1919-1920: The Clash of Unions and Management

This is a further extract from Norman Le Brocq's booklet "Jersey Looks Forward". Previous extracts from the beginning to this point can be seen at:
http://goo.gl/G98ISI
 
The booklet is being transcribed and placed on the blog sequentially, and it is intended that the whole text will eventually be available online. It is significant, because Norman Le Brocq's history is very much the social history of the working classes, and there is a scarcity of histories on this. As will be seen, any reports base just on events in the JEP over the struggles of Unions will show a very partial and one-sided view.
 
Looking back on this history, it is amazing to see how diverse a range of industries there were on Jersey, all supporting the economy: "The smiths and metal workers, the coachbuilders and wheelwrights, the journey-man bakers, the gasworkers, the building and allied trades workers, besides the carters, storemen and coopers." Most of those are types of work which have gone completely or diminished to vanishing point, but they supported the agricultural and tourism industries. And we have unions such as the "Amalgamated Society of Tailors"! Now, very few people get their clothes tailor made.
 
Part of the disputes in these years arose from the Unions trying to ensure what would become known as a "closed shop."  Without the "closed shop", management could sideline the Unions and hence the workers. It means that all employees will receive greater benefits from collective bargaining performed by a union than would an individual employee. The employees should contribute financially to support the collective bargaining process because they benefit from it.
 
But the downside was the apparent loss of individual freedom, which could even be used to promote racism as in the Bristol bus boycott in the early 1960s where the Passenger Group (which represented drivers and conductors) of Bristol's Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU) passed a resolution that black workers should not be employed as bus crews.
 
The "closed shop" was certainly necessary in the early days of the Unions, where workers needed collective bargaining, but later it would prove controversial as a means of asserting Union power over members without the need to ballot them before strikes.
 
In fact Labour made the first attempt to change this in Barbara Castle's white paper "In Place of Strife" which included proposals for fines on trade unions which refused to hold strike ballots but backed down in the face of Union protests. The changes were to come in the 1980s under the Thatcher government. Significantly, Ed Milliband has said that the Conservative government of the 1980s "was right to change the rules on the closed shop, on strikes before ballots. These changes were right, and we were wrong to oppose it at the time"
 
But the end of the "closed shop" has meant a tipping of the balance between employer and employee in favour of the employer, which could be seen in the recent proposed bus strike, where the management at CT Plus planned to bring in temporary non-Union drivers to keep the wheels turning, and allowing non-Union members as bus drivers. As the Unions weaken, so too collective bargaining tips in favour of management. This can also be seen where the States Employment Board can often seemingly ignore the Unions in setting pay, and there is no independent arbiter to appeal to. The pendulum may have swung too far the other way.
 
1919-1920: The Clash of Unions and Management
by Norman Le Brocq
 
July 11, 1919, A strike at Grandin's, Ironmongers and Founders, of Bath Street and Commercial Buildings. Twenty-two men were involved. The reason for this action was an attempt to enforce "union shop" at Grandin's. Five men .refused to join the Union despite the fact that they were drawing Union rates of pay. The remainder of the employees presented A. F. Gallichan, works manager, with an ultimatum that either he refused to employ non-union labour or they would strike. He refused to do anything in the matter. They struck. The Union officials decided to support the men and strike pay was paid out. At a District Committee meeting, held on July 21, to discuss the situation, the following resolution was passed:
 
"That on and after September 1, 1919, the members of the Dock, Wharf, Riverside and General Workers' Union will refuse to work with non-unionists (male or female). Furthermore, the dockers absolutely refuse to handle goods consigned to non-union firms on and after that date."
 
Meanwhile, stalemate at Grandin's. So on July 25 the dockers placed an embargo on the loading and unloading of any goods for Grandin's.
 
On July 26 a consignment of wire for Grandins Ltd, was placed in the L. & S.W.R. store by the dockers, to remain there till after the dispute had been settled. This was removed by Grandin's non-union labour. That meant trouble. The dockers came out, refusing to touch any goods. On the intervention of Jack Hardman it was decided to resume work for one week pending a ballot re a general strike.
 
At the beginning of August a demand for £2 .10s. a week was put before the Jersey Produce Merchants' Association. There was still no news of the pending general strike; though Hardman was at English headquarters discussing the matter.
 
On August 18 the local branch of another Union -the English Amalgamated Society of Tailors-called a strike. This was a wage dispute pure and simple. The tailors demanded 10d. per hour, a rise of 4 1/2d. per hour from what they were getting. Finally the tailors got their 10d.
 
September 1, 1919. The great day had arrived. "We will. not work with non-unionists," had said the resolution. Grandin's men had stuck to that and were still "out." BUT English headquarters said " No!" The reason for Hardman's visit to England was made plain. The general strike had been called off and the resolution remained a pious hope on paper. Such were the " leaders of men ! "
 
It is tempting, though unprofitable, to speculate on what would have happened if Union headquarters had backed the men. The local Union was nearing the 4,000   mark and was full of enthusiasm. The employers were distinctly nervous, but hoping that a stern face would frighten off the enemy. It would in' all probability have been the greatest victory that the Jersey worker had experienced. But English headquarters said " No!"
 
On September 4, 1919, Grandin's men were back at work.
 
The local Branch of the National Union of Railwaymen were called out during the great N.U.R. strike of September, 1919, and the local dockers supported them by refusing to carry out any work normally done by N.U.R. men.
 
In December a demand was made on the Building and Allied Trades Federation for a 1 1/2d. per hour increase, with a three months' agreement. The Federation offered 1/2d. per hour increase for a nine month's agreement. After a strike had been threatened, the case was put before a Ministry of Labour Arbitrator, who awarded a 1 1/2d. per hour increase with a nine months' agreement.
 
Meanwhile trouble in the ranks. Moignard and Hardman were at loggerheads. Moignard walked out of the D.W.R. & G.W.U., and with a small group of supporters formed a local branch of the English General Workers' Union. This, the only one of those dangerous splitting tendencies that Jersey Unionism has undergone, was straightened out happily a year later by both these Unions affiliating to the newly formed Transport and General Workers' Union. The local branches were then merged. By this time Moignard had transferred to the N.U.R.
 
The next major dispute arose in February, 1920, over a demand by the storemen and carters for 55/- per week instead of the existing  35/-, and a demand from the coopers for a rise from 45/- to  60/-.. In both cases a further demand was made for a 55-hour week. The Evening Post of February 12, in an Editorial headed, " The demand for higher wages - Time to Face the Facts," regarded this as an impossible demand, warning the men that " here in Jersey high wages must mean unemployment," for "we are not a producing community; we live, so to speak, on one another, and if wages get beyond a certain limit our economic system will be completely dislocated and labour will defeat its own ends." ("Near All Sides", JEP 2/3/1920-4/3/1920))
 
In saying " we are not a producing community" the Evening Post ignored the fact that over half-a-million pounds per annum plowed into the Island in payment of exported potatoes alone. Besides potatoes the Island exported much other agricultural produce. Thus we are definitely a producing community--quite apart from the large amount of money brought to the Island by the tourist traffic. Thus, as in many other cases, the Evening Post falsified the issue by making statements quite contrary to well-established facts. In any case, if Jersey's economic system can only be saved from dislocation at the cost of low wages and
poor working conditions, then it is time that we altered that system.
 
A number of existing agreements were due to expire in March and a claim for higher pay was put forward by the smiths and metal workers, the coachbuilders and wheelwrights, the journey-man bakers, the gasworkers, the building and allied trades workers, besides the carters, storemen and coopers.
 
There was some delay in receiving an. answer from the Produce Merchants' Association which, when it did come, merely suggested renewing the old agreement with some trivial alterations. This was regarded by Hardman as a refusal to accept the men's demand. He sent a request for the consideration of the men's demands and asked for an answer to be given by the following day. He was told that as the President and Vice-President were out of the Island, nothing could be done for another week. Meanwhile no replies had been received from either Employers' Federations.
 
The D.W.R. & G.W.U. decided to hold a mass meeting at West Park Pavilion on March 2. R. Greenwood, National Organiser, would be present. Meanwhile, R. J. Blampied, Secretary of the J.P.M.A., Stanley Guiton, Secretary of the Jersey Employers' Federation, and. Harry Morris, Manager of the Gas Light Co., rushed into print to deny any delay on their part.(JEP 12/2/1920)
 
At the D.W.R. & G.W.U. meeting, Greenwood made a long and enthusiastically received speech explaining the situation. At the end of this the following resolution was unanimously adopted:
 
"This Mass' Meeting of Workpeople, representing all sections of employment covered by the Dock, Wharf, Riverside and General Workers' Union, views with grave concern the continued and repeated attempts of the employers to evade and ignore the principle of Collective Organisation, the inalienable right of the organised working class. It vigorously protests against the continuance of a policy, the object of which is to delay settlements advantageous to the workpeople, and the saving of wage payments long overdue to them."
 
"The meeting solemnly warns the employers that a continuance of those tactics can have but one result, i.e., the complete withdrawal of all essential labour until such time as they(the employers) give an undertaking to promptly meet the accredited representatives of organised labour, for the a purpose of discussing wage and other claims, with a view to an amicable settlement."
 
"Further, the meeting unreservedly pledges itself to support t and stand by ANY action which may be deemed necessary to give effect to the principle of Collective Bargaining, and expresses the hope that the employers will adopt a more reasonable attitude, and by a frank recognition of the inevitable, establish conditions that will safeguard both sides against action of an extreme and undesirable character."
 
On the same evening the newly formed branch of the Workers' Union met and heard M. Giles, Divisional Organiser, say that the worker could do more by approaching the employer in a courteous way, and they must also appreciate the difficulties of the employer."  Such was the difference the difference between the two Union locals.
 
As far as the Union claim of delay is concerned, it should be noted that the demand for an increase from the J.P.M.A. was sent to that body by the Union on February 5. On February 21 a reply was received saying that the Association wished to renew the old agreement. On this very day that agreement expired. Then, owing to all officials being conveniently    out of the Island or otherwise engaged, the J.P.M.A. refused to place the Union's demands before the merchants before March 8.
 
When the J.P.M.A. did meet they made a final offer of £2 per week and backed this offer with a threat that if the men did not accept they would be locked out.
 
At least that is the Union's story. The J.P.M.A. put it rather differently. In a letter to Hardman, Blampied, J.P.M.A. Secretary, said: " if these Agreements (the £2  wage, etc.) between the Employers belonging to the Jersey Produce Merchants' Association and the representatives of the Dock, Wharf, Riverside & General Workers' Union are not signed by both parties before Saturday next, March 20, the said Employers will refuse to employ any persons until they are prepared to work on these terms" (JEP 17/3/1920)
 
In spite of this plain statement an advertisement was placed in the Evening Post of that same evening saying that "they (the J.P.M.A.) have no intention whatever of locking out their employees. All employees willing to continue work on the new scale are requested to inform their employer."
 
Ah, there's the catch ! One might ask : When is a lock-out not a lock-out? Evidently when it is allowable for black-leg labour to continue working!
 
On February 18 the men concerned met and the following resolution was forwarded to the J.P.M.A.:
 
"That the membership of the carters, coopers and storemen request the District Secretary to write the Jersey Produce Merchants' Association requesting same to withdraw their ultimatum of the 15th inst., which is nothing but a threat, by 4 p.m. on Friday, March 19, 1920, and an early date fixed for the reopening of the negotiations, otherwise the officials of the Union will consider their members locked out on Saturday, March 20, 1920." 
 
It was also recorded that at some stores individual men had been approached to sign the new J.P.M.A. agreement and on refusing thus to break Union discipline they were given a week's notice.
 
On the 20th, no answer having been received from the bosses, all Union store employees struck. Pickets were placed on all stores and on the quays to ensure that no carting would be done. A coal ship, the s.s. Mechelin arrived, but could not be unloaded.
 
At this point F. J. Bois, now local Coal. Controller, called for the men and masters to let bygones be bygones and renew negotiations. Hardman agreed on behalf of the men, but the J.P.M.A. refused.
 
That this was no local dispute between the store workers and masters is shown by a resolution passed by the Employers Central Advisory Council, composed of representatives from the Jersey Employers Federation, the Building and Allied Trades Federation, the Plumbers Federation, the Jersey Produce Merchants' Association and the Farmers' Union. This resolution stated "that this Council fully endorses the offer which the merchants have made to their employees; moreover, seeing that the merchants have taken steps to explain to officials of the Union their interpretation which is complained of by the employees, the Council is of the opinion that nothing more can now be done by the merchants."
 
So the gauntlet was thrown down.

Agricultural Unions

Here is another extract from Norman Le Brocq's history of the working class in Jersey. It is the post-war era, and the agriculture now saw a conflict arising between farmer and labourer.

Some notes on values (1). The worth of the potato export market of £994,000 is roughly equivalent to £33 million 900 pounds. In 2009, around 45,000 tonnes of Jersey Royal Potatoes were being exported (99% of the crop) with an estimated value of just under £28 million (2).

The weekly wage of 10/- to 15/- plus works out at around £17.00 to £25.50, and the supplement per vergée was an extra £6.81 per labourer. Meanwhile, the crop was yielding around £120 per vergée to the farmer, equivalent to around £4,090. Clearly, the more farmers could keep wage costs down, the greater their profit. Nevertheless the workers had perks such as free food, and sometimes rent free accommodation.

Where farmers provided living conditions for labourers or casual seasonal labour, these remained very rudimentary even after 1945, and it was not really until the last decades of the 20th century, when the States took a more proactive role in looking at those, largely on fire safety and health grounds. The introduction of "benefits in kind" as being taxable recently, and a value assigned to free accommodation, also hit the farmer hard, as the added value they could offer to their workers was diminished significantly.

Casual labour in 1919 could be local, but was equally likely to be French. The French community in Jersey was very strong, and until recently French lane still had a shop selling French newspapers. The years after 1945 saw a marked decline in French labour, and the introduction of the Portuguese labourers.

It is salutary to note that while the "weekly wage" is mentioned, the week in question is "up to an 84 hour week", which would be the equivalent of two weeks by most office or shop workers today. It is (on average) 12 hours per day.

Agricultural Unions
 
It will he noted that one of the Union Branches existing at this time was that of the Agricultural Workers. It was not a large branch numerically, for the agricultural worker in Jersey was about as backward as anyone in making his grievances public.
 
Although farming is Jersey's chief industry, the large farm is rare. There are some landlords with large landed possessions; but these are split up into small leaseholds, with the owner usually working one of these in person, So in Jersey, tenant and landlord farmers are both great in number. The tenant farmer worked about four-fifths of all cultivated land in 1919.
 
Both types exhibit the typical peasant characteristics: thrift, backwardness of technique, family exploitation, and conservatism in politics
 
The average size of the Jersey farm was seven acres (approx.). Out of the 1,820 holdings of more than one acre, 1,579 were smaller than 20 acres, and only five larger than 50 acres. The number of horses used for agricultural purposes was 2,071. Tractors and lorries were practically non-existent. The number of cattle was 10,172 and the number of pigs, sheep, etc., 4,583. The value of the potatoes exported in 1919 was just under the million pounds. (£994,000)
 
Such was the state of Jersey agriculture. What part did the landless labourer play? The figure for 1919 being unavailable, we can only take a figure for 1931. However, it held good in 1919 with very little modification. In 1931 there were 2,569 agricultural workers regularly employed. We can take 2,500 as being roughly the number for 1919. This shows us that there was only one labourer employed for each eight acres of cultivated land. It will be seen that most of the work was done by the farmer and his family.
 
The agricultural worker was expected to work anything up to an 84-hour week, for which he received 10/- to 15/- plus, sometimes, his keep, or a cottage rent free, or a supply of vegetables and milk. On the whole he was probably as " well off " as the town worker at that time
 
His share of the wealth of the farming community, however, was very small. He dug the farmer's potatoes, with the aid of casual labour taken on for the "season," for  £4 per vergée (four-ninths of an acre) while the farmer was selling the potatoes at about £2 per cental. (An average crop is 60 centals to the vergée.)
 
On June 1, 1919, the potato diggers decided that this was not good enough. They struck. The D.W.R. & G.W.U. had been negotiating with the Farmers' Union or some time without reaching agreement. The farmers had offered £4 5s. per vergée; but this was not definitely accepted. The rank and file, particularly in the south east of the island, asked for £5 per vergée, and called for a strike. The men came out. The Union officials  refused to authorise it and refused strike pay. At this about half the men went back to work at the new rate of £4 5s. After a mass meeting on Gorey Common and some days off kicking their heels, the remainder drifted back to work. So ended the first, and up to the present, the only agricultural workers' strike in Jersey. So ended also, for all practical purposes, the Agricultural Workers' Branch of the Union.

Links:
(1) http://www.measuringworth.com/index.php
(2) http://jerzzy.co.uk/jersey-royal-potato/

The Industrial Struggle

Here is another extract from Norman Le Brocq's history of the working class in Jersey. It is the post-war era, and the workers were not prepared to lose sight of the "land fit for heroes" that had been the promise of politicians during the war time struggle. Working islanders who had fought in the trenches were no longer prepared to be so readily cowed by their employers.

The Franchise Act had increased the vote, but 20% still had no vote. As a rough guide, with the figures below, the weekly wage of 36 shillings translates to £61.30 (on the basis of RPI), and that of 50 shillings to £85.20.

It is interesting to note that the police were banned from joining a union. This was very much in like with the times. In the UK, there had been police strikes in 1918 and 1919 which resulted in the British government under Lloyd George putting before Parliament its proposals for a Police Act, which established the "Police Federation of England and Wales" as the representative body for the police, rather than any Union formed from the police themselves. The Act also barred police from belonging to a trade union or affiliating with any other trade union body. Part of the fear was that if the police belonged to a union, their loyalties might be divided in any strikes between supporting the authorities or the workers.

It is clear that the same fears were present in Jersey, and a compromise was reached, with the police who had been summarily dismissed being reinstated, but only on the grounds that, as in the UK, the police stayed out of the Union.

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The Industrial Struggle

Leaving the Union's political activities for the moment, we turn to the industrial struggle.
 
At the second quarterly meeting of the Union, held on March 28, 1919, a report was heard giving details of that quarter's work. The report recorded victory after victory, commencing: "Our first encounter and victory of this quarter was with Bashfords Ltd. The Union has secured from there an average rise of 8/- per- head per - week. The Storemen, Coopers and Carters employed by the Potato Merchants Association have had their  wages increased, in some cases by 7/-, in others 5/- per week.
 
"The cranemen, a rise of 7/6 per week, and their overtime paid at the rate of 1/3 per hour. All Sunday and holiday time in future is to be paid at the rate of 1/6 per hour.
 
"Several coal merchants have agreed to pay the same wages as the P.M.A. The Veneer Basket Co. has also agreed to pay the same wages as other stores.
 
"Jobbing ship carpenters in the employ of Watton, South Pier, have had a substantial increase of pay through the efforts of our Union, their rates now ranging from 36/- to 50/- per week.
 
"Then we come to those members of our Union who are employed by the Local Government. We have approached the States Committee of Piers and Harbours as regards to carpenters, storemen, pier-head watchmen, the crew of the tug " Duke," and also the pier sweepers, and have succeeded in each case in obtaining a satisfactory rise in wages.
 
"We have also approached the Mayor of St. Helier on behalf of the destructor firemen and the quarrymen employed by the Parish. These men have also benefited by our Union, and we have by our efforts raised the wages of the firemen by 6/- and the quarrymen by 5/- per week.
 
" I might also mention here that our Union has been successful with regard to the plumbers in getting their wages raised by 1d per hour.
 
"In concluding the above list, we must not forget that in addition to a substantial rise in wages, your Union has obtained in every case a weekly half-holiday, which we regard as very important to all workers.
 
" We are proud to state that our total membership to date is 2,203, which is an increase on last quarter of 997."
 
Not a bad record for three months' work! Apart from all this, too, it must be remembered that organisational work had been heavy, dealing with the large influx of new members. Branches had been set up for: Dockers and General Workers,. Masons and Plasterers, Carpenters, Painters, Plumbers; Coopers, Carters, Cranemen, Gasworkers, Coachbuilders, Shop Assistants, Women Workers, and Agricultural Workers. The activities of the branches were co-ordinated in a District Committee comprising the Chairman of each branch and the District Chairman and Secretary.
 
At this time there were still no paid officials; though soon after the need was felt for a full-time paid secretary.
 
The next time that the Union hit the headlines was in May. On Monday, May 19, it having come to the ears of the Constable of St. Helier that a number of policemen had joined the D.W.R. & G.W.U., a parade was called and P.C. Osmond, who was a known Unionist, was dismissed and two others, Walters and Poingdestre, were suspended pending inquiries.
 
On the Tuesday morning a lightning strike of dockers and pier carters was called. This was effective by 9 o'clock, pickets being placed on the quays and the men discussing the situation. It was felt by most that the Police should have formed a branch of the English Police Union, but in any case the dismissals would be fought by the Union. At noon a meeting was held between Union officials and the Police and Pier authorities. This meeting came to an end at 1.30 p.m., Moignard going direct to the pier and addressing the strikers. He told them to resume work for one day pending an inquiry. This was done.
 
At the inquiry on the following day it was decided to reinstate the policemen on the understanding that the Police Force remained outside the Union. This was accepted by all concerned.
 
The popularity of the Union at this time can be judged by the number present at the West Park Pavilion on May 23. Over 2,000 people were present at this mass meeting held under Union auspices. It was noted that there were then 3,000-odd Union members.
 
Thus did Jersey fall in line with the feeling of revolt that swept the workers of Europe. And more was to follow.

Jersey Workers: Unions and the struggle for the vote

Here is another extract from Norman Le Brocq's history of the working class in Jersey. As the reform of the voting districts is coming up (to ensure a more equitable vote per member ratio), it is interesting to look back at the early struggle to get votes for ordinary people in Jersey!

Part of it is about the formation of the Unions in Jersey. A lovely turn of phrase about the attempt to sabotage Unions in Jersey - "bourgeois guile and Hill Street cunning".  The Code of 1771 Law mentioned here, parts of which are still in effect today, was a tidying up operation on all kinds of haphazard statute law from the past. essentially made Trade Unions illegal. In fact, the legal status of Unions was not formalized until the The Employment Relations (Jersey) Law 2007!

It can be seen that the impetus behind the Unions was the need to bargain collectively for better wages, at a time when prices were shooting up, but wages were stagnant, despite a good post-war economy. But as well as improved pay, the other great issue of the day was expanding the franchise.

It is interesting that the Jersey unions made their appeal not just locally, but also to Lloyd-George. Evidently there must have been some feeling that this matter might require UK intervention, which as it happens was not the case. Yet the recent case of the Barclay brothers' fight to bring the restrictive franchise of Sark to the spotlight of the UK authorities, shows that if the Island authorities had not been wise enough to reform the franchise, they might have had pressure from Downing Street.

Another notable fact is the way men got the vote at 20, despite the age for military call-up (under conscription) being 17. The principle that it is fine to die for one's country but not to have a vote in the matter was not considered important. But the Representation of the People Act 1918 in the UK gave the vote to men at 21, and interesting Jersey's voting age was lower. With the reduction of the age recently to 16, Jersey is still leading the way in this respect, and this is in line with military service age which (with parental consent) is 16.

Women got the vote when they were 30. This was very much in line with the UK Government, which had introduced votes for women after the war with the same age restriction. There were other restrictions for women, as well, as there were more property restrictions laid upon them - men serving in the militia were automatically eligible if over 20.

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The First World War years showed very little Labour activity in Jersey. This was a period of industrial peace in so far as the island was concerned,
 
Economic misery undoubtedly increased, but was borne patiently as a temporary evil-as the result of the war, There being no workers' organisation during the years of war meant that the masters reigned supreme.
 
In 1917 the building and allied trades masters formed a federation to guard their interests. This federation called a meeting of the masters and men that June to discuss wages. The masters put forward a new wages table offering a handsome increase of an average of 25 per cent on all wages. The apprentices' rate advanced most, rising from 1/- per week to 1d. per hour, with yearly increases. The improver was scheduled to receive 3 ½ d. per hour, the mechanic 5 ½ d, the skilled mechanic 6 ½ d (minimum), the unskilled labourer 5d., and the semi-skilled labourer 5 ½ d. per hour. This " handsome increase," as the local papers termed it, met with opposition on the part of the men, who pointed out that a rise of 25 per cent in money wages meant little to them when the Ministry of Labour estimated that the cost of living had risen 98 per cent!
 
The lack of workers' organisations resulted in the protest of the building and allied trades workers being ignored and the federation plans being carried through. This backwardness in organising may seem surprising to the onlooker.
 
The grounds for it are fairly simple. It must be kept in mind that there was still no large-scale capitalist industry in the island. The largest concern was probably the Jersey Gas Light Company, employing just over 1,000 men. This meant a lack of concentration of workers; where they could discuss grievances and remedies. It is a well-known fact that the larger the concentrations of workers in a district or country the more militant becomes their outlook. Another point making for backwardness was the lack of a real, hereditary working class. In those times, -far more than today, the Jersey worker had a brother who kept a small shop or. an uncle who owned a farm or perhaps a cousin who was a master carpenter. When times were bad, Jack could go and work for his uncle! There was not the same feeling of being a class apart. The Jersey worker, even more than the English worker, had the mental outlook of the bourgeoisie. He was very far from being class-conscious.
 
1918! The war still dragged on; prices still rose; wages hardly increased. Even the Jersey worker was growing sceptical about this coming " land fit for heroes." On September 23, 1918, the Guernsey Branch Organiser of the Dock, Wharf, Riverside and General Workers' Union arrived in Jersey and was present at a meeting of the local dockers to inaugurate a Jersey branch of the same union.
 
Ned Moignard was elected President and Jack Hardman, Secretary. One hundred and five men signed on.
 
This meeting, held at the Herald Mission Hall, Devonshire Lane, was the result of negotiations between Ned Moignard, Jack Hardman and Phil Mallet, Jersey dockers, and the D.W.R. & G.W.U. headquarters. The latter had promised to send an organiser; but he being taken ill, Fry, the Guernsey organiser, came in his place.
 
A meeting of workers was held on the next Thursday evening at the Mission Hall, Museum Street, which was later purchased by the Union and renamed Unity Hall. Moignard, in his speech from the chair, called for recruits from workers in other branches of industry than the docks. The dockers had already enrolled in large numbers and, speaking of them, Moignard said; " If a master discharges a man because he joins the Union, we will not handle his goods, either import or export."
 
The Museum Street hall was packed to overflowing and many more names were added to the membership lists
 
Meetings of this type continued to be held every Thursday evening at the Mission Hall. These meetings were very largely attended and the membership lists continued to grow rapidly.
 
At one of these Thursday meetings, Deputy Gray of St. Helier, a liberal politician and organiser of the Jersey Political Association, which had sprung tip a couple of months previously, pledged the support of this movement for the Union.
 
This uneasy alliance - uneasy because the J.P.A., a milk and water reform movement, included many employers a hostile to Trade Unionism--continued for some time. Deputy Gray was elected Union representative in the States Assembly, which post he held for a couple of months. Then Gray found class conflicts sharpening, decided for the masters, and cut adrift from his connection with the Union.
 
November 11, 1918! Peace? Or a fight for better conditions? The Jersey worker did not let the relief of international peace interfere with the necessary fight on the home front. He was caught up in the revolutionary upsurge that swept over Europe. At last there was no fear of Jersey unionism petering out for want of support: 105 members in September, 1918 - 1,000 in November- 1,200 in December - 1,700 in January, 1919-2,200 in March - 3,000 in May - 4,000 at the end of a year's work.
 
The Evening Post. Jersey's leading and conservative daily paper, took umbrage at this rising tide, and in December suggested that the workers would have done "far better to have formed a purely local union, for they were now committed to the dangerous road of dependence on English organisers", and "by affiliating to an English union they stand committed to its rules and regulations, A local union could have framed its rules to fit local conditions; but, as things are, the Jersey worker will lose his independence totally"
 
What the Evening Post did not realise was that the worker earning 15/- per week had no independence to -lose and had everything to gain by uniting under-the banner of a strong English union.
 
The D.W.R. & G.W.U. got down to work immediately. Even before the cessation of international hostilities two victories were registered: during the first week of November there were two lightning strikes of dockers over the employment of non-union labour. In both cases the strikes were settled by the men in question joining the Union.
 
At this time real wages in most trades were extremely low, for money wages had advanced but little, while prices had shot up to almost double the pre-war level.
 
Some typical wage-rates were: 18/- per week for storemen, 7 ½ d. per hour for skilled carpenters, painters, plumbers, etc., 8/- to 12/- per week for shop assistants, 15/- per week for farm labourers. This, the Union was determined, had to alter !
 
The first serious clash came with the farmers. Prices of dairy products were rising rapidly - butter, normally averaging 2/6 per lb., rising to an average of 3/4 per lb. The Union decided for action. In January, 1919, a petition was sent in to the Defence of the Island Committee (the body then responsible for the control of foodstuffs) asking for action to be taken re controlling the prices of dairy produce. Until such time as an answer was forthcoming, no cattle were to he loaded for export. The States did nothing, and no cattle were in fact loaded until March 8, 1919, when agreement on all points was reached between the D.W.R. & G.W.U. and the newly-formed Farmers' Union.
 
The rapid growth of the Union in membership and power had begun to frighten the local bourgeoisie. This fear came to the surface in January, 1919.  Certain States members are reported to have said that they were out to smash the Union and this is in effect what was attempted by a Bill introduced in the States Assembly during that month. This Bill, the child of Deputy F. Bois' brain, begot by bourgeois guile and Hill Street cunning,  was introduced to legalise workers' unions in Jersey. Up till this time trade unions had been illegal under the Code of 1771 which ruled that: "Persons, whether workpeople or tradesmen  who conspire together with regard to their pay, hours of work, manner of doing it, or delivering it, will be punished with a fine not exceeding £20 to be applied as above, and in cases of a repetition (of the offence) by such punishment as may be deemed suitable.."
 
Article 1 of Deputy Bois' Bill allowed a Union to be formed and Article 3 allowed disputes, to be settled by negotiation between shop stewards and masters. But the sting was in the tail.
 
Article 5 reads as follows: "Any third party who shall interfere or shall attempt to interfere to prevent an agreement or aggravate a difficulty between masters and employees, as also any person who shall attempt to promote strikes or lock-outs in any industry, trade, or undertaking of any kind, or who shall attempt to bring about a crisis in regard to labour or employers, or who shall attempt by means of intimidation or otherwise, to compel another party against his will to join a union either of labour or of employers, shall be guilty of an offence, and shall be liable for each infraction to a fine not exceeding £100 or to a term of imprisonment with or without hard labour, not exceeding six months, or to both at the discretion of justice."
 
There is the sting. Although the Bill legalised the position of the Union in the abstract, it forbade its effective action. One can well imagine the result of the local shop stewards in any concern trying to reach a settlement in favour of the workers under those conditions. No attempt could be made to consult Union headquarters, for that would be introducing interference of a "third party," and no attempt to "promote a strike" would be allowed. Any militant shop steward would soon find himself victimised. That was Jersey in 1919.
 
However, Bois' Bill was dropped when it met with a storm of the of disapproval and the Union remained illegal under the terms 1771 Code of Laws.
 
Meanwhile the D.W.R. & G.W.U. Committee had taken up the old Franchise fight from where Le Noir had laid it down. In January, 1919, Moignard and Hardman went to English Headquarters for consultations re the policy to be adopted in the struggle for a wider franchise.
 
On February 1, Hardman made public the fact that a few days previously a resolution of the Union had been forwarded to Sir Alexander Wilson, Lieut.-Governor of the Island, Sir William Vernon, Bailiff, and Mr. Lloyd George, British Prime Minister, which read as follows:-
 
"The Jersey Branch of the Dock, Wharf, Riverside and General Workers' Union of Great Britain and Ireland.
 
"To His Excellency Major-General Sir Alexander Wilson, K.C.B., and Sir William Vernon, and Members of the States of the Island of Jersey:
 
" Gentlemen, We, the members of the above Union, being representative of the working classes who have ever been loyal and law-abiding citizens of the Island of Jersey, hereby appeal to you as the Governing Body of our Island, for the extension of the franchise.
 
" That, taking into consideration the great sacrifices which the classes to whom we belong and represent have been called upon to make during the long period of the most terrible war ever known, and also the compulsory military service that has existed for over a century, which has been a great burden to the working classes.
 
"That, in recognition of the great sacrifices that have been made by our fellow islanders, we are at least entitled as our  brothers of the United Kingdom to a vote and a voice in the government of our Island; and we who produce the wealth of the place in which we dwell, consider that it is our right to determine when and how it shall he used for the benefit of each and all; and that suffrage should be granted at the age of twenty-one years, and also to women on, attaining the age of thirty years, the same as in Great Britain.
 
" I remain your obedient servant,
 
On behalf of the Union,
J. W. HARDMAN, Secretary."
 
During the same week the J:P.A. suggested a monster petition calling for manhood suffrage
 
The States met to discuss the franchise question on February 4. Bills were submitted by Deputies Gray and Cory and the Constable of St. Helier. These were lodged " au Greffe " to be printed for discussion on March 20. On that date, after some discussion, a committee was formed to examine the matter.
 
Nothing having been done by the date of the Union's Quarterly Meeting of March 29, a resolution was passed " that this Quarterly Meeting of the Jersey Branch of the Dock, Wharf, Riverside and General Workers' Union protests against the apparent delay in the passing of the Franchise Bill and urges our accredited representatives to impress upon the States Assembly the desire of the, at present, disfranchised men and women to have the privilege of exercising the vote at the next General Election, 1919."  Finally, on Thursday, May 22, after much delay and opposition, the Franchise Act as it now stands was passed.  This Act gives "every male British subject of 20 and over, and every British female subject of 30 or over, who has no Guardian, Curator, or "Procureur General" the right to vote if either " their names are mentioned on the list of contributors to the Parish Rate " or " they occupy a house or part of a house, building or land, of an annual rental of at least £10," or " they (men) are on the active list of the Militia or any other organisation for the defence of the Island replacing the Militia " or " they (women) are the wives of men whose names are inscribed in the Electoral list. "
 
This gave the vote to the majority of the adult population of the Island, but left a minority of at least 20 per cent still voteless.

Jersey Workers - The Victorian Age to the Great War

Here, as promised, is another transcript from Norman Le Brocq's history of the working class in Jersey. For those who were born after 1971, as with England, Jersey had a monetary system of pounds, shillings and pence. Within this system:

£1 = 20 shillings (sometimes written as 20s or 20/-)
1 shilling (1/-) = 12 pence (written as 12 d).

So 15/6 = 15s 6 d which would be 15 shillings and 6 pence.

Coins came in crowns (5/- coins somewhat rare), half crowns (2/6), florins (two shillings), shillings, sixpenny pieces, threepenny pieces (pronounced "thru-penny", pennies, half-pence (also called ha'pennies) , and farthings. Notes included not just £1 and greater but also 10/- (ten shilling notes). Sometimes items would be priced in "guineas", which was equivalent to £1 1s. I still remember ten shilling notes and half pence coins, although farthings had ceased to be legal tender by that time.

A moment's thought will show that the old pence were not equivalent to today's decimal currency, introduced in 1971. In fact 6 d would be the equivalent of 2 1/2 p, and 1 shilling would be 5 pence.

When looking at prices though, bear in mind the inflation that has taken place, and note how Norman Le Brocq places prices of food etc in comparison with wages.

If you really want to see what it means in terms of today's prices, Mark Forskitt has very cleverly done all the hard work for you! Read Norman's history first, then go to
http://st-ouennais.livejournal.com/59104.html

This story continues just after the bread riots:

---

The Jersey worker was forced into the above violent method of making himself heard because of the lack of interest taken in him by the island authorities. He was beginning to realise that until he made his presence felt no notice would be taken of his sufferings. The Jacobin clubs and " corresponding societies" did not touch the island and the Owenite and Chartist movements passed it by.

The local politicians were divided into "Charlots" (=Carlist) or. Conservatives, and "Maggots" (-baboons; slang. For plebeians) or Liberals, and later into "Rose" and "Laurel", the equivalent of the English "Whig" and "Tory". Neither of these bothered their heads about " the rabble." In fact there was really no political strife between these " parties," for all the elections were run on individual merits and not on party programmes. Apart from this, out of the 36 members of the States Assembly prior to 1857, twelve were the Rectors of the parishes who were not elected, while twelve more, the Jurats, though elected, were members for life. Only the Constables were elected at regular intervals. After 1857, 14 deputies elected on a very limited franchise found a place in the Assembly. (This number was later increased to seventeen.)

After 1857, then, out of 50 (and later 53) members of the Assembly, 12 were clergymen, while at least 22 (11 each of the Constables and Deputies) represented the farmers. This excludes the Jurats, who may have been elected by a preponderant country vote. Of course there was no hope of the working man getting any representation in the Assembly, and indeed at this time very little chance of the town businessman being represented.

This latter fact is not so important as it at first seems, for the local bourgeoisie had been largely of a special type. This is the farmer-company director. The importance of this class seems peculiar to these islands. They are farmers who have " gone into business" while still owning and often managing their farms. The directors of most local firms in the nineteenth century were of this type and of one other: the lawyer. Not that there is any real dividing line between these two groups, for the lawyers' offices are supplied with clerks-and therefore with lawyers and advocates-in the form of the farmers' younger sons.

So we may say that until the turn of the century, at any rate, the farmer ruled the island aided by the clergy and the feudal seigneurs.

The feudal seigneur? To understand the part he played we must remember that during the nineteenth century Jersey was still in a pre-capitalist state of society. Feudalism was still a force in the island with its staunchly Conservative tradition. This tradition still. exists and goes far deeper than party politics. It is the foundation of all local life. The Jerseyman's motto
has long been and still is: " What was good enough for my grand-father is good enough for my son."

On the subject of feudal remains in the island society of that day I will quote a contemporary historian:

"The feudal rights which still exist in Jersey, the many fiefs or seigneuries which still share the soil of our parishes, the seigneural judges or seneschals who still judge according to ancient custom, all that is the phantom which I have just mentioned, all that appears alive and strong, all that frightens and makes dupes of us; and yet it is nothing but a mist that one puff of wind can dispel...It is to he hoped that before long Jersey will be freed of all these feudal remains which were never reasonable, and which only continue to exist through the apathy of those who suffer under them." (J.P. Ahier, Tableaux Historiques de Jersey 1852, translation)

And it was not only the educated historian who saw the need for the abolition of the remaining feudal rights. Two mass meetings were held, one in 1843 and the other in 1858, calling for abolition. At the 1843 meeting, one Elie Le Geyt proposed:-

"Mr. Chairman, in France all seigneural rights have been abolished; it should be the same in this country. As for me, I think the parishes of this island should buy all the fiefs, so that they would enjoy for a year and a day the property of those who die without heirs of their own flesh and blood, until all feudal rights are abolished. (Applause.)

"The Chairman replied that if Mr. Le Geyt's suggestion was put into practice, it would greatly benefit all the inhabitants of this land." (Applause.)

Notice this reference to France. This points to the fact that in those days the islander was far more aware of how matters stood in that neighbouring land than of what was happening in England. Those were the days of the Charter; but the people of Jersey knew it not.

The arrival of the refugees of 1852 carried on this Jersey-French link. These refugees fleeing from the coup d'état of Louis Napoleon included many prominent men of whom the best known was Victor Hugo. They founded a paper L'Homme, which appears to have been widely read in the island and had some effect on local politics, Off course, this and the Jersey Constitutional Reform Association set up in 1861 had very little to say for the " rabble "; neither was the paper Reforme of 1853 nor the magazine Le Voix des Iles of the seventies of more than a progressive liberal nature.

The local worker, after his effort of 1847, remained quiet. His living conditions were terrible while the general prosperity of the island was often remarked upon. Yet he sullenly bore his lot.

That his lot was not a happy one can be shown by the following hypothetical budget showing wages and prices as they stood about the middle of the nineteenth century. These remained much the same right up till the turn of the century. The wage of a labourer of that time was normally 12/6, thought it rose to the height of 15/- in individual cases.

Out of his 12/6 he could buy:

Rent	2/0
Bread (12 lb.)	3/0
Dripping (2lb)	7d
Meat (2 lb.).	10d
Vegetables (including potatoes)	1/6
Coal and candles or oil for lighting	1/0
Beer, Tea, Sugar, Salt, etc.	1/0
Milk (3 pints)	3d
Soap	2d
Sundries (including all clothing)	1/8
Total:	12/6

It will be remarked that he is just on or below the subsistence level. Should any calamity-such as illness-strike his family his wage could not cover it. He lived on cheap and often bad food. It is not astonishing that there were two serious epidemics of cholera in 1832 and 1849.

It is interesting to notice the terms of an indenture of a blacksmith's apprentice of the year 1871. Amongst other instructions the indenture ordered that : " During all which time (six years) he, the said apprentice, his said master shall and will faithfully serve, his secrets keep, his lawful commands everywhere gladly obey, and diligently and carefully demean and behave himself towards him... He shall not commit fornication, nor contract matrimony, within the said term. At cards, dice tables, or any other unlawful game, he shall not play. He shall not haunt ale-houses, taverns, playhouses, or any other places of debauchery; but in all thins behave himself during the said term, as a good and faithful apprentice ought to do."

And all this for one shilling per week with an increase of sixpence per week each year.

These were those idyllic years of the reign of Queen Victoria in so far as the local worker knew them. As one person who lived through these years told me: the worker spent his wage on rent, food and rags, there was nothing left over for anything else.

By 1889 the local worker was beginning to get restive once again. It was about this time that the local newspapers began to take notice of the great Trade Union movement in England and the resulting strikes. In Guernsey a branch of the Stoneworkers Society of Great Britain-the Guernsey Stoneworkers Society came into being some time during the eighties and fought a not entirely unsuccessful strike over the employment of non- unionists in August, 1890.

That year, 1890, saw the publication of what is probably the most progressive newspaper Jersey has ever had. It was the Jersey Reformer. In its short life of about two years it engaged in a campaign against the local authorities for better living conditions and Constitutional reform. Its first editor, Reynolds, served a prison sentence in default of payment of damages granted to Stanley Malet, Chief Import Officer, in pursuance of a libel action.

In its first editorial it said: "We expect an uphill fight; progress in Jersey seems almost impossible; folk have been so long accustomed to bear their burdens that they scarcely seem to notice the weight of them now. We like folk to be dissatisfied and shall try to make them as dissatisfied as possible, and we hope thereby to be able to improve them a little," the Jersey Reformer summed-up the policy it carried out for its short but eventful life.

In February, 1897, the first attempt was made to set up a union branch in Jersey. This was a failure, for, the reason that stonemasons and .quarrymen who made the attempt found it impossible to pay their dues from their scanty pay of 3/- a day, and the movement fell to pieces.

It was not till September 18, 1909, that another attempt was made when the stoneworkers met at the Beresford Cafe under the chairmanship of W. Kessell to inaugurate a local branch of the Operative Masons Society of Great Britain and Ireland. It was then stated that 85 per cent of the stoneworkers of Jersey had shown their readiness to join. It was resolved that a request be made straightaway to the Society to send down an organiser.

The next four years were devoted to an attempt to obtain a wider franchise. Political activity rather than industrial seems to have been the order of the day. This was probably a reaction then. against the lack of interest taken in politics by the worker until then. It has always been difficult to get the Jerseyman to understand that the political and industrial struggles must go along hand in hand. He has tended first to concentrate on the one, then on the other, without correlating the two.

In 1910 the Jersey Working Man's League was formed. It held its first public meeting on December 12, 1910, at which was passed the Resolution: "That this meeting, recognising that taxation without representation is unjust, asks for the extension of the Franchise so as to embody the principle of Manhood Suffrage."

This League merged later with another organisation to form the Jersey Independent Labour Party and Labour League, which affiliated to the English I.L.P. The outstanding leader of the local I.L.P. was Peter Le Noir, a painter, who became secretary. Another name came to the fore-that of Mrs. Trachy - of whom more later.

At a meeting of the Jersey I.L.P., held on February 4, 1912, to discuss the position re the Franchise struggle, it was suggested that a demonstration of at least 5,000 workers in the Royal Square on the occasion of the States discussion of a Franchise Bill, would help things along.

This was commented upon and ridiculed by Ed. Le Quesne, Assistant Secretary of the Jersey Franchise and Workmen's Federation at its second annual general meeting held two days later. "We must just keep plodding along," said Mr. Le Quesne.

So they -just kept plodding-along, for the Jersey I.L.P. did not have mass support enough to go ahead on its own.

Peter Le Noir kept the ball rolling with controversial letters to the press re Socialism, in which letters, incidentally, he pointed out that he was a Fabian Socialist, and not one of those revolutionary British Social-Democratic Federation supporters. He believed in gradual evolution.

And so, to introduce the thin end of the wedge, Peter Le Noir stood as a Candidate for the Deputyship of St. Helier No. 2 district.

Unfortunately the worker still did not have the vote, so that Mr. Le Nair, the workers' candidate, polled 32 votes out of a total poll of 797. Such is the inevitability of gradualness!

During these last two years another of the many comet-like Jersey newspapers, which periodically flash across the sky and sink into oblivion, had come into existence. The Jerseyman gives us a hint of what some, at least, of the islanders thought of their States Assembly in an " Open Letter to the States," from which I take the following extracts:

".Pray don't think that you will always be able to sit down contentedly drawing in your dividends and pocketing your rents, while white-faced women and starving children die like flies in the dirty, filthy slums..And then, eliminate Seigneural rights. But there again, how many of you are Seigneurs? Ah, there's the rub! ...What are you going to do for our overworked and underpaid apprentices, girls and labourers; some men earning the princely salary of fifteen shillings per week, with a wife and six children to keep.

Yes, at this time fifteen shillings was the labourer's wage. How did he live? Well, here is a typical budget:-

Rent	3/6
Meat (3 lb.)	1/6
Bread (16 lb.)	2/8
Potatoes (20 lb.)	1/0
Vegetables	1/6
Dripping	6d
Tea, , Sugar, Salt, etc.	10d
Cigarettes (50) and Beer (2 pints)	1/0
Fuel and Gas	1/2
Clothing, Shoes and Repairs, etc.	1/4
Total:	15/0

It must be borne in mind that this 15/- was no minimum wage. The unskilled worker often drew less than that and even the skilled drew very little more. The carpenter's wage, 3/- a day in 1880, had risen to 3/6 a day by 1909; while the stone-masons complained that though a good master was known to give 4/- for a 13 or 14-hour day, the more usual rate of pay was 3/- for a day of twelve hours. Thus the skilled worker would receive anything from 18/- to £1 4s 4s. for his week's work.

That is so, if he were lucky! For he lost all "wet time" and was only paid for the actual hours he put in. And, although there was some talk of accident benefits in the States during those years, it was not until 1935 that any compensation was actually paid.

The Jerseyman points out that it was quite possible for the working-class family to manage on that 15/- per week. If they use "a little care, a firm hand on the milk jug, a measuring of half-spoonfuls of sugar, a spreading of the butter as if it were gold leaf, a man, wife and three children can pay rent, (sic!) keep a small fire, and avoid hunger on 15/- per week. They may even run to a shilling or eighteen pence for meat ('cuttings') on Sunday, and make a currant pudding during the week. But what are they to do for clothing? They 'manage' as we say in Jersey. They either sink their pride and apply to the parish for clothing, or else emulate the idyllic attire of our first parents."

These were the conditions of life that made the Ronez Quarrymen decide to form a local branch of the Amalgamated Union of Quarrymen on February 3, 1914. A Guernsey branch had been running for over two years and quarrymen coming from Guernsey had brought the idea with them. A meeting was arranged by the Guernsey President and Secretary, and 54 men were signed up on the spot. J. H. Pinel was elected local President.

The Stonemasons' Union had remained quiet all-this time, and seems to have been very inactive. Whether this A.U.Q. branch would have woken things up more remains a ground for speculation, for the First World War intervened and put a brake on the developing Union movement in the island for the next four years. With the outbreak of war the Operative Mason's Union, the Union of Quarrymen and the local I.L.P. branch collapsed, leaving Jersey without any labour organisation until 1918, when the Jersey worker at last found his voice once more.

Jersey Workers Uprising in May

The increasing cost of foodstuffs with GST has provoked protests, but nothing like those protests which occurred in 1847. I have just finished transcribing Norman Le Brocq's account of the riots, and it makes fascinating reading, as well as showing another side to the man, as a local historian.

Of course, now the event which really focuses politician's minds is an election, whereas in 1847, virtually none of the working population had much say in the composition of the States, and now they will bear the electorate in mind (at least in what they say before being elected). For the very badly off, there is also Income Support available. Nevertheless, above that threshold, or disallowed because of circumstances (e.g. pensioners with home ownership, recent immigrants), are still people who are facing a savage rise in electricity costs, and often a reduction or a freeze in pay, living increasingly impoverished lives. Between elections, will enough States members consider the plight of these people?

In 1847, the plight of those - literally on the breadline - was so bad that there were riots. It is a salutary tale, and shows how - as Karl Popper showed in his "Open Society and Its Enemies", Victorian State interventions were a "release valve", a reaction (as here) necessitated by the strength of popular unrest.

---

"On Monday morning, very early, St. Helier, usually so calm and busy, was thrown into alarm by the news that all workers had downed tools and that everything pointed to a serious . uprising. This was borne out by the reports of the determination and violent character of those who seemed to be he workers' leaders. The news, which at first was hardly believed, although on Sunday a rumour had circulated that an uprising was planned for Monday, soon acquired a positive nature. The Constable was seen making for the Royal Square accompanied by his four Centeniers. This place was assumed to be the rallying point of the troublemakers.

" Soon all the police of St. Helier were gathered around their chiefs; but at half-past six the Square was still empty, although already a band of three or four hundred persons was abroad, compelling all workers to leave their work."

So opened the report of the activities of May 17, 1847, as summarised by one of the local newspapers. This uprising was the climax of, a series of riots by the town workers and the Gorey oyster fishers over a period of twenty-five years. The year 1822 had seen the first -popular rising in Jersey over the high price of foodstuffs. That year was notable for the fight made -and won-by the Island States Assembly, backed and urged on by the populace, against the imposition on the island of the British Government's Corn Laws.

In spite of the fact that this battle for the free importation of corn into the island was won, the price of corn rose sharply in the years that followed. In 1828, after another easily quelled riot, the States passed a law forbidding the export of any type of grain. This eased the position somewhat, but did not bring bread prices back to a reasonable figure as compared with the local workers' poor wage.

During the years 1821-1851, the population of the island almost exactly doubled. This large increase was partly due to an influx of English workers employed on the extension of St. Helier's harbours, the building of St. Catherine's pier and other large constructions.

This infiltration of English workers with their more militant outlook woke the Jersey worker to the fact of his extreme misery. They tended to settle here after the work that brought them was finished and they were well to the fore in fighting for better conditions.

The immediate cause of the May uprising is shown by the events of the five months preceding it. In January, 1847, the shipwrights and carpenters employed in the shipbuilding yards left their work, complaining of the high price of foodstuffs. They took possession of several loads of potatoes which were being shipped for export. The Jersey and Guernsey News complains that on this occasion "the police looked on, and allowed this to be done. Not one of the rioters was seized or punished. "

On the 1st of February the States decided to open a bakery to sell bread to the working poor at 2d. per Ib. The market price of bread at this time was 2 ½ d. per lb. By the beginning the market price of bread had gone up to 3 ½ d. per lb, while the States ;bread had advanced to 2 ½ d.

On May 15 the Constable of St. Helier made a statement to the press that " as the Committee of the States would shortly discontinue selling bread at a cheap rate, a meeting of the constituents of St. Helier would be held on Wednesday, May 19, to open subscriptions for the relief of the working class," and concluded by saying: "that it was a fact which should not be
concealed that a great number of workmen had been compelled to put their effects in pledge to supply the wants of their families, and that their resources were entirely exhausted."

The excuse made for stopping the supply of cheap bread was that work was now plentiful-at 12/6 per week-which fact was disputed by at least one of the local newspapers. This statement of the Constable's reported in L'Impartial de Jersey, Le Constitutionel and Le Chronique de Jersey, caused a feeling of unrest amongst the town workers on the Sunday. It would seem by the magnitude of the rising on the following day that plans were made then for the morrow.

The townsfolk went to bed that Sunday night wondering if there was anything in the many rumours circulating concerning approaching trouble.

The workers employed in the building of St. Aubin's Road arrived at their place of work as usual at 5 o'clock that Monday morning; but instead of proceeding to their normal work they gathered together to the number of about 150 and discussed their plans. They sent a delegation to ask for an increase in pay. This was refused. It was then decided to march to First Tower and call on the carpenters and other workers at Deslande's building yard to come out and join them. This went off according to plan.

The next step was to march townwards about 200 strong. Along the Esplanade carne this ragged army calling upon all workers to join them. They turned up Hill Street, gathering force all the way, and here were joined by a group working at the laying of a main drain. Not attempting yet to force their way into the Square, they continued their march down Roseville Street to the shipbuilding and other yards at Havre des Pas. By this time there were over 400 in their ranks. They proceeded to call out all the workers in these yards. Some came willingly, others were reluctant. Threats and arguments were used to bring the Clarke, Valpy and Allix employees out.

Havre des Pas now being at a standstill, the recruiting march was continued, as far as the North Pier. Here extension to the harbour was in progress. At first the men remained loyal to the foremen in charge; but after a battle with stones the majority of these men, too, joined in the uprising.

Next carte the turn of the men repairing the ships " Peggy " and " Hebe," These men were persuaded by their -bosses to remain at work; but after one of the foremen had been. downed with a stone, these men went over to support the side of the uprising.

At Ennis' foundry, the marchers found everything locked and bolted against them. After a vain attempt to break in to release the workers cooped tip there and some window smashing, this place was left for a march to Henry and de Garis' sail-making factory. Here all the men refused to strike and the marchers drew off, leaving them to it.

By half past eleven the repair-men on the ships " Ringmahon Castle " and " Speedy 'Packet " had joined them, and the crowd was now well over 700 strong, apart from parties sent about to call out other workers.

About noon it was decided to march on the Royal Square. Well over 1,000 strong, they entered the Square, led by Jean Picot, journeyman-shoemaker. As he entered the Square, shouting " Rush in, my boys," he was seized by the police. He was immediately hauled before the Court, which was then in session, and in spite of several efforts to rush the Court building and rescue him, he was tried and sentenced to eight days' solitary confinement.

George Sargent, a seaman, was arrested for leading an attempt to rush the Court building steps and capture the Constable, while in a state of intoxication.

Then went up shouts of "To Le Quesne's mill! " "To the Town Mill". And a band of over a thousand streamed out towards the north of the town. Centenier Le Bailly made for the mill with part of the police force, while the Constable and the rest of the police stayed to hold the remaining crowd from the Court buildings.

Le Bailly entreated the crowd to go away and leave the mill intact;-but with shouts of " Break in' -a large band went round to the back entrance. Using hammers and pick-axes they attempted to break open the door, but it was not until they brought up an improvised battering-ram that they burst it open. Flocking into the mill, they opened the main door. Then in rushed as many as could. Bags of flour and grain were carried and thrown into the yard. One man, Elias Selous, was observed to fill his mouth with flour and shout: "That's how hungry I am. I haven't eaten for two days."

Two wagons were loaded with grain and flour and many men gathered as much as they could carry.

By this time the Governor had called out the island garrison and placed it at the disposal of the Constable. About one o'clock the Riot Act was read in the Square by the Procureur General, and the troops were ordered to co-operate with the police in clearing the Square. Another part of the garrison, the 81st Foot Regiment, :was ordered to proceed to the Town Mill. At Robin Hood Corner they met the outposts of the rebels and a short engagement followed, the workers using clubs and stones. The two flour-wagons were captured by the troops and the crowd was dispersed. By 2.30 p.m. the Square also was cleared and many arrests had been made. Sentries were left and the main body of the troops was sent round the town to clear the public houses and order them to be shut.

The crowd had swarmed back to the Square by four o'clock; but though they collected there and paraded the town all the evening, the initial impetus was over and there were no more clashes with the authorities. Police and special constables patrolled the town all night.

At five next morning it was found that a large number of the workers were going back to work. The remainder merely walked about and made no violent move.

At seven-thirty the Constable issued the following proclamation:

"To the Working Class,

All workers are commanded to return to their work immediately. Measures are, being taken to assure the distribution of bread to the working class at a reasonable price and to guard against all scarcity of essential foodstuffs.

"A public assembly. will be held in the near future to open a subscription for poor relief; but all aid will be refused to those who do not immediately return to work and severe measures will be taken against them.

"Imprisonment with hard labour or banishment for five years is the penalty ordered in our Riot Act for all those who take part in riotous gatherings and who do not disperse when ordered to do so by the police."

"If necessary, the military will be called out to reinforce the police.
"The deserving poor will receive help; but all those who take part in any uprising will he severely punished.

Pierre Le Sueur, Constable of St. Helier. May 18, 1847."

At three o'clock Tuesday afternoon it was reported that the Mont Mado quarrymen were marching on the town. The Constable hurriedly called out the troops and accompanied them up to Mont-a-l'Abbe. Here they met the quarrymen and demanded of them their business. The reply was a demand for bread to be made available at 2d. per pound (the existing market price being 3d. per pound). The Constable told them to go home and he would do something for them. After the Procureur General had read the Riot Act, the quarrymen were ordered to disperse; which, in face of superior force, they did.

During these two days an appeal had been made for citizens to enrol as special constables, and in all 114 rallied to the call. They were used as auxiliary police patrols and distinguished by white armbands. However, these " specials " saw little activity, for by Tuesday night calm had settled over the island once again.

Over the whole period no one had been killed, though there were a number of injuries on both sides.

What were the results of this uprising?

On Monday, in the midst of the turmoil, a meeting of the States Food Committee was convened and issued the following statement :

The year 1847, the 17th day of May.-The Committee having assembled in Order to deliberate on the distribution at a reduced price of. bread, baked for the States, which is now sold to the working class at 2 ½ d. per pound, conformably to the decision of the Committee on April the 27 last; considering the reduced rate of wages and salaries, as well as the increased price of provisions, as also the number of persons who suffer in consequence of the famine and the dearness of articles of food in general, has resolved to adopt immediate means, in order to reduce in a few days the price of bread to 2d. per pound, The Committee has at the same time decided, if necessary, to take measures insuring for the provisioning of the island. The Committee has also decided to instruct the Constables of the parishes who have not yet increased the allowance to out-door poor to come to an understanding with the churchwardens, in order to give an immediate increase, proportionate to the wants of the present time, and this extraordinary relief.
Charles de Ste. Croix, Greffier."

On the Wednesday, the Constable of St Helier held a public meeting to set up a fund for extra poor relief. It was suggested that soup, meat, sugar be distributed cheaply besides bread. Subscriptions were called for on the spot and £211 were collected as a start to the fund.

Such was the scare that the uprising caused in the hearts of the authorities and the well-to-do. The workers had asked for a rise in pay or the resumption of bread sold at 2d per pound. The latter was granted by the States Food Committee in spite of their previous statement that the issue of cheap bread would be discontinued. And further, the rates of poor relief were increased throughout the island and a public fund was set up to relieve distress.

This was the first victory of the Jersey working class. By a united show of strength they gained their ends. At what cost? A few were injured in the fighting and 27 were brought up for trial. One, John Picot, the shoemaker, was tried on the spot and sentenced to eight days' solitary confinement, as we have seen. George Sargent was released with a caution.

Of the other 25, Thomas Cundy, William Holland, Thomas Connor, Thomas Anthony, Frederick Pyke, Stephen Wilkins, Jean Le Gresley, John Dunn, Elias Selous, George Minton, Joseph Baker, George Carter, Thomas Mouldoun, and Richard Tucker were charged with "forming part of an illegal assemblage of persons, and for having caused a tumult in divers parts of St. Helier, and having thus committed a breach of the peace; and also having wilfully and maliciously broken open a certain mill situated on the Trinity Road, belonging to Messrs. wheat P. Le Quesne; as also having taken by force a quantity and flour from the said mill, with any intention of robbery; or having aided or abetted in the same.

Denis Daly, John Gernan, Pierre Voisin, Charles Le Breton George Laing, Benjamin Brown, Thomas Gillam, Philip Gallichan, Richard Blacker and Henry Dell, were charged with having been participators in the tumult; for having insulted the police while in the execution of their duty; and for having attempted to rescue some prisoners when arrested by the police."

John Merrifield was charged "with having participated in the tumult and for having since his arrest threatened on his liberation to murder the person who took him up."

Sentences of varying terms of imprisonment or banishment up to five years' banishment were inflicted on these men. And so finishes this page in the history of the Jersey working class.

A sequel, however, can be seen to this day. In the Broad Street cab rank there is an obelisk erected to Pierre Le Sueur, the Constable of St. Helier, the man who put down the disturbances, erected by his grateful parishioners in memory of his exertions!