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might easily conclude that, in the relation between the Oldham or Bolton " province," and the " Representative Meeting " of the Amalgamated Association of Operative Cotton-spinners, we have a genuine case of local and central government. This, however, is not the case. The partial) autonomy of the " provinces " of Oldham and Bolton is noti a case of geographical, but of industrial specialisation^ Each " province has its own peculiar trade, spinning different " counts " for widely different markets. Each is governed by its own peculiar list of piecework prices, based on different considerations. And though the prevailing tendency is towards a greater uniformity of terms and methods, there is still a sufficient distinction between the Oldham and Bolton trades themselves, and between those of the smaller districts, to make any amalgamation a hazardous experiment. Similar considerations have hitherto applied to the Cotton - weavers, who have, indeed, only recently united into a single body. Differences of trade interests, not easy of explanation to the outsider, have hitherto separated town and town, each working under its own piecework list. These sectional differences resulted, until lately, in organisation by loosely federated autonomous groups. It is at least an interesting coincidence that the increasing uniformity of conditions which, in 1884, per- mitted the concentration of these groups into the Northern Counties Amalgamated Association of Cotton-weavers, re- sulted, in 1892, in the adoption, from one end of Lancashire to the other, of a uniform piecework list.
U^e history of Trade Unionism among the Coalminers also supplies instructive instances of federal action- In Northumberland and Durham the present unions included, for the first ten years of their existence, not only the actual hewers of the coal, but also the Deputies (Overlookers), the Enginemen, the Cokemen, and the Mechanics employed in connection with the collieries. This is still the type of union in some of the more recently organised districts. Both in Northumberland and in
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Durham, however, experience of the difficulties of com- bining such diverse workers has led to the formation of distinct unions for Deputies, Cokemen, and Colliery (Mechanics. IlEach of these acts with complete independ- lence in dealing with the special circumstances of its own loccupation, but unites with the others in the same county in a strong federation for general wage movements.' p And if we pass from the " county federations which are so characteristic of this industry, to the attempts to weld all coal-hewers into aisingle national organisation, we shall see that these attempts have hitherto succeeded only when they have taken the federal form. In 1868 and again in 1874 attempts at complete amalgamation quickly came to grief. Effective federation^pf all the organised districts has, on the other hand, endured\ since 1863.^ B'V^e attribute this pre- ference for the federal form, not to the difficulty of uniting the geographically separated coalfields, but to the divergence of interests between the^i^ Nor^thumberland, Durham, and South Wales, producing chiefly for foreign export, feel that their trade has little in common with that of the Midland Coalfields, which supply, the home market. The thin seams of Somersetshire demand different methods of working, different rates of remuneration, and different allowances, from those in vogue in the rich mines of York- shire. The " fiery " mines of Monmouthshire demand quite a different set of working rules from the harmless seams (A Cannock Chase.* It was, therefore, quite natural that, in 1887, when a demand arose for a strong and active national organisation, this did not take the form of an amalgamated union. [The Miners' Federation, which now includes 200,000 members from Fife to Somerset, is composed of separate
' The Durham County Mining Federation, established 1878, includes the Durham Coalminers, Enginemen's, Cokemen's, and Mechanics' Associations. The Northumberland associations have not established any formal federation but act constantly together.
' See History of Trade Unionism, pp. 274, 287, 335, 350, 380.
' See, for instance, the animated discussion on proposed clause to restrict shot-firing, National Conference of Miners, Birmingham, 9th- 12th January 1893.
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unions, each retaining complete autonomy in its own affairs, and obly asking for the help of the federal body in matters common to the whole kingdom, or in case of a local dispute extending to over 15 per cent of the members^j Any attempt to draw tighter these bonds of union would, in all probahility, at once cause the secession of the Scottish Miners' unions, and would absolutely preclude the adhesion of Northumbei-land, Durham, and South Wales.*
' Other industries afford instances of federal union. The compositors employed in the offices of the great London daily newspapers, at specially high wages, and under quite exceptional conditions, have, since 1853, formed an integral part ol the London Society of Compositors. But they have, from the beginning, had their own quarterly meetings, and elected their own separate executive committee and salaried secretary, who conduct all their distinctive trade business, moving for new privileges and advances independently of the general body. One or more delegates are appointed by the News Department to represent it at general or delegate meetings of the whole society, whilst two representatives of the Book Department (which comprises nine-tenths of the society) sit on the newsmen's executive committee. There is even a tendency to establish similar relations with the special " music printers." The National Union of Boot and Shoe Operatives presents an example of incipient federation. The union is made up of large branches in the several towns, each possessing local iimds and appointing its own salaried ofScials. In so far as the members belong to an identical occupation, the tendency is towards increased centralisation. But it has become the rule for the members in each town to divide into branches, not according to geographical propinquity, but according to the class of work which they do. Thus, in any town, " No. i Branch " is composed exclusively of Rivetters and Finishers, " No. 2 Branch " are the Clickers, and where a separate class of Jewish workers exists, these form a "No. 3 Branch." The central executive is elected by electoral divisions according to membership, and has hitherto usually been composed exclusively of the predominating classes of Rivetters and Finishers. But the Clickers, whose interests diverge from those of their colleagues, have, for some time, been demanding separate representation, which they have now been informally granted by the election of their chief salaried official as treasurer of the whole union. A similar movement may be discerned among the Finishers, as against the Rivetters (now become "Lasters"), and it seems probable that this desire for sectional representation, following on partial sectional autonomy, will presently find formal recognition in the constitution.
The building trades afford an interesting case of the abandonment of the experiment of a general union in favor of separate national societies, which are not at present united in any national federation. The Builders' Union of 1830–34 aimed at the ideal afterwards pursued in the engineering industry. All the operatives engaged in the seven sections of the building trade were to be united in a single national amalgamation. This attempt has never been repeated. In its place we have the great national unions of Stonemasons, Carpenters, Brick- layers, Plumbers, and Plasterers', whilst the Painters and the Builders' Laborers have not yet emerged from the stage of the local trade club. Between the central executives of these societies there is no federal union. In almost every
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frhese examples of success and failure in uniting sieveral sections of workmen in a single unit of government , point to the existence of an upper and a lower limit to the process of amalgamation. It is one of the conditions of effective trade action that a union should include all the workmen whose occupation or training is such as to jenable them, at short notice, to fill the places held by its m^mbets^ It would, for instance, be most undesirable for such inter- changeable mechanics as fitters, turners, and erectors, to maintain separate Trade Unions, with distinct trade policies. And if the Cardroom Operatives could easily " mind " the self-acting mule of the Cotton-spinners, it might possibly suit the latter to arrange an amalgamation between the two societies, just as the Rivetters found it convenient to absorb the Holders-up into the United Society of Boilermakers and Iron Shipbuilders.^ VThere appears to be no advantage in carrying amalgamation (as distinct from federation) beyond this point. But there are often serious difficulties in going even thus farj The efficient working of an amalgamated>