CHARTISM AND THE CHARTISTS IN MANCHESTER AND SALFORD
Also by Paul A. Pickering WORK AND SOCIETY: The Impact of the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions on Britain (editor with Alex Tyrell)
Chartism and the Chartists in Manchester and Salford Paul A. Pickering
First published in Great Britain 1995 by MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 978-1-349-39291-9 DOI 10.1057/9780230376489 ISBN 978-0-230-37648-9 (ebook) First published in the United States of America 1995 by ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC., Scholarly and Reference Division, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Pickering Paul A. Chartism and the chartists in Manchester and Salford I Paul A. Pickering. p. em. Originally presented as the author's thesis. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-312-12727-5 I. Chartism-England-Manchester. 2. Chartism-England-Salford (Greater Manchester) I. Title. HD8396.P52 1995 322.4'4'094273-<lc20 95-8228 CIP ------------------ ----- Paul A. Pickering 1995 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1995 978-0-333-62052-6 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London WI P 9HE. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. 10 9 8 7 04 03 02 01 ISBN 978-0-312-12727-5 6 5 4 3 2 00 99 98 97 96 I 95
Contents List of Tables Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations VII VIII X Introduction Part 1: Chartist Manchester and Salford 'The Old Immoral World' -Working-Class Manchester and Salford 2 'A Wall of Brotherhood' -The Reform Community Part II: A Mosaic of Reform 3 Trade Unions and Politics 4 Municipal Chartism- Local Government in Manchester and Salford, 1837--42 5 The League, Cheap Bread and the Irish 6 New Moral Worlds- Co-operation, Owenism and Radical Christianity 7 Working-Class Self-Help 9 34 59 73 86 105 122 Part III: 'The Fustian Jackets' 8 Prison, Poverty and Professional Politics: A Biographical Analysis of the Local Chartist Leadership 139 9 Class without Words: Rank-and-File Communication in the Chartist Movement I 0 Keeping the Faith Conclusion Appendix A: Local Chartist Portraits Appendix B: Occupational Profile of Chartist Membership 159 173 185 189 211 v
VI Appendix C: The Chartist Banners Notes Bibliographical Note Index Contents 214 217 284 285
List of Tables 1.1 Census Figures for Manchester and Salford, 1801-31 19 1.2 General Summary of Population, 1841 19 1.3 Comparative Population and Constituency Figures, 1841 20 1.4 Statement of Weekly Expenditure in 1839 26 1.5 Comparative Retail Prices of Items of Household Expenditure, 1836-41 27 1.6 Emergency Relief in Manchester, 1838-42 28 3.1 Trade Unions and the Chartists 61 4.1 Chartists elected to the Manchester Police Commission, 1830-42 79 4.2 Chartists Elected to the Salford Police Commission, 1835-42 82 8.1 Age in 1840/Place of Birth 141 8.2 Marital Status/Number of Children/Religion 142 8.3 Chartist Involvement 1838-43/ Arrest/Prison 146 8.4 The Trade of Agitation 152 vii
Acknowledgements This book, and the PhD thesis on which it is based, have had a lengthy gestation. Over this time I have accumulated numerous intellectual and emotional debts. First. I should like to express my gratitude to Mr Alex Tyrrell. As the thesis supervisor he was, in appropriate parts, spirited adviser, stern critic, and friend. He has read the entire draft of this book and offered many valuable suggestions. My work has been enriched by his guidance and insight. The examiners of the thesis, Dr Ted Royle, Dr Michael Roberts, and Professor F. B. Smith, made numerous helpful observations, many of which I have attempted to address in this book. In particular Dr Royle has assisted me in preparing this work for publication by commenting on the additional material. I am also grateful to Dr Bill Murray who read several chapters of the thesis and provided helpful comments and suggestions. Other scholars have generously given advice on sources and/or discussed points of interest either in person or by letter: Dr Owen Ashton, Professor Peter Bailey, Dr Philip Bull, Professor Rhys Isaac, Dr lain McCalman, Professor Norman McCord, Dr Iowerth Prothero, Mr Stephen Roberts, and Mrs Dorothy Thompson. I am fortunate to have been a student and subsequently a casual staff member in the Department of History at LaTrobe University. I wish to acknowledge the assistance of those staff and students who contributed to the discussion of work in progress papers over the years. I also wish to acknowledge the financial assistance of successive research grants from the School of Humanities at La Trobe. The librarians and staff of several institutions provided generous assistance: the British Library, Colindale; the British Museum, London; the Public Record Office, Kew; the Manchester Central Reference Library; Cheetham's Library, Manchester; the University of London Library; the Institute of Historical Research, London; the Baillieu Library, University of Melbourne; Monash University Library, Melbourne; and the State Library of Victoria. The staff of the Borchardt Library, La Trobe University, especially Margot Hyslop and Lea Beranek, deserve special thanks for their help. Mr and Mrs Lot and Joan Crompton assisted me by visiting Manchester to obtain copies of some additional material needed for this book. viii
Acknowledgements IX I wish also to thank my employer, Mr Harry Jenkins MP, for allowing me adequate study leave which was crucial in bringing the thesis to completion in I 992, and for accepting that my attention continues, at times, to be on the struggles of the past. My greatest debt is to my family. My parents, Don and Barbara Pickering, provided encouragement from the outset and, as general readers, found many errors in the first draft of this book. My wife, Sue, patiently read the final draft and helped eliminate errors and highlight lapses of clarity. Since 1985 Sue has contributed more than her share to our family in order to give me sufficient time to be an after-hours academic. Sue (who wishes to be known as 'long-suffering'), and more recently our young children, Daniel, Jessica and Timothy, are, in many ways, the latest of the 'Chartist victims'. Without their support and understanding this book would not have been written. Over the years I have benefited from a lot of good advice, but the responsibility for the judgements and the mistakes in this book is mine. P.A.P.
List of Abbreviations ACLL HMC MPU NCA NCSU OACLA PFRA RA WMA Anti-Corn Law League Hunt Monument Committee Manchester Political Union National Charter Association National Complete Suffrage Union Operative Anti-Corn Law Association Parliamentary and Financial Reform Association Radical Association Working Men's Association X