The history of the United Pattern Makers' Association, 1872-1922
TW. FISTOB j*t- . -*_ *4fc «N •* -«»-%• J* --S~ *V— «^ ,*2* *9^_-^ -iO. <". BBB W. MOSSES, General Secretary, 1884. W. MOSSES, General Secretary, 1917. The History of the United Pattern Makers' Association 1872-1922 By W. MOSSES, J.P. SOUVENIR EDITION ISSUED BY THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE UNITED PATTERN MAKERS' ASSOCIATION LONDON, 1922. Printed by the CO-OPERATIVE PRINTING SOCIETY LIMITED Tudor Street, New Bridge Street, London, E.G. 4 ; and at Manchester and Newcastle. PUBLISHERS' PREFACE. The Executive Council of the United Patternmakers' Association, in deciding to present each member of the society with a souvenir copy of the " Society's History of the Past Fifty Years," had necessarily, in choosing the writer, to have regard to his ability and knowledge of the period under review. It also should be obvious that in delegating this work to the author, their responsibility for the views expressed in the book ceases. From the nature of the work entailed, criticism, comments, and opinions of the powers that be, are the author's -own, and he is entirely responsible for the text matter. We hope the members will accept and appreciate this opportunity given by the Executive to promote and encourage a knowledge of the society's life and labours. Foreword. THE issue of the Jubilee History of our Society requires neither an excuse nor an apology. Fifty years is a long period to look forward to, and is almost as long to look back upon ; it is much longer than the average working life of a workman, and during any period of half-a-century such changes in the industrial, economic, and political life of the nation take place as to fully justify a pause in our various activities in order to allow of an introspective review of ourselves as well as of that aggregation of our fellow craftsmen who have banded them- selves together under the title which represents our organisation. Those of us who have reached or are approaching the sere and yellow stage, and who cast their thoughts back to their youthful days, cannot but be struck with the great change in the trend of thought fifty years ago and at the present time. When our society was founded workmen had to wrestle with their problems either indi- vidually or in very small communities. This undoubtedly made for initiative, self-reliance, and restraint ; it also retarded individual development and general progress. Nowadays we have gone to the other extreme ; we take no blame and acknowledge no responsibility for our present disabilities as workmen. All the industrial and economic ills from which we suffer are attributed to the present social system, and we call upon the State to afford that relief which apparently we are unable to obtain by our own individual or collective efforts. Thisiis the easiest way of absolving ourselves from the trouble and responsibility of thinking out aud solving our own problems. We are enjoined on every hand to strike the ballot box as the only way in which we can remedy the social evils from which we suffer ; but we look in vain for any exhortation from our mentors in the Trade Union movement which enjoins the virtues of self-denial, unselfishness, and charity to all men as a necessary pre- liminary to these collective efforts to ameliorate the industrial conditions of the masses in this country. It must not be supposed for one moment that the writer is posing as an apostle of individualism ; the contrary is the case. W. M. i^th March, 1922. Introductory. 1872-1922. |N compiling the history of a trade organisation it is a necessary preliminary that some reference should be made to the industry from which it springs and is maintained. It would be exceedingly congenial to the writer, as well as giving a fine flavour of antiquity to his labours, if we could claim a direct and unbroken genealogical descent from the founder of the metal trades — Tubal Cain — but the biblical references are somewhat uncertain and much too vague to justify a claim that this grand old master craftsman numbered our trade amongst those he founded, practised, and taught, so we must perforce allow our friends the blacksmiths to claim a monopoly of the first and greatest industrial figure in history. The trade of patternmaking is undoubtedly one of the most modern known to industry, the art of making a model to be reproduced in the softer metals for ornamentation or domestic uses by casting in sand or some other impressionable medium, is certainly of considerable antiquity, but until the intro- duction of power machinery wrought iron was invariably used in structural and for other purposes for which the more ductile metals were unsuitable, and we are quite safe in surmising that the patternmakers of the Middle Ages were the woodworkers whose work enriched the ecclesiastical and feudal buildings of that time, and which are still the envy and admiration of those judges of wood craftsmanship who have been privileged to examine them. Modern industrial developments created a demand for a class of workman related to but more varied than the blacksmith, who, with the shipwright, were assuredly the forerunners of the numerous sections of mechanics employed in the shipbuilding and engineering industries. The first machinery, printing presses, textile machinery, etc., had cast iron parts, and — we again hazard the conjecture — it is probable that one type of all-round mechanic — the millwright — made the necessary patterns, cast, machined, fitted them and fixed them in position. We often claim to be the successor to the millwright; which is perfectly true so far as his wood patterns were concerned. But he is equally the father of the fitter, turner, and the other numerous varieties of tradesmen who are concerned in the manufacture of machinery. As a matter of fact, we cannot claim a pure descent from any particular type of craftsman. When ours was an infant industry there were no lines of demarcation, and anyone having a kit of woodworking tools with the knowledge of how to use them and an inclination to attempt a new line of work was free to come into our trade, and many of the pioneers of our industry were recruited from the ranks of the carpentering, shipwright, and other wood-working trades, and it was only when an application of steam motive power to machinery and its consequent enormous development that the various component industries connected with our industry became specialised, and in the general sorting out our branch of the trade became recognised as an important and, in our opinion, a necessary unit. It is extremely improbable that twenty-five years before the institution of our society there was a single patternmaker who had served a regular apprenticeship to our trade, and the probability is that at least one half of those who were responsible for our institution had been at one time partially or wholly engaged in some other occupation. If these assumptions are well founded it would appear that our existence as a separate and defined section of the engineering trade is not much longer than our existence as a Trade Union representing our particular branch of engineering. We are far from claiming that the institution of our organisation heralded the dawn of Trade Unionism in our trade. In every branch of industry the establishment of an industrial combination of workmen, whatever form it took, was the inevitable result of the institution and development of that industry. This certainly applied to the engineering trade, and the wood and iron men, who were a hundred years ago the vanguard of the great armies of to-day, formed them- selves into local unions at a time when such combinations were not only illegal, but were looked upon as being a danger to the State, and were suppressed as such, and some of our older trade societies have a quite justifiable pride in the fact that their earlier meetings were held in secret, and their records had to be buried in the ground to render those charged with their safe custody immune from the terrors of the law. In 1872 the first Trade Union Act was passed, but long before that year they were tolerated, and in 1851 most of the local organisations connected with engineering amal- gamated under the well-known but now extinct title of the " Amalgamated Society of Engineers." The great majority of the organised members of our trade belonged to this society, and it was during the period between the amalgamation and the institution of our society in 1872 that our trade emerged from its somewhat chrysalis stage and became a distinct and separate unit. In spite of the amalgamation our trade was very badly organised. Perhaps it was no worse in this respect than other branches of engineering. Of that period we have no definite data, but undoubtedly the great majority of pattern- makers were, during the period from 1851-1872, non-society men and quite unsusceptible to the blandishments of the handful of their organised shopmates or the pressure of society men outside their particular department. How long our pioneer members would have remained in this moribund condition will, of course, always be a matter of conjecture, but the awakening of the dry bones took place as a result of the historic nine hours' strike on the Tyne and Wear in 1871. This dispute will always rank as one of the most remarkable in industrial history, and certainly was the most successful movement ever undertaken by the engineering trade. It was undertaken long before a National Employers' Federation was thought of, and it might have been reasonable to expect that to pit a national industrial organisation against two bodies of local employers, with scarcely a pretence to unity or cohesion, was to enter into a contest in which the dice were heavily loaded against the employers. The men, however, were handicapped by faulty and incomplete organisation, and although the vast majority came out on strike, a substantial nucleus remained at work. Their numbers were swelled by the importation of foreign workmen, chiefly Germans, this being the first and last time in the history of the engineering trade that foreigners were introduced as strike breakers. However, either the quantity or quality of these importations was insufficient, and after a few weeks the Wear employers gave way, to be followed by their contemporaries on the Tyne when the strike had lasted six months. It was out of the aftermath of this industrial upheaval that our society was born. The organised patternmakers were exceedingly dissatisfied with the part they played in the conduct and settlement of the strike. They never appeared in the picture at all, and as a highly-skilled body of workmen they resented the obscure position they occupied when the laurels of victory were being distributed. It is very probable that they considered they had a real grievance, although it is difficult to realise their grounds for discontent. In any democratic organisation one man's vote is equal in value to another's, and it was owing to their insignificant number that they played so inconspicuous a part in the great struggle, and they were not one whit worse off than the numerous other small sections of the engineering trade comprised in the amalgamation. As a matter of fact, their obscurity was in all probability due to the circumstance that they had no member of the trade who was mentally fitted to take a leading part in the struggle, and the fact that the figure- head of the strike belonged to a small section — the blacksmiths — indicates sufficiently that it was not wholly on account of our paucity of numbers that we played so minor a part in the strike. The reasons and justification for our establishment as a separate society are very lucidly and moderately set forth in our earliest propaganda pamphlets. It is pointed out that our trade constitutes a very small section of the engineering industry, and that we have interests of a special character which are deliberately ignored in a mixed organisation, in which, perforce, we must always constitute an insignificant minority. With this contention we are all, of course, familiar. Much more, however, is implied than is actually stated in our early literature, and it is as well if we state our funda- mental principles, not only to recall their application to our trade in the earlier stages of our history, but to judge whether or not the principles of half-a-century ago are applicable or desirable in respect of our present-day needs. As has been already stated, we are a comparatively small, isolated, but necessary section of the engineering trade, and the only section of that industry who have to provide and maintain their own tools. A patternmaker's kit is more varied, numerous, and expensive than that of any artisan who has to provide his own tools. He works very much behind the scenes, in a different material to that upon which his contemporaries are employed. His work is indirect, inasmuch as the actual product of his labours never appears in the finished article, although the result is apparent enough to those who understand. The patternmaker claims to be the most highly skilled workman connected with his industry, as, in addition to working from complicated mechanical drawings, with nothing else to guide him, he has to have a thorough knowledge of other ancillary trades. He seldom or never makes the same thing twice, and his trade is never learned, and there are fewer plums in patternmaking than in any other skilled occupation connected with his industry. It is almost true to say once a patternmaker always a pattern- maker, and the members of our trade who have attained to higher and more responsible positions in the engineering trade are few and far between. Further, there is the financial question. Modern Trade Unionism lives and moves and has its being— so far, at all events, as the skilled trades are con- cerned— upon its friendly society benefits, and the most flourishing trade organisation is the one which can pay the most varied and highest scale of benefit for the least con- tribution. As a matter of fact, the Trade Unionist, like every other member of the community, buys in the cheapest market, and when our pioneers were drawing up their rules they sought recruits by outbidding their rivals. It was easy to shoulder superannuation liabilities which would not mature for twenty years, and undoubtedly at the period of our institution we were better employed and less liable to sickness than were the members of mixed engineering societies, and until very recently the expectations formed fifty years ago, that we could run a society on a smaller contribution and with more generous benefits were fully justified. The foregoing summary of the special circumstances which attached to our trade and which justified the establishment of our society may appear somewhat fanciful and far-fetched to-day, but they were apparent enough in 1872, when a handful of enthusiasts embarked on a perilous and uncertain enterprise in the hope not only of raising and defining the social status of our trade, but of securing for it a more sub- stantial financial recognition in the shape of a higher differential rate of remuneration than existed at the time, or even as it exists now. 10 Before dealing with the actual institution of our society, we propose to outline other sectional organisations of our trade which existed prior to or concurrently with the early days of our union, because we were not the firstcomers in the arena of separate unionism in our trade. In this connection pride of place must be given to the Leeds Pattern- makers, who were the first to institute a society whose members were confined to our trade. We are fortunate in having at our disposal the early records of this pioneer organisation. They are in a good state of preservation and were kept in a condition which would do no discredit to the most efficient of our present-day branch secretaries. SECTIONAL UNIONS OF PATTERNMAKERS. THE LEEDS PATTERNMAKERS' ASSOCIATION. The title of this organisation was somewhat elastic. " The Leeds District Patternmakers' Mutual Aid Society " was founded in July, 1865. The contributions were fixed at lid. per week. In addition, a voluntary fund was raised to assist a " London Patternmakers' Advance of Wages Move- ment." A sum of £6 18s. lid. having been collected, of which £6 lls. was remitted to the Strike Fund, 3s. 5d. absorbed in expenses, and 4s. 6d. left in hand, which appears to have caused the branch a lot of bother, for we find that when in March, 1866, the Mutual Aid was wound up, 6d. was added to the foregoing balance, and a proposal was made that the 5s. be handed to the Leeds Dispensary. Ultimately, however, this sum was retained in the hands of the society with a view to its further augmentation, when it was designed for " some benevolent institution." Its ultimate destination is, however, wrapped in obscurity. The institution of this Mutual Aid was something in the nature of a preliminary canter. The Leeds Patternmakers were not ripe for a Trade Union organisation, but they saw very clearly the necessity for a combination of some kind. Considerable unrest existed in the trade, and, as might be conjectured, it arose and found audible expression amongst the few members of our trade who were organised in the A.S.E. They complained that they had difficulty in venti- lating their grievances in that organisation, and even when ii they did get a hearing they were out-voted and described as a lot of grumblers. That they had ample reason for dissatis- faction may be inferred from the fact that their wages were from 20s. to 22s. per week; a foreman running to the munificent remuneration of 24s. It was under these circum- stances that the Mutual Aid was instituted. No salaries were paid, except to the secretary, who received £1 per annum, and during the first year the membership reached a total of thirty. The experimental combination was sufficiently encouraging to justify a launching out on a somewhat more ambitious scale, and we find that at a meeting held on 14th April, 1866, members were invited to send in suggestions for a code of rules. In all twelve proposed rules were sent in, considered two weeks later and all agreed to, and became operative on May 12th, 1866, when the " Leeds Patternmakers' Sick Society " was formally insti- tuted. It is unfortunate that we have been unable to obtain a copy of these rules, as they are of con- siderable historic value, being the first code of rules which were applied to our trade as a separate and distinct unit. The new society was certainly of an economical turn of mind, as they decided by resolution that the auditors do the work gratuitously, and that no sick benefit be paid for six months unless in case of urgent necessity. The con- tributions were fixed at 6d. per fortnight, and the first invest- ment on behalf of our trade was made when on 7th July, 1866, the Chairman, Vice-Chairman, and Treasurer were authorised to invest £5 in the Skyrack Savings Bank on behalf of the society. The first code of rules had evidently proved insuffi- cient almost as soon as they had been agreed to, as we find that an amended code came into operation on April 13th, 1867, the salary of the Secretary being confirmed at 5s. per quarter. That the branch allowed themselves considerable lattitude in their administration of the rules is evidenced by the rescission of Rule 24 for six months, reducing entrance fees one half, the amended scale being 2s. 6d. from 18 to 25 years, with an additional 6d. for every year up to 40, when another Is. 3d. was imposed on all candidates from that age to 45, which apparently was the limit. This reduction of the entrance fee did not seem to have resulted in any 12 considerable accession of membership, only three new mem- bers being recorded during that period. The amended rules still proving unsatisfactory, it was resolved on 3rd August, 1867, that they be revised " previous to being enrolled under Act of Parliament," and a Committee of five, with power to add to their number, was appointed to carry out the revision. About this time a stimulus to mutual assistance was agreed to in the shape of a premium of 6d. being paid to any member who succeeded in obtaining a job for an out-of-work brother, the latter, however, when successful, having to refund a share of any expense incurred. At the end of 1867 an important new departure was made by the institution of an Out-of-Work Fund. It was voluntary at first, and was by no means popular. Very few of the members joined it, and others disagreed with it to such an extent that they left the society. However, as the remaining members grew accustomed to the change, the opposition died down, and two years afterwards the Trade Benefit Fund, by special invitation, was generally accepted by most of the members. In 1872 the " Leeds Patternmakers' Association " attained to the dignity of a printed code of rules, which were duly registered on March 8th of that year, only one year after the passing of the first Trade Union Act. The organisation, therefore, must have been one of the first to be registered under the Act. These rules, although somewhat quaintly phrased at times, were surprisingly appropriate and comprehensive. The preface could very well be embodied in the foreword of our next code of rules. It enjoins the members to better their condition by a system of moral and general improvement in their duty to society, and proceeds to enumerate the assistance they are prepared to render in the way of benefits, which include out-of-work, loss of tools by fire, sickness, super- annuation, and to assist those who are for ever incapacitated from following their usual employment to obtain a livelihood by other means, and a solemn warning is addressed to those who believing themselves above the reach of want become dependent upon others whom they refused to help in their days of adversity. The meetings of the society were held in the William IV. Inn, Briggate. They commenced at 8 p.m., and no business was transacted after 10 p.m. Provision was made for the investment of the funds in what are now known as trustee securities, and the list of officers and their duties were much the same as appear in our own rule book, except that the doorkeeper was known under the picturesque title of " Tyler." The President had much more responsibility than our present-day officer. He had power to grant leave of absence to members requiring a change of air. He also paid funeral money. The rule regarding admissions was much more rigid than is the case at present: not only the member, but his wife had to be of sound health. He was also required to have good abilities as a workman, steady habits, good moral character, and in receipt of the average district rate of wages, and his proposer had to have worked with him. If a single man married a woman of unsound health after admission he forfeited Funeral Benefit at her death. It was further reiterated in a subsequent rule that both the candidate and his wife had to be of good reputation, sober, peaceful, indus- trious, in perfect health, and not liable to be disordered at particular seasons of the year. Any infringement of these Draconian laws was followed by expulsion and forfeiture of all moneys paid to the society. Entrance fees ranged from 5s. to candidates 20 to 25 years of age, and up to 20s. to those of 45, which was the age limit, and contributions were fixed at Is. 6d. per fortnight, of which 9d. was earmarked for sick, 8d. for trade, and Id. for management. If the funds were reduced below £1 per member provision was made for their augmentation by levy. The Sick Benefit rule is somewhat similar to our own of that period, and probably had a common origin: 10s. per week was paid for twenty-six weeks, and 5s. for a further like period; thereafter the sick member was exempt from contributions. It is difficult to imagine the paragons these pioneer members must have been — if they carried out their rules— lapsing from grace by getting drunk. So it was ordained, in view of this very remote contingency, that if he was found guilty by the association he was penalised for the first offence by a fine of 5s. and the return of " one week's gift." A second offence carried with it three months' expulsion, and if the hardened reprobate again offended he was expelled or suffered such other punishment as the Committee of the association thought proper. Members of the original Sick society were allowed to remain members for Sick and Funeral Benefits only at a contribution of lOd. per fortnight; but no new members were admitted afer the registration of the then current code of rules. Funeral Benefit was £8, with £5 for a first wife, and provision was made for the attendance of the officers at the funeral of a free member. Trade Benefit was at the rate of 10s. per week for ten weeks, 7s. for the second ten weeks, and 5s. for the third ten weeks, and he was exempted from payment of contribu- tions for the remainder of his unemployment. Tool Benefit was limited to the modest sum of £3, and was only paid for loss of tools by fire. The fund was maintained by levy. Superannuation was paid after twenty years' membership, with the usual restrictions, at the rate of 5s. per week ; after twenty-five years 8s. was paid. Discipline appears to have been rigidly enforced in these early days. A member censuring another outside the club- room for venturing an opinion was mulcted of Is. fine; for upbraiding a member in receipt of benefit cost 2s. 6d. The same fine was inflicted for divulging the society's business, exceot to a member, and it cost a like sum for one member to upbraid another for leaving a situation and returning to it; and 2s. 6d. was the penalty exacted against a member who struck another. Other offences were disorderly conduct whilst in receipt of benefit, in which cases the penalty was made to fit the crime, and members cognisant of this offence and not reporting delinquent were fined Is. Tt was a somewhat serious offence for a member to boast of his independence towards his employer : it cost him 2s. 6d. for the first, and 5s. and 10s. for the third and succeeding offences. An echo of the days when Trade Unions were compelled to meet in secret is found in the rule providing that all members gave the password or their name to the Tyler, who forwarded it to the President before the member was admitted during business hours. The Leeds Society had a very brief existence after the registration of its rules. During 1873 they made overtures to our society for fusion, and terms were agreed to with an 15 expedition which is a reproach to some modern organisations whose members have long ago agreed to amalgamation, but whose officials have procrastinated in a fashion which does infinitely more credit to their ingenuity than to their loyalty. We have not the exact date of the amalgamation, neither have we the exact terms of the agreement, but it is evident that our rules were accepted en bloc, and the actual amal- gamation took place during the latter part of 1873. The number of affiliated members was ninety-five, more than one half of the members of the parent society. Bradford and Halifax had a membership of fourteen and thirteen respec- tively. The temporary lapse of the latter branch resulted in their relegation from being No. 8 Branch to their present position. The new adherents did not come empty-handed. Their funds amounted to £110 3s. Hid., some £26 less than the total belonging to the larger body. So passed the pioneer organisation in our trade. They showed that such an organisation was possible. From 1866 to 1871 they raised wages from 21s. to 26s. per week. Prior to the war we have never done better. They instituted a comprehensive and effective scale of benefits peculiarly appropriate to our trade, and when the time came they sacrificed separate identity and merged their organisation in a larger and national body, thus practising a self-abnegation which abundantly justified the elevation of the Leeds Branch to the honoured position they now hold as the premier branch of the society. THE LONDON PATTERNMAKERS' SOCIETY — OTHERWISE THE UNITED PATTERNMAKERS (LONDON). This organisation was born, lived, and died quite inde- pendently of our society, so we have no documentary evidence of its activities, and inquiries have failed to give any clear outline of its history. It was instituted about the same time as its contemporary in Leeds, and its first meeting-place was the Elephant, in Fenchurch Street. Subsequently a move was made to the Grapes, behind Aldgate Church. In its early days the total membership was about 150, and the members were generally employed around the Thames area, chiefly at the now defunct firms of Penns, Maudsleys, and Humphrey & Tennant. They were a very exclusive and conservative body, and they prided themselves upon including the cream of the 16 trade in their organisation, about one half of their membership consisting of foremen, chargemen, and men firmly established in their jobs. They possessed sufficient influence to prove themselves a very sharp thorn in the side of the A.S.E. patternmakers, and they undoubtedly were the real cause of the formation of the first Mutual Aid Society in the latter organisation. It is worth while chronicling the institution of this body, and it cannot be done better than by quoting from the admirable account which has been furnished by one of our best-known Birmingham members of the history of the organisation of our trade in the Metropolis in the 'sixties :— " The A.S.E. patternmakers had found it very difficult to obtain entry to many of the best engineering shops in the London area through the foremen being members of the London Society of Patternmakers, hence the birth of the A.S.E. Mutual Aid. Now the founders of the Mutual Aid (or, at least, some of them) were very thoughtful, studious men, who were or had been students of the Working Men's College in Great Ormond Street, an institution which at that time was exercising a profoundly beneficial influence in the lives of large numbers of the better-class artisans in the London area. The Rev. F. D. Morris, Tom Hughes, Q.C., M.P., Mr. Ludlow (the first Registrar), the Rev. Charles Kingsley, and many others interested in social work, were amongst the founders and teachers at this College, so that you must realise that the Mutual Aid was at its inception something much more than an ordinary Trade Union move- ment as we understand these things to-day. But alas for the vanity of human expectation. The high level of morality which dominated Great Ormond Street could not be main- tained very long in the Blackfriars Road. The literary and scientific lectures gradually ceased, so that by the time came on the scene again, early in 1871, the Mutual Aid was merely a respectable sort of free and easy, with a dash of Trade Unionism and gossip at intervals. Up to 1865 the average wages of the London patternmakers had been about 30s. per week of 59 hours, but at this time the Mutual Aid felt strong enough to put in a demand for 6d. per day increase of wages. This was refused by the employers, and a strike of patternmakers was the result. The A.S.E. local B.C. had refused their sanction to a strike, but nevertheless B 17 it still went on and was, in fact, ultimately successful. In 1879 the Employers' Association gave notice of a reduction of 10s. per week, which the men refused to accept, and were locked out, and although before hostilities actually com- menced it was known that the reduction was not to apply to our trade, the patternmakers, influenced no doubt by those belonging to the A.S.E. , came out with the general body of workmen. At that time they numbered about 130, and several of their members who refused to come out were expelled. A joint Committee of our trade was formed to look after our interests, but it was dominated by the A.S.E., who were in the majority, and it was chiefly remarkable for the suspicion, recrimination and double-dealing which marked its brief and inglorious existence. The strike lasted from eight to nine months and eventually fizzled out. Its close was marked by an unpleasant incident, which it is impossible to conceive would be practised to-day. The engineers having decided the game was up, passed the word to their pattern- maker members, who offered their services before a general resumption, in consequence of which the members of other societies, including our luckless handful, we're left out in the cold. No redress was possible, and the London Society found themselves with a depleted exchequer and most of their members out of work. Their position was hopeless, and they had no alternative other than to seek the shelter of a national organisation. An attempt was made by our members in May, 1877, to secure the remnant of sixty, but at that time we had neither organisation, funds, nor reputation in 18 the London district, and it is not to be wondered that our negotiations proved abortive. They subsequently approached the A.S.E., who refused to accept their superannuation liabilities, and alternately they found shelter in the ranks of the Steam Engine Makers, although several of their members refused to follow the general body and ultimately joined our organisation. THE UNITED PATTERNMAKERS' SOCIETY. This is not an error in title. A society of this name actually existed in the Smethwick district in 1876, and our local branch (No. 9) had been engaged in somewhat protracted negotiations in regard to amalgamation. A basis had been agreed to early in 1875, but the local society had backed out, and at an Executive Council Meeting of our society the position between the two organisations was evidently regarded as hopeless, and our Smethwick Branch was instructed to inform their contemporaries that we had adjourned the question sine die. As no further reference to this organisa- tion appears in the existing records it is presumable that they gradually petered out. This is borne out by the circum- stance that, when in 1885 we sought to change our title, we were informed that a society existed under the name we sought to assume, and no notice had been received of the formal dissolution of that organisation. It took us some time to convince the Registrar that the society no longer existed, and this latter circumstance appears to be its chief claim to distinction, as it is a remarkable fact that although diligent inquiry has been made amongst the old-timers of the Birmingham district, not one of them appears to have remem- bered or has any knowledge that the society ever existed. ASSOCIATED PATTERNMAKERS (GLASGOW). This organisation is almost as mysterious as its Staffordshire prototype. That such a society existed so far back as 1872 we have undeniable proof. We have a record of the then General Secretary of our society and another member hold- ing a meeting of our trade in Glasgow during the latter part of 1875, attended largely by members of the Amalgamated and Glasgow Patternmakers' Societies. A lively discussion took place upon the statement of our claims, and it is some- what naively stated that although both societies gave the 19 preference to our society before their own it was impossible to obtain a sufficient number of recruits to open a branch. Then, again, the excellent and painstaking Secretary of the Leeds Society, so far back as 1873, preserved the name and address of the Secretary of the Glasgow organisation. It appears that the society had a branch in Belfast, which for some reason, the nature of which we have been unable to ascertain, seceded from the parent body and had a brief existence on their own. Neither apparently reached the adolescent stage, although communications passed between the Glasgow Association and ourselves, and suggested terms of amalgamation were offered. These, however were unacceptable, and a point blank refusal of our overtures was received. This rebuff, however, was only temporary, and we succeeded in opening a branch in Glasgow in October, 1877. The refusal of the local society to join us was undoubtedly its last effort to maintain its independence, after which it quietly petered out. This organisation never appears to have obtained any hold on the Glasgow patternmakers. It was looked upon as a kind of inferior friendly society, being com- posed of elderly men, with a sprinkling of very young men. When they failed to come to terms with the U.K.P.M.A. it was decided to break up the society and divide the funds. An earlier attempt to form a society of our trade in Glasgow was made in 1863, about the time of the lock-out for the fifty-seven hours. A Committee was formed to draw up rules, which were submitted to a mass meeting of our trade which was held in Bell's Hotel, Trongate. A number of members of the Amalgamated Engineers interrupted the proceedings, and ultimately the meeting broke up in disorder. So we had two abortive meetings before we succeeded in establishing our organisation on the banks of the Clyde. In spite of the most diligent search we have been unable to discover even a tradition of the institution, activities, or demise of the Belfast organisation. ASSOCIATED PATTERNMAKERS OF SCOTLAND. We are on absolutely sure ground in making a brief reference to the strongest sectional society of patternmakers which existed outside our own organisation, as we were concerned in its birth, work, and absorption. The members 20 of this society were confined almost wholly to the Falkirk district and were engaged in what is known as the light casting trade, which was also represented to a small extent in Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds, Warrington, Luton, and London. Pro- duction was chiefly for builders' requisites, and the material used by the members of our trade was wood, plaster of Paris (stucco), tin, lead, etc. Although our seat of government was situated in Glasgow from 1884 to 1891, no effort was made to organise these men, and there was undoubtedly a strong prejudice against admitting them to membership, not so much that they might become a financial burden as that once they were members of our organisation no restriction could be placed upon the branch of trade they elected to follow, and that the purely engineering patternmaker would probably be undercut and eventually swamped by those who were willing to make substantial sacrifices in order to obtain an insight and footing in our trade. The whole light casting trade was very badly organised at the time, and wages and general working condi- tions were consequently unfavourable. Occasionally one of our members penetrated the fortresses of Falkirk, but almost in- variably he returned as soon as he could get a job at his own branch of the trade. So the patternmakers in the light casting trade were left pretty much to their own devices. In the early part of 1896 the local Trades Council initiated a strong organising movement, and representatives of national craftsmen's unions were invited to address meetings of their local unorganised fellow workmen. We accepted the offer of the Trades Council to arrange a meeting, and a speaker was sent from Manchester, who was accompanied by a few members from Glasgow. The meeting was poorly attended, but the audience seemed quite favourable to its objects. However, when names were called for and proposition money requested, the canny Scots elected to go slow. Quite a number of prospective candidates must be interviewed, and anyhow it would be as well if a fair proportion of the trade made the plunge. This was quite reasonable, but the result was that the seed sown brought forth quite a decent crop, who decided to confine the application of their newly-acquired principles to their own district, and on 2nd September, 1896, the new organisation was instituted with a total membership 21 of sixty-nine. Our rules, so far as constitution and admini- stration were concerned, were laid under somewhat heavy toll, but the benefits were curtailed, Sick Benefit being eliminated, as most of the members of the new society con- sidered themselves as being fully covered by their membership of friendly societies. Contributions were fixed at 6d. per week, and a subsidiary levy of 3d. per quarter was imposed. A rather curious arrangement was made with regard to Tool Insurance, the society effecting a voluntary benefit through the Co-operative Insurance Society, Manchester. This arrangement was only temporary, as two or three years after- wards they established their own Insurance Fund. The relationship between our society and our Falkirk contem- poraries was, if somewhat intermittent, cordial enough, and an interchange of reports kept each organisation acquainted with the other's activities. In February, 1906, the question of the eligibility of metal patternmakers to membership in our society was definitely raised. The E.G. broadened the question to include pattern- makers engaged in metal, tin, lead, and plaster, and asked information from the branches as to the numbers and working conditions of the men engaged in this branch of our trade. Replies were received from five branches, from which it appeared that outside Falkirk very few members of our trade were engaged in actual patternmaking in these materials, and that a certain proportion were employed on semi-skilled work connected with metal. It was then intimated that we could adhere to our former policy and restrict our membership to those possessing the skill and tools necessary to produce engineering patterns. This ruling did not prevent negotia- tions being opened up between the two societies for amalgamation, as in June, 1908, a meeting of the Scottish organisation was addressed by representatives of our society, the result of which was that the latter body decided to take a vote with a view to making a formal application for fusion. This vote showed an overwhelming majority in favour, 136 being in favour, 26 against, with six spoiled votes, the total membership being 215 at the time, and as the law pre- scribed a two-thirds majority of the total membership as being necessary before any amalgamation could take place, the proposal was lost by the narrow majority of seven votes. 22 With so emphatically indicated a desire to amalgamate, such as was shown by the foregoing vote, it was inevitable that a further attempt should be made to give effect to the desires of the Associated Society. The National Insurance Act, which came into operation in 1912, furnished an additional stimulus to another effort, and in May of that year a vote on a different issue, but having the same effect, was taken, and by 169 votes to 35, with five spoiled papers, it was decided to dissolve the Scottish Society, cancel its registration, and become a part of our organisation as from 20th June, 1912. No vote was taken in our society. It was realised that under no circumstances or upon any issue would it be possible to obtain a two-thirds vote of our total membership, and when the affiliated body was de-registered an agreement was prepared and signed in the following terms :— " Memorandum of agreement between the E.G. of the United Patternmakers' Association acting for and on behalf of that organisation and the E.G. of the Associated Patternmakers of Scotland acting in accordance with a ballot vote of the members of that society rendered on Saturday, llth May, 1912, when, by 169 to 35 votes, it was decided to dissolve the aforesaid Associated Patternmakers of Scotland. " The E.G. of the Associated Patternmakers of Scotland agree to, and have made formal application, to join the United Patternmakers' Association on the following terms, which have been agreed to by the latter organisation : — " That they accept the rules of the U.P.M.A. in their entirety, and agree to conform to such future alterations of rules as may be made in accordance with the provisions of the said rules for effecting a complete or partial alteration of rules. '' That members of the Associated Patternmakers of Scotland shall be placed in the same relative position in the United Patternmakers' Association as they would have occupied had they joined the latter society at the time they joined their present organisation. 23 " That all assets belonging to the Associated Pattern- makers of Scotland, including investments, cash at bank and in hand, stationery, furniture, and other effects become the property of the U.P.M.A., and shall be at the disposal of the E.C. of the latter organisation. " That the Associated Patternmakers of Scotland shall henceforth be known as No. 89 Branch, Falkirk, of the United Patternmakers' Association. " That this agreement shall become operative on and from 19th June, 1912. " For the United Patternmakers' Association — " JOHN MILLS, E.C., President. FRED THORNLEY. HARRY TAYLOR. ALBERT CROMPTON. GEORGE HODGKINSON. WILLIAM WATKINSON. WILLIAM MOSSES, General Secretary. " For the Associated Patternmakers of Scotland— " ROBERT NEWLANDS, E.G., President. WILLIAM BRUCE. DANIEL NEILSON. WILLIAM N. ALLAN. JOHN MACDONALD. ROBERT ABERCROMBIE. 