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William Benbow's Grand National Holiday and Congress of the Productive Classes with an Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2008

A. J. C. Rüter
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Extract

The exceptional interest of Benbow's pamphlet Grand National Holiday and Congress of the Productive Classes has already been stressed by Beer1), Crook2) and Dolléans3) who quote extensive passages.

What they communicate, however, does not seem to make a complete reprint of this pamphlet superfluous. Benbow's writings derive their importance not only from their showing us one of the most striking facets of the so many-sided social thinking in the England of the beginning of the nineteenth century, but also, and not least, from their being the first written theory about the general strike. These two considerations justify a reproduction of a pamphlet which is difficult of access to those interested, and certainly so outside England4).

Type
Research Article
Information
International Review for Social History , Volume 1 , January 1936 , pp. 217 - 256
Copyright
Copyright © Internationaal Instituut voor Sociale Geschiedenis 1936

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References

Page 217 note 1) Beer, M., A History of British Socialism, II vol., London, 1919—1920.Google Scholar

Page 217 note 2) Crook, W. H., The General Strike, Chapel Hill, 1931.Google Scholar

Page 217 note 3) Dolléans, E., Le Chartisme, II vol., Paris, 1912—1913.Google Scholar

Page 217 note 4) The fascimiles have been taken from the copy at the British Museum, the negatives of which have been acquired by the Institute.

Page 217 note 5) Apart from the works already mentioned, by Beer, , Crook, and Dolleans, Benbow's life and activities are dealt with in extenso by Niles Carpenter, William Benbow and the Origin of the General Strike (The Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol. XXXV, p. 491 et seq.).Google Scholar Various data are provided a.o. by Gammage, R. G., History of the Chartist Movement, Newcastle on Tyne — London, 1894;Google ScholarHovell, M., The Chartist Movement, Manchester, 1925;Google ScholarPlummer, A., The General Strike during One Hundred Years (Economic Journal, London, Supplement, 05 1927);Google ScholarWallas, G., The Life of Francis Place, London, 1898;Google ScholarS, . and Webb, B., History of Trade-Unionism, London, 1920.Google Scholar

Page 218 note 1) Carpenter, , op. cit. p. 491. Beer, , op. cit. I, p. 315 gives London as his birth place, but does not adduce anything in proof of this contention.Google Scholar

Page 218 note 2) Carpenter, , op. cit. p. 492 et seq.Google Scholar

Page 218 note 3) As surmised by Carpenter, , op. cit. p. 491, from his choice of words.Google Scholar

Page 218 note 4) Hovell, , op. cit. p. 91.Google Scholar

Page 219 note 1) Darvall, F. O., Popular Disturbances and Public Order in Regency England, London, 1934, p. 135 et seq.Google Scholar

Page 219 note 2) ibid. p. 136.

Page 219 note 3) Hovell, , op. cit. p. 91.Google Scholar

Page 219 note 4) J. L., and Hammond, B., The Skilled Labourer, London, 1919, p. 350 et seq.;Google Scholarcf., Carpenter, op. cit. p. 492.Google Scholar

Page 219 note 5) Carpenter, , op. cit. p. 492 et seq.Google Scholar

Page 220 note 1) Carpenter, , op. cit. p. 493.Google Scholar

Page 220 note 2) Plummer, , op. cit., p. 187.Google Scholar

Page 220 note 3) According to Crimes of Clergy and Piggot's London Commercial Directory, London 1823–1824. Cf. Carpenter, , op. cit. p. 494.Google Scholar

Page 220 note 4) Benbow, W., A Scourge for the Laureate, p. 16 et seq.Google Scholar

Page 220 note 5) For Richard Carlile. See Beer, , op. cit. p. 315.Google Scholar Carlile's edition however, does not mention Benbow anywhere. Cf., Carpenter, op. cit. p. 494.Google Scholar

Page 221 note 1) Benbow's “Grand National Holiday” (title-page) mentions Watson's bookshop primarily as a place of sale.

Page 221 note 2) About this circle see Hovell, , op. cit. p. 48 et seq.Google Scholar

Page 221 note 3) West, op. cit., p. 51 et seq.

Page 221 note 4) ibid. p. 52.

Page 221 note 5) Wallas, , op. cit. p. 273.Google Scholar

Page 221 note 6) ibid.

Page 221 note 7) According to the Poor Man's Magazine he made 22 between the 3rd of September, 1831 and the 2nd of February, 1833. Cf., Carpenter, op. cit. p. 495.Google Scholar

Page 222 note 1) Plummer, , op. cit. p. 188.Google Scholar

Page 222 note 2) Carpenter, , op. cit p. 495.Google Scholar

Page 222 note 3) Wallas, , op. cit. p. 285.Google Scholar

Page 222 note 4) Carpenter, , op. cit. p. 496.Google Scholar

Page 222 note 5) West, , op. cit. p. 51.Google Scholar

Page 223 note 1) Hovell, , op. cit. p. 51.Google Scholar

Page 223 note 2) Plummer, , op. cit. p. 189.Google Scholar

Page 223 note 3) Announced in the Poor Man's Guardian of 28. January, 1832. “This day is published, price 2d., Benbow's Grand National Holiday.” Cf. Carpenter, op. cit. p. 494.

Page 224 note 1) Northern Star, 29 December, 1836; Cl Beer, , op. cit. II, p. 43.Google Scholar

Page 224 note 2) Grand National Holiday, p. 16.

Page 224 note 3) Carpenter, , op. cit., p.496.Google Scholar

Page 224 note 4) Grand National Holiday, p. 15.

Page 224 note 5) Beer, , op. cit. I, p. 315 and West, op. cit. p. 68 came to this conclusion.Google Scholar

Page 224 note 6) Carpenter, , op. cit. p. 494.Google Scholar

Page 224 note 7) ibid., p. 497.

Page 224 note 8) Beer, , op. cit. I, p. 316.Google Scholar

Page 225 note 1) Manchester Times, 27 April, 1839. Cf. Hovell, , p. 138.Google Scholar

Page 225 note 2) Beer, , op. cit. II, p. 83.Google Scholar

Page 225 note 3) ibid. p. 88.

Page 225 note 4) H. O. Assizes, 61/9 (Chester), April 10th, 1840, quoted by Carpenter, , op. cit. p. 498.Google Scholar

Page 225 note 5) Beer, , op. cit. II, p. 106;Google ScholarHovell, , op. cit. p. 196.Google Scholar

Page 225 note 6) Hovell, , op. cit., p. 223.Google Scholar

Page 225 note 7) Dolléans, , op. cit. I, p. 17 et seq.Google Scholar

Page 226 note 1) ibid., p. 122 et seq.

Page 226 note 2) West, , op. cit., p. 129.Google Scholar

Page 227 note 1) Grand National Holiday, p. 3.

Page 227 note 2) Tribune of the People 17 June 1832. Cf. Carpenter, , op. cit, p. 496.Google Scholar

Page 227 note 3) See: Faulkner, H. U., Chartism and the Churches, New York, 1916.Google Scholar

Page 228 note 1) Chartist, Circular, p. 222.Google ScholarCf., Faulkner, op. cit. p. 21 et seq.Google Scholar

Page 228 note 2) Faulkner, , op. cit. p. 103.Google Scholar

Page 229 note 1) Beer, , op. cit. I, p. 194.Google Scholar

Page 229 note 2) Grand National Holiday, p. 7.

Page 229 note 3) ibid., p. 8.

Page 230 note 1) ibid., p. 12.

Page 230 note 2) Beer, , op. cit. 1, p. 318 -wrongly states that the term “general strike” was first used in the paper edited by John Doherty, “Herald of Rights of Industry” of 5 April 1834.Google Scholar

Page 230 note 3) Crook, , op. cit., p. 4.Google Scholar

Page 231 note 1) J. L., and Hammond, B., The skilled labourer, London, 1927, p. 358. Darvall, op. cit, p. 163 et seq.Google Scholar

Page 231 note 2) Hammond, , op. cit., p. 362.Google Scholar

Page 231 note 3) ibid., p. 370.

Page 231 note 4) Plummer, , op. cit, p. 185.Google Scholar

Page 232 note 1) Carpenter, , op. cit. p. 495.Google Scholar

Page 233 note 1) Quoted by Beer, , op. cit. 1, p. 333.Google Scholar

Page 233 note 2) Tidsley, J. L., Die Entstehung und dle oekonomischen Grundsätze der Chartistenbewegung, Jena 1898, p. 37 Makes it appear as if the idea of the general strike was originated by Attwood and does not even mention Benbow. That this is erroneous needs no argument after the foregoing.Google Scholar

Page 234 note 1) Beer, , op. cit. II, p. 71. Hovell, , op. cit. p. 138.Google Scholar

Page 234 note 2) Hovell, , op. cit. p. 148, et seq.Google Scholar

Page 234 note 3) Dolléans, , op. cit. p. 347.Google Scholar

Page 234 note 4) Hovell, , op. cit. p. 155.Google Scholar

Page 235 note 1) Hovell, , op. cit. p. 165.Google Scholar

Page 235 note 2) ibid., p. 166 et seq.

Page 235 note 3) ibid., p. 168.

Page 236 note 1) Gammage, , op. cit. p. 154.Google Scholar

Page 236 note 2) Crook, , op. cit. p. 16 et seq.Google Scholar

Page 236 note 3) ibid. p. 17 et seq.

Page 236 note 4) Georgi, E., Theorie und Praxis Generalstreiks in der modernen Arbeiterbewegung, Jena, 1908, p. 39. A Saulière, La grénérale de Robert Owen à la doctroine syndicaliste, Bordeaux, 1913, p. 15 et seq.Google Scholar