close contest. My opponents were confident that they were winning. On the day of the election the farmers and tradesmen rallied up to the support of my opponent. Every available conveyance was brought up to his support and all my supporters had to walk. Many had to walk three and four miles to vote after they had done their day's work, but did it cheerfully, many going to vote before going home to tea. At the close of the poll everyone realized it was a very close fight. Even the Tories were not so sure that they had won. I appointed my colleague and Mr. H. J. Gidney, who rendered valuable help during the election, as my counting agents. The counting of the votes was done in the Returning Officer's house, and then for the first time I found out that his son was my opponent's agent and had been acting as Deputy Returning Officer. To this arrangement I raised the strongest protest. The counting was most exciting; we kept side by side all the time, and at the close the Returning Officer declared we had tied. We were not satisfied and demanded a recount, and, further, the number of votes did not correspond with counterfoils. The result of the recount left us as before. Still, there were four papers short. At this stage the keen eye of my colleague detected four papers under the looking-glass, and these four votes were mine. None knew how the ballot papers got under the glass, but they were there and were mine, and I was declared elected. My opponents were indignant, and protested that when the general election for the Council came their candidate would fight again. But this the poor man was not allowed to do, for within three months after this contest he was taken seriously ill and died.

At the yearly meeting in March 1909, when the election of the committees took place, I was put on to the Small Holdings Committee, Public Health Committee and Old Age Pensions Committee. These committees I felt more deeply interested in. The first was a movement which the Union had made a part of its object.

On squaring up the accounts of the election I found that it had cost £3 19s., which was caused by hire of rooms, printing and postages.

I was the first direct Labour representative elected on to the County Council, and, being free from any political ties, I felt myself free to take any action I thought was best in the interest of the class I directly represented. I devoted most of my energies to the working of the Small Holdings Act. I soon found, however, we were up against a big problem and that land was not so easy to get as I had thought it was before I was a member of the committee. The Act was surrounded with so much red tape and the landlords' interests were safeguarded at every turn, which enabled them to put obstacles in the way and make it most difficult to obtain land that we could let to the men at reasonable rents, and our progress was very slow. Hundreds of applications for land were sent in, varying from five acres to fifty, especially after my election, as they apparently thought I, being a Labour member, would carry everything before me. Apparently they thought that we had nothing to do but to go and take the land and buy it in the same way as we go and buy any other article. Hence hundreds of men got tired of waiting. But we made good progress, and by October 1909 we had obtained over a thousand acres of land and put over 115 men on to the land.

At the general election of the Council in 1910 I moved from the Walsingham District to the Free Bridge Lynn Division, according to the promise I had made previous to my going to Walsingham at the bye-election. This time I was fighting a sitting member and one of the largest farmers in Norfolk. I again stood as a direct Labour candidate. This time I had less help than before, as my colleague was fighting the Litcham Division for a seat on the Council and Mr. Robert Green was fighting the Walsingham Division which I had left. The only helper as a speaker was my old friend Mr. Thomas Higdon, the hero of the Burston School Strike. The contest was a sharp one. My opponent had the help of several of the members of the Council, both Liberal and Tory, who were being returned unopposed. This contest nearly knocked my assistant Miss Pike and myself up, but in spite of the number of speakers brought into the division, I won the election by a majority of eighty. I had, however, in this contest a good deal of local help from amongst my own people, as we were better organized in this division, notably Mr. Matthew Berry of East Winch and Mr. James Coe of Castleacre.

At the first meeting of the new Council I was put on to the following committees: Public Health, Mental Hospital, Small Holdings, Old Age Pensions, Western Highways. From this moment I was treated with the greatest amount of respect by every member of the Council and listened to with interest. I set myself to work diplomatically to accomplish the things for which I was sent there, for I found on going into the Mental Hospital, although the problem of dealing with those mentally affected is a pathetic one, still to me it was pleasant work, as it touched my humanity, and I found Dr. Thompson, the Medical Superintendent, most human and kind, and beloved by all brought into contact with him. I found also that whilst demanding strict discipline, as he must do, still to his staff he was most fair and always willing to listen to a grievance. I have had to discuss matters with him at different times as the Trade Unions' representative on the committee, and I am pleased to say we have been able to make many improvements in the working conditions of the staff since I have been on the committee. About this time they were engaged in erecting a nurses' home. This completed, we then pushed through another scheme, new stores and hall which is used for balls and entertainment for the inmates and staff. I am pleased to say that every comfort for these poor unfortunate creatures is studied. I have had to put up one fight since I have been on the committee in connection with the dietary. I fought most strenuously the question of margarine, but got defeated.

The Small Holdings movement made rapid progress. I soon found this added considerably to my labours. It meant nearly two days per week, and with my District Council and Board of Guardians work I was very heavily harnessed with local government work. It was, however, educational and interesting. About this time I was elected Chairman of the Erpingham Rural District Council Sanitary Committee, but I used to so arrange my Union work that I never neglected one of their meetings.

CHAPTER XI

UNREST

On February 20, 1909, the third General Council Meeting of the Union was held in St. James's Hall, King's Lynn, and by the resolutions that were sent in from the various branches I was satisfied that the men were getting restless and that without great care trouble was facing us in the near future, and that it was imperative that we should be taking some steps to secure some improvement in the working condition of our members. The committee, however, could not see that there was any danger; but I could see it, and I did persuade the Executive to allow me to write to the Farmers' Federation and invite them to meet us and discuss the question of some readjustment in wages. This I did, but it was again refused. On receipt of this refusal the Executive passed a resolution at their meeting held on April 24th that Mr. Nicholls and Mr. Winfrey be requested to take steps to have the agricultural labourers included in any scheme of arbitration that might be formed. They also instructed me to write every branch that when they desired increase in wages they must communicate with me and that I would suggest what action was to be taken, and that I was to advise all members to sign a paper requesting a rise, and that I be instructed to enclose the same and forward it to each employer. Here were more superhuman responsibilities placed on my shoulders, making me absolutely responsible for every trouble that might arise. As I look at these old minutes that were passed, without complaining of the action of the Executive, I sometimes wonder what kind of man the Executive thought I was. They must have thought I was superhuman, which I was not by any means, for I had very serious limitations. Never before had any one man such grave responsibilities put upon him, and I knew it and it worried me beyond degree. But I faced the work with great faith in the eternal resources and trust in Divine help.

I had, however, one great trouble. My dear wife, who had been such a help to me, began to fail in health, both mentally and bodily, and I saw the end was coming. During the summer it was my misfortune to be insulted by a drunken man, a son of a small farmer at Sharrington. I was advertised to address a meeting near the old cross at Sharrington. On my arrival at the place of meeting this man lay on the green drunk. As soon as I commenced to speak he commenced to brawl and shout so that no one could be heard. When I asked him to be quiet he got up and struck me a violent blow in the chest. What else he would have done had he not been stopped I am unable to say. As it was I was laid up for a week and had to go to a doctor. The man was summoned before the Holt Bench and he was fined £1.

The Executive at the meeting held on April 24th decided that the Union should be affiliated with the Trade Union Congress, and that we should pay on the basis of 3,000 members. I was elected delegate to attend the Congress at Ipswich on September 6th, which I did, and had a most cordial reception by the delegates and was especially mentioned in the President's address. I attended the Congress and spoke on the system of tied cottages. Mr. Smillie, on behalf of the miners, moved the following resolution: —

This Congress urges upon the Labour Members in the House of Commons to take up at once the question of the eviction of workmen and their families from their homes during trade disputes and do everything possible to pass into law a measure that would put an end to this cruel method of warfare.

Although this resolution did not quite meet the case of the agricultural labourer, I supported it, as it gave me an opportunity to bring before the public's notice the difficult position the tied cottage system put the agricultural labourers in. I made the following speech: —

The delegates coming from the large centres of industry have no idea of the seriousness of the question from the standpoint of the agricultural labourers. If a town worker is evicted from his house he can soon get another in an adjoining street. That is not the case with the agricultural labourer. If he is evicted from his cottage he cannot get another in the same village nor in any of the five or six villages near him. I hold in my hand a copy of an agreement which an agricultural labourer has to enter into with the landlord on some estates before he takes his cottage. It reads as follows: —

"I, the undersigned, agree to hire the cottage in the Parish of......the property of.........at a rental of......and agree to give the cottage up at a week's notice should the landlord require it for any other workman.

I also agree not to keep any pigs or fowls without first obtaining permission from the landlord or his agent.

I will also act as night-watchman when required, and give any information I may have that will lead to the conviction of anyone seen poaching on the estate.

I also undertake not to harbour any of my family who may misconduct themselves in any way.

I also agree on leaving my cottage to hand over my copper and oven to the landlord or his agent and not to disturb the bricks or to remove these utensils until the landlord or his agent have refused to purchase them.

I will also undertake to live at peace with my neighbours and to lead an honest and respectable life.

I will, before admitting any of my family home, apply to the landlord or his agent for permission, giving particulars on a form provided by the landlord, their names and ages, also if married or single, and how long they want to stay."

That is the kind of agreement agricultural labourers are called upon to sign. It shows the Congress the nature of the difficulties that confront agricultural labourers. You might say the labourers are not intelligent enough to combine: they are intelligent enough if they have the freedom. Only this week, since I have been at this Congress, I have received a telegram from our solicitor who is contesting a case before the Grimston Bench on behalf of the Agricultural Labourers' Union. It relates to a labourer who obtained permission for a holiday. But when he went back to work he was discharged and received a week's notice to leave his cottage. He could not get another, and an ejectment order was applied for. Our solicitor in his telegram says the magistrates would have granted the ejectment order, but he was able to defeat it on technical grounds. This poor man's wife is within a month of her confinement, and, had the ejectment order been granted, his wife and four children would have been thrown on to the road. I ask you to do all you can to bring this matter to an issue and see if a Bill cannot be brought into Parliament giving the agricultural labourer security of tenure. Labourers who live under conditions such as I have described can neither make applications for allotments nor yet serve on local authorities. If they attempted to do such things, they are marked men and are turned out of their cottages at a week's notice. I trust that the cruel eviction business will soon become a thing of the past.

After some further discussion the resolution was carried unanimously, and for the first time the system under which the labourer has to hire his cottage was brought before the public. It has been a hardy annual at the Trade Union Congress ever since.

This exposure caused a tremendous sensation throughout the country. For months I was inundated with letters asking for the names of estates. Others sought for information for the purpose of writing articles in the press. It gave a wonderful impetus to the Union.

During the summer I held a number of Sunday services under the auspices of the Union. After I had addressed one of these meetings a rather exciting incident happened. When attending a meeting in a village in Norfolk a clergyman was at the meeting and expressed a wish to speak privately to me, and we adjourned to a room in the inn. On entering the room he said he had heard that I had been blaspheming the name of Jesus and demanded that I make an apology to him (the clergyman). I told him I had done nothing of the kind, and, so far as apologizing to him, he would be the last man I should apologize to. Whereupon he informed me he was a lightweight champion boxer, and if I did not there would be bloodshed, and he came towards me. I at once pushed him over and left the room and went back to the meeting and reported what had taken place. Needless to say he had very soon to leave for his own safety.

During the autumn it became evident to me that trouble was looming in the near future. Numbers of small disputes took place, which I had to deal with on my own responsibility and which caused a good deal of anxiety.

As we approached the end of the year the branches were asked to send in resolutions for the General Council. Most of them were demanding that the Executive should take up the question of an increase in wages, Saturday half-holiday and a forty-eight hour week. At the December Executive I again warned the Executive that I feared we should soon have to face trouble as I was sure the members would soon press for an increase in consequence of the rise in the cost of living. I urged them to allow me to call them together at any time to discuss the best method of grappling with the situation and to obtain the increase so long delayed.

But they seemed to think I was able to deal with the situation. The General Council of the Union was not held in 1910 until March 19th. It was held in the Central Hall, King's Lynn. The reason for the Council meeting not being held until March was the General Election in January and the County Council Election in March. This Council Meeting was attended by nearly one hundred delegates. The greatest interest was taken in the proceedings. There were many resolutions on the agenda dealing with hours of labour and wages. The resolution dealing with Saturday half-day was warmly debated and a resolution carried that the new Executive be instructed to take steps to secure the Saturday half-day, one journey all the year round and an increase of 1s. per week at once. At the close of the Council a short meeting of the new Executive was held. Mr. George Nicholls presided. I again pointed out to them the seriousness of the situation and told them I was sure there was trouble looming in the near future, and that the labourers, so far as Norfolk was concerned, would insist on an attempt being made for an increase in wage and an improvement in their working conditions. I urged them to give me more help and to allow me to bring them together at any time, even by wire if necessary; but this they refused and held that I was quite able to deal with any dispute that might arise without calling the committee together. The fact was that, while I had an Executive who were able and earnest and anxious to do their best to build up the Union, they were inexperienced so far as Trade Unionism was concerned. They were always anxious to keep working expenses down. At the committee the night before the Council the Treasurer, Mr. Richard Winfrey, wrote complaining about the increased expenditure during the year for organizing work, although we had saved during the year 1909 £503 11s. 8½d. and had only spent £771 9s. 9½d. out of a total income of £1,275 1s. 6d. This expenditure was for lock-out pay, postages and rent of rooms. Salaries paid during the year were for my assistant secretary, Miss Pike, and myself £91; divided as follows: Miss Pike 12s. per week, £31 4s.; myself £1 3s. per week, £59 16s.; my assistant organizer, Mr. Thomas Thacker, £1 5s. per week, £65. Total salaries for the three of us £156. Yet the Treasurer, in his anxiety to save money, thought this was too high an expenditure. Probably as an economist he was right, but no one can say that those who did the work were overpaid. I left the Executive and the General Council on March 19, 1910, with a very heavy heart, for I could see by the temper of the men that they were determined within a very short time to press for an improvement in their conditions of living and in my judgement they were justified. In fact, it was long overdue, for the cost of living was rapidly rising, and I also knew that the farmers, as they had done in the days of the other Union, would fight this honest desire on the part of the labourers to its bitter end. The saddest thing for me was I could not get my Executive to see it and they left me to face it single-handed. But I set to work to prepare for the inevitable whenever it did come. I was determined to put my back against the wall and stand by the men, and at the same time to do all I could, whenever the trouble did arise, to bring the two sides together.