The Huddersfield Industrial Society Limited: Fifty Years of Progress (1910) by Owen Balmforth

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THE HUDDERSFIELD INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY LIMITED.

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THE HUDDERSFIELD Industrial Society Limited.

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HIS TORY -

- OF --

FIFTY YEARS' PROGRESS. 1860-1910.

By OWEN BALMFORTH.

MANCHESTER : Co-OPERATIV 'E WhHoLESALE SocIETY' s Prerntinc Works, Rp., Loxastant.

1910.

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Prefatory Stote.

T is unfortunate that all the men who took any part in l the first formation of our Society should have passed away before the Jubilee celebration. This fact has rendered it impossible for me to obtain any first-hand information with respect to the preliminary work necessarily undertaken in the establishment of the Society. I have, however, carefully read all the books and records which are available, in order to present a complete and accurate historical account of an institu- tion which, it must be admitted, has had a singularly successful career, and which has grown from small beginnings to a concern of enormous magnitude, with multifarious ramifications.

Having myself, for over thirty-two years, taken a somewhat active part in the affairs of the Society, I trust that I have written the following pages in an impartial spirit, and, as Shakespeare says, " Nothing extenuate, nor set down aught in malice."

The first and second chapters, although not directly relating to our Society, will, I hope, be found interesting and useful as affording a glimpse of the social and indus- trial conditions which formerly obtained in this district, and the efforts our forefathers made to propagate the principles of Co-operation.

I wish to thankfully acknowledge the valuable and cordial assistance I have received from Mr. J. T. Prentis (the Secretary of our Society) in my work of compilation.

O. B. Huddersfield, October, 1910.

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Contents.

CHAPTER.

PrefatOLy NOt@ evere e e eee eek I. The Dark Days before it Began ............... II. Earlier Local Efforts in Co-operation ......... III. The Beginnings of our Society .........

IV. Resolutions: Interesting, Curious, and | Saile (o ae

V. Early Progress of the Society, 1860-1870 ... VI. Progress of the Society (cont'd), 1871-1880 .

VII. $, $, $, $, 1881-1890 . VIII. $, $, $, $, 1891-1900 . IX. $, ), ), IQOI-IQI0 . X. Early Educatlonal Work 1860-1892 ......... XI. The Present Educational Dept., 1893-1910... XII. The Women's XIII. The Jubilee Celebrations =........................ Appendices :- I. List of Presidents, Vice-Presidents, and SeCretaT1@3 ........................ 2. 00}, k...}.

,, -_ Present Branch Storekeepers ... p» -_ eee ees

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47 58 72 94 133 170 207 213 220 236

24] 248 252

254

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j llus trations. PAGE.

James Broadbent, President ........................ Frontispiece Shears INN =...... .. se.. es as se ee e e e e e e e e e ee e e e e e e e ee e es 33 Edwin Rothwell, an Original Trustee ............ ek 0k kk e..}. 35 Jonas Horsfall, an Original Trustee ... ..................... 35 Abraham Horsfall, the First Treasurer...................... 35 R. S., Walker, the First Secretary........................ .. 39 John Netherwood, Member of First 39 Wm. Ashworth, Member of First Committee ................ 39 Jas. T. Prentis, Secretary ...se ses ek es ee ee ee ee es 61 Mirfield Branch (Grocery and Butchering).................. 67 Milnsbridge Branch (Grocery) 73 Primrose Hill Branch (Grocery). 717 Moldgreen Branch (Grocery and Butchering)................ 79 Lindley Branch (Grocery and Butchering) .................. 83 Rashcliffe Branch (Grocery and Butchering) ................ 85 Lockwood Branch (Grocery and Drapery) .................. 89 Marsh Branch s ske s kkk. ks 91 Lowerhouses Branch (Grocery) ....................s}k...... 95 Northumberland Street Branch (Grocery) .................. 97 Paddock Branch (Grocery and Butchering).................. IOI Newsome Branch (Grocery) | 103 Greenside Branch (Grocery) 107 Stable Yard ss ak se ve r e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e ee e ees 109 Aspley Branch (Grocery) cok kk} Cliffe End Branch (Grocery and Butchering) ................ I1I5 Outlane Branch (Grocery and Butchering) .................. I1Q Kirkheaton Branch (Grocery and Butchering) .............. 123 Oakes Branch (ButcheriNg) es ese ske eee 0s. 127 Marsh Branch (Butchering). . ..... }}. 127 Bradley Branch (Grocery and Butchering) .................. I 3 I Oakes Branch (GrOC@ry) ese sess ee sees se sek 0s 135 Thornton Lodge Branch (Grocery and Butchering) .... ..... I 3 Primrose Hill Branch (Drapery and Butchering) ............ 143 Almondbury Branch (Grocery) 149 Almondbury Branch (Butchering) . ......................... 153 Lockwood Branch (Butchering) ............................ 153 Milnsbridge Branch (Drapery and Butchering) .............. 157 St. Thomas's Road (Property) 159 Beech Street, Paddock, Branch (Grocery) .................. 163 Bakery, De@dw@Aters ................ sess ss es ee ee e e e e ee eee s 165 Birkby Branch (Grocery, Drapery, and Butchering).......... I7I Furnishing Show Room, Buxton Road...................... 177 Boot Repairing Room, Buxton Road 183 Restaurant, Buxton Road 187 Central Premises, Buxton Road ............................ IQI Former Central Premises, Buxton Road .................... 193 Laundry, Princess Street ..........s. ees se es s ee ekke 197 Departmental Managers 199 Board of .s se ce es ee e e e e e e ee e ee ees 203 Educational Committee. .k sess es seek ek .} ss 225 Women's Guild Committee sess s ese se.. 233

Jubilee oe 237

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CHAPTER I.

Obe Dark Days before it Regan.

When wilt Thou save the people ? O God of Mercy, when ? Not kings and lords, but nations ! Not thrones and crowns, but men ! Flowers of Thy heart, O God, are they- Let them not pass, like weeds, away- Their heritage a sunless day ! God, save the people ! -Ebenezer Elliott.

UR Society was founded in the year 1860-just ‘ fifty years ago. The men and women of that

day had lived through some very dark and evil times. The social and economic condition of the people was deplorable in the extreme. The working classes were deprived of the Parliamentary franchise; they had no share in the closer and more important matters of local self-government. The conditions of labour were degrading in their severity, working hours were long, and wages low ; child labour was rampant to a degree which nowadays seems almost unbelievable. The prices of food and other necessaries were extraordinarily high; poverty prevailed to an alarming extent ; disease and death rates reached a very high figure. As for education, this, alas ! was a luxury quite beyond the reach of working people.

As a natural result of this sad condition of things, the people were sullen, bitter, and resentful. Any agitation on constitutional lines was difficult and almost futile-so

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much so that some, in their helplessness and ignorance, like the extreme Chartists, had recourse to physical force ; or, like the Plug Rioters in 1842, wreaked their vengeance upon employers of labour. With bread at famine prices, work scarce, and little hope of political or social reform, the feelings of the people found expression in the poem from which the above verse is taken.

Let us glance a little in detail at the conditions of life among the working classes at this period, and we will

confine our illustrations to the state of things existing locally, in Huddersfield and district.

LABOUR CONDITIONS.

From a printed document dated September Ioth, 1829, the following extract is copied :-

n consequence of repeated entreaties the principal masters met a deputation at the Rose and Crown Inn,* Huddersfield, on Tuesday, the 21st of July last, and, after a patient hearing of the unexampled sufferings then detailed, it was unanimously agreed that an inquiry into their state should take place, under the management of the Committee of the operatives and the several parish officers and other respectable neighbours who might feel disposed to assist the undertaking. The meeting of the masters and the deputation of operatives was adjourned from time to time until the returns were completed ; and after careful exami- nation it appears that in several townships, mostly occupied in the fancy business, there are upwards of 13,000 individuals who have not more than 2%d. each per day to live upon, and find wear and tear for looms, &c. Whatever be the cause of such distress, it is feared that the agonising condition of families so circum- stanced cannot long be endured.

In 1834 Mr. E. S. Cayley, who represented the North Riding of Yorkshire in Parliament, wrote some " Essays on Commercial Economy,"" in which he quotes from the foregoing report on the state of the population in Hudders- field in 1829 these figures :-" 660 inhabitants each earn 6s. IId. per week, 421 earn 3s. 6d., 2,439 earn 2s. and 13,226 earn only Is. 3d."

Let us refer to handloom weaving, which was our staple industry. Before a Select Committee of the House

*This Inn stood on the site now occupied by the Palace Theatre,

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CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. II

of Commons, which sat in 1825, it was stated in evidence by a John Swift, of Newsome, that Mr. Joshua Boothroyd, of Almondbury, who employed 300 men upon looms in their own homes, paid those who were weaving ° checks " an average wage of tos. 6d. per week, and out of that each man had to pay his winder. Referring to another employer, Mr. Eli Chadwick, who had sixty men as shaw! and waistcoat weavers, witness said that a sober and steady man might average, with a winder, 20s. per week, which would leave him about 19s.

Another witness named Amos Cowgill, of Lepton, said the weekly wages in his neighbourhood, for a twelve months' book, would be about ISs. He was weaving a low quality of " toilinettes," and he could make 12s., independently of winding. He had to work fourteen or fifteen hours a day. He said the woollen cloth weavers about Huddersfield were kept well employed at that time, and their earnings, when all was cleared off, would be 12s. 6d. for a full week. Therefore about the year 1825 we may set down the net average earnings of the hand- loom weavers in Huddersfield as ranging from 9s. to I7s., the wide margin being due to the irregularity and varying qualities of work.

Coming down later to the years 1852-3 we have most trustworthy evidence of the earnings of a young married couple-both handloom weavers-who lived within a mile of the Huddersfield Town Hall. Both are now dead, but they were friends of mine when living, and I can vouch for their character as being industrious, upright, and honourable. The man was a remarkably intelligent and public-spirited citizen.* I have seen the original manu- script record of this couple's earnings for two years. It is headed, " The following is a correct account of our incomes in the years 1852-3." And then follow each sum

___ * At a later date he was a member of our Society's Committee. Hepublished, in 1880, a 22-paged pamphlet, entitled "The Village Co-operative Tea Party; Dialogues on Co-operation.'"'

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they both received week by week. The totals are added up, and they show that for the 104 weeks the wife earned £24. 1o0s., or 4s. weekly, and the husband £66. 7s. 7d., or 12s. qd. weekly, making a combined total of 17s. 5¥d. per week for the labour of two adult human beings. In any civilised state of society it ought to be impossible to find a married woman engaged in earning her own bread, and yet, if this woman had not been so engaged, they would have been obliged to subsist upon qd. per week. What opportunity is there upon such a miserable income for living that full, free, and higher life which ought to be within the reach of every child born ? _ I have also a letter written by the same man to a friend in America two years later, dated May, 1855. I give one or two extracts to show what the conditions of life were like among the artisans of Huddersfield fifty-five years ago. The writer says :-

I deeply regret not having written you sooner, though it would have cost me my bread for the time to have paid the 2s. postage. Things have been so bad that I was obliged to work on Christmas Day. During the last eighteen weeks my work has been as follows :-I have had from Mr. Beaumont about fifty-six yards of weaving at 6d. per yard. I had three weeks at Shaw's, of Lockwood, at the power looms, working partly in the night, they having two sets of hands to complete some orders for the Crimes. Here I earned about 15s. a week. I have also had thirty hours at Benj. Hanson's, at Paddock, at an order from the same quarter, but of an inferior quality of goods. I carned fourteen pence in that time-short of a halfpenny per hour! I was no learner, either. I then gave it up as a bad job. I have also had a hand- loom job for Hanson's, which took me more than five weeks to work, yet the earnings only amounted to 51s., out of which I had to pay for healds and slay (as per note) 16s. rod., and for winding 7s., leaving about 27s. 2d. And you must understand that I have been one of the fortunate, for there are very many that have done worse than this. . . . This has been the hardest winter for weavers in my day-work scarce, provisions high, and the weather severe. Power-loom weavers have been reduced 20 to 25 per cent. Hand weavers, also, are reduced. I1 must leave you to judge how those with families manage to live. Many of those who have no families have got so tired that they have gone and entered the army. Not less than thirty have enlisted from Almondbury, and five have gone from Lowerhouses and Longley. [Here follow some of their names..

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CHILD LABOUR.

The excessive hours and unhealthy surroundings in which little children of tender age were employed must have left their mark upon succeeding generations, and would prevent any moral influences from exercising their due power in the development of character. If, as the poet tells us, " the child is father to the man," what kind of men and women can we expect as the outgrowth of children who pass their lives shut off from all oppor- tunities of education or recreation ? We do not expect to gather figs from thistles, and when Robert Owen first directed attention to the early education of infants he advocated a method of training human character which our statesmen at length wisely and completely adopted.

I have examined the Huddersfield Overseers' book, in which was entered the list of parish apprentices from 1800 to 1810, and find that a number of little children were apprenticed from the Huddersfield Workhouse, to go to work at the early ages of seven, eight, and nine years. Listen to the story of what should be " the happy days of childhood," as told before a House of Commons Select

Committee in the year 1832. The witness is named Abram Whitehead. He says :-

I am a clothier, and reside at Scholes, near Holmfirth, which is the centre of very considerable woollen mills for three or four miles. The youngest age at which children are employed is never under five ; some are employed between five and six as pieceners. I live near to parents who have been sending children to mills for a great number of years, and I know positively that these children are every morning in the winter season called out of bed between five and six, and, in some instances, between four and five. I have seen children of tender years employed as late as to p.m. in the winter season. I have been in mills at all hours, and I never in my life saw the machinery stopped at breakfast time at any of the mills. The children get their breakfast as they can ; they eat and work ; there is generally a pot of water-porridge, with a little treacle in it, placed at the end of the machines, and when they have exerted themselves to get a little forward with their work they take a few spoonfuls for a minute or two, and then to work again, and continue to do so until they have finished their breakfast. This

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is the general practice, not only of the children, but of the men in the woollen mills in the district. There is not any allowance for the afternoon refreshment, called " drinking," more than for breakfast. In summer some of the mills allow an hour for dinner, and others forty minutes. There is no time allowed in winter, only just sufficient to eat their dinner, perhaps ten minutes or a quarter of an hour ; and in some cases they manage the same at noon as they do at breakfast and " The children are employed as " pieceners;'' when at work they are always on their feet-they cannot sit and piece. The only interval the children have for rest is the very short time allowed for dinner. ._ When I have been at the mills in the winter season, when the children are at work in the evening, the very first thing they inquire is, '' What o'clock is it ? '' If I should answer, " Seven,' they say, " Only seven ! It is a great while to ten, but we must not give up till ten or past."" They look so anxious to know what o'clock it is that I am convinced the children are fatigued, and think even at seven that they have worked too long. My heart has been ready to bleed for them, for they appear in such a state of apathy and insensibility as really not to know whether they were doing their work or not. They usually throw a bunch of ten or twelve cordings across the hand, and take one off at a time ; but I have seen the bunch entirely finished, and they have attempted to take off another when they have not had a cording at all. They have been so fatigued as not to know whether they were at work or not. _. . ._ It is a very difficult thing to go into a mill in the latter part of the day and not to hear some of the children crying for being beaten. - Some have been beaten so violently that they have lost their lives in consequence. There is a mill at Smithy Place, three miles and a half from Hudders- field, and that mill worked so long, about two years ago, that a boy at the mill actually hanged himself, because he said he would sooner do it than work so many hours a day as he had done.

Here is the evidence of another Huddersfield witness (before the same Committee), himself an actual worker in the mill. His name is Joseph Habergam. He says :-

I was seven years of age when I began work at Geo. Addison's, Bradley Mill, at worsted spinning. The hours of labour at that mill were from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m., with one interval for rest and refreshment of thirty minutes only at noon ; we had to eat our other meals as we could, standing or otherwise. I had 144% hours daily actual labour when seven years of age, and my wages were 2s. 6d. per week. I attended to what we called the throstle machines ; this I did for 2% years, and then I went to the steam looms for half a year. In that mill there were about fifty children of about the same age as I was. We were often sick and poorly.

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There were always, perhaps, half-a-dozen regularly that were ill because of excessive labour. . . . There was one overlooker kept on purpose to strap. He is continually walking up and down with the strap in his hand, and his office is to strap the children on to their labour. The children could not be kept so long to their work if they were not so treated ; they would have fallen asleep. Accidents were frequent. Towards the end of the day the flies of the machines would burst their knuckles ; the flies go so swift they cannot stop them with their hands, they have to stop them with their knees. . ._. When I gave over attending the throstles I worked at bobbin-winding at the steam looms. - When trade was brisk I have worked from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. - For this additional hour's labour each working day I received for the whole six months roid. Soon after I went to Mr. Brook's, Upper Mill, and remained nearly four years. I worked at Lewis's machine in the dressing department. There I was often compelled to work from 5 a.m. to 10-30 p.m., sometimes till 11, for four months together, and on one occasion I worked all Friday, Friday night, and Saturday. My regular wages was 5s. a week, and they gave 1s. extra for the overtime. I left that mill, and went to Mr. Wm. Firth's, Green- head, and they began the rule of stopping the boys 1$d. and a man 3d. for being six minutes late. I was beaten as well as fined for being too late. The longest hours I worked at Mr. Firth's were from five in the morning till nine at night.

Here is the testimony of a local clergyman. A public meeting was held in Huddersfield on November 22nd, 1843, addressed by the late Mr. Walter, of the Times newspaper, and others. Among the speakers was the Rev. Wyndam Madden (Incumbent of Woodhouse, near Huddersfield). He said he could remember, in 1825, seeing from his residence (being on a hill that overlooked Huddersfield) the factories of Huddersfield illuminated all night. He would relate an instance which had come under his own observation. He had visited one of his poor people, and saw a girl in bed. He asked what was the matter, and if she was sick. The answer was, " No, she was tired, and had been working too hard." He asked for particulars. That child had been in the factory from six in the morning on Monday until six o'clock on Tuesday night. On Wednesday morning she again went to work till Thursday night. Thursday night she came home, and slept that night if she could. She went on Friday, and remained until five o'clock on Saturday night.

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He observed that this was cruel. She replied, " If I don't go they will get another, and some must do it." He said, " It was impossible, and that they could not subsist thus," but they said, " The men and the children worked, and got rest at different times beneath the machines."

Sir Robert Peel, addressing the House of Commons in February, 1818, said, " It was his intention, if possible, to prevent the recurrence of such a misfortune as that which had lately taken place. He alluded to the seventeen poor children who were lately burnt in the night in a cotton factory." This sad fatality occurred in that month at a mill at Colne Bridge, Bradley, within this borough, and the monument erected over the victims may be seen in Kirkheaton churchyard.

Such were the conditions of child labour in Hudders- field in the early years of last century. Well might Mrs. Browning write that touching poem, " The Cry of the Children," wherein she says-

* For oh," say the children, " we are weary, And we cannot run or leap ; If we cared for any meadows, it were merely To drop down in them and sleep. Our knees tremble sorely in the stooping, We fall upon our faces, trying to go ; And, underneath our heavy eyelids droopm The reddest flower would look as pale as snow ; For, all day, we drag our burden tiring Through the coal-dark, underground- Or, all day, we drive the wheels of iron In the factories, round and round."

Now let us compare, to some extent, the I

Cost or

in Huddersfield to-day with ninety years ago. - The grocery book kept by the Overseers of the Poor in Huddersfield in the years 1816 to 1819, in which are entered day by day the purchases of provisions made by them for the Workhouse, contains the following figures. In the second column are the prices charged to-day by

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CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 17

our local Co-operative Store. Of course, there are various qualities and various prices, but we will take the price for

a good article :- Prices paid in Huddersfield- -

In 1819. In 19:0. s. d. s. d. Black Tea.............. per lb. 8 o __ .... 2 2 Raw Sugar ............ p, Io O 000 ...... e Lump Sugar........... p, Io 4 ..... 3 Candles ................ &, O Q 00 o...... o - 6 Mustard ............... 6, 2 O 000 ...... I - 8 .................. $ 3 6 = o...... I 8 Starch .................. p» I O 000 ...... - 5 Currants ............... p, I O 00 o...... o 4} GiN&geP................... per oz. o 2} | ...... I Pepper ................. $ O 3 o..... o - I} Nutmegs................ $) I 6 o...... _ 3 Vinegar............. per quart o 8 - ...... o - 31} Salt .................. per stone 5 4 ...... _ 3 Brown Soap ...... $, IIT O 00 ...... 3 Mottled Soap ...... $ I3 O ...... 3 6 PINS. .................. per sheet o 6 ...... o - 2j}

Poor-Law RELIEF.

As an indication of the amount of poverty existing in those early days, I may point out that the poor-rate in Huddersfield in the year 1815 was 16s. in the £; to-day it is only rod. The amount of outdoor relief actually paid locally in 1863 was £14,008, and in 1908 only £13,766, or a decrease of £242. The total number of persons in receipt of relief, indoor and outdoor, in 1863 was 4,557, and in 1908 only 2,892, or a decrease of 1,665, notwith- standing an increase of the population of the Union during that time of 35,000.

DISEASE AND DEATH RATES.

The condition of things fifty years ago, from a sanitary and health point of view, were very lamentable indeed. For the three years immediately preceding the incorpora- tion of the borough-1865 to 1868-the death rate was 23%q per thousand ; last year the death rate was only 1630 per thousand, a saving of about 700 lives per year.

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According to eminent statisticians, every individual life represents an average value of £150. If this be applied to the 700 lives saved last year, there is a saving of no less than £105,000 in one year, without reckoning the loss caused by sickness and consequent loss of wages. In- fantile mortality and deaths from consumption were nearly double what they are to-day, and the mortality from scarlet fever has decreased in a greater ratio still. Men and women live longer, sickness is diminished, scientifically equipped hospitals and infirmaries now exist, while efficient and kindly nurses make regular w:sits to the homes of the poor.

EpUCcATION.

Lastly, how few were the opportunities of obtaining even the rudiments of education ! Fifty years ago the facilities for education were very meagre indeed. Before the House of Commons Select Committee (already referred to), which sat in 1832, the following statements were made by the two Huddersfield witnesses. Abram Whitehead said :- There is not any possibility of children employed in the mills obtaining any instruction from day schools ; but since this factory bill was agitated, when I have been at mills, the children have gathered round me for a minute or two as I passed along, and have said, " When shall we have to work ten hours a day :? Will you

get the Ten Hours Bill ? We shall have a rare time then ; surely somebody will set up a night school. I will learn to write, that I

will ! *" The other witness, J. Habergam, said :-

When at the factory I had not any opportunity of learning to read and write-only a little on the Sabbath Day. I have tried to learn to write within these last ten or eleven weeks. I do not think there is above one in a hundred in the factories that can write.

The Government Blue Book for 1864 gives the total attendance at elementary schools in the borough as 2,500, while for last year (1909) the average attendance

in the borough was as follows :-Council Schools, 8,192 ; Denominational schools, 6,049; total, 14,241; and the

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average number of names on the books reached 16,090. There was no school accommodation in Huddersfield for several thousands of children of school age, and actually one-half the children were either running about the streets or at work, receiving no education at all. And of those comparatively few children whose names were on the books only about one-half were in regular attendance. How different to-day, when practically every child is at school !

The Mechanics' Institute was begun in the year 1841, in the Old British School in Outcote Bank. From the Annual Report, dated May, 1844, I find there were at that time 410 students, now there are 1,600 ; library, 458 volumes, now 9,000 ; yearly income £83, now £12,000.

It is almost a wonder that amid all these difficulties, this physical suffering, and this overwhelming poverty both of body and mind, there should be found even a few choice spirits, possessing, may be, a little more public spirit and determination of character than their fellows, who should dream dreams and see visions, and in their endeavours to catch the gleam, should find a way out of this slough of despond.

How a few men in Huddersfield strove in their day and generation to improve the lot of their fellow-men will be told in the following pages.

ene gil

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CHAPTER II.

Karlietr Local Efforts in Co-operation.

sum- n

Have the elder races halted ? Do they droop and end their lesson, wearied over there beyond the seas ?

We take up the task eternal, and the burden and the lesson.

Pioneers! - O Pioneers!

See my children, resolute children, By those swarms upon our rear we must never yield or falter,

Ages back in ghostly millions, frowning there, behind us urging. Pioneers! O Pioneers! -W alt W hitman.

WING to the lapse of time, and to the fact that all the original founders of our Society are now dead, it is impossible to say how far they were influenced in their thought and action by the earlier pioneers of Co-operation. It is perfectly true that a number of those who were at various times members of our Society's Committee were enthusiastic and zealous followers of Robert Owen and George Jacob Holyoake, who each did a great work, both by tongue and pen, in propagating the cause of Co-operation before our Society began. Robert Owen, the founder of Co-operation, and G. J. Holyoake, his disciple and missionary, travelled the entire country advocating Co-operation and progressive ideas, and often visited Huddersfield and district to address public meetings. - The principles and ideas thus

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expounded would, in some instances, no doubt, be like the seeds which " fell upon stony places," while others

" fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold."

The modern form of Co-operation may be spoken of as dating from the efforts of the twenty-eight Pioneers of Rochdale in 1844, and its distinguishing feature is the distribution of profits among the members in proportion to the amount of their purchases. But from 1824 to 1840 there was great activity in the Co-operative world, owing to the immense propagandist labours referred to above. These earlier Societies, with few exceptions,. either dis- tributed their profits among the shareholders only, or, as Mr. Holyoake says, " The profits were not divided, but were allowed to accumulate for the purpose chiefly of reconstituting the world."* A high and noble ideal, without doubt! The Societies at this period, though numerous, were only small and financially feeble, consequently many of them, after the first enthusiasm had spent itself, soon languished and died. Among these early failures in this district were the following thirteen Societies:-In 1829, one each in Huddersfield, Almondbury, and Cumberworth ; 1830, Armitage Bridge, Shelley, Milnsbridge, Stocksmoor, and Thurstonland ; 1832, Lindley, New Mill, and Holmfirth ; 1833, Farnley Tyas; and 1834, Lowerhouses. All these have ceased to exist. Of the ancient Societies still exist- ing in the district are the following four :-Meltham Mills, established in 1827 (this has the honour of being the sixth oldest in England) ; 1830, Kirkheaton ; 1840, Hepworth and Netherton. Co-operative Societies, like trade unions, in their early days were not protected by law, and we find that in 1830 Mr. Haigh, of the Milnsbridge Society, wrote to the British Co-operator that " they were obliged to discharge their storekeeper, as he had defrauded them of much property during the quarter." They could not prosecute him. The Meltham Mills

* History of Co-operation,'' vol. ii., p. 315.

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22 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

Society has paid dividends on purchases ever since its formation, thus anticipating the Rochdale Pioneers by some seventeen years. At a later date two other local societies were established, which are still in a very flourishing condition, viz., in 1847 Close Hill, and in 1848 Berry Brow.

The first Co-operative Society in Huddersfield was established in 1829, and took the form of a combined Co-operative Trading and Manufacturing Association, occupying a shop in Westgate, near the Wellington Hotel, for some years after our own Society had begun. Their printed rules were prefaced with the following sensible motto from Isaiah : " They helped everyone his neighbour, and everyone said to his brother, ' Be of good courage." " The late Mr. Thomas Hirst, of Granby Street, grandfather to the present Mr. Westwood Hirst, hoster, in Buxton Road, was one of the leading officials of this Society, and an intimate correspondence passed during 1832-3 betwixt Mr. Hirst and Lady Noel Byron, wife of the poet. Lady Byron was actively interested in this first Hudders- field Co-operative Society, taking the trouble of lending it (and inducing her friends to lend it) considerable financial assistance. Mr. Amos Cowgill was the first President, and among the Committee were the names of Charles Cockcroft, John Earnshaw, William Schofield, Benjamin Gledhill, James Waring, Thomas Hirst, and Samuel Glendinning, a relative of the late Alderman Charles Glendinning. Some curious resolutions appear in the old minute books of this Society. At one time they resolved to limit the number of members to 2530. At another they resolved to purchase a candlestick and a pair of snuffers ! They evidently had not got the electric light in those days. One member was expelled for an '" obvious crime," which, apparently, was too obvious to be specified. It was resolved that every person proposing to become a member should attend before the Committee, in order that the said Committee might be able to deter- mine whether they possessed sufficient confidence in the candidate. It is recorded that a vote of thanks was

Page 23

CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 23

awarded to Lady Byron with three times three and unbounded applause. One rule stated that any member not complying with the rule " to purchase all he can at the Society's Store must show cause to the Committee how it has so happened." The late Mr. William Smith, afterwards a prosperous cotton spinner, was engaged as a shop boy at the Store at 8s. per week. - The Society carried on also the business of woollen cloth manufacture, and for the six years ending 1839 its profits averaged over £2,000. There is a reference to this Society in No. 12 of the " Lancashire and Yorkshire Co-operator," published in 1832. Describing the first Manchester Co-operative Society, which was formed in 1830, it says, '" They had a shop well stocked with provisions, linens, stockings, flannel, and with woollen cloth manufactured by the Co-operators of Huddersfield." The members

apparently designated one another as " brothers." One minute records :-

Brother Charles Cockcroft proposes, and Brother Joseph Woodhouse seconds, a proposition that Brothers John Jessop and

John Earnshaw be empowered to provide suitable books for the Committee.

In 1830 the whole Committee of thirteen persons signed promissory notes to repay loans of £50 from Chas. Wood, £60 from James Whitestaff, and £30 from Henry Naylor, of Huddersfield. On May 3st, 1830, Mr. Abraham Taylor was appointed salesman at zos. per week, and Mr. Charles Glendinning was asked to prepare rules for the establishment of a Sick Society.

In May, 1831, the subject of promoting a Community was considered, and it was decided to be impracticable at that time, particularly in regard to the cultivation of land at Chat Moss. In July, 1831, Mr. Hirst was sent as a delegate to a Birmingham Congress. He also attended the London Congress in 1832, and again at Liverpool in 1833. At the London Congress Mr. Hirst occupied the chair on certain days, and he was appointed a missionary to disseminate the principles of Co- operation. In October, 1831, it was resolved "" to apply

Page 24

24 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

to the sister of Lord Harewood, or to Lady Byron, for a loan of £400 to carry on the manufacture of woollen goods." On December 13th Amos Cowgill was appointed a local missionary at 18s. per week.

In August, 1832, a public meeting was called in the large Union Room in the Swan Yard for the discussion of Co-operation, and one hundred bills were ordered. The minute book further shows that David Green was employed to take a card of patterns into the country, " where he may think likely to make sales, and Benjamin Brearley is requested to take what pieces he thinks he can sell for the Society."" The brown olive pieces made by the Society were ordered to be dyed by Mr. David Heys (Huddersfield). Mr. William Hodgson, for labour performed by him for the Society, was remunerated with a suit of clothes, taking in both hat, shoes, and shirt. It was early resolved to subscribe one penny a month each member towards aiding the missionary cause; that a meet- ing be called to discuss the propriety of establishing a Co-operative school, and that at the annual meeting on Christmas Day the first subject of discussion should be education. There were high ideals in those days !

On August 12th, 1834, the Committee were recom- mended to purchase two looms and a jenny, and to employ others as soon as opportunity offered.

In 1836 it was decided to purchase a horse and cart, and that " young men from Halifax who desire to join the Society be admitted." Mr. James Wimpenny was to be employed as permanent manufacturer to the Society at 25s. per week, together with a suit of cloth of his own choosing every year. The Society resolved to enter a Money Club at the White Hart Inn, to the amount of £500, for the benefit of its business. In the rules it was forbidden to curse or swear at any of the Society's meetings, or to cause any quarrel so as to get to blows.

It is curious to note that in 1832 £3 was ordered to be given to Captain Wood's Committee to defray the election expenses. That would be the first Parliamentary

Page 25

CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 25

election in Huddersfield. Here is a little electioneering experience in those far-off days. _ Mr. Thomas Hirst writes :-

When I got home the election for the borough commenced, and, being one of the constables, I was compelled to assist in keeping order. The magistrates sent for the soldiers, and swore in about 250 special constables, the sight of which enraged the populace. Stones were thrown, and windows were broken, and I apprehended the consequences would be loss of life either to the soldiers, the constables, or the people. At this juncture William Stocks, Esq., the Chief Constable, and myself, advised the magis- trates to take themselves, the soldiers, and the constables away, to which they agreed on condition we would take the responsibility of the peace of the town on our own hands, which we readily did for half an hour, and I am happy to say we two succeeded in clearing the town and restoring peace and order without either staves or swords. The time has come when the voice of the people must be heard !

We learn that such was the respect in which he was regarded by the mob, that when the fighting was furious the assailants cried out, "" Don't hit Tom Hirst!"

On March 29th, 1833, Lady Byron wrote to Mr. Hirst :-

I was at Brighton lately, and conversed about you with Dr. King [another active Co-operator], who was gratified by your letter. I proposed to him to visit you both as a friend and physician, and offered to defray the expenses of his journey if he could make it. He would like to do so, but it is very uncertain whether he can leave Brighton.

On April 12th there follows a letter addressed to

DEar Mrs. Hirst,-It is with great sorrow that I receive your account of your husband's situation. Tell him not to doubt that God will raise up friends to the " widow and fatherless," and I pledge myself to be one of them. Tell him, too, that as his life has been the means of doing good, his memory shall be so like- wise. =. _. _. I write this with tears, and will only add-God bless you and yours !-A. I. Nort

Lady Byron was true to her nobly expressed sympathy. She sent to Mr. Hirst's widow £50, and educated both his sons, giving each three years' education at a cost of £50 per year each, at a school kept by Mr. E. T. Craig (another Co-operator) at Ealing Grove, Middlesex. To illustrate

Page 26

26 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

the deep interest taken by Lady Byron in the Co-

operative movement I quote the following extract from a letter sent to Mr. Hirst, dated March 26th, 1832 :-

The cause of the poor is indeed my first interest in life, and Co-operation has afforded me the hope of doing some good with the means placed in my hands. I have not been discouraged by finding that the assistance which I gave to some of the earliest Societies was not productive of beneficent results, for their failure seemed to be owing to inexperience and miscalculation, which might be prevented by the diffusion of more practical knowledge. For some time past my chief object has been to turn the attention of persons of intelligence in the different ranks of society to the principles of Co-operation, and to prove that the scheme had no real connection with those errors, which, as you observe, have been falsely associated with it. Co-operation should stand aloof from sects and parties, both in Church and State, whilst they cordially receive into their body all, of every persuasion, who will join them in good

works. _. . . The Lancashire and Yorkshire Co-operator, of which I have seen the last number, promises to be a useful publi- cation _. . . and I should be glad to assist the publishers

by defraying the expense of a certain number of copies until the circulation shall be increased.*

The present series of National Co-operative Congresses only date from 1869, but the early Co-operators had a series of seven Congresses ending in 1835.

The fifth of these early Congresses (says Mr. Holyoake) was held in Huddersfield in April, 1833, when a public meeting took place in the White Hart Inn, and one was held at Back Green (Ramsden Street) called by the town crier. Numerous delegates from the various Co-operative Societies throughout the kingdom gave encouraging accounts of their progress, and it was reported that the Societies in the West Riding of Yorkshire alone had accumulated a capital of £5,000, which was thought a great sum then in the North. Mr. Stock (High Constable of Huddersfield) spoke at the meeting, and Mr. Owen moved a vote of thanks to their patriotic High Constable. Mr. W. R. Wood, of London, was appointed one of the Secretaries of the Congress, and a Com-

mittee was appointed to immediately engage premises for a Labour Exchange.t

It was about 1838 when the followers of Robert Owen erected a Public Hall in Bath Buildings, known as the Hall of Science, where they continued for some time to propagate their opinions. This hall was re-opened in

*This information regarding the first Huddersfield Co-operative Society, Lady Byron and Mr. Hirst, is abstracted from a series of six articles written by Mr Holyoake, which appeared in the Co-operative News, January and February, 1892.

{ History of Co-operation, vol. i., p. 190.

Page 27

CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD 27

1845 as a Baptist chapel, until the congregation removed to their new chapel in New North Road. Subsequently it was used by Mr. Conacher as an organ-building factory, and at the present time is used by the Railway Mission. An old friend of mine, long since dead, often told me about his visits to this hall ; how he revelled in the social and dancing parties held there ; and how he heard from time to time lectures eloquently depicting in glowing language '' the good time coming," when people would live in " Communities," where everybody would do their share of work, and hours of labour would, consequently, be reduced to about four per day! The rich people left outside, with no one to work for them, would then come and plead to be allowed to come in and join ! " Joyful news,"" he said, " eagerly listened to and welcomed by the poor working people of those days." - Mr. Holyoake says that at this time " Rationalism " was the legal name of Co-operation, the Societies then known to the public being enrolled under an Act of Parliament as Associations of "* Rational Religionists." Presumably it would be for the use of these Societies that a hymn book was published. A copy is in my possession, which contains the name of "" Edward Lunn," written on the inside cover. I can just remember Mr. Lunn when I was a little boy, and my father telling me that he had a cork leg. The hymn book was printed in 1838, but it is still neat in appearance, bound in leather, with gilt edges. It is entitled, " Social Hymns for the use of the Friends of the Rational System of Society." It contains 165 hymns, besides giving a few pages of " The Fundamental Facts on which the Rational System of Society is Founded." Here is a verse from one of the hymns, which shows that the people of those days had hope and faith :-

The skies are clearing from the gloom Which have our spirits long oppress'd ; Old things are passing to their tomb, And brighter prospects cheer the breast ; For hark! we hear the millions cry, * No more shall man despairing roam, And weep beneath a foreign sky-- The glorious Social Age has come."

Page 28

28 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD

In 1841 Robert Owen and his friends acquired at a cost of many thousands of pounds an estate in Hamp- shire, and started there the famous Queenwood Com- munity. Mr. Owen had the mystic letters " C.M." placed conspicuously outside the hall, which meant '"Commencement of the Millennium." But, as Mr. Holyoake says, "the obstinate millennium, however, declined to begin its career there." In five years the scheme failed, and was thrown into the Chancery Court. I mention this because, twenty years, after, by order of . the Court the assets were distributed, and I find in the list of creditors two Huddersfield gentlemen, my late friend Mr. Samuel Mitchell, and Mr. Samuel Shepherd, whose widow I had the privilege of knowing some thirty years ago. -

From 1846 to 1872 Mr. Holyoake issued The Reasoner, a journal in which, he says, " the advocacy and vindication of Co-operation were almost uninterruptedly continued." When Mrs. Shepherd died, and her furniture disposed of, some old copies of The Reasoner came into my possession. From these I find that on Monday and Tuesday, October Ioth and 11th, 1853, Mr. Holyoake lectured in Hudders- field, and at a later date he lectured at Holmfirth and Honley. About this -time the advanced social reformers met in the Christian Brethren (or Barkerite*®) Rooms, Albion Street. The journal records that in 1853 a Joseph Bowker, of Rashcliffe, advertised himself as a " book canvasser, who travels a circuit of twenty miles round Huddersfield," with books written by advanced thinkers. In 1856 Mr. Bowker's death is recorded. He is described as a man " whose constitution was shattered by poverty and physical suffering," and it is stated that he was active " in the Chartist movement, and was imprisoned in 1848 for eighteen months for the delivery of a speech which he never uttered nor conceived, but which was kindly con- cocted by our constitutional Government spies." In the

* So named after Joseph Barker, the lecturer.

Page 29

CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSEFIELD. 20

number for March, 1860, there is announced a Convention to be held in Huddersfield on Monday and Tuesday, May 28th and 29th, at to a.m., 3 and 8 p.m., to discuss the following programme :-

buf

. Co-operation and its Advantages. ._ The Press and the Platform ; or, the means of Diffusing Information. . Education. ._ Temperance and the Maine Law : How to be Obtained. Health. Recreation and Amusements. ._ Political Economy.

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Among the Committee appointed to organise the gathering are the names of G. J. Holyoake, Jos. Barker, Charles Bradlaugh, Dr. F. R. Lees (the temper- ance advocate), Dr. John Watts (the Co-operator), Joseph Thornton and W. R. Croft, of Huddersfield, and J. Jagger, of Honley. Unfortunately, the journal con- taining a report of this interesting Conference is missing from my collection. There also appears in this number an account of the first anniversary of the well-known Co-operative Society of Blaydon-on-Tyne. In the number dated May 13th, 1860, there is a long list of subscriptions acknowledged from various towns, amount- ing to £292. 7s. 1od., for the " Robert Owen Memorial." Among these are eleven subscriptions from Huddersfield and fourteen from Honley. In Mr. Holyoake's " History of Co-operation "' mention is made of two other Hudders- field men-Mr. Joshua Hobson, formerly of Leeds, who printed the " New Moral World "' for Robert Owen, and The Northern Star, the organ of Feargus O'Connor, the Chartist. Mr. Hobson was subsequently associated with the Huddersfield Chronicle and also the Weekly News. The other is " Lawrence Pitkeithley, alike regarded by Chartists and Socialists." As a boy I can just remember the latter, a tall, spare man, of refined and gentlemanly demeanour. He was a member of our Society in its early days.

I can best conclude this section by quoting the following from an admirable chapter in Mr. Holyoake's

Page 30

30 . CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

"History of Co-operation," entitled, " Forgotten Workers." He says :-

The pioneer period is the period in every great movement which best displays the aims and errors, the generosity of service, the impulse of passion, the mistakes of policy, the quality and force of character, of leaders and followers. . ._ My last care is for the honest unobtrusive workers. - These are they who drudged without ceasing in the cause-who devoted the day of rest to correspondence with unknown inquirers; who spent their strength, and, as far as it would go, their means in journeying to distant villages and towns, lecturing or explaining Co-operative views, so that they might stir up the helpless to act upon them. - They poured out their time and health and thought-which made up their wealth-without stint and without conditions to all who sought it or might profit by it. _. . __. They lie in unremembered graves. They never heard the first cry of confidence at assured victory raised by their survivors. It was denied to them to see the signs of its approach. . . . Though the distant footfall of the coming triumph of their order never reached their ear, they believed not less in its march. They knew knowledge and patience and purpose would bring conviction and success, and they sowed seed with earnest voice and untiring hand, and were not dismayed when it was trodden over before their eyes. They never lost their trust in the vitality of truth. Far more than they who gave of their abundance, which brought them applause; far more than they who gave of their wisdom, which won them fame, do I honour those who worked, though they obtained neither plaudit or repute, who listened and laboured unrequited ; who by their vigorous and unselfish zeal taught their order by their example the possibility of self-help, and made the movement-of which I venture to write the history-what it is. -

Page 31

CHAPTER IIL.

Obe Beginnings of Our Society.

All before us lies the way, Give the past unto the wind ; All before us is the day, Night and darkness are behind. -R. W. Emerson.

P Amd

condition of the working classes has been their adoption of the principles of Co-operation. In the early acceptance of these principles, and in the phenomenal success which has attended their growth, the working classes of Huddersfield and district may be highly congratulated. These Societies have abolished all the evils of credit, and introduced the more enlightened practice of cash payments ; they have encouraged habits of thrift; enabled many working men to become the owners of their own dwelling-houses ; they have trained large numbers of artisans in business methods and the government of industrial undertakings, and they have supplied to the consumer genuine and unadulterated articles of food and clothing. There can be no doubt that by raising the standard of comfort among the workers they have increased the stability of social order and con- tributed to the well-being of the State.

In the two previous chapters I have endeavoured to throw some light upon what Carlyle called "the condition of the people question," as it appeared in the Huddersfield district early last century ; and also to record some of the

NE of the greatest factors in improving the social

Page 32

32 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

earliest efforts made in our town to extend the cause of Co-operation. These efforts, in a certain direct sense, failed, but doubtless their influence was felt in after years. I now come to deal with the establishment of our own society, which certainly has been a brilliant success, and

whose Jubilee is the occasion of the publication of this book.

The Society was founded in the year 1860, just fifty years ago. - It was first talked of by the members of Lodge 241 of the Bolton Unity Order of Oddfellows, after their other business was concluded, at the Albion Hotel, Buxton Road. Discussions had been taking place at the house of Mr. Jonas Horsfall, who kept the Victoria Inn, Victoria Lane, then known as the Pig Market, with a view to the establishment of a Co-operative Society, and a deputation was sent to the Oddfellows to see if they would agree for both parties to join in the movement, which was readily agreed to. They decided to send circulars to places in the town where the subject was likely to be well received. A meeting was called at the Shears Inn,* Beast Market, and adjourned for a week.. At the adjourned meeting it was decided to establish a Society, and thirteen members joined on that evening. What a wonderful contrast between the number of thirteen and the 14,507 members of to-day ! When men are denounced as " impracticable dreamers '' let them take hope from the history of the Co-operative movement. Application was made to a Society established at Hinchcliffe Mill, for rules, &c., for guidance in the formation of the Society. A tem- porary Committee was appointed to look after premises suitable for the Society, and the shop was taken which formerly existed on the site now occupied by the Grocery Department of the Central Stores. _ A meeting of the members was held on August 1860, to appoint

* The Shears Inn was the small old-fashioned building next door to the present Spotted Cow Inn. It was closed by the Licensing Authority in 190g.

Page 33

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Page 37

CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 37

officers. Mr. George Holmes was elected President, Mr. Thomas Brook, Vice-President, and Mr. Rochford S. Walker, Secretary. Not having sufficient capital to begin the business with, the Committee accepted loans from various parties, £200 being lent by Mr. Jonas Horsfall, without any security from the Society, and he repeatedly lent money to the Society in the same way during the first few years of its existence. The minute book also records that in August, 1860, loans were accepted as follows :-£40 from the Economy Lodge No. 185 Bolton Unity of Oddfellows, and £100 from Mr.

Isaac Schofield. Several Friendly Societies assisted the new Society with loans during its early years. _ Among these were the Prosperity Lodge, No. 208, £40 ; Lodge No. 241, £50 ; Honesty Lodge, No. 204 ; all of the Bolton Unity Oddfellows; Ancient Order of the Golden Fleece, £80 ; Woollen Spinners' Society, £20 ; and the Bonny English Rose Lodge, No. 1,083, Grand United Order of Oddfellows. All loans, however, were paid off by the year 1870.

The first rules of the Society, which were registered on August 9th, 1860, and signed by James Crowther, William Haigh, James Greenwood, and Rochford S. Walker (Secretary), contain some rather curious clauses. The original name of the Society is set forth as " The Huddersfield Industrial Co-operative Flour and Provision Society," which leads one to infer it was never con- templated at that time that the Society might embark in such businesses as drapery, shoes, tailoring, furniture, chemists, or laundry. It was stipulated that no member should hold more than forty £1 shares. No member over sixty years of age, nor anyone residing more than two miles from the Committee-room, or who had filled office within three years, were eligible to take office. The rules contain a form of bond to be given as security for loans, signed by three members of the Committee and the Secretary. The following rule might be found useful at times, even to-day :-'"Fines shall be levied by the

Page 38

38 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

Chairman of each meeting upon members, in case of disorderly conduct or interruption. After being called to order by the Chairman, a fine of not exceeding one shilling shall be levied on each offence." Other rules stated that " The President shall retire yearly, and the Vice-President previously elected shall become President." '* Subscription meetings shall be held fortnightly for the entering of new members, and receiving subscriptions." '* Shares may be paid in full, or by instalments of not less than 8d. per fortnight or 4d. per week." " Not more than five members (to be taken in the order of their notice) shall be allowed to withdraw within any one quarter, except by leave of the Committee." Cash withdrawals were paid according to a scale set forth, viz., £1 on applica- tion, £2 in two weeks, and so on up to £16 to £40 after two months' notice.

Any person not a member of the Society may be employed as a hired workman on its account, so that every such person shall receive the same payment as a member of equal skill would be entitled to receive for the same.

The rules were printed by G. and J. Brook, Hudders- field.

The first quarter's balance sheet-which is a very small-sized sheet-was signed by the following three members as auditors :-Wm. Berry, Wm. Dearden, and Jno. Bickerdike. It was not thought necessary at that time to employ professional or duly certified auditors. The treasurer was Abraham Horsfall, father of the present family of Horsfall's, formerly dyers in Colne Road. The other members of the Committee, besides the officers previously named, were :-Wm. Ashworth, David North, James Johnson (Moldgreen), Thos. Todd, Richard Gledhill, Wm. North, Thos. Haigh (Rashcliffe),* Robert Waddington, Jno. Netherwood, Jas. Crowther, Jas. Greenwood, and Wm. Haigh. There were five

* Thos. Haigh very soon resigned, and Joseph Lever, of Stables Street, was elected in his place on September 25th, 1860.

Page 39

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Page 41

CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 4 I

trustees :-Jonas Horsfall, Jno. Beardsworth, Joseph Cooke, Daniel Dyson, and Edwin Rothwell (Moldgreen), who died in December, 1908. There were also five arbitrators appointed :-Wm. Leech, gentleman, South Street ; Jonas Hellawell, surgeon, Buxton Road ; Wm. Aston, cloth dresser, New North Road (father of Alder- man Aston); W. B. Dayson, St. Paul's Street; and Jno. Dyson, shopman. Mr. Wm. Thos. Hibbert-who had served with Messrs. Bentley, a leading firm of grocers in the town-was the first storekeeper.

On Saturday, September Ist, the Grocery Store was opened in Buxton Road. From the first quarter's balance sheet, dated November 30th, 1860, I take the following figures :-Sales, £1,982. Iss.; profits, £60 Iqs. share capital, £801. 7s.; No. of members, 301 ; dividend, Is. 3d. Contrast these figures with those for the quarter ending July, 1910 :-Sales, £105,224; profits, £15,112 ; share capital, £191,639 ; No. of mem- bers, 14,507 ; dividend, 3s.

During the first few years of its existence the Society had to struggle hard against the difficulties caused by want of experience and lack of capital. Indeed, stories have been handed down to the effect that when creditors called for payment of their accounts, the then Secretary found it convenient to elude them by being at the time '" not in.'" Co-operation in those days was not fashion- able. The members of the Society were denounced as Socialists, which was deemed by many at that time to be a very serious stigma. Some were timid and shy at being seen trading at the Store; but the bolder spirits advocated, when the shop was first opened, that the Committee should frequently walk in and out of the shop, to give the general public the idea that plenty of customers were about. When the Committee sent up a buyer to London to make large purchases of tea and groceries, some wholesale dealers refused to do business with a '" Co-op.," and even when they were promised ready

Page 42

42 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

money they were still reluctant to have any dealings with such a strange and revolutionary institution. The original sign over the shop door bore the name of " Jonas Horsfall and Co.," because the licensing authorities and various creditors would only deal with some substantial personage. A Co-operative Society was then too in- definite and shadowy a body to be trusted.

I give below an exact copy of the first balance sheet issued by the Society :-

HUDDERSFIELD INDUSTRIAL CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY. (Enrolled According to Law.)

CENTRAL STORE, 31, Buxton Roap. No. 1 BRAaANcH, LInNDLEY. No. 2 BrRraNnNcHx, MoLDGREEN.

THE FIRST QUARTERLY REPORT OF THE SocIETY's Accounts, FOR THE QUARTER ENDING NOVEMBER 30TH, 1860.

FELLOW-MEMBERS,

We, the Committee, cannot present to you our first Quarterly Report without expressing our thankfulness that our Society has surmounted its first difficulties, and we warmly con- gratulate you on the unexampled progress it indicates, which has far exceeded our expectation.

The business of the Society continues to increase, and members are being constantly added to the list, and we feel satisfied that we are benefited by it, for in proportion as the business increases we expect to be able to work out the interests of the Society to greater advantage. This Society commenced receiving subscrip- tions, and entering new members, on Monday, the 6th day of August last. The total number of members entered from the 6th of August to 30th day of November last are 301, taking up 1,709 shares, and paid subscriptions to the amount of £1,218. 15s. The Society opened the shop, 31, Buxton Road, on Saturday, the Ist day of September last. The total amount of goods sold from the 1st of September to the 30th of November inclusive, is £1,982. 159., which shows the progress this Society has made since its com- mencement.

Page 43

Dry.

KECEIPTS. £ To Cash Balance, August 30, 1860.... _ 425 Goods Sold Retail ................... 1906 Wholesale............... 76 Received by way of Loans ............ 560 ,, - Contributions from Members _ To PropOoSitiOn$ ........................... 8 iin Ce o

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£ 2669 Paid for Carriage of ditto ......... 30 Fix StOCK 159 Rent ........ ae eee eee ess se eee eee }} IO Wages .............. aes ev ese seee eae ek . 48 Assistance in Shop and Overtime 5 Expenses in Travelling to Pur- chase Goods ............ seee ee... 18 12 L@QDOUTL eevee see eee eek 2 6 Sundries, including Stamps, Note Paper, Envelopes, and Print- 1M kkk kee ee ee eee 66 e see eee ees 5 Advertising in Chronicle EXQMLIMEY \......... .v scv cv vs sev ees INtereSt e ee eek} I L1C@NC@ sess se eee eee ee 00s INSUT@ANCE@ ke kkk. k.}. I Cash in Bank ......................... Treasurer's hands .........

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Page 44

GENERAL STATEMENT.

d. _ AssETS. £0 S. 6 | By Goods in Stock ....................... 955 9 I 6;,,CashinBank......................... 7000

LIABILITIES. £ To Members' Claims, as per Ledger... 417

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,, In Treasurer's hands ............... 123 - I ,, Owing by the L. & N.W. Rly. Co. 2 15

)) - FIX StOCK kkk eek}. 159 7

LOANS. 00s seee ee 560 Interest due thereon ................ 4 Owing for Goods ..................... 91 16 | o ,, Contributions during the Quarter - 8or 7 | ,, Balance Profit ........................ 60 19 6

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M

PROFIT ACCOUNT.

£ s. d. ’ ' £ s. d. Dividend on £946 Purchases at Is. I To Balance brought down ............. 60 19 6% 3d. in the £ .}. 59 2 6 | 0006 eek eek eek} I I7 0}

nos....

WILLIAM BERRY, ___ WILLIAM DEARDEN, } AupItors. __ J. BICKERDIKE, ___ R. S. WALKER, SECRETARY.

{60 19 6% i Members having in their possession tin cheques to the amount of One Pound must bring them to the shopman to be changed for a Pound Cheque. All cheques issued during the ensuing quarter to be returned with the Contribution Book, from February 26th to 28th inclusive. Due notice will be given of the opening of No. 1 and No. 2 Branch Stores. The next General Meeting will be held on the Second Friday in March, 1861.

G. AND J. BROOK, PRINTERS, STATIONERS, ETC., WESTGATE, HULCERSFIELD.

£60 19 6%

44

CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

Page 45

CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 45

Mr. Abraham Horsfall was the first Treasurer of the Society. At that time he was a dyer at Messrs. Taylor's, Colne Road, and he resided in Queen Street South. Subsequently, he began business as a dyer on his own account in Colne Road. In the years 1875-6 he was a member of the Town Council, and he died on June 9th, 1878. He was a brother of Jonas Horsfall, one of the original trustees previously mentioned. A son of Abraham-named John-was the first shop assistant employed by the Society ; so that the Society owes a great deal to the Horsfall family during its early struggles. I have had an interesting interview with Mr. John Horsfall, who now lives in retirement near to Beaumont Park. He informed me that Mr. Thos. Hibbert was the first Store Manager. Mr. Hibbert was previously employed in Mr. Bentley's grocery shop at the top of King Street, and at one time he had a business of his own in the shop now occupied by Messrs. Hellewell Carter and Co., Buxton Road. Jno. Horsfall had been apprenticed with Mr. Adam Oldroyd, another local grocer, and leaving there at eighteen years of age he worked under Mr. Hibbert on the opening of the Co-operative Store, remaining there for three and a half years. The trade increased, the staff was limited in number, and John says that he, along with his father and Uncle Jonas, worked overtime for hundreds of hours in the Store. He says he was often engaged " breaking sugar until his fingers bled." I see by the minute book it was not until March, 1862, that it was resolved : * That a sugar-chopper be bought for the Central Store." He remembers making up the first parcel of groceries, which was bought by Mrs. Joseph Dyson (Marsh), mother of the present Mr. Hiram Dyson, manufacturer (Milns- bridge). On one occasion, Mr. Schofield, a member of the Committee, probably presuming on his official position, demanded the opening of the shop door after the closing hour. John refused to comply with his request, and Mr. Schofield threatened to report the matter to the Committee, but John expressed his willing- ness to go before the Committee, and so the matter was not proceeded with any further. John was a useful and

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46 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

handy youth, and was often sent out to assist at the Branches, because, as he says, " they were badly handi- capped for staff." At one time, Mr. Jas. Sykes, the shopman at Moldgreen Store, went away for his holiday, and John was sent to look after the shop while he was away. Mr. Jno. Horsfall's wife told me that her father, Mr. J. B. Best, was an early auditor of the Society, and that he was very particular in satisfying himself that the accounts were correct before signing them. During our conversation Mrs. Horsfall repeated the following admirable maxim :-" While walking up the hill of Prosperity may we never meet anyone coming down.""

ten

TNF

Page 47

CHAPTER IV.

MAesolutions: Interesting, Curious and VJrudent.

Nothing useless is, or low ; Each thing in its place is best ; And what seems but idle show Strengthens and supports the rest. -H. W. Longfellow.

HE following resolutions are copied from the earlier minute books of the Society. The years in which they are passed are given ; there is no necessity to give the actual month. In a few cases names are omitted-where identification is not essential-in order that no offence may be given to surviving relatives. At this far-off date many of the resolutions are humorous reading, and sound somewhat quaint. But they were, doubtless, adopted with grim earnestness, and at the time they were passed the Committee would feel they were absolutely necessary in the interests of the Society. They certainly show that our forbears applied themselves to their duties with great seriousness of purpose, not neglecting the smallest detail in their prosecution of the Society's welfare. This chapter may serve a useful pur- pose in incidentally revealing the many diverse steps taken by successive Committees in building up the Society, although it does not deal with any of the great epoch- making events of its history.

1860.

The first minute book in our possession gives no in- formation about any meetings for the election of officers,

Page 48

48 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

adoption of rules, or engaging of shop premises. On the first two pages is given a list of the officers and Committee, and the first resolution is bluntly recorded as follows :-

August and seconded that twelve tea and coffee canisters be ordered for the use of this Society.

It is very singular that this is the only resolution entered on this date. At rapidly succeeding meetings the following resolutions appear :-

That half a gross of quart and pint cans be ordered.

That Joseph Cooke be empowered to get the Act of Parliament relative to Industrial Societies.

That Geo. Holmes (President) accompany Mr. Hibbert (sales- man) to London to purchase grocery for this Society.

That 100 bills be printed and posted, stating the time when this Society will open, and 1,000 handbills to be distributed in the street.

That no person connected with this Society shall have credit.

That sickness or a sufficient apology shall only exempt the Committee from being fined.

That no dividend be allowed on sugar or treacle sold from this Society on and after the 10th of September.

That five packs of flour be ordered from the Halifax Co- operative Flour Society, and ditto from the Sowerby Bridge. [This ten packs is rather different to the 8,000 packs ordered some years afterwards.]

_ That any member, dfficer, or servant of this Society giving orders without the consent of the Committee will be fined 5s.

That no member shall have his goods carried home or else- where, purchased from this Society. [How different to-day !]

That the Secretary be instructed to write Mr. Holyoake to give him an invitation to visit our Store, previous to him giving the lecture on " Co-operation ' on Wednesday next, November 14th.

That three of the Committee assist the Secretary to take stock, and that they be paid 4d. per hour for their services. [Not extravagant wages, truly !]

That any member connected with this Society using any abusive language to any officer or servant in the execution of his duty,will be fined for the first offence at the discretion of the Com- mittee, and for the second they 'will be expelled the Society.

That the pig offered for sale by John Stocks be bought by this Society at 9s. per stone.

Page 49

CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 40

1861.

That the premises offered by Friend Berry be taken for a slaughter-house, and that the said F. Berry agrees to let, and this Society agrees to take, the said premises, and to give the manure for the rent for the first twelve months.

That the slaughter-house at Nook be fitted up for killing as soon as possible.

That the Auditors have 5s. each for auditing the books for the quarter ending November 30th, 1860. [What a contrast to-day '!]

That any officer or Committee-man belonging to this Society informing any person of what transpires in the Committee-room, without authority, shall be fined the sum of £1, and if not paid within three months the person so offending shall be suspended from office until the same be paid.

That Jonas Horsfall accompany the butcher to Wakefield to buy six to ten sheep and two fat beasts.

That an estimate be tendered to the Board of Guardians to supply the several workhouses with groceries for six months from March 25th-Huddersfield, Golcar, Honley, Kirkheaton, and Almondbury. [Where are these Workhouses now ?]

That the butcher have 1s. allowed for his dinner on attending Leeds or Wakefield markets.

That the Auditors be requested to look through the books again, and if the error be not found, that the stock be taken again.

That the complaints laid before the Committee by the sales- man at No. 2 Branch, against Mr. Hibbert, were frivolous, and that for the future servants are requested to work more friendly together.

That we write to the candle manufacturers in the neighbour-

hood to send in estimates to supply the Society with twenty dozen per week up to Christmas.

That smoking be strictly prohibited on the premises of the Central Store, and for each and every offence the party so offending be fined 3d., and that the said law come into force on and after the 9th day of October next.

That the deficiency on the tea party be paid by the Tea Com- mittee. [Rather hard on the Committee !]

That Jonas Horsfall and John Bradley be appointed to examine the premises of the Central Store every Sunday morning.

That the salesmen at the Branch Stores be not allowed to purchase any goods of any description, only yeast.

That the persons appointed to assist in stocktaking have sufficient to eat during the time of stocktaking.

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50 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

1862.

That all the salesmen be noticed that they are liable to make good any credit that may be given by them.

That each Committee-man have Is. for his attendance on a General Committee night, if in attendance before 8 p.m.

That bills be posted in the streets offering a reward of £5 for the apprehension and conviction of the person or persons who broke into No. 2 Branch on the night of April 21st.

That the black worsted on hand in the Drapery Department be worked up into stockings by the cheapest stocking weaver.

That a looking-glass be purchased for the Drapery Depart- ment, and three Committee-men buy it.

That the Officers and Committee be retained in their present position until the Society's and members' accounts be audited and found correct.

That the horse be not lent to anyone on a Sunday, and also that the company alone work the same.

That no pigs be bought only by the Committee.

That 7s. be given to the shoe workmen, if allowed by the other shoemakers. [Itis customary for a gift to be made on St. Crispin's Day, October 25th-the shoemakers' patron saint.]

Moved that we have a rat trap.-Carried.

That all shop till drawers be kept locked up at noon or other times if the shopman be absent.

That the horse be clipped by a competent person.

That the shopman at Barkisland be required to sleep on the premises.

1863.

That the name of the Society be painted on the outside of the buildings the whole length of our premises.

That we commence selling black cloth.

That the Central Stores and Branch shops close on Tuesday, March 10th, in honour of the marriage of the Prince of Wales.

That the office and Committee-room floors be washed after the dividend be paid.

That a boy be got to stop in the shop when Mr. Myles is upstairs, and to be upstairs when Mr. Myles is down. [This was in the Shoe Department.]

That Jonas Horsfall look very sharply after the young men in the shop, and endeavour to prevent the shameful waste and negli- gence that is now practised by them,

Page 51

CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 5I

That we elect Auditors from our own members. That the election of Auditors be left with the Committee.

That the sausage be conveyed to Lockwood by John Nutter on the 'bus, not later than 6 o'clock every Friday evening. [No electric cars in those days.]

1864.

That our shopmen be told this Committee consider it was careless of them leaving the tea in the passage after dark, and request they will be more careful in future.

That we give J. Haigh 5s. for informing about the tea being stolen.

That the four Committee-men [named] parade the town to-morrow night, and examine the style of the gas lights, and decide, according to the best of their judgment, what kind to have

in the new shop.

That ----- be requested to withdraw from being a candi- date for Committee, and if he does not that we tell the meeting about him getting credit.

That all retail customers pay for their goods on delivery, and that if any shopman gives credit he be dismissed at once.

That no shutters be put up at the Central till half-past ten on Saturday nights.

That the parties that have agreed to make up the loss of the tea party have tins for the goods bought in the shop. [Meaning checks.]

That if any person buying eggs at our Store finds bad ones amongst them, and brings them back, that they have them exchanged.

That the delegate attending the Sowerby Bridge meeting have his railway fare paid and 6d. for expenses.

That we allow Mr. Myles (shopman) 7d. per week for cat meat. That we have a lurry.

That the above be rescinded, and that we sell the grey horse the first opportunity.

That our shopman at Moldgreen be instructed not to let any member assist him unless appointed by the Committee.

1865.

That we allow Dr. Wilson to put a signboard on the end of our Stores, and that he pay 1d. per annum for the same.

Page 52

52 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

That J. Lowe pay Is. per week till he has paid the 10s. he lost of the Milnsbridge money.

That the shops close at 3 p.m. on Monday, February 20th, for the men to go to the tea party.

That the shoe lad in future shovels the coals into the place.

That if anyone divulge this night's proceedings they be fined IOs.

That onions be sold 2lbs. for

That if any of our servants who have charge of a till have either 3%d. too much or too little any night when the cash is balanced, he shall be fined 6d., the fines to form a fund, and be distributed in prizes to those who have made the least mistakes at the end of the half year.

That we have a report each week of what work the horse does. That the shoemaker engage a boy at not more than 3s. per week.

That no storekeeper be allowed for anything that has gone bad unless a Committee-man sees it.

That if any Committee-man is a quarter of an hour late on three Committee nights, that he be marked one night absent.

That our servants be allowed to go to the Wakefield Exhibition until they have all been.

That we don't buy another horse till we have sold the old one.

That we sign the requisition for our letters not to be delivered on Sundays.

That if other shops close during the time of Lord Palmerston's funeral that we do the same.

That Billclifie take the old horse to Halifax to-morrow, and get the best price for him he can.

That we have a new paraffin lamp for the office. [Why not gas ?]

1866.

That J. Johnson inquire into the matter of the cartman being drunk.

That smoking be prohibited during business hours in this Committee.

That we give the workmen at Mirfield new Stores £2 for a ' rearing

That during the time of auditing we allow such refreshments as are necessary during late hours.

Page 53

CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 53

That Messrs. Gledhill and Lancaster be empowered to sell or exchange the horse at the Fair on Thursday next, and if they sell it to buy another, and that they do not give above {10 more than they get for the old one.

That our Branches be allowed to buy idle-backs for them- selves.

That if the horse gets any worse that the cartman take him to Mr. Astin (veterinary surgeon).

1867.

That we write to J. Sanderson about the treacle that was lost in removing.

That we allow Mirfield ijcwt. of treacle for what was lost, and that we don't entertain the claim for sugar at all. [Rather singular that both treacle and sugar were missing.]

That the latch be put on the office door off the Committee- room.

That we have a new latch for the office door. [This was ten days later.]

That we sign the petition for incorporation. [I suppose of the Borough.]

That the cartman be cautioned to be more civil. That we have a nosebag for the horse.

That one man is only allowed to speak twice on any subject. [This was at a quarterly meeting.]

That we do not buy butter to-night.

That the Committee-men be paid 6d. per hour for stocktaking, finding their own provisions.

That we don't buy pigs to-night.

That we vote for Messrs. Whitworth, Watkinson, Thornton, and Worth for the Marsh Local Board.

1868.

That candles be reduced 4d. per lb.

That ----- come before this Committee about keeping his horse standing so long.

That the ----- delegate see the storekeeper about keeping

the shop clean, and tell him he is not to close the shop at dinner times.

That marmalade be reduced $d. per pot.

That we reduce the Sowerby Bridge flour to 3s. 1d. per stone. [The price to-day is Is. 8d.]

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54 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

That we discontinue the wine licence.

That none of our servants be allowed to use any obscene language on our premises.

That Mr. Schofield see about getting a dog for the Central.

That we reduce the wine to 10d. per bottle and the champagne to Is. 6d. [Not an extravagant price.]

That the Moldgreen storekeeper sell the old potatoes at what he can get for them.

That Lockwood have a wash leather and a scrubbing brush.

That Mr. Watson be requested to feed the dog, and Mr. Kenny to bring it in at nights.

That we allow the cartman 4d. per week for stabling the horse at Mirfield.

That Mr. Sidebottom be requested to remove Miss from the premises altogether.

[Passed at a General Meeting.] That the Committee-man from Mirfield be paid the price of a return ticket, in addition to his

wages. That the device on the seal be a dove with olive branch.

That the Secretary see Mr. Withers (Chief Constable) about keeping an extra watch on our shops during the time the shutters are away. [There have been no shutters for many years now.]

That we have an ounce and half-ounce weight for Moldgreen, a piggin for Lockwood, and a brush for Paddock.

That Messrs. Brook and Schofield see the shopman, Mr. about coming to the Committee when he is " fresh,'"' and tell him that if he comes in that state again he will be dismissed.

1869.

That the cartman come to the Committee for the rug, and he be told that if he loses it he will have to pay for it.

That we have a lurry of Bellarby.

That the storekeeper at ----- be informed that he must weigh tea and tobacco without paper, and he is to be civil and obliging to the customers.

That we allow R. Carlton 1s. for the bad elastic in the boots he has bought.

That the storekeeper at - be informed that we cannot allow him to spend so much time in Huddersfield.

Page 55

CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 55

1870. That any person using the currant-cleaning machine, and leaving it uncleaned, be fined 2s. 6d.

That we sign the requisition for J. M. Ludlow's election as Registrar [of Friendly Societies.]

That we buy two wood spoons, one for Moldgreen and the other for Lockwood, and that the President look after them.

That the Mirfield storekeeper be requested to have his goods ready for delivery when the cart goes, and if he has not them ready the cartman must leave them.

That we have another doctor to the horse if required.

That each Committee-man request the storekeepers to keep their shops clean.

That we buy a cask of snuff. [Very little snuff is sold nowadays.]

That the President see about getting the horse to work. That we buy twenty boxes cigars. That we take a daily newspaper of Isaac Abbot.

That no shopman be allowed to sell more flour than they have in stock when the markets are advancing.

That we advance wages Is. per week, on condition he comes at the proper time in a morning.

That we buy one cask tobacco.

That if T. Parker likes to come at his own expense to apply for the situation he may do so on Tuesday next.

1871.

That we give £5 to the Mansion House Relief Fund in aid of the French, and that it be sent to the Working Men's Committee.

That we pay Thorpe 9s. for the assistance he had when he was kicked by the horse.

That we try and get a licence for the sale of fireworks, and that Mr. Bland see about it.

That we agree for our shops to be closed on December 26th if the storekeepers wish it.

1872. That the dog be fastened in the shed at day time, and brought up at nights.

That any servant taking money from persons we trade with, either as Christmas box or gratuity, be dismissed.

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56 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

That any members who do not trade with us be noticed to draw their money out.

That Ramsden Balmforth come as check clerk, on trial, at 55s. per week.

That we pay Tom Power his wages for the two days he was lame.

That we don't allow the Mirfield storekeeper his railway fare for coming with his cash.

That we have green meat for the horse another week.

That we get advice of Mr. Learoyd (solicitor) about the Income Tax.

18793.

That we have a tea meeting for the whole Society.

That we write to Dr. Rutherford, and Thos. Hughes, or Dr. Watts, asking them to attend a tea meeting.

That J. Heywood prepare some mottoes for the tea meeting. That we pay 6d. each for pigs salting at the Central Stores.

18794.

That in future we pay Committee-men 8d. per hour for stock- taking ; that only one go to each place, and we allow nothing for refreshments.

That we invite R. M. Carter [one time M.P. for Leeds], A. J. Mundella, Lloyd Jones, S. Learoyd, Dr. Rutherford as speakers, and Hy. Brooke (ex-Mayor) as Chairman to the tea meeting next January.

That we engage H. Hirst and Wm. Bartin as singers, also Albert Craig as reciter. [The latter lived in Huddersfield. Subse- quently he became famous as a poet on the London cricket grounds, and died a year or so ago.]

1895.

That we boil the American hams for the tea meeting. That we have the currant and seed bread from the Wholesale.

That a deputation go to Lindley, and see if they think the chapel that is for sale would be suitable for us.

That we buy clogs, as per list, from T. Towlson. That we don't sell more than two hams to one person. That we buy three clothes props for Primrose Hill.

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CC-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD 57

That we give 2d. each for rats catching. That the deputation to Bradley go in our own cart.

That we inquire of E. V. Neale about women's shares. [There was a women's question then as now.]

[Passed at a General Meeting.] That we contribute £5 towards the new bridge at the bottom of Queen Street South.

1876.

That we have the dog offered at ros. [In March.]

That the shops close at 5 p.m. on Easter Monday and Tues- day. [Very different to-day.]

That we have a woodcut of the Central Stores. That we dispose of the dog. [In October.]

1877.

That we don't give checks on meat this week. That we have S. Noble to cut the meat up.

That Mr. Wood sell the trees on Moldgreen freehold. [The balance sheet shows they realised {£2.]

That we give 5s. to the men for getting the horse out of the water.

That the horses be clipped, and that Peter do them, if he will do them at 6s. each, and not to do them on Sunday.

1878.

That we give John Beaumont the dog.

That the shoemakers be allowed to work all night on March 13th.

That all our shops close at 12 on Easter Monday. That we have a horn to give the horses medicine with. That Mr. Woodhouse be foreman haymaker.

That Mr. Hatch take a view of the full front of the Central Stores.

That the butcher go to Wakefield by himself.

1879.

That the question of keeping the mice out of the corn room at Primrose Hill be left to Mr. Shaw.

Page 58

CHAPTER V.

Progress of the Society: 1860-1870.

Say not the struggle nought availeth, The labour and the wounds are vain,

For while the tired waves, vainly breaking, Seem here no painful inch to gain, Far back, through creeks and inlets making, Comes silent, flooding in, the main, And not by eastern windows only, When daylight comes, comes in the light, In front, the sun climbs slow, how slowly,

But westward, look, the land is bright. -A. H. Clough.

Eight Branch Stores Opened and one Closed-Butchering and Shoe Departments Opened and Closed-Drapery, Millinery, and Coal Departments Opened-Tea Party and Trip-Shop Hours-First Horse and Cart Bought-Mr. Prentis appointed Secretary-Divi- dend of 5d. in the {, but to Non-members 6d.-Six per cent for Loans-Solicitor - appornted-Toll-bars-Infirmary - Subscrip- tion- Joins the C.W.S.-Price of Coal-All Loans Paid off.-

Ten Years' Trade.

HE first Committee did not allow any grass to grow under their feet. Having faith in their principles,

they were energetic and enterprising. The second Quarterly Report, dated February 28th, 1861, says :-

From the rapid increase of the trade your Board of Directors will, during the ensuing quarter, have to make extensive alterations in the back premises of the Central Store, so as to make it more convenient to carry on the increasing business of the Society.

Without waiting to see how the Central shop prospered they opened within four months two Branch Stores at Lindley and Moldgreen. These were opened in December,

Page 59

CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 59

1860, Mr. John Netherwood being appointed salesman at the Moldgreen Branch. The butchering business was begun in January, 1861, a shop being taken at No. 15, South End, Shambles, and a slaughterhouse at " Nook."

Mr. George Womersley (Kirkgate) was appointed butcher, but he was discharged in the month following. His successor was also discharged in May. The third

quarterly report, dated May 31st, 1861, says :-

The Butchering Department, your Directors are sorry to report, is in a very unsatisfactory condition. At the same time they feel certain that blame does not properly rest upon them, as the members have not traded so as to employ the capital profitably, hence work- ing expenses have absorbed an undue ratio of profits.

In June the Committee resolved to keep the shop open for three months longer, but in July this was reconsidered, and it was decided " that the shop be shut up until the next General Meeting." This was held on September 5th, when it was resolved " that the Butcher- ing Department be closed entirely." Meanwhile, the Committee had been busily occupied in other directions. The Drapery Department was opened in the spring of the same year in one of the upper rooms of the Store at Buxton Road, and in the balance sheet after it was opened the Committee stated that it had more than realised their expectations, although the premises were inconvenient.

In June, 1861, the shop next door was taken, so that the drapery business could be carried on with greater advantage, and the shoe business was begun in a part of this shop in the following autumn. Even yet the Com- mittee did not rest satisfied. The sixth quarterly report,

dated February 28th, 1862, says :-

During the past quarter there has been opened Branches at Lockwood, Mirfield, Barkisland, and Paddock, all of which are in

a most prosperous condition.

Four Branches in one quarter! This was business enterprise with a vengeance. It was also found necessary at this time to enlarge the Central Store by adding more

warehouse room at the back.

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60 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

Amid all this activity the Committee did not neglect the social side of Co-operation. In September, 1861, it was resolved " to hold a tea party or annual soirée," and again in June, 1862, it was decided to " arrange a trip to Liverpool on Monday, June 30th, at Is. 6d. for children and 2s. 3d. for adults;" also that all the Society's " shops be closed, to give the servants an opportunity of going on the trip."

The Committee at this period were not paying extrava- gant wages. On December 11th, 1861, the minute book records °" That the three salesmen at Nos. I, 2, and 4 Branches have their wages advanced to 22s. per week."

The report for July 31st, 1862, discusses the question of the amount which should be allowed as dividend to non-members, and says :-

Your Board are of opinion that the greatest drawback to what otherwise appears a fair and satisfactory arrangement to both members and non-members is the cupidity of the former, who purchase the cheques of the latter at a small advance on the Society's allowance, and return them as their own, on purpose to pocket the difference betwixt the two dividends. Your Board think it requisite that some means should be adopted to prevent such traffic.

This traffic, of course, is impossible under our present system. - The following singular entry appears among the receipts in the cash account for the same quarter :-*" Blot paper, one penny." - On July 9th it was resolved to close the Central Stores at 8 p.m. five nights, and at 10 p.m. on Saturdays ; and in winter at 7-30 p.m., the Branches to close at 8 p.m. and II p.m. on Saturdays. What a differ- ence compared with the present weekly half holiday, and

earlier closing each day !

Mr. R. S. Walker (the Secretary) having resigned his office, it was decided to have one to devote the whole of his time to the duties, and Mr. William Slee was appointed at a special meeting on August 12th, 1862.

It was agreed that in future the accounts should be balanced and the profits divided half yearly, instead of

Page 61

James T. Prentis,

«/

Secretary.

Page 63

CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 63

quarterly, as they had been up to this time, and from the first half-yearly balance sheet, dated January, 1863, I find the profit, amounting to £898, enabled the Committee to declare a dividend of Is. 3d. in the £. At the General Meeting, some doubt being thrown upon the accuracy of the accounts, the meeting was adjourned for the purpose of the books being re-audited, but the parties selected by the members to go over the books declined to do it unless they could have the Society's books at their own place of business. The President called the members together again, and explained the reason why the books had not been re-audited, when it was decided to pass the balance sheet as it was. In October, 1862, the Committee decided to purchase a horse and cart, and George Colley (Paddock) was engaged as teamer at I7s. per week. In December Mrs. Tidswell was engaged, and she was in- structed to " commence the millinery business forthwith."

Early in 1863 the then Secretary not giving satisfac- tion, his services were terminated, and in March Mr. J. T. Prentis, the present excellent and hard-working Secretary, was appointed. Mr. Prentis at that time was, of course, only a young man, and assisted his father, who was the Secretary of the Leeds Co-operative Society. -This experience was helpful to him, and fully equipped him for taking up his new and more responsible position. It has been of immense advantage to our Society to have the valuable services of Mr. Prentis throughout all these years. His quiet, unassuming manner, coupled with integrity of character, assiduous attention to duty, and intimate knowledge of the Society's ramifications, have placed the members under great obligations to him.

In June the Arbitrators were re-elected with two changes, viz., Messrs. George Brooke, jun., and James Cowgill taking the places of Messrs. William Leech and John Dyson. In July a Branch Store was opened in Northgate, and Mr. Benjamin Kaye was appointed the Manager. This Branch did moderately well for a time, but the receipts afterwards got down so low that it was

Page 64

64 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

passed at two General Meetings of the members, in 1869 and 1871, to close it, but the Committee did not carry out the resolutions, and they were eventually rescinded. It was afterwards removed to Northumberland Street, and is now one of our largest Branches.

The doubt as to the accuracy of the January balance sheet, prepared by the late Secretary, which was expressed at the general meeting, as before mentioned, evidently proved correct. The report issued in July says, " The Committee are sorry to have to state that they have discovered some serious errors in the last balance sheet."

These errors reduced the profit in the July half year to £265 and allowed a dividend of only 5d. in the £. This is the smallest dividend ever paid by the Society. In this connection I may say that Mr. Simeon Burdon, who is one of the oldest members of our Society, informs me that he well remembers the dividend being 5d. in the £, and he pointed out how singular it was that the dividend to non-members at the same time was 6d. in the £! Mr. Burdon also said that he joined the Society in 1862, when Mr. Slee was the Secretary, and he recollects purchasing flour at the Store when it was 2s. 6d. a stone. Another of our old members, Mr. J. W. Wardall, tells me that, about this time, he lodged with a Mrs. Moorhouse, in Swallow Street. She told him of the advantages of Co- operation, and how delighted she was to have drawn a dividend of 5d. in the £. " There was nothing like it anywhere else," she triumphantly declared. How sur- prised the old lady would have been had she been living now to receive a 3s. dividend! Mr. Wardall also mentioned to me a little incident which impressed itself upon him at the time it happened. Many years ago he was making his purchases at the Store, and after the assistant had served him the then Manager came up and reprimanded the assistant for serving a customer on a dirty counter. The Manager was evidently alive to the importance of making his shop clean and attractive. Mr. Wardall's venerable form is well known at our

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CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 65

Society's quarterly meetings, at which he is a most regular attender. His humorous and pungent criticisms are much enjoyed, even though one may disagree with him.

In January, 1864, the Committee secured an adjoining shop for the Drapery Department, this making three shops-Grocery, Shoe, and Drapery-and shortly after- wards the entire premises were leased to the Society for a term of years. The Society became shareholders to the amount of {10 in the Sowerby Bridge Flour Society in June, and has purchased flour, &c., from them from that time, although the Committee had to continue having some from private millers for a considerable time after, as many of the members would not purchase the Sowerby Bridge Flour. The Barkisland Branch was given up in July of this year on account of the smallness of the receipts and the distance from the Central Stores. The members in that district, however, established a Society and purchased the stock from us. The " leakage " system, for checking the accounts in the Grocery Depart- ment, was established in August, 1864, and is believed to have been one of the greatest improvements ever introduced into the working of the Society. The Store at Milnsbridge was opened in December, and, although only a cottage could be got for some time, it proved a valuable addition to the Society's Branches. In October the Committee evidently felt a shortage of money, and they decided to " give six per cent to any person that will lend us any money for three months." In December Messrs. Floyd and Learoyd were appointed solicitors to the Society, and this connection has continued down to the present time, with the brief exception of about eight months in the year 1879.

In July, 1865, the dividend was only tod. in the £. The report gives figures showing how an increased turn- over would realise a dividend of Is. 1od., and concludes by saying, " Other Societies can do it, and why not we ?

Page 66

66 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

If the members will only exert themselves we can do it as easily as others can." - The same balance sheet contains the following items in the expenditure account :-Loss by tea party, £9. 17s. I1%d. ; licences, £7. 13s. 44d. (which seems a large sum) ; cat's meat, 14s. 7d. ; and (following the item for horse keep), bars, £4. 4s. 4d. These toll-bars, of course, have been swept away long ago. In September it was decided to subscribe £2. 2s. to the Infirmary annually. In the same month there must have been a large number of withdrawals from the Society, as the following resolution is recorded in the minute book :- * That we invite those members who have given notice to withdraw, to attend the Committee meeting six at a time." On September 14th the following important resolution was passed :-*" That on and after the 27th inst. all our shops close at 2 p.m. on Wednesdays." Locally, the

Society was the pioneer in this half-day holiday move- ment.

About this time the Shoe Department was not

answering expectations. - In the half-yearly report, dated January 31st, 1866, the following paragraph occurs :-

The result of the last half-year's business in the Shoe Depart- ment is a loss of £14. 8s. which your Committee cannot dwell upon without feelings of humiliation and shame, because they know that it is caused by a want of support on the part of the members, and that they have the power within themselves of making it a success. Your Committee, as working men who have to earn their money before they spend it, beg to express their opinion that for quality and cheapness this department is not surpassed by any similar one in the town. In order to supply the wants of members and extend the business, we have added the clog and patten trade to this department.

On February Ist, at a special members' meeting, it was resolved to build a Store at Mirfield. Evidently the members were tired of paying rent. It was further decided " that the Committee borrow £500 where they can get it to the best advantage," presumably to pay the cost of the new Store. Accordingly, on March 13th, the

Page 67

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Page 69

CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 69

Committee decided to " apply for a loan of £500 to the Huddersfield Equitable Permanent Benefit Building Society."

During the latter half of the year 1867 the question of joining the Co-operative Wholesale Society at Manchester was exercising the minds of the Committee and members. In September the Committee wrote to " ask Mr. J. C. Edwards to come on October Ist to give us information respecting the Wholesale Society." In December the general meeting resolved

That the question of entering the Wholesale Society be left over to the half-yearly meeting, and that the Secretary write to Societies that trade with them to see if they find it better to trade with them or not. In March, 1868, at a general members' meeting, it was resolved " that the question of entering the Wholesale Society be adjourned till the Committee have given it a fair trial." In September it was decided to " defer enter- ing the Wholesale Society for a few weeks." Four preliminary resolutions ! How cautiously they proceeded ! Eventually, on November 13th, it was decided to enter the Society forthwith. This step has undoubtedly assisted very materially the progress of our Society.

The balance sheet for January, 1869, shows that the small sum of £42. 3s. was invested in the Wholesale Society, and that the profit received from the Society was only Is. 6d.-a tremendous contrast to the figures of to-day ! The balance sheet for April, 1910, shows the amount invested to be £31,836. 16s. 5d., and the profit received from the Society was £1,387. 14s.

At the quarterly meeting held in March it was decided to close the Shoe Department in three months, on account of the small business done. The department had been open eight years, but had not proved a success. The shop was let off to Mr. Charles Billington, who continued the same line of business. In August the Society com- menced the Coal Department, which has been a very valuable addition to the Society's business.

Page 70

yil CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

It is interesting to notice from the minute book early in 1870 the low price at which coal was then sold, as compared with the present time. The price, of course, would vary owing to the cost of delivery to different districts, and it was then decided to charge IIs. 6d. per ton at Mirfield, 12s. at Lockwood, and 12s. 2d. at Long- wood. For thirds coal at Longwood the price charged was Ios. per ton. The prices charged to-day, exclusive of delivery, are :-House nuts, 19s. ; best nuts, 18s. 6d. ; various kinds of coal, such as Brights, Stanley Main, Walls-

end, Robin Hoods, Old Hards, &c., range from 16s. 6d. to 24s. 6d. per ton.

In May, 1870, the Northgate Branch was removed into Northumberland Street. The Society had now been established ten years. It had encountered many diffi- culties, especially in the butchering and shoe businesses. But there was encouraging progress in other depart- ments. The membership had slowly increased, the turnover was larger, profits were increasing, and the dividend reached Is. 5d. in the £. All the loans were repaid this year, and the sum invested in the Wholesale Society was increased. No wonder that there was quite a triumphant ring in the tone of the report, dated July 3Ist, 1870, as the following extract will show :-

The difficulties under which all Co-operative Societies must, in their early history labour, are gradually but surely giving way under the extended experience of the Committee and the in- creased faith of the members. _ Nothing, indeed, can be clearer than the fact that, if the working classes firmly and fairly rely upon each other, the Co-operative cause must grow and must prosper. . . ._ We can, in conclusion, only urge upon the members to be true to themselves, to remember how nearly and how dearly they are all interested in the success of the Society, and that not merely in its economic but in its social aspect our prosperity will not only give us the power of making the most of our means, but will materially, and at once, assist in increasing the comforts and raising the character of our families and our homes.

Page 71

CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

9 I

Below I give a tabulated statement showing the business of the Society for the ten years covered by this

chapter :- Date. MiBeci CRN, | Seles _ Profin £ £ £ In the {£. .................. 538 2576 12658 641 ' 1/51 {1862 .................. 845 3469 22094 1371 _ 1/7 £18603 .................. 965 435I 34530 1129 rod. 11864 .................. 846 4712 31895 1526 | I/5 $1865 .................. 871 4461 27143 866 roijd. £18660 .................. 889 4363 30797 1204 | I/1} P1867 q22 4693 35198 1333 I /I P1868 .................. 927 5417 34261 1092 I1Id. i186Qg .................. 838 5744 29983 1IO29 | I1Ii}id. 11870 .................. 883 7134 32875 1457 | 1/3} Ten Years' Total . 201434 d 11648 * Year ended August. {+ Eleven Mont-1:5 ended July. { Year ended July.

Page 72

CHAPTER VI.

Progress of the Society (continued), 1871-1880.

The common problem, yours, mine, everyone's, Is-not to fancy what were fair in life, Provided it could be-but finding first What may be, then how to make it fair Up to our means.

-R. Browning.

cmmmmmmmmntp

Other Six Branches Opened-The C.W .S. again-Becomes Land- owner-Serious Leakage Dispute-First " Fourteen Days' Sale ""-Shoe and Butchering Departments Re-opened-Surplus Capital-First Penny Savings Bank-Non-members' Dividend -Thomas Bland-Central Premises Bought-A Demonstration -Office Clerks Apporinted-Erects Branch Stores, Duwelling- houses and Stables-Coal Wagons and Caris Bought-First Two Butchering Branches Opened-Old Meeting Places.-Ten Years' Trade.

HE Society was now becoming fixed on a firm I foundation. The report for January, 1871, spoke out in the following bold and eloquent manner :-

The mortgage on the Mirfiéld Store has been redeemed, and the Society now holds in one of its most important Branches premises of their own, erected by themselves, and adapted to the requirements of their trade. Very little dead stock now remains upon our hands. . . . The Committee ask the members to weigh the gradual but certain advances the Stores have made, to regard with increased confidence the position the Society has taken, to hail its financial soundness with pride and satisfaction. It has, the Committee believe, outlived its difficulties, and a fair and prosperous future lies before it. To make this an assured fact the members have only to be true to themselves. Friends will gather about them now their success is certain; but to make this

Page 73

Mirnxssrinar (Grocery).

Page 75

CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 73

success substantial, to keep the Society firm, the old members should renew their exertions to sustain it in its career of honourable usefulness. The spirit hitherto shown has only to be continued, and with yet deeper sympathy in the work, wider influences must follow, and the Buxton Road Co-operative Society will become an honour to the town of Huddersfield, and a material aid to its industrial population.

In May it was decided at a special general meeting to build a new Store at Milnsbridge, as the cottage there occupied was very inconvenient. In September a Store was opened at No. 88, Wood Top, Primrose Hill ; and in December the members empowered the Committee to build a stable for six horses. All this is an indication that satisfactory progress was being made.

The experience of dealing with the Wholesale Society must have proved satisfactory, because, in January, 1872, it was decided to invest therein the sum of £500 as loan capital, and in March the quarterly meeting resolved to " purchase all goods for the next six months at the Wholesale Society." In May the late Mr. Walter Turner was appointed as storekeeper in the Wholesale Depart- ment, that is, in the warehouse which supplied the goods to the Branches. Many of the older members will recollect what a loyal and faithful servant Mr. Turner proved himself to be. In September it was decided to purchase the shares at present held by our Society in the Ripponden Cotton Spinning Co. This year the Society first became a landowner by purchasing a plot of freehold land at Primrose Hill. This year, also, a rather serious crisis occurred. In consequence of the excessive " leakage "' made at the Branches, the members decided to reduce the "leakage" allowance made to the storekeepers from 3d. to 2d. in the £. The storekeepers not agreeing to this, the matter was referred to arbitration, Mr. Job Whiteley (Halifax) representing the Society, and Mr. Crabtree (Heckmondwike) representing the storekeepers. This course, however, failed to bring about an agreement, and, in consequence, the storekeepers were discharged.

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76 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

The storekeepers had their friends among the members, and feeling ran so high that five independent Stores were opened in opposition to the Society at Lindley, Lockwood Road, Mirfield, Paddock, and Milnsbridge. The amount of sales went down, a large number of mem- bers withdrew from the Society, and others, in con- sequence of exaggerated rumours, doubting the stability of the Society, reduced their share capital. The Com- mittee, however, promptly meeting all the withdrawals, confidence was very quickly restored, and subsequent experience has proved the wisdom of the action taken by the Society. In October of this year Mr. Joseph Walker, the present efficient Manager of the Moldgreen Branch, was first appointed.

In February, 1873, the Committee resolved to " buy our fustian goods from Hebden Bridge." At the Septem- ber quarterly meeting the members decided not to purchase the Central Stores ; and during this month the Society held its first " fourteen days' sale " in the Drapery Department. At the December meeting the members resolved to re-open the Boot and Shoe Department, which had been given up four years previously ; and its later history has fully justified the step. During this year the Society, having plenty of surplus capital, decided to encourage Co-operative Production by making invest- ments in a number of undertakings including the Sowerby Bridge Flour Society, Co-operative Newspaper Society, Leeds and Morley Coal Co., and the Heckmondwike Manufacturing Co. Unfortunately, about three years afterwards the Coal Co. failed.

In January, 1874, the report says :-

Primrose Hill Branch has opened a Penny Savings Bank on the 3rd of January, and the deposits up to the present time amount to £20. - We hope that all our Branches will do likewise.

In January, also, the minute book records that Mr. Prentis, the Secretary, had his duties and responsibilities increased by being appointed as Manager or Overseer over the whole establishment. Early in February the

Page 77

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CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 8T

Shoe shop was reopened, with Miss Annie Heywood as Saleswoman. In May, tenders were accepted for the erection of a new building for the Primrose Hill Branch Store. In June, the members' meeting decided to take up fifty £1 shares in the Co-operative Ironworks Society, then being formed at Aspley. This Society, unfortunately, proved a failure. At the September meeting it was resolved to increase the dividend allowed to non-members from 6d. to 9d. in the £. In this month, also, the Com- mittee, for the first time, nominated the late Mr. Thomas Bland, J.P., as a member of the Wholesale Society's Com- mittee. As our members are aware, Mr. Bland had a very long and useful connection with that great institution.

The report for January, 1875, calls

the special attention of the members to our Co-operative-made all-wool flannels ; also to the fact that most of the best sewing machines in the trade can be had at the Central Drapery Depart- ment. Instruction free with every machine.

In August and November respectively, the two newly- erected Stores at Primrose Hill and Moldgreen were opened for business. In October it was decided to sell Silkstone Main Coal at 18s. per ton, which is much lower than the present price. This month, also, a Branch was commenced at Bradley. In November it was decided to build additional stables, and in the same month the great and important step was taken of purchasing the old Central premises in Buxton Road. As a portion of these premises, however, were occupied by tenants on lease, they were not wholly utilised for the Society's business until ten years later.

In April, 1876, the price of Flockton coals was only I6s. per ton. In May tenders were accepted for the erection of the Lindley Store. In July the corner-stone was publicly laid for the building of a new Store at Marsh, and in connection with this ceremony quite an unusual demonstration was organised, in true Yorkshire fashion, which proves there was a good deal of Co-operative enthusiasm in those days. The minute book records that

Page 82

82 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

Mr. Thomas Bland was to lay the stone, that Messrs. Mitchell and Crabtree, of the Wholesale Society, were to be invited to the ceremony, that there be a tea meeting, that a procession start at 3 p.m., to be marshalled by Messrs. Hendry and Haddin Ellam (Committee-men), that the storekeepers be given leave of absence from 2 to 6 p.m., if they wished to join the procession, and, finally, that Jackson's Band be engaged for the demon- stration. The half-yearly report, dated July, announces that " the increased demand in the coal trade has necessitated the purchase of four additional coal wagons." The members having given the Committee power to open a Branch for Rashcliffe district in Lockwood Road, and the Society that was established there in 1872 in opposition to us, being wishful to give up, it was agreed to purchase the stock and building at a valuation, in September, 1876. Mr. Harris Pollard, the present respected Manager, was appointed to that post at the opening. This year further investments of surplus capital were made, including too Shares in the Co-operative In- surance Society, and also a loan of {£1,000 to the Union Land and Building Society. The latter Society, unfor- tunately, failed four years later. In September tenders were accepted for the erection of a warehouse in the yard at Buxton Road, and in October it was decided to have a coal office for Lockwood Station. In December the dividend allowed to non-members was further increased from 9d. to Is. in the £. During this year Mr. Albert Horsfall entered the service of the Society as an office boy, and this being his first situation, his whole working life has been passed with our Society. To rise from office boy to the position of chief cashier is a most credit-

able record.

The report for January, 1877, says: " The American fresh meat having been largely imported into this country we decided to give it a trial, and so far it has been a success."" In the following half-year's balance sheet there appears £1,056. 15s. 3d., amount of the sales in the American Meat Department, but there is no entry

Page 83

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Page 85

HUDDERSFIELD INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY.

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Page 87

CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 87

subsequently. On April 20th Mr. W. H. Mallinson, one of the present office clerks, was appointed. On May 5th the newly-erected Branch Store at Marsh was opened, with Mr. B. Barrett as Manager. A public tea meeting was held to celebrate the opening, at which Mr. G. J. Holyoake attended. In September, the Committee resolved to increase the usefulness of the Shoe Department by engaging two men as repairers, in order that the repair- ing might be done on the Society's premises. At the quarterly meeting in September it was first resolved to give an annual subscription to the Askern Bath Charity. The No. 12 Branch at Lowerhouses was opened in October, and had to be carried on in very small and inconvenient premises until the Committee could _ get one erected that was suitable for the requirements of the business. This year is notable for the fact that the Committee began to erect a number of dwelling-houses. Tenders amounting to £2,000 were accepted for houses at Primrose Hill. Eighteen houses were also built at Paddock, and, finally, 1,148 yards of land were purchased at Lockwood.

In March, 1878, the price charged for Stanley Main Coal was only 12s. 6d. per ton ; to-day it is 18s.

In the year 1878 the Committee were busy erecting four new buildings for their Branch Stores at Lockwood, Lowerhouses, Northumberland Street, and Paddock, the old premises being found inadequate owing to the greatly increased business done. Tenders were also accepted for several cottages at Lockwood. At the September meeting the members resolved to increase the subscrip- tions to the Infirmary to £10. 1os., and to the Mechanics' Institute to £3. 3s. The Butchering business was again commenced on October 17th at No. 19, Buxton Road, and it was decided that the profit in that department should be kept separate, and the dividend declared on the business done, independent of the other departments. Mr. J. T. Beatson was appointed the Manager of this Department. The first Butchering Branch was also

Page 88

88 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

opened this year at Paddock. On November 5th it is recorded that the Committee decided to purchase 100

pigs. The year 1879 saw a continuance of the policy of house building. Twenty dwelling-houses were erected at Royd's Wood, Paddock, four behind the Rashcliffe Store, eight at Lindley, six in St. Stephen's Road, and fourteen in Victoria Road, Lockwood. In addition 2,273 yards of land were purchased at Lindley. To in- crease the facilities for carrying on the coal trade, four coal wagons and two coal carts were purchased.

The report for January, 1880, says :-

We have been in communication with Messrs. Bairstow and Sons, wholesale clothiers, who have offered to supply our members with any description of clothing, and we have decided to give them a trial. Members who wish to avail themselves of this offer can go to Messrs. Bairstow's warehouse in Fitzwilliam Street and make their own selections from either the Ready-made Depart- ment or from the piece, and on paying for their goods will receive a note, which, on presentation at the office of the Society, will be exchanged for metallic checks.

This was the first half year in which a dividend of 3s. in the £ was paid. The Butchering dividend was only Is. qd. In May the Newsome Co-operative Society requested our Committee to purchase their Store and open a Branch of our Society there. After making inquiries respecting it the Committee recommended the members to comply with the request, and a Branch was duly opened in June, with Mr. Joe Dobson as Manager. In June the Com- mittee decided to become agents for the Co-operative Insurance Society. A second Butchering Branch was opened this month at Rashcliffe. In July certain land and buildings, situated at Deadwaters, were purchased from Mrs. Cotton, and in November tenders were accepted for erecting upon the site stables for the Society's horses. Tenders were also accepted in the same month for building five houses in Bland Street, Lockwood.

During the first twenty years in the Society's history the quarterly and half-yearly members' meetings were held at seven different places as follows (several of

Page 89

Lockwoon (Grocery and Drapery).

Page 91

Marsnm Brancn (Grocery)

Page 93

CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 93.

these, of course, are not now available):-March, 1861, at the Albion Hotel, Buxton Road ; September, 1861, Philosophical Hall, which stood on the site of the present theatre in Ramsden Street, and since burnt down ; for four years ending 1865, with a few exceptions (alternating with Senior's Schoolroom), in a room in Albion Street used by the " Barkerites ;"' for ten years ending March, 1873 (again with few exceptions) in Senior's Schoolroom, East Parade. The meeting in March, 1867, was held in the Assembly-room behind the Rose and Crown Hotel, Kirkgate, which stood on the site of the Palace Theatre. From August, 1873, to March, 1878, in George Street Schoolroom, and from September, 1878, to 1886, in Ramsden Street Schoolroom. Since then the meetings have usually been held in the Queen Street Assembly- room, the Victoria Hall, or the Technical College. - The day and hour of the meetings have also varied. From 1865 to 1872 they were held on Thursday at 7-30 p.m.; from 1873 to 1875, on Saturday afternoons; and ever since 1875 on Saturday evenings at 6 o'clock.

The following figures show the ten years' progress of the Society :-

| Average Average Date. 1311'ãfs.1 Csahpailtgl. Sales Profit. Grgchfy, Butc'ers Dividend.| P' Year ended { £ £ £ In the £] In the £ July, 1871 ........ IO81 | 9830 39223 2091 | I/6 - | ... , - 1872 ...... I435 | 12906 | 52002 2907 | I/5 ) - 1873 ...... 1348 | 12758 47595 2882 _ 1/6 ) - 1874 ...... 1604 | 17127 52688 | 4066 | 1/9i% ); - 1875 ........ 1970 | 23756 61345 5744 | 2/2 ) - 1876 ...... 2682 | 34003 78510 | 9525 - 2/6} | ; - 1877 ........ 3497 | 42409 | 106122 | 13589 | 2/8 _ , - 1878 ........ 4259 | 53351 | 125827 | 16538 | 2/8} | o... , - 1879 ........ 4773 | 60458 | 1317II | 17848 | 2/9 | 1/7 , - 1880 ........ 5540 | 69060 | 155168 | 21635 2/10%| 1/6 Ten Years' Total| ... 85o191 | 96825 3

Page 94

CHAPTER VII.

Progress of the Society (continued) 1881-1890.

Ever active, ever cheery, Hope the burden of our song ; Let us help the weak and weary On the way we move along. Brighter days than we have seen yet Dawn upon our Babels old ; Changes greater than have been yet,

Time's vast ocean will unfold. -J. M. Peacock.

Five more Branches Opened-Investments Lost-W atch Membership-T wenty-first - Anniwersary-More - Stores and Houses Busrit-Photographs-More Butchering Branches- A. G. Hendry-Weavers' Stritke-Central Premises Extended- More Savings Banks-Revision of Rules-Surplus Capital again-New Shops in Princess Street-Tailoring Department Opened-Quarterly Balance Sheets-T wenty-fifth Anniversary- Wm. Thomson and Sons Limited-New Drapery Shop- Members' Capital Reduced-Manchester Ship Canal-Insur- ance Fund-Infirmary Subscription Increased-Non-members' Dividend again Increased-Buitchering Dividend, 3s. 4d. -New Departments Opened : Dressmaking, Furnishing, Bakery, and Confectionery-Interest on Capital Reduced-Big Orders for Flour and Coal-Joins Co-operative Union-Employees' Tea Party-Thirtieth Anniversary-Christmas Fare-Ten Years'

T rade. HE report for January, 1881, contained the following item of bad news :-" Your Committee regret to

announce that the Union Land and Building Co. is now in liquidation." At this date the sum of £1,030 appeared in the balance sheet as being invested with this unfortunate company, the investment having been made in 1876. For several half years afterwards a

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Page 99

CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. efo

portion of the profits had to be devoted towards wiping out the lost capital. In March, Mr. B. Barrett, the storekeeper at Marsh, was transferred to the position he now worthily fills as storekeeper at the Central Grocery Department in Buxton Road. Mr. David Walker was appointed to succeed him at Marsh. At this time the members of a small Co-operative Society at Greenside, Dalton, asked our Committee to take over their Store. Negotiations were concluded, con- siderable alterations were made to the premises, and it was opened as the Society's No. 14 Branch, in the month of March, with Mr. J. Ibberson as storekeeper. - In August the Committee decided to begin

the sale of watches and jewellery in the Drapery Depart- ment. A licence was obtained, rules for a Watch Club were adopted, and ten shares were taken up in the Coventry Co-operative Watch Manufacturing Co. On August 27th the new stables to accommodate twenty horses, were opened at Deadwaters, with much rejoicing, in the shape of a tea and meeting held in the Victoria Hall. At this time, also, extensive alterations and additions were made to the Central Stores. The Committee gave much con- sideration to the question of allowing joint membership in the Society. The late Mr. E. V. Neale's opinion was sought upon the matter, and the July report announces :-

We have decided to allow a man and his wife to enter con- jointly in cases where such persons have more than {50 invested in the funds of the Society, which will avoid the necessity of having to take out letters of administration in case of the husband's death.

This step has no doubt been a great boon in quite a number of cases. On December Iyth the fifteenth Branch of the Society was opened at Aspley, with Mr. J. Dobson as storekeeper, who was transferred from New- some Branch.

On February IIth, 1882, the sixteenth Branch was opened at Outlane in a cottage, no other premises being available at the time. Mr. Henry Crawshaw was

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100 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

appointed as storekeeper. .And now I have to record an interesting event in the Society's history, viz., its ' coming- of-age." It having been in existence for a period of twenty-one years, the Committee wisely decided to celebrate the fact with becoming dignity. 'The Society had now nearly 7,000 members, a capital of £85,000, and was doing a business of £98,000 in the half year, with a net profit of £13,000. - Surely there were good reasons for rejoicing ! Therefore, on Saturday, March 25th, the celebration took place. A tea was provided in Ramsden Street Schoolroom, to which 1,500 persons sat down. Tea being over, an adjournment was made to the Town Hall, where about 2,500 persons assembled, and a public meeting was held, the President of the Society (Mr. Jas. Broadbent) being in the chair. The proceedings opened with the hymn, " The Nobleness of Labour," composed by Eliza Cook, and sung to the tune of " Old Hundred." The Secretary (Mr. Prentis) read a history of the Society. Addresses were delivered by the Chairman, Mr. Samuel Learoyd, Mr. J. T. W. Mitchell (President of the Co- operative Wholesale Society), Mr. E. O. Greeaing (London), Mr. J. Crabtree (Heckmondwike), and Mr. Thos. Bland. On that occasion the President (Mr. J. Broadbent, who is still our President, though twenty- eight years have elapsed) said " If there was one thing more than another in connection with the festival that they ought to feel proud of, it was the fact that their Society had attained its present position entirely through the management of working men." Mr. S. Learoyd, the Society's solicitor, said :-*" Let their Society be a model to guide them, or at any rate a pattern that they could follow. Let this be their pattern. Unite together against all that is false and all that is unworthy ; co- operate together in all that is pure and true. Let heart be united to heart, let life be united to life in all that which could make the men and women of this vast town useful and good.'" Mr. Mitchell said " Co-operation was that noble truth which lifted the humblest out of the miry clay of poverty. It kept men out of debt. It was the

Page 101

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Page 105

CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 105.

most honest system of trading involved in these modern days. If the principle of Co-operation was more per- manently established, his opinion was that wars would be less likely on the continent of Europe and also in other parts of the world. They knew the old motto that

'Unity is Strength.'" Mr. Greening wrote a long and interesting article, which appeared the following week in the Co-operative News, describing the celebration, from which I quote the following :-

The Committee had hired the largest available schoolroom in the town ; there were four parties to take tea in succession, and it was a sight to be remembered to see the room packed full within, and the approaches crammed by a waiting multitude outside. The exits were crowded with a stream of people coming out, satis- faction and content visible on all faces, but words of grumbling on many lips. Not at the fare, but at the unparalleled squeezing which had been undergone by the guests. The grumblings were mostly from ladies, who, apparently, could boast the three " F's," fair, fat, and -; well, no, we will stop short of that last act of recklessness-the guessing at a lady's age. " I'll never go to another party as long as I live," said one buxom, ruddy-faced Yorkshire woman emphatically to a Committee-man standing by me. " Go along," he replied, " you'll all be satisfied when it is over."" And, surely enough, he proved a true prophet, if one may judge by the wondrous assemblage of pleased and happy people who subsequently filled every corner of the Town Hall, orchestra, double galleries, and floor of the hall. There were nearly 2,000 to tea. I should say there must have been nearly 3,000 at the meet- ing. And a better-tempered audience never assembled to listen to music and speeches. They cheered every song. They cheered every speech. They cheered the Secretary's report of their twenty-one years' work, as well indeed they might. They laughed heartily at Mr. Learoyd's well-timed jokes and illustra- tions. They cheered lustily Mr. Mitchell's vigorous phrases. They applauded even my own facts and statistics-a sure sign of a good-humoured audience. They greeted Mr. Crabtree and Mr. Bland like old friends doubly welcome, and they passed the vote of thanks to their Chairman and President with a Kentish fire of a kind to warm the heart of the honoured recipient. I need not say how the whole audience joined in the grand " Old Hundred " tune, to which was sung the " Hymn to Labour," or how they lent their voices to help the chorus of " God Save the Queen." Every Yorkshireman and Yorkshirewoman is a born singer, I firmly believe, and whenever Yorkshire Societies go in for educa- tion funds and establish Co-operative institutes in connection with their Stores, there will be singing classes of a magnitude to

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106 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

astonish H.R.H. the Prince of Wales and the Royal College of Music he is establishing. But here our Yorkshire Co-operators fail us. Huddersfield, with all its material prosperity, has no educational fund. Worse still, it has once had an education fund in force for two years, from 1866 to 1868, and the members have abolished it. On three occasions since they have voted by large majorities against re-establishing one. What can be the reason for this strange want of appreciation by such an eminently prac- tical people of the most valuable of all things in this world ? Is it the too great love of material wealth, of money, and the solid comforts money can buy ?: - Or is it a misapprehension of the objects of Co-operative education ? Or is it the strong Yorkshire feeling of independence which makes each man desire to have the separate spending of his own share of the common profits as far as

possible ?

The Society has, fortunately, changed its policy upon the education question 'since Mr. Greening wrote this article, as the reader will see later on in our story.

In June tenders were accepted for the erection of thirty-two dwelling-houses at Deadwaters. In August the Committee decided to begin the pork butchering business in the new premises at Buxton Road. At this time the Society had a staff of workmen on the premises capable of repairing 300 pairs of boots and shoes per week. New bespoke work was also undertaken, and in September it was resolved to open a Clogging Department as well. This year Mr. J. Wood entered the office as clerk, although he had previously acted as errand boy in the Drapery Department.

The report for January, 1883, shows the Committee had an artistic mind. It says :-

We have pleasure in stating that we have made arrangements with Mr. S. S. Priestley, Photographer, 28, Ramsden Street, whereby we can now supply family oil paintings and one dozen caries de visites for £2. 10s., and allow checks on the amount. Members may also get ordinary photographs from Mr. Priestley, upon which checks will be allowed. Specimens on view at various Stores.

What is it that Co-operation cannot do?: _ The report also says :-

The present half year will be noteworthy from the fact that for the first time in the history of the Society the turnover has

Page 107

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CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. III.

reached the magnificent sum of £100,000, the actual figures being {103,079. 19s. Early this year Butchering Branches were opened at Lindley and Moldgreen.

On February 27th Mr. A. G. Hendry resigned his position as a member of the Society's Committee. Mr. Hendry had rendered valuable services to the Society, and the Committee adopted the following resolution in recog- nition :- That the unanimous thanks of this Committee be given to Mr. Hendry for his unvarying conduct for the benefit of the Society during his connection with it, and express their deep regret at the

severance, but feel that it is through a feeling of duty to his family which causes him to withdraw himself from their midst.

Mr. Hendry was leaving the district for domestic reasons. Later on it was decided to present Mr. Hendry with a photographic group of the Committee, as a memento of their high regard, and framed copies were also ordered to be hung in the office and Committee-room of the Society. At this period the great Weavers' strike in this district was in progress, and the Committee thoughtfully facili- tated the prompt withdrawal of members' capital by passing a general resolution on April 3rd to allow members who applied, to withdraw down to 2s. during the strike without the usual notice. Unfortunately, during the long struggle many members were compelled to draw out their carefully saved capital in order to " keep the wolf from the Probably, had it not been for the existence of the Society, this capital would not have been available to fall back upon. Many times during great labour troubles, especially in the mining districts, have the Co-operative Societies been the salvation of the working classes. In consequence of these withdrawals the Society's capital during this half year, instead of show- ing the usual increase of about £7,000, suffered a reduction of £3,000. But the reduction was only temporary, and quickly recovered itself. The July report says :-

We have also made arrangements by which our members may purchase clothing of Messrs. H. Bowker and Co., King Street, and Messrs. Culley and Sons, Cross Church Street, in addition to Messrs. Bairstow, Sons, and Co.

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IT2 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

Surely the time was approaching for the Society to supply the clothing itself ! At the members' meeting in September the annual subscription to the Askern Bath Charity was increased from £1 to £5. In the latter part of the year another Butchering Branch was opened at Lockwood, and arrangements were made to supply the Milnsbridge members with meat at the Grocery Store. In November the Central Butcher's shop was removed to the corner of Princess Street. On December 6th the newly-erected Store at Aspley was opened, the stock having been transferred from the old shop. During all this year the Committee continued their active building operations. - Eight houses were built at Lindley and seven at Oakes. New Stores were also erected at Aspley and Cliffe End. Messrs. Knight and Jackson, a firm of painters occupying a portion of the Central premises, were notified to terminate their tenancy at the expira- tion of their lease, and in December tenders were accepted amounting to nearly £5,000 for the extension of the Buxton Road property into Princess Street. - Messrs. Abbey and Hanson were the architects for the Cliffe End Store and the Princess Street extension.

The report for January, 1884, announces the final payment from reserve fund for wiping out the loss of {£1,030 in the Union Land and Building Company, and a payment of £200 from the same fund to cover the loss in the Batley Manufacturing Company, which had just gone into liquidation also. The year following, a dividend of £79 was received from the former company. The Kirk- heaton Town Top Co-operative Society having requested us to purchase their freehold property and stock, it was agreed to do so, and a Branch of our Society was opened there in January, 1884. The Cliffe End Branch was opened in February. Mr. G. W. Spofforth was appointed storekeeper at the former Branch and Mr. S. Sandwell at the latter. On January 22nd the present engineman at the Central premises (Mr. Jonathan Hirst) was appointed. On February Iqth tenders were accepted

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Page 117

CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. II"

for the erection of a new Branch Store at Outlane. The July report says that a Butchering Branch had been opened at Aspley, and arrangements made whereby the members at Lowerhouses and Newsome may obtain meat at the Grocery Stores. The report also announced that

The Committee are prepared to open Penny Banks in connection with the Stores of the Society, if twelve members of any Branch intimate their desire to have one ; the Committee will call a meet- ing of the members of such Branch, and if they are found favour- able to it a bank will be established.

In the following November it was decided to open a Savings Bank at the Cliffe End Store. In the summer of this year the Society's rules were revised, and some important alterations were made, including the follow- ing :-The number of the Committee was reduced from twenty-two to twelve and a President ; auditors were to be elected by the members at the quarterly meetings, instead of by the Committee ; and £200 was fixed as the limit of investment under the joint membership rule. At this time the Society was troubled with having too much surplus capital, and the quarterly meeting decided " that the capital of the Society be reduced to £150 per member from the Ist of August next." Another device to meet the difficulty was the attempt to reduce the interest allowed upon capital from 5 to 4% per cent. This the Committee recommended should be done, but the quarterly meeting in December negatived the recom- mendation. It is much to be regretted that Co-operators are not in a position to successfully utilise all the money at their command, and it is specially unfortunate when they have to refuse to receive the savings which their members have been trained and assisted in making. At the close of this year the Aspley Co-operative Millwright and Engineering Company unfortunately wound up its business, but the loss on the £50 invested by our Society was only £6. os. fod.

In January, 1885, the engagement of Mr. Lawson as Central Drapery Manager was terminated, and in April

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I18 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

Mr. A. Ackroyd (Doncaster) was appointed. The quar- terly meeting in March again resolved not to entertain the question of altering the rate of interest. During this half year the present commodious premises in Princess Street, occupied by the Tailoring and Butchering Depart- ments, were completed. The Society's connection with the private tailoring firms was terminated, and Mr. Alexander George was appointed Manager of the new Tailoring Department. As he, however, resigned in the following November, Mr. Jas. Dyson was then appointed as his successor. In August tenders were accepted for the erection of the present commodious drapery establish- ment at the corner of Princess Street, which site was formerly occupied partly by the butcher's shop and partly by the old draper's shop. At the quarterly meet- ing in September, an important resolution was adopted, viz., to accept the recommendation of the Committee '' that the accounts of the Society be balanced quarterly instead of half yearly." It was also decided to subscribe {5 to the Lloyd Jones Testimonial Fund, and to increase the subscription to the Infirmary from £10. tos. to £15 I5s. On September 15th Mr. S. Pierson, the present courteous Manager of the Central Shoe Department, was appointed. Saturday, October Ioth, was another red- letter day in the Society's history, when its twenty-fifth anniversary was celebrated. Tea was provided in the Ramsden Street and George Street Schoolrooms and in Queen Street Assembly-room. Afterwards a large meet- ing was held in the Town Hall, under the chairmanship of Mr. Jas. Broadbent (President of the Society). Addresses were delivered by Messrs. J. T. W. Mitchell and William Maxwell (Presidents of the English and Scottish Wholesale Societies), also by Messrs. J. Crabtree (Heckmondwike), S. Learoyd, Geo. Thomson, and Thos. Bland. Songs and glees interspersed the speeches. Mr. Learoyd, in con- cluding his eloquent address, said :-

What of our Jubilee? I hope then to see you, sir (the Chair- man), ripened into golden old age, occupying the same post of honour which you fill to-night. I bargain that I may be one of your speakers ; not in this hall, but in the hall of the future-the

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Ourtranr BrancH (Grocery and Butchering).

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CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. I2I

Co-operators' own hall. And then, though I may come a wrinkled old man, tottering upon my crutches, I will hope to hear from masters and from men alike one more motto added to your noble principles. Let this be, " The interests of masters and of men are one.""

Alas ! Mr. Learoyd has departed this life many years ago ; the " Co-operators' own hall "' is too small in which to celebrate our Jubilee, but, fortunately, Mr. Broadbent (the President) still lives among us, and occupies the Presidential chair to-day. On the motion of Mr. Black (President of the Brighouse Society), seconded by Mr. Wm. Howe, a comprehensive vote of thanks was passed by the assembled audience. Mr. Learoyd printed a twelve-paged pamphlet, containing a full report of the meeting, for free circulation, and the Committee passed a vote of thanks to him for his generosity. On November 17th the late Mr. J. Burgess was appointed clerk in the Wholesale Department. In December the rules for the election of Committee were again altered, and it was decided to have a Committee of fourteen, and they be grouped and elected in districts.

On January 16th, 1886, a very interesting event took place in celebration of the Society's twenty-fifth anniver- sary. At the general members' meeting held in the previous December the Committee was empowered to give a free tea to the aged members of the Society over sixty-five years of age, and also their wives. This was carried out on January 16th in the Queen Street Assembly- room. After tea Mr. Broadbent occupied the chair, and an entertainment of songs and recitations was given ; Mr. T. Bland gave a short address, and a pleasant evening was spent. In the April quarter another Butchering Branch was opened at Milnsbridge. About this period the Committee several times nominated Mr. Cornelius Wheawill (the Society's auditor) for a similar post in connection with the Co-operative Wholesale Society, but he was not successful in being elected. In July Mr. G. F. Brooke, who died during the present year, resigned his seat on the Committee, which he had loyally served for

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122 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

six years. At the quarterly meeting in November it was decided to invest £1,000 as share capital in Messrs. Wm. Thomson and Sons Limited, Woodhouse Mills, which Mr. George Thomson had just previously converted into a Co-operative Copartnership concern. Twenty-four years have now elapsed, and the investment has proved a valuable one throughout the entire period. At this time, the Society having plenty of spare capital, the fact exer- cised the minds of the members a good deal, and various efforts were made to cope with it. Six freehold houses were built at Yew Green, Lockwood, with Mr. J. Berry as architect. A large number of investments were made in Co-operative Productive Societies, such as the Printing society, Paisley Manufacturing Society, Keighley Iron- works, and Leicester Hosiery Society. Additional shares were taken up in the Insurance Company, the C.W.S., and Sowerby Bridge Flour Society. This year also five resolutions were submitted at the quarterly meetings either to reduce the rate of interest paid upon members' capital, or to reduce the amount of capital, but in every case they were rejected.

In February, 1887, the present commodious draper's shop at the corner of Princess Street was completed and duly opened. At the quarterly meeting in February the members adopted a recommendation of the Committee that the share capital be reduced from £150 to £100 per member, and that it continue to bear interest at 5 per cent. At the May meeting Messrs. Fielden and Stevens attended and addressed the members as a deputation from the Manchester Company, inviting the Society to take up shares. The deputation were thanked for their " lucid statement," and the meeting resolved to take up 200 £10 shares in the Canal Company. - This question had been discussed and adjourned from three previous meetings. Certainly up to the present time the investment has not proved a direct financial success, though how far the Society has benefited by a reduction in the cost of carriage it would be difficult to say. The {£2,000 has, up to this date, been written down in our

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CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 12%

Society's books to £400. In April tenders were accepted for the erection of a new Store at Kirkheaton, on freehold ground, for which Mr. J. Berry was the architect. At the August meeting it was decided to take £1,000 from the Reserve fund to form an Insurance fund, which should bear interest like share capital. In November Mr. Walker Bottomley (the present Manager of the Bespoke Tailoring Department) was first engaged as a youth in the department. At the November meeting it was resolved to double the Society's subscription to the Infirmary, viz., from £15. ISs. to £31. It was also decided to increase the non-members' dividend to Is. 8d. in the £. During this year the Butchering Department was very prosperous. The dividend each quarter was higher than the general dividend paid for the other departments, on one occasion being actually 3s. 4d. in the £. Consequently, no fewer than five Butchering Branches were opened this year, viz., Outlane, Kirk- heaton, Marsh, Primrose Hill, and Northumberland Street. There was great activity in other departments as well. During the year the following departments were also commenced :-Dressmaking, Furnishing (in the basement of the draper's shop), Bakery, and Confec- tionery. ‘

In April, 1888, tenders were accepted for the erection of a new Store at Bradley, on leasehold ground, and in July considerable structural alterations and additions were made at the Newsome Store. Mr. J. Berry was the architect in both cases. At the August meeting the question of reducing the interest on share capital was again- discussed on the recommendation of the Com- mittee, but the resolution was again rejected. In the October report the Committee announced that " after due consideration we have decided to proceed with the erection of twenty-one houses on the vacant piece of land at Primrose Hill."" During this quarter still another Butchering Branch was opened at Greenside.

In January, 1889, the Committee decided to open a Butchering Branch at Aspley. At the quarterly meeting

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126 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

in February £5 was voted to the Holyoake annuity fund, and it was resolved to increase the Society's investment in the Sowerby Bridge Flour Society by £2,000, thus making a total sum of £4,000 in that successful concern. At this meeting also the important question of reduction of interest on share capital was settled for some years. This subject had been a bone of contention for about three years. Time after time at the quarterly meetings the matter was eagerly discussed, no fewer than thirteen resolutions and amendments being submitted for decision. - But at the above meeting a resolution proposed by the present writer was adopted by 155 votes to 146, reducing the interest from 5 to 44 per cent. As showing the extensive trade done in Flour at this time I may point out that in February the Committee decided to place orders for 5,000 packs from the Sowerby Bridge Flour Society, and 2,500 packs from the Halifax Society, a total of 7,500 packs, the largest order given by the Society for this commodity up to this date. In the January report the Committee said they had incurred the cost of a tea meeting, in order to bring themselves " into closer and more friendly contact with the Managers of the various Branches and departments." During this year £5 was voted towards the Co-operative Lifeboat No. 3, and also £5. 5s. to the testimonial on behalf of Mr. and Mrs. E. T. Craig,* early pioneers in the Co-operative movement. The Society's coal trade was evidently prospering at this time ; in September tenders were accepted for eight coal wagons at £56 each, and a contract was entered into for the supply of 5,000 tons of nuts coal. The October report says :- _ The colliery proprietors have again raised the price of this class of coal, and we have some difficulty in executing orders with anything like promptitude. During the past quarter we. have sent out over 2,400 tons of best nuts alone. The report also said, " We are now doing a steadily in- creasing trade in wringing machines." On September 30th it was decided to join the Co-operative Union, a step which has proved beneficial to the Society in many ways.

* See Chapter i!., page 25.

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Page 129

CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 120

On January 15th, 1890, a tea and social gathering was again given to the employees, the same having been authorised at the previous quarterly meeting. Two hundred and forty persons attended the tea. The April report said :- We wish to draw the attention of the members to the great inconvenience of the custom, which appears to be on the increase, of members making their regular purchases from Stores not situated in their own districts. This entails not only inconveni-

ence, but increased cost in carrying out the goods, and we trust that members will avoid the practice in all cases where possible.

The reader may remember that in 1860 it was decided not to carry goods home for members. In April tenders were accepted for the erection of a Branch Store, butcher's shop, and four cottages, on freehold land at Oakes, and in November for a butcher's shop and cottage at Bradley, Mr. J. Berry being the architect in both cases. At the August quarterly meeting it was decided to take up 200 {1 shares in the Eccles Manufacturing Society. _ In September the Committee received a memorial from the office clerks asking for a reduction of office hours, which was acceded to. On October 18th the thirtieth anniver- sary of the Society was held. All the Stores were closed at 2 p.m., to enable the employees to join in the festivities. Teas were held in the Armoury (now the Hippodrome), Milton Church School, Queen Street Assembly-room, and Victoria Hall, followed by a large meeting in the Town Hall. Mr. J. Broadbent occupied the chair, and addresses were given by Mr. J. T. W. Mitchell (President of the Co-operative Wholesale Society), the Rev. T. G. Davies, M.A. (Vicar of Batley), and Councillor T. Bland. At the November quarterly meeting it was decided to revise the society's rules, and the following four members were chosen, along with five to be elected by the General Com- mittee, as the Revision Committee :-Messrs. Ellis Gee, R. Ledger, Owen Balmforth, and the late Samuel Sykes. By 120 votes against 70 it was again decided to give the annual tea to the employees about Christmas. On the motion of Mr. Fred L. Dyson the following resolution was adopted :-" That we discontinue purchasing Birkenhead

Page 130

130

meat."

CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

At this time special arrangements were made

by the Committee for the sale of turkeys, geese, rabbits, &c., during the Christmas season.

the ten years :-

The following figures show the Society's progress for

AyYerag© |Butc'ers Date. 1511913052. (3831131521. Sales. Profit. Giff,” ' Agf‘zfoge Dividend. Year ended e £ { |Inthef.\In the {£. July, 1881 ...... 6346 | 79783 | 176777 | 23795 | 2/9 1/2} , - 1882 ...... 7093 92588 | 197338 | 26445 | 2/84 I /4 , - 1883 ...... 7611 96429 | 206164 | 26388 | 2/7} 1/3} ) - 1884 ...... 8o13 | 106012 | 204991 | 27319 | 2/9 1/6} , - 1889 ...... 8141 | 107708 | 185617 | 23065 | 2/7 1/6} , - 1886 ...... 7812 | 115156 | 192179 | 24666 | 2/7 2/)7¢% , _ 1887 ...... 8316 | 109656 | 233344 | 34349 | 2/10% | 3/2% , - 1888 ...... 8552 | 122025 | 263381 | 35906 | 2/9 3/- , - 1889 ...... 8895 | 132626 | 280653 | 38842 | 2/10 2/09% , - I890 ...... 9319 | 140549 | 287560 | 40210 | 2/10 2/10 Ten Y's' Total .

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Page 133

CHAPTER VIII.

~Progress of the Society (continued) 1891-1900.

mmm

When wealth no more shall rest in mounded heaps, But smit with freer light shall slowly melt In many streams, to fatten lower lands, And light shall spread, and man be liker man Thro' all the season of the golden year.

mmmmmmmmn®

Four Additional Branches Opened-Earlier Closing of Shops- Buxton Road Lease Renewed-Manningham Strike Contribu- tion-Subscriptions to Charities Delayed-Twenty more Coal Wagons-John Street Premises-British or Foreign Meat- Rules again Revised-John Street Tearoom Opened-Death of Mr. Waiter Turner-New Butchering and Drapery Managers Appointed-Resignation of Mr. R. Baimforth-Electric Light- Distress Fund-New Engine Started-Three New Shops in Buxton Road-Uniform Dividend-Parinting of Property- Farm at Dry Clough-Surplus Capital once more-{250 Gift to the Infirmary and Annual Subscription again Increased- Congress in Huddersfielad-More Savings Banks and Butchering Branches-Dividend 35s. 34. in the {-Queen's Diamond Jubilee Donation-Victoria Hall Property Purchased-Town Hall Making Begun-Artificial Teeth-Engineer- ing Trade Lockout-Mr. Prentis Slandered-Brownfield's Guild Pottery-Strong Room-W orkshops and Houses at Deadwaters- Well Sinking Delegates - Painting Department Opened-Blacksmith's Shop-CUCattle Slaughtered-New Bake- house Built-Dividend Drops to 2s. 74d.-Ten Years' Trade.

N March, 1891, tenders were accepted for the erection l of No. zo Branch Store, Butcher's Shop, and five houses on leasehold land at Thornton Lodge ; and in November for a Butcher's Shop and four houses on freehold land at Cliffe End, Mr. J. Berry being appointed architect in both cases. At the quarterly meeting held on February

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134 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

28th a resolution, proposed by Mr. Allen Gee, was carried in favour of the earlier closing of the Central and Branch Stores. The hours agreed upon (which varied on different days) were not accepted as satisfactory by the Committee, who called a special meeting of members the following month to re-consider the question. At this meeting, on the recommendation of the Committee, the previous resolution was rescinded, and it was decided to curtail the employees' hours of labour by two hours per week in addition to the weekly half-holiday. The Committee, at the same time, promised to consider the question further in the autumn by the light of the experience then gained, but when the time arrived they announced that they were unable to recommend any further reduction of hours. On March 31st Mr. Hy. Bates was appointed night watch- man at the Central Stores. On April 25th the newly- erected Store at Oakes was opened with Mr. Hugh Pearce as storekeeper. In June the Committee instructed the Society's solicitor (Mr. S. Learoyd) to apply to Sir J. W. Ramsden's agent for a renewal of the Buxton Road lease, and in December the Committee agreed to pay the sum of £815 as a fine for its renewal. This fact furnishes a useful object lesson of the working of the land system in this country. The site had, undoubtedly, improved in value, but the natural question arises :-Did the land- lord or the community create this improved value? And if the latter, ought not the community to have received the reward ?> Happily, the Budget, which became law last April, has to some extent rectified such anomalies. At the November quarterly meeting it was decided, for the fourth time in succession, to give the annual Christ- mas tea to the employees. It was also resolved, on the motion of Mr. R. Ledger, to suspend for six months the resolution adopted twelve months previously-to dis- continue purchasing Birkenhead meat. During the year a question arose which caused considerable agitation and difference of opinion among the members of the Society and, in fact, among Co-operators generally throughout the country. There is no necessity now to enter upon a

Page 135

OarkeEs BrancH (Grocery).

as

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CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 137

lengthy detailed statement of the case, but this history would be incomplete if the facts were not briefly stated. In the early part of the year a great strike was in progress at the mills of Messrs. Lister and Co., Manningham, Bradford. At a special meeting of members of our Society held in the Armoury on March 21st, which had been convened for other business, it was decided to sub- scribe £20 from the reserve fund " to the relief of the persons on strike." The Committee doubted the legality of the vote. They took the advice of Mr. S. Learoyd, solicitor, who supported them, and they declined to forward the £20. In consequence of this, the present writer, at the following quarterly meeting on May 30th, proposed the following resolution of which he had given due notice according to rule :-

That in view of the existing distress caused by the late Manningham strike, the Committee be instructed to forward forthwith to the strike fund (which is still open) the sum of £20.

This resolution was carried by ninety-nine votes to forty-seven. The Committee, however, still declined to carry out the resolution, in consequence of Mr. Learoyd's advice. On the other hand, Mr. Crabtree (the Society's official auditor), eminent authorities like Mr. E. V. Neale (General Secretary of the Co-operative Union), and Judge Hughes, Q.C., all declared the foregoing resolution to be perfectly legal. Societies in Lancashire and the Wholesale Society itself had made grants to similar objects; but the Committee remained firm in their refusal. In June the Committee, through Mr. Learoyd, obtained the opinion of the Huddersfield County Court Judge to the effect that the resolution was illegal. Then followed correspondence in the Press, and two special meetings of the Society, which proved of a very animated character, and at which several resolutions and amendments were proposed. Eventually, the assistance of the Co-operative Union was obtained, and that body-recognising the great importance of the question which, as it stood, threatened the legality of all

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138 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

charitable donations, even those made to infirmaries and hospitals-appealed to the High Court of Justice in London against the decision of the local County Court Judge. Months afterwards the High Courts upheld that decision, and therefore the £20 was never paid. The decision had an effect unforeseen when it was first sought to be obtained. In the October report appeared the following paragraph :-

The Committee beg to recommend to the members the advisability of taking into consideration some means of raising the subscriptions now due to the Huddersfield Infirmary and Manchester Eye Hospital by voluntary effort, as they cannot be paid out of the Society's funds in the present undecided state of the law.

In consequence of this, the Society's rules had to be altered in the year following to make it possible to con- tinue these praiseworthy grants.

The report for January, 1892, shows that the number of members then stood at 10,081. This was the highest figure yet reached, and the same remark applies to the amount of capital, sales, and profits. Well might the report say, " Our Society continues to make the most satisfactory progress, and we think the members have

every cause for congratulation at the stability and prosperity which these figures indicate." In January ten new coal wagons were ordered at over £50 each, and in November another ten were ordered, thus proving the increasing trade done in this department. In January the property of the Primrose Hill Working Men's Co- operative Society was taken.over. On February 6th the new Store at Thornton Lodge was opened, with Mr. S. W. Turton as storekeeper. At the quarterly meeting in February the following resolution was passed :-

That the Committee be empowered to pull down and rebuild the old portion of the Central Stores, and also to alter the premises leased in John Street.

The Committee lost no time in carrying this out. Mr. J. Berry was appointed architect, and on April 4th tenders

Page 139

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CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. I4I

were accepted for extensive alterations at the temporary premises in John Street. On June 2nd tenders were also accepted for pulling down and rebuilding the old premises in Buxton Road, making provision for three shops, and, meanwhile, the Grocery, Shoe, and Confectionery Depart- ments were transferred into John Street. At the May meeting the members resolved to leave it to the Com- mittee to decide where they should purchase meat, that is, whether English or foreign. This summer four special meetings of members were held for the purpose of revising the Society's rules. The most momentous change in the rules was that which provided for the appropriation of one per cent of the net profits to an educational fund, to be managed by a specially elected Educational Committee. Other changes provided for a set of standing orders govern- ing the procedure at members' meetings, and the following important limitation in the disposal of profits :-" No part of the profits shall be devoted to any religious, political, or trade union purpose."" The two latter alterations were echoes of the differences aroused in the previous year in connection with the proposed grant of {20 to the relief of the strikers at Manningham Mills, Bradford. In August Mr. Thomas Bland retired from the Committee, and they passed a resolution of regret and tendered him their best thanks for the valuable services he had rendered. On August 27th a Tearoom, or Restaurant, was opened in John Street in connection with the Confectionery Department. In October the death occurred of Mr. Walter Turner (the Wholesale Grocery Manager and Buyer). The quarterly report for October 3Ist contained the following reference to the loss of this faithful servant :-

Mr. Turner was an old and valued servant, having been in the employ of the Society over twenty years, and during that time he commanded the respect of all with whom he came in contact. We are sure that every one of our members who knew him will unite with us in paying tribute to his memory.

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142 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

In December Mr. J. Burgess was appointed to succeed Mr. Turner. During the latter part of the year a Butcher- ing Branch was opened at Cliffe End, and Branches for the sale of drapery and boots were opened at Lockwood and Primrose Hill. For four years the Society had given a tea to the employees at Christmas time, but this year the Committee resolved, in consequence of the depressed state of trade, not to ask the members for permission to give the tea. On December r2th Mr. J. H. Oxley was appointed as drapery assistant in the Central Depart-

ment.

In January, 1893, the services of Mr. J. T. Beatson (Manager of the Butchering Department) were terminated, and on February 16th Mr. Geo. Tomlinson was appointed his successor. On January 23rd the Committee decided to nominate the Secretary (Mr. Prentis) as a member of the Infirmary Board. At the quarterly meeting in May it was decided to invite the Co-operative Congress to meet in Huddersfield in 1895, an invitation which, in due course, as will be seen later, was accepted. On July 17th Mr. James Mosley was appointed as Manager of the Drapery Department, a position which he still energetically fills. At the quarterly meeting in August £100 additional share capital was taken up in the Co-operative Newspaper Society, and the sum of {100 was voted towards the Thornhill Colliery Relief Fund, which had been opened for the benefit of the sufferers from a recent colliery explosion. In September Mr. Ramsden Balmforth - resigned his position as office clerk, consequent upon his resolve to enter into training for the Unitarian Ministry. At the quarterly meeting in November it was decided to instal the electric light in the whole of the new Central premises. - The sum of £50 was also placed at the disposal of the Directors for the purpose of relieving the distress caused by the dispute in the coal industry and general depression of trade.

In January, 1894, Miss Crombie was appointed assis- tant in the Boot Department. During the summer the

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CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 145

patent cash railway system was installed in the Drapery Department, and a refrigerator, or cold storage, was put down in the Central premises; also in June the engine which had been erected behind the Buxton Road premises was formally started by the President (Mr. J. Broadbent) and appropriately named " Industry." - This summer the new premises in Buxton Road were com- pleted. Three new shops were opened for gentlemen's outfitting and furnishing, the Grocery Department also being brought back from John Street. The quarterly report for July revealed the fact that the profits in the Butchering Department only allowed a dividend of 9d. in the £. Unfortunately, the sales in this department had been seriously decreasing for some time, and the

Committee decided to change their policy of only pur- chasing English meat, and exercise their discretionary power to buy meat in any or every market. At the Co-operative Congress, which was held at Sunderland in May of this year, Mr. J. Broadbent (our President) proposed, and the present writer seconded, a resolution inviting the Congress to meet in Huddersfield the year following. The resolution was carried, and on Saturday, July 28th, the first delegate meeting of local Societies was held at the Buxton Road premises to make the necessary preliminary arrangements.

At the quarterly meeting held in February, 1895, the recommendation of the Directors was adopted to pay a uniform dividend in future in all departments. This resolution, to include the butchering dividend in the general dividend, was adopted in order to increase the sale of meat among the members of the Society. In conse- quence of the prevailing distress the meeting granted a further £50 to the Directors for distribution in suitable cases, and also empowered them to subscribe to any local fund promoted for a similar purpose. Accordingly, the Directors forwarded £20 to the public fund opened by the Mayor of the Borough for relief of distress. At the quarterly meeting in May the sum of £250 was voted from

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146 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

the reserve fund for painting and decorating the Central and Branch premises, and at the following meeting in August a further sum of £400 was voted for the same purpose. On July 22nd Miss Bottomley was appointed check clerk in the Drapery Department. - In the balance sheet for July appears the first entry of our Society's "Farm account." This is the farm, situate at Dry Clough, Crosland Moor, acquired for the pasturage of cattle pur- chased by the Society. In September it was decided to put the electric light in the John Street property, the Corporation having previously refused the Society permission to carry the electric wires underground across from Buxton Road. In October Messrs. Rippon Bros.' tender was accepted for a van for the Drapery Depart- ment. This year the Society again began to feel the burden of surplus capital, and consequently some large investments were made, among which may be mentioned the following :-f£100 in shares and £100 in loan capital to the Brownfield Guild Pottery Society ; 1oo £1 shares in Oldham Hide and Skin Company ; twenty £1 shares in Leek Silk Twist Manufacturing Society; £500 share capital in Colne Vale Corn Millers' Society ; £100 share and £100 loan capital in the Macclesfield Silk Manufacturing Society. At the quarterly meeting in November it was decided by a nearly unanimous vote

to subscribe the generous sum of £250 to the special building fund of the Huddersfield Infirmary. In December the Committee purchased the property adjoining our Store at Greenside, belonging to Mr. Thos. Hudson, for the sum of £950. Of course, the outstanding event in the Society's history during this year was the holding of the Annual Co-operative Congress in Hudders- field. This took place on June 3rd, 4th, and 5th. The Congress was, as usual, preceded by the annual meeting of the Central Board, which was held on Saturday morn- ing, June Ist, in the Town Hall Reception-room. The Mayor (Ald. J. J. Brook) attended this meeting and gave the delegates a civic welcome. At noon the local Recep- tion Committee entertained the members of the Central

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CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 147

Board to a luncheon at the George Hotel. Invited guests included His Honour Judge Hughes (author of " Tom Brown's Schooldays "), Messrs. Geo. J. Holyoake, Geo. Thomson, the three local Congress preachers, S. Learoyd, and others, making the total number present about I50. Mr. James Broadbent presided. Mr. Holyoake said he had been to every Congress but one since the Congresses began, and so had become a connoisseur of Reception

Committees, but he might safely say he had never seen the work better done." An exhibition of the manufac- tures of Co-operative Productive Societies was held in the Armoury and Queen Street Assembly-room, and remained open until Wednesday evening. About fifty- eight Societies sent exhibits. The exhibition was opened on the Saturday afternoon by the present writer, who was then the Chairman of our Society's Educational Committee. In the evening the Town Hall was filled by an audience to listen to a concert by the Huddersfield Philharmonic Society, and to addresses by Messrs. E. O. Greening, W. Maxwell, and S. Learoyd. - On Sunday three special sermons were preached bearing on Co-operation, in the morning at the Unitarian Church by the Rev. Ramsden Balmforth (formerly a clerk in our Society's office), in the afternoon at the Parish Church by the Rev. W. F. Norris, M.A., and in the evening at Highfield Chapel by the Rev. Dr. Bruce, M.A. On Monday morning the three days' sitting of the Congress began in the Town Hall, and was attended by about 1,000 delegates. Mr. George Thomson (the President) delivered the inaugural address. On the second day Councillor Thomas Bland, J.P., was the President, and on the third day Mr. Jas. Broadbent. The Congress sat each day in the morn- ing and afternoon. On Monday evening the Town Hall was crowded for a concert-meeting under the auspices of the Educational Committee and Women's Guild. On Tuesday afternoon the Women's Guild held a garden party in Mr. Thomson's grounds at Woodhouse Hall, and in the evening there was a conversazione in the Town Hall, including music and addresses. On each day of the

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148 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

Congress a monstre luncheon was provided for the delegates. On the suggestion of the late Mr. Thomas Blandford the delegates were asked to make a collection of, say, 6d. each, to leave behind them some permanent memorial of their visit. This was officially sanctioned, about £24 was given, and a piano in the exhibition was purchased and presented to the Infirmary. The pre- sentation was made on Monday, July 8th. A deputation consisting of Messrs. J. Broadbent, Henry Hirst, A. Smith, J. T. Prentis, and the present writer, visited the Infirmary, and Mr. Broadbent formally handed the piano over. He emphasised the fact that the gift was the outcome of a spontaneous wish on the part of the delegates to the recent Congress to recognise the warmth of the reception they met with on that occasion. Mr. J. J. Grist (one of the Infirmary Governors) then played on the instrument '" The Old Folks at Home." The President (Mr. Wm. Mallinson) accepted the gift on behalf of the Governors with thanks. Mr. J. Woodhead, J.P., also acknowledged the gift in a few appreciative words. The entire Congress gatherings were a huge success. The Co-operative News said "The Huddersfield Society rose to the occasion in a manner previously unsurpassed, and the arrangements for the comfort and entertainment of the delegates-by no means unimportant factors in securing the success of the gathering-was admirable." The press gave most elaborate reports, both local, provincial, and London. The Bradford Observer gave altogether about twenty- eight columns of information of the Congress, describing the town in which it was held, and giving a history of the Co-operative movement. «The published balance sheet of the Congress showed the total income, comprising subscriptions, advertisements in Guide Book, &c., to be {1,031. os. 6d., while the expenditure reached £987 I3s. 8d., the balance of £43. 6s. being handed over to the Co-operative Union. The subscriptions were given by sixty Societies in the North-Western Section, the three largest items being £200 from our own Society, £150 from the C.W.S., and £50 from the Leeds Society.

Page 149

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The balance sheet dated January, 1896, shows that a Butchering Branch had been opened at Mirfield. In March the Butchering Branch at Rashcliffe was removed from a wooden erection into the present premises, which were taken on a lease from the late Mr. J. W. Sykes. Tenders were also accepted this month for the erection of

eight freehold houses at Greenside, Dalton, with Mr. J. Berry as architect. In April an elaborate scheme was adopted by the Directors, providing for the number of days' holiday per year to be allowed to all the employees, and also the length of time wages were to be paid during cases of sickness. On May 9th a special members' meeting was held, and it was decided, on the recommendation of the Directors, to make certain alterations in the rules. The most important change was the one fixing the rate of interest at 4% per cent up to £25, and at 3 per cent from £25 to £100, providing the members' purchases be not less than £4 per quarter ; if they were less, then the rate of interest to be 3 per cent only. At the quarterly meeting on May 16th it was decided to subscribe £50 to the Micklefield Colliery Relief Fund, and £5. 5s. to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. In November two special members' meetings were held, at which it was decided to amalgamate or take over two Societies in Almondbury, viz., the " Integrity " and " Perseverance." These were combined, and a Store re-opened as a Branch of our Society in the following January, with Mr. Wm. Milner as storekeeper. - During this year Penny Savings Banks were opened at the Milnsbridge and Moldgreen Stores. Again the Society had to consider the recurring question of surplus capital, and during this year very large invest- ments were made, including :-A second £2,000 (shares) in Halifax Flour Society, a second £500 in Colne Vale Corn Mill, a second £1,000 in Wm. Thomson's Limited, £780 shares and £190 loan in Leicester Hosiery Society, £100 shares and {100 loan in Bradford Cabinetmakers' Society, a further £300 loan in Brownfields Guild Pottery Society, a further £1,000 shares in Sowerby Bridge Flour

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192 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

Society, £400 loan in Co-operative Printing Society, a further £1,400 shares and £1,400 loan in Macclesfield Silk Manufacturing Society, £200 shares and £1,500 loan in the Burnley Self-help Cotton Spinning Company, loan of £100 in Dudley Bucket and Fender Society, and £200 loan in the Co-operative Productive Federation Limited. The balance sheet dated January 3st, 1897, shows that a Butchering Branch had been opened at Almond- bury. The dividend paid this quarter reached the exceptionally high figure of 3s. 3d. in the £. - The report explains that this was due " in a great measure to our having bought very large quantities of flour previous to the rapid advances which took place in the corn markets

some time ago." The quarterly meeting in February voted £50 to the Mayor's fund for relief of the Indian Famine, and £5 to the Cowdenheath disaster fund. The meeting also empowered the Directors " to erect premises as occasion requires to carry on the baking business, and to do our own wheelwright's and blacksmith's work." During April quarter a Penny Savings Bank was opened at Aspley. _ At the quarterly meeting on May 22nd it was unanimously agreed to increase the Society's annual subscription to the Infirmary from £31. to £50. It was also resolved :-

That the working hours of the employees engaged at the Central and Branch Stores, except the Butchering Department, be reduced one and a half hours per week, the arrangement of the times to be left with the Directors.

At this time there was considerable discussion among the members as to what contribution should be made towards the local fund to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. On the agenda for the above meeting no fewer than six notices of motion appeared in connection with this matter. Eventually these were narrowed down to the two following :-Directors' recommendation :

That we subscribe a sum not exceeding {100 to the Diamond Jubilee Fund, to be divided as follows :-{50 to the Nurses' Insti- tution, £25 to the Free Library, and £25 for local rejoicings.

Page 153

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CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 139

Motion by the Rev. R. Balmforth :

That we subscribe the sum of {£400 to the Mayor's fund for the establishment of a Free Library ; {100 to the fund for the establishment of a Nurses' Institute; and that the Committee be empowered to spend a sum not exceeding {50 in such ways as they may deem advisable in connection with the jubilee cele- brating the national and social progress of the past sixty years.

After considerable discussion the Directors' motion was carried by 340 votes to 140. At the following quarterly meeting on August 28th a very important resolution was adopted, confirming the recommendation of the Directors to purchase the Victoria Temperance Hall property and shops for the sum of £13,000. It was explained that the Society could not enter into possession of the property until two years had expired. On September IIth a festival was held " to celebrate the success and progress of the Society." Teas were provided in the Armoury, Victoria Hall, Queen Street Assembly-room, and for delegates from many neighbouring Societies in the Women's Guildroom. In the evening a meeting was held in the Town Hall, addressed by Mr. A. Scotton (Derby), Mr. Frank Hardern, J.P. (Oldham), and the Chairman (Mr. Jas. Broadbent). The Chairman, in tracing the progress of our Society's business, said " that during 1877 flour-one of our main articles of consumption-was from 2s. 8d. to 3s. per stone, whereas during 1887 the highest point reached was Is. 8d. per stone. In 1897 the price ranged from Is. 2d. to Is. 7d. per stone. Therefore, the increase in the amount of our sales, enormous as they had been, did not,by a long way, represent the increase in our trade, for during the above period all articles that are largely consumed had come down in price to an extent that customers of twenty years before would never have imagined, or even thought of." Mr. Scotton said our Society was making a net profit of £1,088 per week, £181 per day, £18 per working hour, and 6s. per minute. Mr. Scotton's address was very eloquent and convincing. It

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156 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

may help to brighten these pages if I quote the two following stories, the truth of which he vouched for. He said :-

I was one evening speaking on Co-operation in a Leicestershire village, when I said that everything that came into our house came from the Co-op. shop. A stout woman sitting in the front row called out, " Nay, master, that isn't true."" I repeated the words again, when she said, °" All except the children."" I turned to her and said, °° Yes, and they might have come from the Co-op. shop if there had been checks on them.'' Then she completely knocked me out of time by the remark, " Aye, master, I wish there had

been, for I've had sixteen of them ! *"

The other story was :-

Some of our opponents bring very strange objections against us. One of them said to me once, " I know you get a dividend,

but you have first to pay it in.'' I quite agreed. " Yes, that's quite true," said I, " but the difference between us is that I get

mine out after paying it in, whereas you pay it in and don't get it out."" Then I added, " Ah, but you do get something-sometimes a pound of candles at Christmas. They think you need a little

light ! *"

In October the Directors purchased the property in Alfred Street for £800, which is used for cabinet-making and repairing, and in the following month they purchased two plots of land at Greenside for £460, with the object of building houses for members. The report for October

30th says :-

We have made arrangements with a well-known dentist, Mr. Alfred Whitteron, 25, West Parade, whereby any of our members. requiring dentitial aid may obtain a coupon from Mr. Whitteron entitling them to receive checks for the full amount paid, which, at the rate of recent dividends, is equivalent to a discount of 15

per cent.

At this period there was a great lock-out in the engineering trade throughout the country, and on November 8th a deputation from the local engineers waited upon the Directors of the Society, as a result of which it was decided to allow boxes to be placed in all our shops to receive subscriptions towards relieving the distress caused thereby. At the next quarterly meeting in November it was also decided to place £150 at the disposal of the

Page 157

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CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 161

Directors to relieve the distress prevailing in this district. About this time certain vague unfounded rumours were afloat reflecting upon the character of Mr. Prentis as Secretary of the Society, and at the above meeting the following resolution was unanimously adopted on the motion of Mr. T. Bland, J.P., seconded by the present

writer :-

That this meeting protests against the slanderous reports that have been circulated respecting our Secretary, in whom we have unbounded confidence.

In December the Brownfield's Guild Pottery Society (in which our Society had £550 invested), unfortunately, had to enter into voluntary liquidation. In December, also, tenders were accepted for the erection of two houses and a Draper's and Butcher's Shop at Milnsbridge on freehold land, Mr. J. Berry being the architect. During this year further investments were made, including an additional £1,500 shares in Sowerby Bridge Flour Society,

a further £990 shares and £500 loan in Colne Vale Corn Mill, and further £300 shares in the C.W.S.

The report for January, 1898, announces the formation of a Penny Savings Bank at Thornton Lodge, and also the important fact that the sales for the quarter showed an increase of " more than £3,000 above the highest quarter on record."" Finally, it was stated that arrange- ments had been made with Messrs. Jno. E. Shaw and Son for checks to be allowed to members on photographic work done by them. At the quarterly meeting in February it was decided to subscribe £10 to the local Sick Poor Nurses' Association and £5 to the relief of distress in the West of Ireland. During this quarter the Directors arranged with Messrs. Milner to build a steel strong-room with an undrillable door in connection with the Central Office, in order to store the books, records, and other important documents belonging to the Society. The room is considered to be one of the finest of its kind in the country. On May 2nd tenders were accepted for the erection of a Lard Refinery and other workshops, with

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162 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

boilerhouse and long chimney, on leasehold ground at Deadwaters, and also for four freehold dwelling-houses at Greenside, Dalton, with Mr. J. Berry as architect. The latter have since been sold. For about two years the Directors had been employing someone, intermittently, in sinking a well behind the Buxton Road property, and at the quarterly meeting in August the members, by special resolution, approved of the work, and ordered the necessary machinery to be got for working it. In september the newly-erected Branch premises were opened at Milnsbridge. This month, also, tenders were accepted for the erection of ten leasehold dwelling-houses at Deadwaters, Mr. J. Berry being the architect. - On November 26th a special members' meeting was held to consider some minor alterations of rules. Mr. Edgar Whiteley proposed that the Directors should be elected by and from the whole of the members (as at present), but the resolution was defeated.

In February, 1899, tenders were accepted for the erection of a Branch Store and three cottages on leasehold ground at the corner of Beech Street, Paddock, Mr. J. Berry being the architect. At the quarterly meeting this month £21 was voted towards the cost of enlarging and furnishing the Huddersfield Orphan Home. Up to this date it had been customary for the Directors to elect the delegates to the Annual Co-operative Congress from among their own body, but at the above meeting Mr. A. J. Cliffe proposed :-

That the Society be represented at the Liverpool Co-opera- tive Congress by six delegates, two to be elected by and from the Board of Directors, one by and from the Educational Committee, two by the quarterly meeting, and one by the employees of the

Society. This was carried, and the meeting proceeded to appoint Mr. Edgar Whiteley and the present writer as delegates. It was also decided to arrange for an excursion to the Liverpool Congress on Whit-Tuesday. In March Mr.

Page 163

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CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 167

Wm. Frith, the present engineer and electrician, was appointed; and in April the Painting Department was begun, Mr. Fred Dickenson, the present foreman, being appointed as Manager. In May tenders were accepted for the erection of eight freehold houses at Greenside, with Mr. J. Berry as architect. These houses have all been sold. During the July quarter a new Clothing Factory was opened at Deadwaters ; also Wheelwright's and Blacksmith's Workshops, and the Society began to shoe their own horses. During the October quarter a Penny Savings Bank was opened at Outlane, and some

property at Marsh was purchased for £450. In this quarter the Society slaughtered 235 head of cattle, 678 sheep, and 183 pigs. Where were the vegetarians ? This year £610 in debentures were invested in Brownfield's Guild Pottery, in order to assist its re-construction ; £930 in mortgage bonds in the Burnley Self-help Society ; and twenty £1 shares were taken up in the Huddersfield Co-operative Brush Manufacturing Society. The latter Society has since been taken over by the Co-operative

Wholesale Society.

In February, 1900, the new Branch Store was opened at Beech Street, Paddock. Tenders were also accepted this month for the erection of the three-storey Bakehouse on leasehold ground at Deadwaters, with Mr. J. Berry as architect. At the quarterly meeting held on February 24th £21 was voted to the Mayor's Transvaal Relief Fund. The President reported to the meeting the purchase of two houses and a shop situate in West Parade, at the corner of Greenhead Road. In April an interesting event took place, which is deserving of record. The Depart- mental Managers, who, of course, are in daily contact with the Secretary, presented Mr. Prentis with a silver tea service and salver, suitably inscribed, as a mark of their appreciation of his character. The ceremony took place one evening at a private supper party, attended by the Directors, Managers, and Mr. J. Berry (Architect). Mr. Pierson (Boot Manager) made the presentation.

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168 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

Short speeches were delivered by Mr. J. Mosley (Drapery Manager) and others. Mr. Prentis appropriately acknow- ledged the gift. The secret had been well kept, and the presentation came upon Mr. Prentis with great surprise. At the quarterly meeting in May the members voted £50 to the local Indian Famine Relief Fund. In June tenders were accepted for the erection of Grocery, Meat, and Drapery Branches on freehold ground at Birkby, Mr. J. Berry being the architect; and also in the following month for considerable alterations to the Lindley Store. The quarterly report, dated July 3Ist, came as a considerable surprise to the members. For twenty preceding quarters a dividend of not less than 3s. in the £ (once of 3s. 3d.) had been declared, but this quarter it was only 2s. 7d. The Directors explained that the difference was caused " mainly in the Butchering, Drapery, and Coal Departments, in fact, the extra price paid for meat, the unsettled state of the coal trade, and the increased cost of many articles the Direc- tors thought it advisable not to advance, would be found to practically account for the difference." This explana- tion did not allay the excitement, and at the quarterly meeting on August 25th there was considerable dissatis- faction and disorder evinced by a crowded gathering of members. - Large numbers were unable to gain admission, and the meeting will be memorable for the excitement and uproar which prevailed. At the election of officers Mr. J. Broadbent, who had been President of the Society for twenty years (excepting one year's break), was defeated, and Mr. William Shaw elected in his place. At the following Directors' meeting a vote of thanks was passed to Mr. Broadbent for his valuable services to the Society. During the October quarter the Clothing Department at Deadwaters was removed to Princess Street. On November 5th the Directors appointed a small Sub- Committee to consider and report upon a revision of the Society's rules.

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CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 169

The following figures show the Society's progress for the ten years :-

| | | | | | Average |

| | | A Date. ONoQC | | Sales | Profit. frggfffwsligéfri | | | 1; Divi. 1V1. Year ended - . £ | £ _-_ £ -_ Inthef.In the £. July, 1891 ..... - 9737 _ 147482 | 305764 | 43689 | 2/10% - 2/71} , - 1892 ..... 10054 | 150232 | 313091 | 43527 | 2/9$ - 2/91 p - 1893 ..... 10044 | 154507 | 301747 | 41137 | 2/10 | 1/11} ) - 1894 ..... _ 9978 | 156348 | 2800g2 | 37024 - 2/9% 1/3% 2 -- 1895 ..... Ioo72 | 163106 | 277813 | 41094 | *3/- *1/o I *2/11} , - 1896 ..... IO503 | I74333 | 312167 | 46798 | 3/- _- , - 1897 ..... II22I | 180336 | 331165 | 51196 | 3/0% , - 1898 ..... 11640 | 185055 | 35194IL | 52061 | 3/- ,, - 1899 ..... 11866 | 191463 | 351789 | 52672 | 3/- _ i, _ 1900 ..... 12519 | 198474 | 376506 | 54142 | 2/10} Ten Y's' Total | ... .. - 13,202,075463340

* Six Months.

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CHAPTER IX.

Progress of the Society (concluded) 1901-1910.

Yet much remains to conquer still ; Peace hath her victories no less renowned than war. -J. Milton.

com

The Latest Branch -Opened-Selling Water-Bags of Coal-Latest Revision of Rules-Further Big Coal and Flour Orders-An Education Bill-Record Sales-Four New Shops in Buxton Road-Tower and Clock-Presentation to Mr. J. Broadbent- Climax Check System-Convalescent Homes-St. Paul's School Houses Burlt-More Penny Banks Opened- Monthly Meetings-Public Clock Started-Charitable Dona- trons-Parliamentary - Representation-Sprinklers-Education Fund not to be Rescinded-Two Robberies-Employees' Tea- Long Chimney - Built-Auditor's Gratifying Report-New Restaurant and Chemist Department Opened-Death of Mr. Joshua Burgess-Large Sales of Butter and Baking Powder- Celebration of Opening New Premises-Uhristmas Food- Licences-Donation - to " Holyoake House "-Commuission System-Parmmting Department - New - Auditors - Death of Messrs. T. Bland and E. Rothwell-Laundry Opened-New Butchering and Bakery Managers-Retrrement of Bradley Store- keeper-Motor Wagon-Ten Years' Trade-Fifty Years' Summary-T he Present Officers of the Socrety.

HE report dated April 30th, 1901, announced that the Directors " are now prepared to undertake

painting, paperhanging, &c., for our members and the public generally. Competent workmen sent out; reasonable charges." On May 11th the new Branch at Birkby was opened by Mr. John Crossley. Mr. F. J. Kitson was appointed storekeeper, he being transferred

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P

BirksBy Brancm (Grocery, Drapery, and Butchering)

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CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 173

from the Mirfield Branch, where he was succeeded by Mr. J. H. Donaldson. The report dated July 31st states that

arrangements have been made with Mr. G. J. Archard, optician, Market Hall, to supply members with any kind of spectacles they may require. By this means customers may have their sight tested free of charge, and have a much larger variety of glasses to select from. Mr. Archard will give members a coupon for the amount of their purchase, which may be exchanged for checks.

This quarter the dividend, after being for three quarters at the rate of 3s. in the £, again dropped, this time to 2s. qd. Mr. Jas. Broadbent, at this election, was restored to his old position as President of the Society, having been defeated the year previous. In September a Penny Savings Bank was established in connection with the Lockwood Branch. There being a scarcity of water in the town, owing to the very dry summer, the Directors decided on October 14th to sell water from the Society's well at Is. per 250 gallons, and a few thousand gallons were sold. About this time there was considerable unrest among the members, owing to various causes. The dividend was lower, the President had been deposed, the number of members was slightly fewer, a large amount of capital was withdrawn by the members, and sales were lower. The Directors were divided upon the question of revising the rules, and in July a special meeting of members looked upon the question with antagonistic feelings. Eventually, however, at the August quarterly meeting, on the motion of Mr. J. S. Armitage, a Committee was appointed to revise the rules and report the same to a future meeting. On October 28th Mr. Alfred Walker (the Director for Lockwood district) resigned his position.

The report for January, 1902, announced that the Directors were sending our wagons into several districts with coals in Icwt. bags, for which there seemed to be a good and increasing demand. They were extending, and hoped to further extend, the area visited by these wagons In March the Directors decided to supply the refreshments in Greenhead Park for the Band of Hope Demonstration on the following Whit Tuesday. On April 5th the last of

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174 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

five special meetings was held, to adopt the revised rules recommended by the Committee appointed the previous August. Among the changes adopted were :-The altera- tion of the rate of interest allowed to 44 per cent up to £25,

and 3% per cent from £25 to £100 ; members who had relatives in the Society's employ to be ineligible for the Directorate; the Directors to be elected " by and from the whole of the members," thus abolishing the old system of district representation, and the institution of monthly meetings of members; the method, of electing the Educational Committee was also changed. _ The Society for some time now had been selling over 30,000 tons of coal a year, and on June 30th the Directors placed a large order for 2,000 tons. At the quarterly meeting in November five arbitrators were appointed under the

new rules, and the sum of £500 was guaranteed to the Co-operative Defence Fund. This was a large fund, which was being raised by the Co-operators of the country in order to repel certain attacks which had been made by private traders upon the movement and its supporters generally. At the above meeting the follow- ing resolution was proposed by Mr. C. H. Daniel, and seconded by Mr. J. S. Armitage :-" That this meeting protests against the action of the Board of Directors in forwarding a petition to Parliament against the Education Bill, 1902." A long and exciting discussion followed, Mr. Crossley, who occupied the chair, apologised for sending the petition, and the meeting breaking up in confusion, the resolution was neither put nor withdrawn.

The quarterly report for January 3st, 1903, states that the sales had reached a record figure, amounting to no less than £98,006, an increase of £8,429 compared with the corresponding quarter the year before. In April Mr. J. W. Thornton (Drapery Department) was presented with a handsome smoking cabinet by his fellow-employees, in recognition of 30 years' service for the Society. On April 22nd tenders were accepted for the erection of the four shops in Buxton Road, now

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CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 173

occupied by the Furnishing, Chemist, Confectionery, and Shoe Departments, also the Restaurant. Mr. J. Berry was the architect. The Directors had some difficulty in making up their minds whether to have a tower and clock over the new Central premises. At the

quarterly meeting in May an informal vote of the members was taken, when a large majority supported the proposal, and, finally, in August, the Directors, by a majority of two votes only, decided that the proposal should be carried out. At the quarterly meet- ing held May 16th a very interesting event took place. In accordance with a resolution passed at a previous meeting, Mr. Jas. Broadbent (the President of the Society) was presented with an illuminated address and a cheque for forty guineas, as a mark of appreciation for the valu- able services he had rendered to the Society during many years past. Mr. John Crossley made the presentation, and the President responded in appropriate terms, giving a resumé of his Co-operative experiences. At this time a considerable trade was being done by the Society in selling coal in Icwt. bags, the balance sheet stating that our carters were disposing of over 2,000 bags per week. The quarterly meeting in August decided to take up 50 {1 shares in the North Wales Quarries Limited. At the following meeting on November 28th another important change was decided upon. Hitherto metallic checks had been given to members when purchasing goods, but it was now resolved to adopt the " Climax "' Check System (which is at present in vogue) in place of the metallic, the arrangements as to the time for making the change being left with the Directors. The report for October 3Ist announced that in view of the proposed alteration of the check system, the Directors recommended that a dividend reserve fund be formed, towards providing the extra amount required to meet the number of checks that must necessarily be brought in when the metallic checks were finally given up. Accordingly £500 was voted to such a fund.

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176 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

At the quarterly meeting in February, 1904, it was decided to take up 305 £1 shares in the proposed North- Western Section Convalescent Homes Association Ltd., which, as our readers are aware, now possesses two Homes, viz., at Blackpool and Otley. At the following meeting the Directors recommended that the non-members' dividend be increased from Is. 8d. to 2s. in the £, but the

proposal was negatived. Jt may be pointed out that in July of this year the Directors placed an order for no less than 8,000 packs of flour, the largest order yet given in the Society's history. With the quarter beginning on August Ist the new " Climax " check system came into operation, and experience has proved that this system possesses many advantages. Members are saved the trouble of taking in their checks, and if a check is lost the dividend is not lost, because a record of each member's purchases is kept at the office. The only care to be exercised is for the purchaser to give his correct member- ship number when making a purchase. It was said at first that this would be difficult when children were sent to the Store, but it was soon found that many children could remember the number better than their parents. Wrong numbers were occasionally given when the system was new, but now these mistakes are of comparatively rare occurrence. At the quarterly meeting on August 27th the Directors' recommendation that they be em- powered to purchase the St. Paul's School property in Princess Street was adopted. This addition to the Society's property has proved a great convenience in various ways, it being so very adjacent to the other buildings. This month two old Directors retired from the Board-Mr. Samuel Mather, on account of advancing years, and Mr. W. H. Moorhouse, who removed to Leeds. Both gentlemen had served our Society faithfully and well for about eleven years. On September 19th tenders were accepted for the erection of three dwelling-houses at Kirkheaton, on freehold land belonging to the Society, Mr. J. Berry being the architect. During this quarter a

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FEurnisxina Snxow Room, Buxton Road.

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CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 170

Penny Savings Bank was opened at the Beech Street Store, Paddock. At the quarterly meeting held on November 26th the sum of £50 was voted towards a relief fund opened by the Co-operative Union on behalf of a Society at Mexborough, which had got into difficulties. It was also decided by a large majority to discontinue the monthly meetings of the Society. The revised rules adopted two years previously enabled the Society to con- vene monthly meetings with very limited powers. They had not been looked upon with much favour by the members generally. - The rules provided for a quorum of fifty members, but on six successive occasions this number was not reached, and the meetings had, therefore,

to be abandoned.

At the quarterly meeting on February 25th, 1905, a further sum of £50 was placed at the disposal of the Directors (from the reserve fund) to relieve cases of dis- tress. The Directors also recommended that they be paid qd. per hour for attending to repairs of the Society's property. This, however, was negatived, and an amend- ment, moved by Mr. E. Whiteley, was adopted, appointing a Committee of five to enquire into the question of Directors' remuneration, and to report at the next quarterly meeting. The report was presented in due course, and led to a somewhat heated discussion, at the close of which a resolution was adopted merely thanking

the Committee for their report. On May 27th the clock erected in the tower over the Central premises was officially started by the President (Mr. J. Broadbent). The clock has three dials, each 6 feet 6 inches in diameter. There are four bells of a total weight of about 20cwts.,which chime every fifteen minutes, and the musical and beautiful chimes can be heard a long distance away. The centre of the dial is 22 yards from the street level. The cost of the clock was £320. On June 9th the new shop in Buxton Road was opened for the sale of household furniture.

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180 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

The report, dated July 31st, pointed out a new advantage accruing from the Climax Check System. It says :-

We think that the Climax Check System has been all that it claimed to be, and even more, for it has been the means of many lost purses being restored to their owners through the member's number being written inside, and this, at any rate, is not one of the advantages thought of at the time of its adoption. The

number of members who would like to return to the old system must be few indeed.

The quarterly meeting held on August 26th decided to subscribe £10 to the Maintenance Fund of the Co-operative Convalescent Homes Association. This enables the Society to send eight members to the Homes for two weeks each. On September 11th tenders were accepted for the erection of three houses on freehold land at Green- side, Dalton, Mr. J. Berry being the architect. The Directors having given permission to Mr. J. Walker (Moldgreen storekeeper) to become a candidate for the Town Council, he was duly elected this month by the ratepayers of Moldgreen Ward. At the quarterly meeting on November 25th the sum of £5 was voted to the fund for replacing two Co-operative Lifeboats, and £10 to the Mayor's Fund for giving breakfasts to underfed school children. At the close of the above meeting a duly convened special meeting was held. The meeting was held in the Drill Hall, and there was a very large attendance. The Directors recommended that a ballot

vote be taken of the members of the Society upon the question of direct representation in Parliament through the Co-operative Union, which had been agitating the movement throughout the country generally. After a long discussion in which Messrs. E. Whiteley, R. Ledger, A. J. Cliffe, B. Riley, and B. Littlewood supported the motion and Messrs. S. Pinder, J. W. Shaw, E. Gee, J. Haigh, and the present writer opposed, the resolution was adopted by 222 votes to 20g. The resolution, how- ever, was never acted upon. We shall see, presently, that it was rescinded at the following meeting. - The above meeting also empowered the Directors to have an

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CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. I8I

installation of automatic sprinklers in the older portion of the Central Stores. The Chairman explained that the cost would reach about £1,200, but, probably, about {£50 a year would be saved in the amount of insurance premiums. - Finally, a requisition having been presented,

signed by fifty members, Mr. J. W. Wardall moved, in accordance therewith, the following resolution :-

That we discontinue paying the one per cent of the profits towards the education fund, and that section 4 of rule 9 be rescinded.

The Educational Committee, believing it best that some- one outside their own body should oppose the resolution, asked the present writer to undertake that duty, which he did, and he was supported by Mrs. France, Messrs. Kellett, Goodyear, and Pinder. When the vote was taken, behold, only about six hands were held up for the motion, so that the fifty requisitionists were conspicuous by their absence. The meeting ended at about 9-15 p.m. after over a three hours' sitting. Early on Sunday morning, December 3rd, a daring robbery occurred in connection with our Society. The house of Mr. Barrett (Central Grocery Manager) at Paddock was broken into, the shop keys secued, and, subsequently, the thief entered the Grocery Department in Buxton Road and took about £60 from the safe. Unfortunately, the thief was never discovered. On Wednesday, December 6th, the Directors gave a tea in the Victoria Hall to the whole of the Society's employees, tickets being given out to the number of 416. After tea a fraternal meeting of Directors and employees was held, Mr. J. Broadbent occupying the chair. Short speeches were made, inter- spersed with glees, songs, recitations, and dancing. On December 28th tenders were accepted for the erection of the long chimney and boilerhouse behind the Central premises, Mr. J. Berry being the architect. The chimney is 40 yards high, being several yards higher than the statutory requirement in order to avoid any nuisance. This month, also, the Corporation Tramways Committee accepted our Society's tender for making the motor-men's

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182 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

uniforms. The Corporation Finance Committee, also, in response to a petition from a number of ratepayers, resolved to light up our fine new clock in Buxton Road free of charge. One well-known councillor complained that the clock chimes kept him awake at night, but the Committee passed the resolution by a majority. The minority did not challenge the resolution at the Council meeting when it came up for confirmation, so the question was not then publicly discussed. But in July, 1903, the Council refused a similar application from our Society by a majority of only four votes. On that occasion the present writer pointed out that our Society paid a borough rate of £1,383, and the account for the electric lighting reached £340. Also, that the Corporation paid for the lighting up of two church clocks, two factory clocks, and the railway station clock. Our Society is now placed on an equality with the foregoing. The estimated cost of lighting the clock is about £14 a year. _

A special meeting of members was held on January 20th, 1906, in the Victoria Hall, Mr. J. Broadbent (Presi- dent) occupied the chair. The Chairman explained that the object of the meeting was to re-consider a resolution which was passed at the previous quarterly meeting to the effect that a ballot vote be taken of all our members, as to whether they are in favour of direct representation in Parliament through the Co-operative Union. The Chairman moved that this resolution be rescinded. He explained that the Co-operative Union had sent out 1,674 circulars to Societies, and that only 110 had replied. Out of these there were only six who were in favour of Parlia- mentary Representation. - Consequently, it had been decided at headquarters to postpone the question indefinitely. Under these circumstances he urged that the only business-like course was to rescind the resolution. Mr. R. Ledger seconded the motion on similar grounds. No good purpose would be served by going forward with the ballot vote under the altered circumstances. The scheme was as dead as Queen Anne. There being no

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a~vfiwAu/H F~Avfl/—,—A — A rat € 4 WOOL a ( T " ¢ J YM 1LOOG

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CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 185

other speaker, the Chairman put the resolution, which he declared carried by a large majority, there not being six hands held up against it. The meeting was over in about ten minutes. Surely this creates a record for quick dispatch of business! On February 1oth the new Shoe Department in Buxton Road was opened, being trans- ferred from the temporary premises in John Street. In the upper rooms the latest electrical machinery for making and repairing boots and shoes was quickly in- stalled, enabling the Society to undertake the repairing of 1,400 pairs weekly. At the quarterly meeting held on February 24th the Directors recommended that they

be empowered to open a Chemist and Druggist Depart- ment in the new premises at Buxton Road. During the discussion one member favoured a Tobacco, Newsagent, and Barber's Shop instead. However, the recommenda- tion was carried by an overwhelming majority. At this meeting the auditor included in his report the following interesting reference to the Society's progress during the past ten years :-

We have made a comparison with some of the figures in the present balance sheet with those in the corresponding quarter ten years ago, and have been much impressed with the highly satisfac- tory increases which have taken place. - I will give you the figures which speak for themselves. You have now sixty-one Branches and departments, against forty-nine then, an increase of twelve. The sales are £17,973 more, or 22 per cent in excess of the corre- sponding quarter. You have now 2,623 more members than you had then, an increase of 25 per cent. The amount of share capital has increased by £10,900, or 6 per cent. The deposits in the Penny Banks have gone up (comparatively speaking) but little less than the members' share capital, the amount now to the credit of the depositors being £9,005 more than was the case ten years ago, an increase of over 343 per cent, truly a remarkable increase. It has often been said that your reserve fund is not a particularly large one, but taking the reserve fund and the insurance fund together (which is the fairest way to do), we find that there has been an increase here of no less than 74 per cent. The amount advanced in the Building Department likewise shows an increase, being now 73 per cent greater than it was then.

On June 18th tenders were accepted for the erection of three houses at Almondbury, on freehold land owned by

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186 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

the Society, the architect being Mr. J. Berry. During this quarter the Confectionery Department was trans- ferred from John Street to the new premises in Buxton Road, and also the new Restaurant was opened. The rooms are commodious, comfortable, and well fitted up for the purpose they have to serve. The architect (Mr. J. Berry) kindly furnished me with the following par- ticulars :-The Restaurant is approached from the Arcade (principal entrance to the Victoria Hall) by a wide staircase, which leads to the large room (51 feet by 37 feet), having accommodation for 106 persons ; a second room (33 feet by 22 feet), and a third room (39 feet by 17 feet) is set apart as a reading and smokeroom, seated round with upholstered seating, set out in alcoves. The kitchen, scullery, and larders are at the back, all fitted up with the latest cooking appliances. Ample lavatory accommodation is provided for both ladies and gentle- men. All the rooms are heated by radiators and well ventilated with electric fans. The walls are covered with wall tiling in light shades, relieved with mirrors, the whole having a very pleasing effect. The rooms are lofty, and a good light is obtained from the windows and pavement lights. Miss Sykes was the Manageress of the Restaurant until December following, when she left to be married, and Mr. Woodhead (the present Manager) was appointed to succeed her. During this quarter a Penny Savings Bank was opened at the Lowerhouses Store. On July I5th the death occurred of Mr. Joshua Burgess (the Society's Grocery Buyer) at the age of fifty-two. Mr. Burgess had been in the Society's employ for about twenty-three years. Mr. W. S. Wilkinson (the present Buyer) was appointed his successor. To illustrate the large trade done by our Society in butter, it may be said that this year the quantity sold averaged about eight tons per week. On Saturday, August 18th, the last of the new shops erected in Buxton Road was opened as a Chemist and Druggist Department. The shop, both externally and internally, presents a very neat appearance, and the premises are admirably adapted and suitably

Page 187

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CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 189

fitted up for the purpose they are intended to serve. Both the front and side windows are all perfectly air- tight and dust-proof, so that the articles and goods exposed to view will not suffer in purity and cleanliness. The two counters are faced underneath with glazed cup- boards. Behind the principal counter there are over 200 small square drawers, which, with their glass knobs, present a very effective appearance. - Each drawer has its own completely separate casement, so as to avoid any contamination of the contents of one drawer by another. Above the drawers are shelves containing rows of pretty looking glass-stoppered bottles for effectively storing and preserving the strength of the different drugs, &c., which they contain. The bottles containing poison are con- spicuously coloured green, bearing a red label, and the glass is ribbed or fluted, so as to be noticeable both to the eye and to the touch, in order that mistakes may be prevented. Behind these shelves the wall is covered with large mirrors, which have a very pleasing effect, and will also contribute to the cleanliness of the surroundings. There is a cupboard set apart for the more dangerous or exceptionally strong poisons, such as prussic acid, strych- nine, &c. There is a dispensing counter, which is well fitted up, and we are informed that the department is larger and more convenient than any other similar in the town. The woodwork and shop fittings are all of solid mahogany, and this presents a first-class appearance. The shop is lit up with electric light, and is heated by steam. Upstairs there are rooms used for packing, stock- room, and workroom. These are lofty and well lighted with natural light. Mr. George Pratt (member of the

Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain) is the Manager of the department.

Saturday, September 8th, 1906, was an important day in the history of our Society. In the afternoon the new premises in Buxton Road were formally opened by the President (Mr. Jas. Broadbent). Mr. J. Hamer (Director) occupied the chair. Appropriate speeches were made by Mr. J. Berry (the architect), who presented a gold key to Mr. Broadbent, and by Mr. Broadbent in declaring the

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190 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

premises open. - On the motion of Mr. R. Ledger, seconded by Mr. John Crossley, a vote of thanks was accorded to Mr. Broadbent for his services. In the Victoria Hall Lodgeroom tea was served to a large number of invited delegates from neighbouring Societies, ex-Directors, and others. It was a pleasure to see many old veterans present who were Directors of our Society twenty and thirty years ago. A public tea for members took place in the Drill Hall. In the evening a public meeting was held in the Town Hall. Prior to the commencement Mr. A. Pearson played some selections on the organ. A musical programme was rendered in excellent style by our Choir, under the leadership of Mr. D. W. Evans. Addresses were delivered by the Chairman (Mr. J. Broadbent), Mr. J. Shillito, J.P. (Chairman of the C.W.S.), Mr. Alderman O. Balmforth, J.P., Mr. Councillor Geo. Thorpe, J.P., (Dewsbury), and Mr. Councillor Geo. Thomson, J.P. The Secretary (Mr. Prentis) read an historical statement of

the Society's operations.

Few members are aware of the large quantities of eatables our Society disposes of in providing Christmas cheer for their families. This year, for instance, the following approximate orders were placed :-Five tons of candied lemon, 12 tons sultana raisins, 50 tons currants, I ton figs, rocwt. table raisins, 5cwt. almonds, and 500 cheeses. And in the Butchering Department the follow- ing :-25 beasts, 50 sheep, 75 pigs, 80 ducks, 120 geese, 240 turkeys, and 600 rabbits.

In January, 1907, the Directors gave their largest order for flour, viz., 8,500 packs, which was divided among the three flour mills (Sowerby Bridge, Halifax, and Colne Vale). The report dated January 31st stated :-

The past quarter has been a record one for the amount of business done, the sales having averaged over £7,850 per week, or over £1,300 per day. It is also the twenty-first successive quarter that we have paid a dividend of 3s. in the {. The sales for the year have amounted to £386,953. 13s. 6d, an increase of £9,485 6s. on the previous year.

At the local Annual Licensing Sessions, held on February 6th, licences were granted to our Society to sell medicated

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ENTRAL PremisEs, Buxton Roan.

* /

C

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o

FoRMER CENTRAL PREMISES.

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CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. IQ»

wines in the newly-established Chemist's Department, and also to play chess and draughts in the new Café and Restaurant. At the quarterly meeting held February 23rd a special grant of £50 was made to the Educational Committee for the purpose of holding a children's field day in the following July. The sum of £10, which the Directors had paid to the " underfed school children's fund '' was also confirmed. At the next quarterly meet- ing, held May 25th, the sum of 3d. per member was voted to the fund for premises as new headquarters for the Co-operative Union, to be paid in six yearly instalments. This would amount to about £28 per year, or a total of £170. The building is to be erected in Manchester, and will be named " Holyoake House," as a memorial to the late Geo. Jacob Holyoake. At this date about £12,000 was promised towards the cost. A resolution was also passed, moved by Mr. E. Whiteley, recommending the Directors to pay the grocery storekeepers weekly wages, in place of the commission system, and for the assistants to be under the direct control of the Board. In June the Directors gave a very large order to the Co-operative Wholesale Society for coal, amounting to 4,500 tons. On July 6th Miss Amy Balmforth resigned her position as assistant in the Drapery Department in consequence of her approaching marriage. - Miss Balmforth was the recipient of several beautiful presents from her fellow- workers. The report dated July 3st announces the establishment of a Penny Savings Bank at the Northum- berland Street Branch Store. This made a total of fourteen banks, with over 4,000 depositors. At the quarterly meeting held November 23rd resolutions were adopted empowering the Directors to develop the St. Paul's School property, and to build cottages at Primrose Hill. The Directors announced their desire to establish a steam laundry in connection with the former property. The Chairman also read the Directors' report upon the resolu- tion passed six months previously, with reference to the question of payment of fixed wages or commission to the storekeepers. - The report gave the reasons which induced the Board to continue the latter system. At this meeting

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196 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

it was decided to take up an additional 100 £1 shares in the Co-operative Sundries Manufacturing Society Limited.

On February 8th, 1908, the Painting Department was transferred from Deadwaters to Princess Street. A new shop was opened (formerly part of the St. Paul's School property), with a large and varied stock of wallpapers, &c. At the quarterly meeting held February z2nd a change of auditors was made. Messrs. R. Crabtree and son had been auditors to the Society for a period of nineteen years, and some of the members being of opinion that an occasional change was advisable, the meeting elected Messrs. Wheawill and Son by a majority of only eight votes. In February and March the Directors accepted tenders for the erection of nine freehold houses at Primrose Hill, and of a steam laundry in Princess Street, Mr. J. Berry being the architect. On May Ist the death occurred of Mr. Thos. Bland, J.P., at the age of eighty-two years. For nearly forty years Mr. Bland was actively identified with the Co-operative movement. For many years he was a member of our Society's Com- mittee, seven years serving as President. For thirty-three years he was a Director of the Co-operative Wholesale Society, and he was President on the second day of the Huddersfield Congress. His son-in-law, Mr. Richard Ledger, is still an active worker in our movement. The balance sheet dated October 31st showed a dividend was to be paid of 2s. 11d. in the £. It is interesting to note that for the previous twenty-seven quarters the dividend had always been 3s. in the £. On November 28th the: Directors quietly opened the new laundry, erected by the Society on land behind the Victoria Hall, in Buxton Road. The laundry stands on the property which was purchased from the Managers of the St. Paul's National Schools.

The building, which is 112 feet long and 46 feet wide, was erected from plans prepared by and under the direct supervision of Mr. Joseph Berry, architect, Market Place, Huddersfield. The interior has a very clean and neat appearance, being well lighted from the roof, and having all the walls lined with white glazed bricks. The whole of

Page 197

«* "a

a (% "0 % nag O8 - *, ® wet s nap wri in nn siento rnin inin a t=. mnt Mir + ie o cass

inta

" me a a od t

Launory, Princess Street.

ret Y ag ang So o Birdo (o "3 %* flu." giggfg'flflg 3% s lige (98 cht an » ' X < a o v rest - - Coe

Page 199

DerarTmENTAL ManxaorRS.

Top Row, from left to right : J. O. Sutcliffe, F. Dickinson, J. Hirst, S. Pierson, C. King, A. Horsfall, F. Garside, B. Barrett, G. H. Pratt, Jas. Mosley, W. Bottomley, F. R. Collinge,

Bottom Row, {rom left to right : James Bird, G. H. Woodhead, Miss S. Dransfield, W. S. Wilkinson, W. Frith.

Page 201

CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

the machinery, which is capable of doing a business of £100 per week, was supplied by Messrs. W. Summerscales and Sons, Keighley. Mr. J. O. Sutcliffe (Scunthorpe) is the Manager. The laundry is fitted up with machinery of the most modern type, including washing machines, soap boilers, starching troughs, ironers, goffering machines, and two drying stoves. A dining-room is provided for the employees-in fact, everything has been done to make the laundry up to date and efficient. The total cost was about £2,300. On Saturday, December 5th, by invita- tion of the Directors, a large number of our members, and also delegates attending the North-Western Educational Committees' Conference, made a visit of inspection of the premises. The Directors have issued a very compre- hensive " price list and regulations," neatly printed on a folding card, a copy of which may be obtained at the Branch Stores. A post card is attached, which may be filled up, asking for the van to call at a member's house for the weekly wash, or parcels may be left at the Branch. On Friday morning, December 18th, when Mr. Harris Pollard (Manager of our Rashcliffe Branch Store) went to business, he discovered that thieves had been busy at work. The money in the till had disappeared, the large iron safe tampered with, and other evidences were apparent of their depredations. - Ultimately it was found that about £14 or {15 had been stolen. Suspicion fell upon two youths who were known to the police, and who who were missing from their homes. Eventually, in the early morning of Christmas Day, the two youths were caught in the premises of the Lane Dyehouse Co-opera- tive Society, attempting burglary there. On being arrested they confessed to having committed the robbery at Rashcliffe, and subsequently decamping to Liverpool. They were brought before the local magistrates and committed for trial at the Sessions, where they were afterwards sentenced to twelve months' imprisonment. On Thursday, December 24th, Mr. Edwin Rothwell (Ravensknowle Road, Dalton) died at the advanced age of eighty-six years. He was one of the founders of our society. At its first formation in 1860 there were five

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202 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

trustees, of whom Mr. Rothwell was one. He was truly one of the " Old Guard." Each quarter during this year the Directors nominated the present writer for a seat upon the Board of the Co-operative Wholesale Society, but without success.

The balance sheet for January 30th, 1909, announces that in the previous year our Society sold over six tons of baking powder! At the subsequent quarterly meeting £10. tos. was voted to the Messina earthquake fund. In March tenders were accepted for the erection of nine houses on freehold land at Oakes, and of a shed for storing empties and putting wagons in at Deadwaters. Mr. J. Berry was the architect. The nine houses have, since their erection, all been sold. On June Mr. Fred Garside (Slaithwaite) was appointed Manager of our Butchering Department. This month, also, Mr. J. Ibberson (Manager of the Bradley Store) retired on account of ill-health. - He had been storekeeper at Bradley for nineteen and a half years, but his total length of service with our Society reached nearly thirty-seven years. A writing desk was presented to Mr. Ibberson by the members, and a smoker's oak cabinet by his fellow-workers. Mr. John H. Sutcliffe (Manager at Newsome) was appointed his successor, and Mr. John E. Crawshaw (assistant at Milnsbridge Branch) was appointed to Newsome. This quarter the Directors installed at the laundry a new vacuum steam suction apparatus for the cleaning of carpets, rugs, couches, &c. The Co-operative News for October 2nd contained a special illustrated article on " Co-operation in Huddersfield," from which the following extract is taken :-

But let me hark back to that great building in Buxton Road and Princess Street. It was the thing that set me most a-think- ing in Huddersfield. I felt that if I had met with a man who had trotted out the now bald-headed argument that working men can't do anything for themselves, I should have dragged him in front of that building, and merely said, " Look there !'" If that had not been sufficient I should have given him up as a possible convert to social amelioration.

The Directors and Educational Committee obtained 2,000 extra copies of the above number for free distribution.

Page 203

Middle Row

» nmin nn oi cade bird d aie tr crie w mans

Boarpn» or DIRECTORS. Back Row : B. Kinder, A. P. Nichol, and J. Dobson.

J. Hawley, J. W. Downing, G. Halstead, S. Pinder, J. Hamer, and R. Ledger.

Front Row : J. Crossley, J. T. Prentis, J. Broadbent, J. Dawson, G. Atkinson,

Page 205

with the times in its methods of traction.

CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 205

In the early part of the present year (1910) the Directors purchased a motor wagon, thus keeping up

On March 24th

Mr. F. R. Collinge (Brighouse) was appointed Manager of the Bakery Department.

The following figures show the Society's progress for the ten years :-

Date. “12,1 egg? 0523331. g Sales. Profit. A‘ngfe Year ended- £ t £000 { | In the £ July, 1goIr......... 11968 | 184724 357557 | 51891) 2/11i 1, - I9O2......... 11696 | 174145 | 355865 | 54984 | 2/11% )) - IQ903......... | 177207 - 385660 | 59783 | 3/- p) - IQO4......... 12370 | 174836 | 368889 | 57900 | 3/- )) - IQO05......... | 12768 | 176941 | 371596 | 55591 | 3/- )) - I1906......... 13146 l 183995 380418 | 56723 | 3/- )) - I90F......... 13631 | 190746 399102 | 60043 | 3/- ) - I1908......... 14043 | I93422 420099 | 62144 | 3/- ), _ I9O0Q......... I4353 | 189508 | 410566 | 60402 | 2/11% 1, - IQIO......... | 14507 | 191639 i 420818 | 61910 | 3/- Ten Years' Total 3,870,57ol581,371

_. _-_ _. onne -me oo m ~ -_-. _

I will conclude this section by giving the following summary of the Society's fifty years' trading opera-

tions :- Total ..................222666 66s rse sv reve vee re eee £10,442,274 ws on e £1,454,169 ,, - Depreciation allowed ........................... £89,206 ,, - Contributions received ........................ {887,876 ,, - Paid in Withdrawals (including Interest and Dividend) ............................... £2,300,089 Present Share Capital ................................. £191,639 $ Value of Society's Buildings................ £86,547 $ Number of Employés........................ 468 g $3 Grocery Branches.............. 23 $3 $3 Butchering Branches ......... 20 p, a Drapery Branches ............ 4 $» $ Dwelling-houses................ 200 $, $ Coal Wagons ................... 75

)

$ Horses .................. ..... ..}. 44

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206 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

All the above Branch shops, in addition to the Central Stores, are the property of the Society, with the exception of three Butchering Branches, which are rented. The dwelling-houses are let to tenants, but a large number of houses have also been built and sold to the members. In addition to the distributive side of the Society's business, it employs 169 persons in Productive operations, including shoemaking, dressmaking, tailoring, cabinet making, painting, bakery, &c., which amounted last year (1909) to £60,206.

The phenomenal progress of our Society is most gratifying, and the members owe a debt of gratitude to the successive Boards of Directors who have so strenu- ously laboured to bring it to its present successful position.

The following are the present (October, 1910) Officers of the Society :-

. President ¢ Mr. James BroapBENT, 10, Bankfield Road.

Secretary and Manager ;: Mr. J. T. Prentis, Springwood Avenue.

Cashier ¢: Mr. A. HorsraLrL, Springdale Avenue.

Dairectors ¢

Mr. G. ATKINsoN, 22, Temple Street, Lindley. Mr. J. CrossLEy, Leeches, Outlane. Mr. J. Dawson, 186, Leeds Road North, Deighton. Mr. J. DosBson, 32, Northgate, Almondbury. Mr. J. W. DowniIncG, Elder Cottages, Longwood Road. Mr. G. HarsTEAD, 9, Batley's Buildings, Brook Street, Marsh. Mr. J. HamErR, 57, Scarwood Terrace, Lockwood. Mr. J. Hawrey, Orchard Terrace, Primrose Hill. Mr. B. KInDER, 83, Lodge Terrace, Leeds Road North. Mr. R. LEDGER, Victoria Road, Lockwood. Mr. A. P. Nicxor, 18, Springdale Avenue. Mr. S. PinDpER, Lowerhouses.

Bankers ;:

CO-OPERATIVE WhrhorrEsaL® LimiTED and LANCASHIRE AND YoRKsHIRE BANK LIMITED.

A uditors ¢ Messrs. WHuEAwILL and SupwoRrTH, Huddersfield.

Solicitors : Messrs. LEaroypn and Co., Huddersfield.

Page 207

CHAPTER X.

~Early Educational Work (1860-1892).

«mmm

Were half the power that fills the world with terror, Were half the wealth bestowed on camps and courts, Given to redeem the human mind from error, There were no need of arsenals or forts.

-H. W. Longfellow.

T was not until the year 1892 that our Society com- menced in a systematic way to provide for the education of its members. _ Several attempts had previously been made by those members who knew the value and importance of education, to induce the majority to set aside for that object a fixed proportion of the profits, but these attempts, unfortunately, ended in failure. The members were, perhaps, not absolutely opposed to spend- ing money upon education, but they preferred to give it in small sums, and at long intervals. Instead of giving with a generous hand, as they could afford to do, they gave in a somewhat grudging spirit. This policy is now, happily, changed. The members can now look their enemies in the face, and throw back the taunt that they are mere '" divi. hunters." The Society now devotes a large sum of money every year in attempting to improve the moral and intellectual condition of its members, and in contributing towards their social enjoyment. The members, having learnt how to make money, are now determined to utilise a portion of their wealth in minister- ing to the higher and nobler side of their nature. Before detailing the character of the work now being undertaken let us take a survey of the action of the members in years gone by.

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208 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

Within two months of the establishment of the Society in 1860 the Committee passed the following resolution :-

"* That all profits arising from the sale of "The Co-operator'"' be left to accumulate towards the fund for the formation of a newsroom." Doubtless these profits were small, as there was no definite action until some years later. In June, 1863, at a general meeting of members, it was resolved that the question of forming a newsroom " be left in the hands of the Committee." The first reference to sending a delegate to Conferences appears on October 6th, 1863, viz., " That J. Bradley go to the Co-operative Conference on Saturday, October 1toth.'" Where the Conference was held, or what subject it had under con- sideration, the records do not show. The quarterly meeting in March, 1864, voted £1 to "The Co-operator " fund. - This journal was edited by the late Mr. Henry Pitman. For many years after this Co-operative journals were not profitable undertakings. The same month it was decided to order twelve dozen copies of "The Co-operator.'" This number, presumably, was not main- tained, because in the following year it was decided " only to have the number of 'Co-operators' that we have orders for." Notwithstanding the precarious existence at this time of Co-operative journals, somebody at Halifax was evidently enterprising enough to desire a new venture, as our Committee resolved in February, 1865, " That we write to Halifax, and tell them that we do not at present feel durselves in a position to have anything to do with the newspaper project." That the Committee were in favour of Co-operative education, the following extract from their report dated January, 1866, will show :- The Committee strongly recommend the members in each locality to meet together as often as possible, and to form Com-

mittees for the purpose of propagating the principles of Co-opera- tion, in the manner which may seem to them most advisable.

Page 209

CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 200

That they favoured the circulation of Co-operative literature, also is seen by this cogent appeal taken from the report of July, 1866 :-

The Committee would again draw the attention of the members to " The Co-operator," a fortnightly publication, which is the recog- nised organ of the movement. In its pages are, from time to time, found articles upon all the questions which are interwoven with the subject of Co-operation ; all difficult or doubtful ques- tions, either in a business or a legal point of view, are freely discussed, and it affords a vast amount of information which could not be otherwise obtained. We think it the duty of members to obtain all the information possible ; for just as a nation's welfare depends upon the degree of knowledge possessed by the bulk of the people, so does the success of any Co-operative Society depend upon the amount of information in possession of its members. But there are other reasons why the members should support " The Co-operator,'' one of which is that Mr. Pitman (the Editor) has laboured many years in the cause, never relaxing his efforts, though he has suffered both personal inconvenience and pecuniary loss. We would ask, " Is not the labourer worthy of his hire ?" " The Co-operator '' can be obtained at all the Stores at one penny per copy, and members wishing to be supplied are requested to give in their names to the storekeeper.

In June, 1866, the Society's rules being revised, provision was made for an Educational Fund, it being agreed to allow 2% per cent out of the profits for that purpose. In the following September the members' meeting made a grant of £5 to the Mirfield Branch for furnishing the newsroom. This Branch, apparently, took action before the Central Store. In March, 1867, the quarterly meeting elected the following as the Educa- tional B. Shaw, J. Jebson, J. Aspinall, J. Oldfield, Wm. Wood, and Webster Booth. The same meeting also resolved to give one penny per member to the Editorial Fund of the " Co-operator." This would realise £3. 15s. tod. In May following it was decided to " let the Educational Committee have the pot- room for a reading-room." Rather a curious combination -crockery and newspapers! This was at the Central Store. Matters evidently did not go on satisfactorily, because in March, 1868, the General Committee resolved :

That a deputation wait upon the Education Committee respecting some person being appointed to look after the news- room.

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210 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

The room, however, was not very largely patronised. Perhaps it was not very accessible or comfortable, or perhaps the members did not like to see the pots about the room. At all events, whatever the cause, it was unfortunate that in June, 1868, a special meeting of members decided to rescind the rule referring to the Educational Fund, it having been in force less than two years. The following September it was decided that the balance of the Educational Fund be placed to the reduc- tion of fixed stock, and that " we have the armchair out of the newsroom for the Committee-room.'""' If there was only one armchair need we wonder the room had not been largely patronised ?

In March, 1870, it was agreed to subscribe a farthing per member to the Co-operative Congress Fund. The Secretary was also appointed as delegate. This was the second National Congress of the present series, and was held at Manchester. In 1871 the above subscription was increased to one penny per member, and in 1873 to twopence. In 1872 it was decided to order 100 copies of the Co-operative News per day for the three days which contained the report of the Annual Congress. In August, 1877, the Committee decided to recommend the members to again establish an Educational Fund, and appropriate to it 1% per cent of the profits. The members' meeting adjourned the question for six months, and in March, 1878, by 163 votes to 136, the recommendation was negatived. In 1880 the sum of {30 was voted to the Congress Fund. In September, 1880, the present writer proposed a resolution in favour of establishing an Educa- tional Fund, but, unfortunately, the resolution was defeated by fourteen votes. Encouraged by this narrow defeat to bring forward the motion a second time, twelve months later he introduced the question again. On this occasion the opponents mustered in exceptionally strong force, and the motion was defeated by the very large majority of 141. Three years later-in August, 1884- the rules of the Society were revised, and, when the rule

Page 211

CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 211

which provides for the disposal of profits was considered, an attempt was made to introduce a clause stipulating that one per cent of the net profits should be devoted to educational purposes. Unfortunately again that pro- posal was defeated by a majority of thirty, but a com- promise was entered into by the meeting, which decided to insert words giving a general meeting power to make educational grants. This left the matter in a very vague and indefinite shape, and in May, 1889, the Committee brought forward a modest recommendation that a sum of thirty guineas per annum be granted for educational purposes. The meeting, however, ruthlessly decided by a majority that the recommendation be not entertained.

As already stated, the Society during all these years contented itself with expending a few small sums upon educational objects. For a long period it gave annual subscriptions as follows :-Huddersfield Technical School, £3. 3s.; Lockwood Mechanics' Institute, £1. Is.; and Lindley Mechanics' Institute, £1. Is. At various times it contributed to testimonial funds to the leaders of Co-operation, including such men as Thomas Hughes, E. V. Neale, G. J. Holyoake, Lloyd Jones, and E. T. Craig. For a number of years it expended over £100 each Christmas in presenting to the members nicely- coloured almanacs suitable for framing. In 1882, after adjourning the question from two previous meetings, it mustered sufficient courage to vote £25 in aid of the building fund of the local Technical School. In 1887, and again in 1889, the members resolved to join with the Technical School authority in promoting courses of lectures in connection with the Oxford University Exten- sion movement. The Co-operative News has long been sold at half-price, and large quantities of Co-operative literature, including the Annual Congress addresses have been freely circulated among the members. In November,

1887, the members voted £5 to the Huddersfield Recrea- tive Evening Classes Association, a voluntary body, which organised a number of evening classes in the Board School premises. In May, 1892, the Society decided to

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2 12 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

discontinue presenting the members with the costly chromo almanacs, and to give instead the plain, white sheet almanacs, which are continued to be given at the present time. Delegates have always been sent to the Annual Congresses, and also to the smaller District Conferences. Neither was the social and recreative side neglected. For about twenty years, especially between 1870 and 1890, a large number of tea meetings were held in connection with the Branch Stores, and annual excur- sions were organised to some seaside resort. Both these latter features were often very successful events, and proved a useful and enjoyable means of bringing the members together in friendly intercourse.

Page 213

CHAPTER XI.

cnn name

Obe Present Educational Department (1893-1910).

a-___o_g

Can Freedom breathe if ignorance reign ?

Shall commerce thrive where anarchs rule ? Will Faith her half-fledged brood retain If darkening counsels cloud the school ? Let in the light! From every age Some gleams of garnered wisdom pour, And fixed on thought's electric page Wait all their radiance to restore.

-Q. W. Holmes.

T was a wise step on the part of our Society to place l the fitful and haphazard, though admirable work, described in the previous chapter, upon a more systematic and permanent basis. In July, 1892, the Society's rules were again revised, and upon that occasion the members agreed, with very little opposition, to the recommendation of the Revision Committee, that one per cent of the net profits should be devoted to the formation of an Educational Fund for the promotion of instruction, culture, or recreation. The new rules also provided that the management of the fund should be vested in an Educational Committee, composed of three members of the General Committee, and four others specially elected by the members in quarterly meeting assembled. The one per cent of profits allocated now yields about £620 per annum for the Educational Fund. The Educational Committee were first elected in February, 1893, and since that date they have not remained idle. The Committee

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214 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

consisted of :-Messrs. O. Balmforth (Chairman), Arthur Smith (Secretary), F. L. Dyson, and Richard Ledger

elected by the members' meeting, and J. Broadbent, Alfred Walker, and A. J. Cliffe elected by the General Committee.

On May 13th, 1893, the Committee opened in Albion Street the first Public Free Reading-room in Huddersfield, the ceremony being performed by the present writer, as

Chairman of the Committee. In the evening a public meeting and free concert was held in the Victoria Hall, at which addresses were given by Mr. Owen Balmforth, who presided, Mr. Frank Hardern (President of the Oldham Industrial Society), and Mr. George Thomson (President of the Huddersfield Chamber of Commerce). An excellent musical programme was gone through, and the inaugural ceremony and meeting were both highly successful. - In this first quarter, also, the Committee issued through all the Stores a total of 1,500 free copies of the Co-operative News, with the idea of obtaining new purchasers. Within about twelve months the Committee had opened three Branch Reading-rooms in connection with the Stores at Mirfield, Kirkheaton, and Outlane. At the Central Reading-room, corner of Albion Street, there was a Conversation-room, and also a Lending Library- opened in August, 1894-containing a collection of valuable books written by the most eminent authors. There, also, were kept a number of opera and field glasses for lending out to members at a nominal charge, and these have proved a very popular addition

During the winter of the Committee organised twenty concert-meetings in connection with the Branch Stores, at which addresses were delivered upon Co-opera- tion, and high-class music was also provided. The same winter the Committee joined with the Governors of the Technical School in providing a course of six lectures on " The Industrial Revolution," by the Rev. C. G. Lang, M.A., an Oxford University Extension lecturer, and now the Archbishop of York,.

Page 215

CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 215

_In 1894-5 the Committee arranged a course of six lectures in the Armoury on their own responsibility. The lecturers were gentlemen of high reputation, the subjects were of an interesting and popular character, and gave great satisfaction to the members. Among the lecturers were Dr. Andrew Wilson and Mr. F. C. Gould, who has since become famous as a political cartoonist. _ A public lecture was also given by Mr. Henry Vivian (now M.P.), Secretary of the Labour Association for Promoting Co- operative Production, on " Trade Unions and Co-opera- tion." The Committee, from time to time, have liberally distributed Co-operative literature, and in May, 1894, they printed for presentation to each member a pamphlet written by Mr. Owen Balmforth entitled, " Huddersfield, Past and Present," in which the rise and progress of Co-operation, trade unions, and friendly societies in Huddersfield were sketched. During the quarter ending October, 1895, the Committee established the Choir and singing Class, under the conductorship of Mr. D. W. Evans, the popular Superintendent of Music for the school Board. Mr. Evans continued to hold the position until the present year, when he resigned. - This quarter, also, the Committee founded a scholarship, value £5 per annum, tenable for three years at the Higher Grade Board School (now the College Secondary School). This amount was supplemented by the Government during the three years by £21, making the total value of the scholarship £36. The following quarter a Shorthand Class, with forty pupils, was started, under the tuition of the late Mr. James Carter. The Lending Library had thus early become very popular, there being at this time about 1,000 borrowers.

In July, 1896, it was announced that Norman Howard, of 8, Bland Street, Lockwood (son of a member of the Society), was the winner of the above scholarship. Subsequently Master Howard was successful in passing several examinations, and he is now a fully qualified chemist, filling an important position in the Civil Service

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216 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

Supply Stores, London. In August the Committee, in conjunction with the Directors of the Society, began to issue the monthly journal, " The Wheatsheaf," published by the Co-operative Wholesale Society. Mr. Arthur Smith (the Secretary of the Educational Committee) was appointed editor of the local pages, and forty-two dozen

copies were put into free circulation, this number being doubled three months later.

At the quarterly meeting of the Society in November, 1896, a special grant of £100 was voted by the members for the purchase of books (in addition to the ordinary - quarter's grant), and so popular had the Library become that only three hands were held up against the proposal. This winter about thirteen tea meetings were arranged _ in connection with the various Branch Stores.

Unfortunately, the Reading-room at Kirkheaton had to be closed in the quarter ending January 30th, 1897, for lack of appreciation. On May Ist the Committee began the system of sending out boxes of books to the Branch Stores, thus enabling members in the outer districts to borrow from the Central Library. At the quarterly meeting on August 28th Mr. Arthur Smith, who had been Secretary of the Educational Committee from its inception in 1893, retired from the Committee, on account of pressure of private business, and the meeting passed a special vote of thanks to him for the valuable services he had rendered to the Society. Mr. F. L. Dyson (who had also been on the Committee from the beginning) was elected Secretary in succession to Mr. Smith. In December Mr. Ben Dyson'(the present courteous librarian and caretaker) was appointed to devote his whole time to the duties of his office, in order that the Library might be opened each day of the week. - Mr. Dyson had been a

part-time assistant from the commencement of this department. '

On July 23rd, 1898, the second scholarship presented by the Society, tenable at the Higher Grade School, was competed for, and won by Percival Henderson (Honley).

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CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 217

Mr. Henderson is now an Inspector of Schools for the London County Council. This month, also, the circulation of "The Wheatsheaf" was increased to 100 dozen monthly. On August zoth our Choir visited the National Co- operative Festival, held at the Crystal Palace, London, to compete in the choir contest. They succeeded in carrying off the second prize £3. 3s., and a medal for Mr. Evans (the conductor). This winter the Committee estab- lished a Book-keeping Class (teacher, Mr. Senior), and also their first class for the study of "The History and Principles of Co-operation " (teacher, Mr. Emanuel Booth). A large number of tea meetings were again held this winter at the various Branch Stores, the Choir rendering valuable assistance.

On April 8th, 1899, the Committee held its first children's examination on °" Co-operation." This was not a class, merely an examination, and only one girl and three boys put in an appearance, but it was a beginning. When the result of the examination of the Adult Class in '" Co-operation '' was made known, the gratifying fact was revealed that all the eleven students had passed, three in the first class and eight in the second. The first three were Mr. F. L. Dyson, Miss Amy Balmforth, and Mr. Edgar Whiteley. In August the Choir competed for the second time at the Crystal Palace, and on this occasion were successful in winning the first prize of £6 6s., obtaining 98 marks out of a possible 100. This

winter the Choir numbered 140 members and the Singing Class 110.

During the quarter ending January, 1900, the first Children's Class in " Co-operation "' was established. The following quarter a lantern was purchased by the Committee for use at lectures and the Children's Classes. In August the Choir for a third time was victorious at the Crystal Palace Festival, this year carrying off the Earl Grey Challenge Shield, and silver medal for the conductor, obtaining 97 out of too marks. The Choir bad, up to this time, given several concerts in the

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218 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

Technical College, Victoria Hall, and other places, but on December 15th it gave its first concert in the Town Hall, and on this occasion Mr. E. O. Greening attended and formally presented the Choir with the above shield. In September Mr. J. S. Armitage succeeded to the Secre- taryship of the Committee in place of Mr. F. L. Dyson, who still, however, remained on the Committee.

In the summer of 1901 several rambles into the country were first organised by the Committee. The Choir discontinued its visits to the Crystal Palace this year, in consequence of the action of the railway company in refusing to make satisfactory concessions in the railway fares. This winter a class for the study of " Industrial History "' was formed.

In April, 1902, Mr. Arthur Smith, the Editor of the local " Wheatsheaf," resigned his position owing to other engagements, and Miss C. M. Mayo was appointed his successor. On April 21st the present writer, who had been Chairman of the Educational Committee for nine years, in fact, from its commencement in 1893, resigned his position in consequence of a new rule adopted by the Society at the general revision of rules which had just taken place. This rule was to the effect that no member should be eligible to .sit on the Committee who had a relative employed by the Society. As I had both a daughter and a cousin in the employ of the Society I was thus rendered ineligible. Mrs. Marshall, an active mem- ber of the Committee, succeeded to the chairmanship. The new rules also changed the method of electing the Committee. Hitherto, three had been elected by the Directors and four by the members. - Henceforward only one was to be chosen by the Directors, and six to be elected by and from the members at the quarterly meetings of the Society held in February and August, two to retire each six months. During this summer the Choir was engaged by the Corporation to give two concerts in Greenhead Park. They also sang for the patients in the Sanatorium and the Infirmary. On July 26th the Committee

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CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 21IQ

organised its first Children's Field Day, which was held in Longley Hall Park by kind permission of Major Beadon. Over 3,000 children walked in procession, along with the Society's trade exhibits, brass band, and decorated wagons. On September 9th the Choir competed at the Royal National Eisteddfod at Bangor, but only succeeded in being placed fifth among nine competitors. _ On November 8th Canon Lowther Clarke (Vicar of Hudders- field) lectured for the Committee, with the Rev. Dr. Bruce as Chairman.

In February, 1903, Mr. J. S. Armitage was elected Chairman of the Committee (in place of Mrs. Marshall, resigned) and Mr. C. H. Daniel, Secretary. On July 25th the second Children's Field Day was held, and again proved a success. On September 26th the Choir com- peted at the first North-Western Section Demonstration held at Burnley, when it took the second prize of £8. 8s., only being one mark below the premier position. In March, 1904, Mr. C. E. Etchells was elected Secretary to the Committee. During the quarter ending April the Outlane Branch Reading-room was closed by the Committee. The Children's Field Day, held this year on July 23rd, was, unfortunately, quite spoiled by the very wet weather which prevailed. After two years editorship of the local '' Wheatsheaf," Miss Mayo resigned the position on account of removing from the district, and with the October number, 1904, the present writer took her place in the editorial chair. At the second Annual Choir Contest in the North-Western Section, held on October Ist at Bradford, our Choir won the fourth prize of £2. 2s. This winter's syllabus, issued by the Committee, con- tained no fewer than seventeen lantern and other lectures, eleven concerts by the Choir, and five lantern entertainments to the unfortunate inmates of the Infirmary, Sanatorium, Workhouse, Model Lodging House, and Children's Home. Also the usual Adult Classes, and six Children's Classes in " Co-operation '' to

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220 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

be held at the various Branches. Truly a formidable

programme! At these six Classes over 400 children were enrolled as members.

In February, 1905, the number of " Wheatsheafs " circulated by our Society was increased by 54 dozen copies monthly, viz., from 192 to 246 dozen. In March no fewer than 193 pupils sat for examination in connection with the Children's Classes in " Co-operation," I43 being under thirteen years of age and fifty between thirteen and sixteen. This summer the Committee arranged for seven open-air meetings, at which our Choir attracted large audiences by their splendid singing ; also five rambles and excursions, including three to Co-operative Institutions. There was also the Children's Field Day on July 29th, which proved very successful. The procession comprised about 3,000 children, including five wagon loads of infants, two brass bands, and thirteen wagon loads of our Society's trade exhibits. On Septem- ber 30th our Choir carried off the second prize of £8. 8s. at the Third Annual: Co-operative Choir Contest, held this year at Eccles. On October 74th Dr. Eden (Bishop of Wakefield) kindly lectured for the Society in the Victoria Hall on " Some Aspects of the Housing Problem." This month, also, a class with twenty students began the study of " Co-operative Book-keeping," taught by Mr. Alfred Pontefract, accountant.

The Borough Organist, in his annual report issued in May, 1906, upon the Corporation Concerts in the Town Hall, said the largest attendance at the six concerts was that at which the. Co-operative Choir was present. This proves how popular our Choir was in the town. On July 12th Mr. H. H. Goodyear, one of our students in the "Co-operation "' Class, was successful in winning a teacher's certificate in the Oxford University Examination in the subject of " Industrial History." This year, also, Beatrice Moore, a pupil in our Children's Class, came out second best in the list published by the Co-operative Union for the whole of England. On September 29th

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CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 22 I

the Choir again secured the second prize of £8. 8s. at the North-Western Choir Contest held at York. This was

the third time that this position had been obtained.

In May, 1907, Mr. C. H. Daniel became Secretary of the Committee in succession to Mr. Etchells. An impor- tant step was taken on May 25th, viz., the opening of the premises in Princess Street, at present occupied by the library, reading-room, Committee-room, lecture hall, &c. The ceremony was performed by the Chairman of the Committee, Mr. J. S. Armitage. These rooms are a very great improvement upon the previous accommodation in Albion Street. The following September the Com- mittee and the architect presented Mr. Armitage with a gold pendant and an umbrella, as mementoes of the opening of the new library premises. Mr. Ledger made an appropriate speech in making the presentation to Mr. Armitage, eulogising his work on behalf of the Educa- tional Committee. The Children's Field Day on July 23rd, for which great preparations had been made, was once again completely spoilt by the drenching rain. The sports, however, were carried out twelve days later. In August Mr. C. E. Etchells was elected Chairman of the Committee in succession to Mr. Armitage, who was still, however, a member of the Committee. On September 28th the Fifth Annual Demonstration promoted by the North-Western Section of the Co-operative Union was held at Ashton. Our Choir, along with twelve others, entered the competition, and this time succeeded in carrying off the highest honour, viz., the challenge shield,

value £30, and the first prize of £12. 12s.

In April, 1908, the Directors agreed to increase the circulation of the " Wheatsheaf "' by ninety-eight dozen copies monthly, the two Committees dividing the cost. In June the Branch Reading-room at Mirfield was closed by the Committee. On July 18th the Annual Children's Field Day was held, and, being favoured by fine weather, proved a great success numerically. This year the Society's quarterly meeting had guaranteed the sum of

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222 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

£50 towards any loss. This month it was announced that Emily Sellers, Harold Armitage, and John Drake had been awarded respectively a gold brooch and silver medals by the North-Western Educational Committees' Association for securing the highest places in the Juniors' Examination in "Co-operation." At the quarterly meeting of the Society held on August 29th Mr. F. L Dyson gave the gratifying information that during the fourteen years the Educational Department had been open the sum of £58 had been expended by the Committee upon field and opera glasses and repairing same, while £78 had been received for the loan of same to the members, leaving a profit of £20. He urged the Committee to increase their stock of glasses to meet the demand. At the Annual Choir Competition held in September at Sheffield, our Choir failed to obtain a place among the prize-winners. On October 17th the combined Choirs of Huddersfield and Leeds Co-operative Societies gave a concert in the Huddersfield Town Hall, and the com- bination was repeated at Leeds in November. The Educational Committee arranged for a Window Dressing Competition, and offered three prizes for the most effective Christmas window display. The prizes were awarded in the following order:-Paddock Branch, Aspley, and Marsh.

On January 16th, 1909, another combined concert was given in our Town Hall by the Bradford and Hudders- field Choirs. In March the Committee elected Mr. C. H. Daniel as Chairman, and Mr. H. H. Goodyear as Secretary. With the May number of the " Wheatsheaf " the present writer's connection as local Editor ceased, in consequence of the Town Council appointing him as Secretary of the local Education Committee. Mr. C. H. Daniel was appointed to succeed him as Editor. In June it was reported that two of our students attending the Adult Classes, viz., Miss Annie Smith (Lindley) and Mr. W. E. Watson (Marsh) had won scholarships enabling them to attend the summer meeting of students at Oxford in

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CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 223

August. Also that Herbert E. Ellis (Lindley), attending our Junior Class, had won the gold medal offered to the best student in the North-Western Section. On July 10th the Children's Field Day was held, and, despite unfavour- able weather, proved very successful. On September 25th the Annual Co-operative Choir Contest took place at Hull, and our Choir was placed fifth in the order of merit. On October 30th our Choir took part in a com- bined concert in the Town Hall, along with the Leeds and Bradford Choirs. Similar concerts were held at Leeds on November 13th, and at Bradford on December 18th. At Christmas another competition in window dressing took place for prizes offered by the Educational Com- mittee. The following Branches were the successful prize-winners :-Thornton Lodge, Cliffe End, and Mold- green.

In February, 1910, the examination took place in connection with our Children's Classes in " Co-operation, ' which had been held during the winter at seven of our Branches. One hundred and twenty-three sat below thirteen years of age, and twenty-six between thirteen and sixteen, the results being highly satisfactory, a total of seventy-five passing the ordeal successfully. In March Mr. J. S. Armitage was elected Chairman of the Com- mittee. On March 31st Mr. D. W. Evans, who had been Conductor of the Choir ever since its formation, resigned that position on account of the state of his health. The Society has been fortunate in having the benefit of Mr. Evans' very valuable services. Under his efficient training the Choir has succeeded in winning the highest honours. Mr. T. E. Pearson, Mus. Doc. (Oxon), F.R.C.0O., has been appointed successor to Mr. Evans, with Mr. Gladstone Battye as Deputy Conductor. The Committee's syllabus for the present summer includes four open-air lecture-concerts, and excursions to the C.W.S. Biscuit Works at Crumpsall, and their Soap Works at Irlam, also, a visit to the Sowerby Bridge Flour Mill. The unsettled and rainy weather has, unfortunately, prevented two or

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224 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

three of the items being carried out. On June 5th the Choir very acceptably rendered several pieces of music to the patients in the Infirmary.

The writer had interesting memories recalled early this year of an old colleague in the Society's educational work. Mr. Arthur Smith, who was on the staff of a local newspaper, was the first Secretary of the Educational Committee in 1893, and was also the first Editor of the local " Wheatsheaf." Some years ago he resolved to try his fortune in a foreign country. Nothing had been heard of him for a long time, but about April last an American illustrated magazine came by post to the Society's Library, and, sure enough, there was Mr. Smith's face and figure in a photographic group of mountain climbers. Mr. Smith was a zealous and able worker, quiet and unassuming, yet thorough and reliable, and his experience and talents were freely given for the benefit of our Educational Department.

LIsT OF SCHOLARSHIPS WON BY STUDENTS IN THE SocIEty's ApuLT CLASSES.

DATE. STUDENT'S NAME. SUBJECT. IQOI............... Mr. F. L. Dyson ......... Co-operation. IQOI............... Mr. B. Ibeson ............ 33 IQOI............... Miss A. Balmforth ...... IQO3............... Miss G. Balmforth ...... Industrial History. IQOG............... Mr. C. E. Etchells ....... Co- operatlon IQ05............... Miss M. France............ $3 I1Q9O05............... Mr. H. H. Goodyear .. »» 1906............... Mr. C. H. Daniel ......... 1908............... Mr. W. Kilner ............ Industrial History. IQOQ............... Mr. W. E. Watson ...... 9» 5» *IQOQ............... Miss A. Smith ............ $3 53

The above are Co-operative Union Scholarships, value £2. 1tos., awarded to the best students in the advanced stage of each subject, five being given annually for " Co- operation '' and one for " Industrial History." They are tenable at the Summer Meetlngs of University Extension Students held alternately at Oxford and Cambridge.

*This Scholarship was awarded by the Oxford University Extension Delegacy. -

Page 225

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CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 22"

In addition to the above a large number of our students succeeded in passing the annual examinations in the first and second class.

Blandford Scholarships, value £10, enabling the holders to make a tour of inspection over Co-operative Productive establishments in England and abroad, have been gained by Mr. Chas. E. Etchells in 1905, and Mr. Wm. E. Watson in 1908.

Gold and silver medals for the best examination papers, worked by children under sixteen years of age, in the North-Western Section of the Co-operative Union, have been won by juniors taught in the Society's classes as follows :-

1908. Miss Emily Sellers................ Gold Medal. 1908. Master Harold Armitage ...... Silver Medal. 1908. Master John Drake ............. 1908. Master Herbert E. Ellis ........ »» $ 19o9. Master Herbert E. Ellis ........ Gold Medal.

JJ 3)

In 1908 Huddersfield won four out of the five medals awarded.

Such is a summary of the active propaganda work rendered by our Educational Department. All who believe in the value and importance of education-and the number is happily increasing-must admit that the work herein outlined cannot fail to have increased the Society's power for usefulness, by causing its principles to be better understood, and also, at the same time, bringing enjoyment and happiness into the lives of the members and their families, by holding up before them the high ideals of our great movement.

The following are the present members of our Educa- tional Committee :-

Mr. H. H. GoopyEAR, Secretary, 17, Mission Street, Marsh. Mr. C. H. DanIEL, Ettrick Lodge, Springdale. Mr. J. S. ArmiItTaGE, Chairman, 7, Lidget Street, Lindley. Mr. Gro. WiLson, 24, Birkhouse Lane, Moldgreen. Mrs. M. K. MarsHxarL, 7, Brunswick Street. Mr. S. LocKkwoopn, Treasurer, 8, Cowslip Street, Paddock. Mr. R. LEDporER, Victoria Road, Lockwood.

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228 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

Appended is a list of the members of the Educational Committee, since its formation in 1893 down to the present time :-

Name Chairman. Secretary. Treasurer.

ARMITAGE, JAMES S. ............ X X X ARMITAGE, W...................... BALMFORTH, O..................... X BROADBENT, J. ................... X BROOKE, GEORGE F. ............ CARTWRIGHT, JOHN............... CLIFFE, A. J. X DANIEL, C. X DYSON, F. L. ............... ...... ETCHELLS, C. E. ...........2....2. X GOODYEAR, H. H. ............... HEywooOD, A. ..................... T. ...... ves ee eee eee eee es LEDGER, R. LOCKWOOD, S. .................... MarsmarLt, Mrs. M. K. ......... X MILNES, J. kkk keke e.}. MooRrxoUsE, W. H. ............. PINDER, S. SMITH, ARTHUR .................. X WALKER, A. ...}. WHITELEY, EDGAR .............. X

WILSON, G.

A MA A X

A A

Page 229

CHAPTER XIL.

Obe Women's Build.

The woman's cause is man's; they rise or sink Together, dwarf'd or godlike, bond or free.

mmmmeni®

HE women of this country have a great future before I them in helping to mould the social and civic life of the nation. Hitherto they have taken little or no active part in such work ; but now, thanks to their improved education and a more enlightened public opinion, we find them taking a prominent part in public work of various kinds. When we remember the unique power and influence they possess, as the mothers of our race, this activity is hopeful and encouraging to all who are anxious for the progress and elevation of humanity. In the political, temperance, educational, and social movements of our time, women are engaged with an ardour and zeal reflecting the greatest credit upon them as a class.

Co-operation is the latest movement which has begun to receive their organised help and assistance. The Huddersfield Women's Co-operative Guild was com- menced in November, 1892, with twenty members. _ In September, 1892, the Directors of our Society decided to take the Council-room of the Victoria Hall for a meeting to consider the question of establishing a Women's Guild. Mr. James Broadbent occupied the chair, and the meeting was addressed by Miss Llewellyn Davies. The following month the Directors allowed the use of their Boardroom

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230 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

for the first meeting of the Committee appointed to form the Guild. On November 26th, at the quarterly meeting of the Society, a grant of £2 was voted to assist in its formation. I am sorry I have not been able to obtain a complete list of the first Guild Committee, but I am informed that the late Mrs. Alfred Shaw was the first President, Mrs. Merrifield the Treasurer, and Mrs. Henry Hirst the Secretary.

On January 30th, 1893, the Directors decided to make certain structural alterations in the top room of the John Street property, in order to enable the Guild to hold its regular meetings there. By October, 1893, no fewer than IIq members' names were on the books, and during the quarter a series of seven lectures on " Sick Nursing " were given by Miss Murray, of the Nurses' Home in Trinity Street.

At the Congress held in Huddersfield in 1895 the members of the Guild rendered very valuable help and assistance in carrying out the arrangements. This year the members of the Committee were :-President, Mrs. Clegg ; Vice-President, Mrs. Marshall; Treasurer, Mrs. Whitehead ; Secretary, Mrs. Henry Hirst; along with Mrs. Chappell, Mrs. Collier, Mrs. Kilner, Mrs. Littlewood, and Mrs. Miller.

In the quarter ending October, 1897, the Educational Committee made a grant of {10 to the Guild to assist in defraying the cost of a course of lectures on " Public Health," by Miss Ravenhill, the well-known authority on public hygiene.

In July, 1898, the Guild presented their Honorary Secretary (Mrs. Henry Hirst) with a very handsome dining-room clock as a token of affection and esteem. This year the following were the officers of the Guild :- President, Mrs. Marshall ; Vice-President, Mrs. Mallin- son ; Treasurer, Mrs. Chappell; and Secretary, Mrs. Henry Hirst.

In the winter of 1898 Miss Murray gave another course of four lectures on " The Sickroom."

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CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 231

In July, 1899, the Guild sent two delegates to Plymouth to attend their annual Congress, (viz., Mrs. F. L. Dyson and Mrs. Hy. Hirst), at which Mrs. Marshall (our local President) read a paper entitled, " Women on Education Committees." In October a successful Conference of the Guilds in the North-Western Section was held in the Victoria Hall, the delegates being entertained by our Educational Committee. This month, also, Miss Margaret Mc.Millan (member of the Bradford school Board) lectured for the Guild on " The Early Days

of Childhood."

In April, 1902, the Guild lost, by death, one of its best-known members, Mrs. Alfred Shaw. She was amongst those who started the Branch, her name being No. 1 on the books, and she was also its first President. During Mrs. Shaw's long illness several of the members helped in nursing her. At the meeting held on April 20th the sum of 12s. was collected, and instead of being spent on a wreath the money was sent, with Mr. Shaw's approval, to the Victoria Nurses' Institute, in memory of Mrs. Shaw, as a token of the love and respect of her fellow Guildswomen. - On November 19th Dr. S. G. Moore (the local Medical Officer of Health) lectured to the Guild on '" Food." This winter a number of lessons in millinery

and dressmaking were given.

At the Annual Guild Congress held at Lincoln in June, 1q9o3, Mrs. Chappell represented the local branch.

During the April quarter in 1906 two local medical gentlemen (Dr. Hirst and Dr. Divine) gave lectures to the Guild on health topics. In June the following officers were elected :-President, Mrs. France; Vice-President, Mrs. F. L. Dyson ; Treasurer, Mrs. Gill ; Secretary, Mrs. Clough. At the Annual Congress of the Guild held at Ipswich in June Mrs. Clough and Mrs. Rowley were the local delegates. This month there occurred the death of Mrs. May, who was President of the Slaithwaite Guild,

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2 32 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

and who had also helped in the formation of the Hudders- field Guild. Mrs. France (the President of the local Guild) gave a short address at the funeral.

In March, 1907, the Annual Conference of the Huddersfield District Women's Guilds was held at the local Guild's meeting-room. Mrs. Ackroyd occupied the chair. It was reported there were six branches in the district, with a membership of 205, an increase of seventy- two on the year. Miss H. Smith (Huddersfield) was re-elected Secretary, and Miss Rushworth gave an address on " Guild Ideals: What is our Aim ?" In October Miss Ada Ward (Lindley) gave her lecture to the Guild on " Paris."

The Annual Congress of the Guild was held in 1908 at Burton-on-Trent. It was the twenty-fifth anniver- sary, and about 1,000 women were present. Mrs. Moss

and Mrs. Wainwright were the delegates from Hudders- field.

On May 5th, 1909, Mr. G. H. Wood gave a lecture on 'Food Taxation, and the Co-operative Housewife's Cupboard." In the October quarter members of our Guild went over to Kirkheaton and assisted in the formation of a new Guild branch there.

On April 20th, 1910, the Guild passed a resolution asking the Directors of the Society to stock a supply of leadless glaze ware in the Crockery Department. This resolution was adopted because the inclusion of lead in the making of ordinary crockery is deleterious to the health of the workers. On April 23rd a Conference of the Guilds in the Huddersfield district was held in the local Guildroom, Princess Street. Mrs. Batley (Hep- worth) presided. Mrs. Wainright (President of the Huddersfield Guild) welcomed the delegates, and Mr. Conway gave an address on " School Clinics, and How they are Worked in Bradford." At the Annual Congress of the Guild, which was held at Oxford in July, the local delegates were Mrs. J. S Armitage and Mrs. Frith.

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CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 235

The Guild for many years has organised an Annual Children's Party at Christmas, and has rendered valuable assistance at the Children's Field Days promoted by the Society at Longley Hall Park each summer. By means of District Conferences and its own weekly meetings, at which discussions and lectures upon Co-operative sub- jects take place, the members have exhibited great interest in the aims and objects of Co-operation. The Educational Committee and Women's Guild work in hearty alliance, and there can be no doubt the Guild is doing a good work in assisting the intellectual improvement of its members, and in causing a wider and more intelligent interest to be taken in the cause of Co-operation.

The present Committee of the Guild is composed of the following members :-Mrs. Clough, President ; Mrs. F. L. Dyson, Vice-President ; Mrs. Gill, Treasurer ; Mrs. G. H. Wood, Secretary ; Mrs. J. S. Armitage, Miss G. Balmforth, Mrs. Hemingway, Mrs. Varley, Mrs. Miller,

Mrs. Wainwright.

Page 236

CHAPTER XIII.

Obe Jubilee Eclebrations.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind, For those that here we see no more; Ring out the feud of rich and poor, Ring in redress to all mankind.

T will be no surprise to the reader of the foregoing pages -recording as they do such uniform and continuous progress-that the members heartily accepted the suggestion of the Directors that the Jubilee of the Society should be fittingly celebrated. Taking Time by the the Directors, as early as May 22nd, 1909, recommended that £50 should be set apart out of the quarter's profits - as an instalment towards the cost of the celebrations, and this was duly adopted. At the following Quarterly Meeting in August a recommendation of the Directors was adopted to the effect-

That we celebrate the Jubilee of the Society in 1910, and that the Directors consider the best means of carrying it out, and report to the next Quarterly Meeting, W1th an estlmate of the probable

cost of the same. Suggestions were made at the meeting for the appoint- ment of a Special Committee to consider the form the Jubilee rejoicings should take, and the Directors expressed their intention of co-opting representative members to assist them in their deliberations. Shortly afterwards the Directors invited representatives from the Educational Committee, Women's Guild, Employés, and the general body of members to join with them in arranging a suitable programme for the celebrations. The

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Page 239

CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 230

Special Committee soon got to work, and at the sub- sequent Quarterly Meetings held in November, 1909, and February, Iq9IOo, the following programme was agreed upon as recommended by the Committee:--

I.-That a short History of the Society be prepared, and a copy given to each member; estimated cost, £400.

2.-That the sum of {400 be given to charitable and public institutions, and that the amount be allocated as follows:- Huddersfield Infirmary, £150; Huddersfield and District Victoria Sick Poor Nurses' Association, £75; North-Western Convalescent Homes' Association, £50; Devonshire Hospital, Buxton, £10. Lindley, Marsh, Quarmby, and Birchenclifie District Nurses, £10. 1os.; National Lifeboat Institution, {10; Cinderella Society, £10; Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, £6. 6s.; Huddersfield Deaf and Dumb Association, £6. 6s.; Society for assisting the Blind of Huddersfield and District, £6. 6s.; Huddersfield Police Court Mission, £5. 5s.; Milnsbridge Nurses' Fund, £5. 5s.; Royal Albert Asylum, £5. 5s.; Huddersfield Citizens' Guild of Help, £5. 5s.; Charity Organisation Society, £5. 5s.; Our Society's Relief Fund, £5. 58s.; Askern Bath Charity, £4. 4s.; Bradford Eye and Ear Hospital, £4. 4s.; Huddersfield Orphan Home, £4. 4s.; Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children, £4. 4s.; Poor People's Gathering, £4. 4s.; Yorkshire Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, £4. 48.; Mirfield Cottage Hospital, £3. 3s.; Kirkheaton Parish Nurse Fund, £3. 3s.; Longwood Nurses' Fund, £2. 2s.

3.-That the sum of {150 be provided for the cost of the North-Western Section Demonstration, to beheld in Huddersfield in I9IO0 (this included the Exhibition and Choir Contest).

4. -That a Meat Tea be provided, followed by Public Meetings at the Central and out districts, at a charge of Sixpence each. A free ticket to be given to all members over 70 years of age. Probable cost, £150.

5.-That the sum of £150 be granted towards a Superannuation or Benevolent Fund for the employés.

6.-That {250 be granted for a Field Day, or otherwise entertaining the children of members.

7.-That the sum of £20 be given to the Women's Guild to form the nucleus of a fund for providing sickroom appliances.

8.-That the expenses of the Jubilee Celebrations, less any balance of profits previously appropriated for that purpose, be taken from the reserve fund.

These items make a total of £1,520.

The first event to take place was the Children's Field Day, which was held on Saturday, July 9th, 1910, in

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240 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

Longley Hall Park. Fortunately, the weather was delightful, and the event proved a very great success. The Huddersfield Examiner says:-

TxE PRoOCcEssION.

An hour before 2-30, when the procession left the recreation ground in Queen Street South, the children were seen eagerly making their way to the rendezvous. The procession was prompt in starting, and the route selected was Queen Street South, Princess Street, John Street, Manchester Street, Upperhead Row, Half Moon Street, Westgate, St. George's Square, Northumberland Street, Lowerhead Row, Castlegate, Shore, Aspley, King's Mill Lane, to Longley Hall Park. The Huddersfield Military Band and the Outlane Band played selections on the way, and the processi>n attracted many thousands of interested spectators. An interesting part of the procession was made up by a number of decorated wagons exhibiting various Co-operative products made and retailed by the Society. The bakery and laundry exhibits par- ticularly were very effectively displayed, the latter being the embodiment of cleanliness and purity. Other wagons bore taste- fully arranged exhibits from the grocery, tailoring, butchering, chemist's, painting, furniture, boot and shoe, and coal depart- ments, as well as flour and other trade exhibits. A reflex of the strength of Co-operation in the town and district was afforded by the large number of children who took part. Most of the elder ones marched in four large contingents, while no fewer than 164 of the smaller children were carried on a large motor wagon. Mr. J. S. Armitage (the Field Day Secretary) afterwards informed an Examiner representative that there were 3,600 children in the procession, or about 600 more than had ever previously joined in the demonstration.

In HALL PARK.

Longley Hall Park (the use of which had been kindly lent by Colonel Beadon) was reached about 3-30, and thousands of Co-operators were then waiting to enter the park. Providing that the children in the procession had purchased tickets before Saturday, they were admitted for the small charge of one penny, and, what is more remarkable, this small charge included the provision of buns and coffee for their teas. The charge for adults' admission was only twopence and, as the posters announced, " six hours of continuous enjoyment *' was provided for this sum. For the adults teas and refreshments were provided by the Society in .a marquee at small charges, but, of course, " divi.'"' was not granted on the amount of the purchases.

Page 241

CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 241

THE ATTRACTIONS.

The attractions in the park were many and varied. The bands gave concerts and played for dancing. A number of children from the Band of Hope Union gave maypole and other dances. Professor Le Phred was there with his mannikins, and so were our old friends Punch and Judy. A Lindley church team gave gymnastic displays. " First aid '' displays were presented by the Huddersfield Corps of the St. John Ambulance Brigade. The Co-operative Prize Choir provided the vocal part of the attractions. Grotesque balloons were liberated amid the cheers of the children. Mr. J. W. Hollings (Chairman of the Educational Department of the Leeds Society) gave an address on Co-operative principles, and congratulated the members on the Society's progress.

The juvenile sports competitions were very attractive. The results were as follow :-

Ioo Yarps Hanpicar.-D. Kilburn I ; G. Irving, 2; R. Firth, 3.

Potato RacE.-F. Roebuck, 1; J. Medley, 2; S. Knowles, 3.

50 Yarps Sack RacE.-H. Thompson, 1; Laurence Hill, 2; P. Dowland, 3.

70 YARDS FLAT RacE.-Annie Haigh, 1; Edith Medley, 2; Alice Roebuck, 3.

SKIPPING RACE—Daisy Haigh, 1; Edith Medley, 2; Alice Collinge, 3.

Hoor Race.-Alice Collinge, 1; Edith Hobson, 2; E. Kaye, 3.

5o Yarps EcaG-AaAND>-SPooN RacE.-Annie Martin, 1; Ida Brigg, 2; Edith Hobson, 3.

OBsTACLE RacE.-H. Sykes, 1; J. Mc.Evoy, 2; Sam Mills, 3.

SPOON CLEANING COMPETITION.-Nora Richardson, 1; Amy Collinge, 2; Ada Mellor, 3.

Boot PorisxIng CoMPETITION. - A. Daniel, 1; James Hobson, 2; Wilfred Garnet, 3.

Carr BakIncg ComMPETITION.- Mrs. Etchells, I Armitage, 2; Mrs. Fred Dyson, 3.

250 gallons of coffee and 3,600 buns, made at our Society's Bakery, were consumed by the children.

Members of the Women's Guild and a large number of other voluntary workers assisted in carrying out the day's programme. The next event was the presentation, during August

and September, to each member of the Society who made application, of a useful and attractive piece of crockery in

; - Mrs.

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242 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

the shape of a child's mug. These had been specially made to commemorate the occasion, and each mug was inscribed, " Huddersfield Industrial Society Limited Jubilee, and was embellished with pictures of the present Central premises and, by way of contrast, the old Central Store. _ About 12,500 mugs have been applied for. '

During the week ending September 10th the cheques were sent to the various charitable institutions enumerated on page 239, all of which were thankfully acknowledged by the recipients in due course. Appended is a copy of the resolution sent by the Governors of the Huddersfield Infirmary :-

On the motion of the Chairman of the Infirmary, Mr. John Sykes, seconded by Mr. J. H. Kaye, the following resolution was unanimously carried: " That the warmest thanks of the Board be given to the President, Committee, and members of the Hudders- field Industrial Society Limited for their most generous and spontaneous donation of {150 to this Infirmary in celebration of Saturday's Jubilee; and that the Board ask them to accept their sincere congratulations on the remarkable growth and prosperity of the Society, and on the high and influential position it holds among similar industrial institutions in the country."

On Saturday, September 10th, Teas were provided for the members in the Parochial Hall, Milton Church School, and the Primitive Methodist School; also in the Victoria Hall for past and present Directors and delegates from neighbouring Societies Altogether about 1,100 persons partook of the teas. In the evening a large meeting to celebrate the Jubilee was held in the Town Hall. - Mr. Jas. Broadbent (President) occupied the chair, as he did also in 1882 at the 2st anniversary, and Mr. Prentis (Secretary) read a brief history of the Society. Addresses were delivered by Mr. J. Shillito, J.P. (Chairman of the Co-operative Wholesale Society) and Mr. W. R. Rae (Sunderland). The Society's Choir gave several selections, and specially engaged vocalists sang a number of songs. Thanks were given to the speakers and others, on the motion of Mr. John Crossley, seconded by Mr. J. S. Armitage (Senior Director and member of the Educational

Page 243

CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 243

Committee). Prior to the meeting the audience joined together in singing several Co-operative songs, and the entire proceedings passed off very satisfactorily.

From Tuesday, September 13th, to Saturday, Septem- ber Iyth inclusive, a grand Exhibition of Co-operative Productions was held in the Roller Skating Rink, Queen Street South. The exhibition was officially opened by Councillor Geo. Thomson, J.P. (Woodhouse Mills), and Mr. T. Horrocks (Co-operative Union) presided. On the motion of Mr. Emanuel Booth (Wooldale), seconded by Mr. S. Pinder (Director), a hearty vote of thanks was accorded to Mr. Thomson. The exhibition was of a large, varied, and interesting character, and was crowded with visitors each day it was open. The admission was free. Mr. J. F. Sykes' select military band gave selections each

afternoon and evening, and everybody pronounced the exhibition a great success.

On Saturday afternoon, September 17th, the Eighth Annual. Co-operative Choir Contest in the North-Western Section was held in the Town Hall. No fewer than 16 choirs competed. The two test pieces were, " O, Glad- some Light " and " The Three Fishers." The judge was H. Evans, Esq. (Liverpool). The prizes were:-Ist, challenge shield and £10. tos. ; 2nd, £6. 6s.; 3rd, £3. 3S.;

and 4th, £2. 2s. The winning choirs and their number of marks were as follows:-

I. Accrington and Church ......... 71-73 I44 2. BOItON ee}. 70-71 I4I 3. Huddersfield ........................ 72-65 137 4. 68-68 136 |

In the evening there was a Concert by the Hudders- field Choir and a Male Voice Contest. The test pieces were:-* O0, Peaceful Night " and " Hymn before Action." Eight choirs competed, and the prizes were:-Ist, £4. 458.; 2nd, £2. 2s. The following was the result:-

I. k...}. 73-70 143 2. Co-operative Wholesale Society 68-71 139

Page 244

244 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

The attendance was very large, and Mr. S. Fairbrother (Bolton) occupied the chair.

For several days during this week a number of flags were hoisted from the Society's premises, and in the evenings 300 coloured electric lamps were effectively displayed along the entire building in Buxton Road and Princess Street. The week's proceedings proved very successful, and were fully reported in the local press and in the Co-operative News. Two thousand extra copies of the latter, dated September 17th, which also contained photographs of the Directors and Jubilee Committee, were purchased by the latter body and freely distributed among the members.

Two events which may be considered as unofficial offshoots of the Jubilee celebration took place during the week, and may also be recorded here. On Wednesday, September 14th, a Conference of Co-operative Employés was held in the Lecture Hall, Princess Street, which was attended by about 100 delegates. Mr. R. Halstead read a paper on " The Future of Co-operative Production." A long discussion followed. Tea was provided for the delegates by our Society in the Victoria Hall.

The second event was the holding of a Conference of Women's Guilds in the Yorkshire Section on Thursday, September 15th, in the Princess Street Lecture Hall. A paper, written by Miss Tuckwell (London), on " Leadless Glaze," was read by Mrs. G. H. Wood, the local Guild Secretary. A discussion ensued, and resolutions were adopted calling upon Co-operators to further the sale and use of leadless glaze-ware. Tea was afterwards provided by our Society. In connection with this conference it should be stated that our local Women's Guild had a stall in the exhibition, at which samples were shown of leadless-glaze crockery, and many orders for the same were booked.

The Jubilee celebrations, however, did not close with the above busy week ending September Iyth. The

Page 245

CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 245

Jubilee Committee resolved to continue the celebrations by holding tea meetings in connection with the various Branch Stores, and the following list was arranged :- October 1. Bradley- President : Mr. R. LEporRr. Speaker: Mr. Hayuurst.

October 1. Outlane- President : Mr. J. Speaker : Mr. E. Bootx.

October 1. Marsh-- President: Mr. O. BaLmrORTH. Speaker : Mr. T. E. Moornouse.

October 8. Paddock and Beech Street- President : Mr. A. P. Nicnor. Speaker : Mr. J. Brack.

October 8. Kirkheaton- President : Mr. E. GEE. Speaker : Mr. T. E. Moornousr.

October 8. Birkby- President : Mr. J. S. ARMITAGE. Speaker : Mr. W. NiELD.

October 15. Moldgreen and Greenside- President : Mr. S. PinpER. Speaker : Mr. W. NiELD.

October 15. Lowerhouses-- President : Mr. J. DomBson. Speaker : Mr. J. W. Horuings.

October 15. Primrose Hill and Newsome- President : Mr. C. H. Danie... Speaker : Mr. T. S. Parr.

October 22. Almondbury- President : MrRr.G. ATKINSON. - Speaker : Mr. J. W. Horrincgs.

October 22. Mirfield- President : Mr. J. Dawson. Speaker : Mr. J. SnarpLiEs.

October 22. Lindley and Oakes- President : Mr. J. Speaker : Mr. G.

October 29. Lockwood and Rashcliffe- President : Mrs. J.S. ArmitAGE. Speaker : Mr. J. SuarpLEs.

October 29. Milnsbridge and Cliffe End- President : Mr. J. CrossiLEy. Speaker :

October 29. Thornton Lodge- President : Mr. J. W. Speaker : Mr. E. Bootx.

The majority of these gatherings had not been held when these pages were written, so that no detailed account of them can be given here. To show how successful they promised to be, however, it may be noted that on October Ist as many as 394 persons sat down to tea at Bradley, 380 at Outlane, and 240 at Marsh.

Thus ends this Jubilee History. What the future will reveal it is impossible to say, but I have confidence that if the same good sense and prudence are shown in the

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246 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

management of our Society in the future, as in the past, then it will continue its useful and prosperous career for generations yet to come. The principles for which Co-operation stands-thrift, cash payments, pure com- modities, fair conditions of labour, education, mutual help, and co-partnership of profit-are principles which are needed not for to-day only, but for all time. May the Huddersfield Industrial Society long continue to strive for these practical ideals of everyday life.

JUBILEE COMMITTEE.

Chairman : Mtr. J. BROADBENT.

Secretary : Mr. J. T. Prentis.

Mr. G. ATKINSON. Mr. J. HAMER. ,, J. CrRrossLEy. ,, J. HawirrEy. ,, J. Dawsox. ,, _- B. KINDER. ,, J. DomBson. ,, RK. LEDGER. ,, J. W. Downing. ,, A. P, NicHoL. G. HaALsTEAD. ,, S. PINDER.

(Directors.) Mrs. J. S. ArmrtTagE (Women's Guild).

Mr. J. S. ARMITAGE. Mr. H. H. GooDYEAR. C. H. ,, -G. WILsoN. (Educational Committee.)

Mr. O. BaALMFORTH. Mr. E. GEE. Mr. J. Mirn®Es. (Members of the Society.)

33

Mr. J. HorpsworTH (Employés' Representative).

Mr. A. HorsraLL (Cashier to the Society).

Page 247

August, September,

BJ

9 9

March, September,

March, September,

9 ) 3 » I

December, September,

1» Bj BJ aJ 9 3 J » )) )» ») J % ) ))

3)

33 August,

33

-A\ppendices.

ain cz ce

1. LIST OF OFFICERS.

PRESIDENTS. elo e HoLMES, GEORGE. lo ae Broox, THomas. o e BRADLEY, JOHN. I803 keke rere rere ekke}, BrRraDLEy, JOHN. o e BrapLEy, JOHN. eof e Snxaw, BENJAMIN. 1805 reer re sea kkk} Snaw, BEnjamiIn. I8605 kerr eek} aoe Brook, HENRY. I86O7 ee}. Brook, HENRY. I868 reese eee eek Brook, HENRY. I86Q rer kkk}. *SCHOFIELD, WRIGHT. I86Q keller kk}. GLEDHILL, JOSEPH. I8JO errr reer eee. 6k} GLEDHILL, JOSEPH. ev ae FIELD, JOHN. I8BJ2 reer eee Branp, THomas. I8J3 elke reer reer kkk kk}. Branp, THomas. I874 ere erea THxomas. 1875 ............ .}. seee eee ere eee} }. Braxnp, THomas. e oe Branp, THomas. ef Branp, THnomas. I878 ke rre reer HovyLE, J. I8JQ rre eres eee. } HovyLE, J. I880 keke keke kkk BROADBENT, J. I88I 6066 eee ekke kkk} BROADBENT, ]. I8B82 reer BROADBENT, ]. I883 kee ee.} Branp, THomas. 1884, to August, 1900 .......... BROADBENT, ]. IOQOO ere SHaw, WIrLtanm. I9OI, tO BROADBENT, J.

*Wright Schofield resigned October 15th, 1869.

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248 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

VICE-PRESIDENTS.*

August, loo e Brook, THoMAs. September, 1861 BRADLEY, JOHN. March, oy e GREENHALGH, JAMES. September, 18604 QuarmMBy, B. March, eS QuarmBy, B. September, 1865 E1LIs, S. i I866 leeve rre ere JEBsON, J. $ I8O7 errr neenee eee ee} CooxK, J. F. t I868 kr verre rere ek} THoRNTON, W. $ I86Q keke rere rere elk GLEDHILL, JOSEPH. December, 186Q ARMITAGE, JAMES. September, 1870 kkk eek 6000. FIELD, JOHN. $3 y e SHxaw, BENJAMIN. $ ey e SCHOFIELD, R. $ I8J3 kere rre HovyLE, JOHN. $ I874 kers kk} Snxaw, B. $3 I8BJY sense reer ee eee Howr, W. $3 verve rere eee ee} BROADBENT, J. $ e e BROADBENT, ]. e e oe HEnopry, A. G. SECRETARIES. August, 1860, to July, 1862 .................... WALKER, R. S. August, 1862, to February, 1863 ............. SLEE, WILLIAM. March, 1863, to present time (1910) ......... PrENTIS, Jas. THncS.

2. LIST OF DIRECTORS.

AsHWORTH, WILLIAM .......... August, 1860. CROWTHER, J AMES............... $3 $3 GREENWOOD, JAMES ....... $ $ GLEDHILL, RICHARD ........... August 1860 and March, 1864. HAIGH THOMAS ................. August, 1860 resigned September 25th, 1860; Jos. Lever elected. JoHnsOoN, JAMES ................ August, 1860, March, 1864, to Sep- tember, 1866 and 1867. NETHERWOOD, JOHN ........... August, 1860. NoRTH, DAVID .................. $3 $3 NORTH, WILLIAM ............... $3 $3 Topp, THOMAS .................. $3 »» WADDINGTON ROBERT ........ BROOK, HENRY .................. March 1861 March, 1864, 1867 to

1871 and 1877 to 1883

* There are several omissions as the records are incomplete. The office was abolished apparently in 1882.

Page 249

CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELCEC. 240

List or DirEctors-continued.

DopswoRTH HENRY ............ March, 1861. Eastwoopn, BENJAMIN.......... $3 t MARSHALL, GEORGE ............ $3 $ SCHOFIELD CHARLES .......... SMITH, JOSEPH .................. March 1861 and September, 1864. BARTLAM JOHN ................. September 1861. CARTER, DAVID .................. $3 i COTTON, GEORGE ............... i $, DEmMPpsEY, ANTHONY............ »» »» SYKES, J AMES..................... $3 $3 Woopxous®E, W. H. ...... $3 $3 (No record for 1862 and 1863.) ELLIS, SAMUEL .................. March, 1864 and 1866. HoRSFALL, JONAS .............. March, 1864 ; resigned in September, 1864. KITsON, HENRY ................. March, 1864 and 1865, 1866 to 1868, and 1870 to 1872. ToprHAaM, THOMAS ............... March, 1864. BRADBURY, J. ................... September, 1864. BROWN, J. = === .............}.. $» i LINDLEY, JAMES ................ $3 ,, and 1872 and 1873. SISWICK, WILLIAM .............. $ $3 SLEE, JOSEPH .................... BILLCLIFFE JOB March 1865 and 1866. CaAssoN, CHARLES ............... $3 f FIELD, JOHN ..................... September, 1864, March, 1865 to 1869, 1872 to 1874, 1874 to 1891, and 1893. HarcHx, BENJAMIN .............. March, 1865 and 1866. ASPINALL, JOHN.................. September, 1865 and 1866. COOK, J. ...... seee eee}. September, 1865 to 1868, and 1871 to 1873. LIvEsSEY, B. ...................... September, 1865 and 1866. MooRE, DAVID .................. September, 1865 and 1866, 1875 and 1876, 1879 to 1884, and 1888 to 1892. SHAW, W. September, 1865, 1866 and 1872. WoOODHOUSE, G................... ,, to 1867, 1873 to 1879, 1881, 1883, and 1884. GLEDHILL, J. ..................... 1866 to 1871 and 1877. HEWITT, R. ...................... 1866 and 1867. HorpwOOD, 1866. OLDFIELD, J. ..................... 1866, 1867, 1873 and 1874. SHAW, 1866, 1869 to 1872 and 1875, 1881

and 1882.

Page 250

250 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

List or DircEctors-continued.

ARMITAGE, J. ..................2. 1867 and 1870. ARMITAGE, W. 1867. BENTLEY, J. ...................2. 1867 and 1868. BooTHROYD, B. .......... sek.... 1867 and 1868 HALL, G. 1867 to 1869. JEBSON, J................ cee... ... 1867. SANDERSON, J. .................. 1867. THORNTON, W. ..............222.. 1867 and 1869. WARDLE, J. ............... ...... 1867 and 1868. YATES, T. eee}. 1867. BOOTH, W. ...........2.2.... ...... 1868. COOK, J. F. }, 1868. DawsON, E. ..., 1868 and 1869. QUARMBY, B. 1868. RILEY, G. 2k... ..... 1868 and 1869. SISSONS, S. ...... 1868. SCHOFIELD, WRIGHT ........... 1868. WOOD, W. ............. ..i}. 1868 to 1873, 1876 to 1880, 1882 to 1883 and 1886. BATES, J. .......... vek eee ee eee e}} 1869. LonarEy, D. ...... seve e ese k.}. 1869 and 1870. REED, kkk e..... }. . 1869 to 1871. RoystON, W. H. .....,........0. 1869 and 1870. SAYNOR, J. 1869 and 1874. WOOD, D. ................... ...... 1869 to 1872. CRABTREE, (G. .................... 1870. . NORTH, C. ...... 1870, 1871, 1873, 1881 and 1882. TAYLOR, E. 1870 and 1871. BLAND, T. 1871 and 1886 to 1892. BROOK, S. 1871 to 1873, 1880, 1882 and 1883. GARSIDE, JOHN .................. 1871 and 1872. CRAWSHAW, S. .................. 1872. EAsTWOOD, W. .................. 1872, 1873 and 1877. GRINDROD, J. .................... 1872 to 1877. HOYLE, J. 1872 to 1874, 1877, 1879 and 1880. CALVERT, 1873 to 1876. HENDRY, A. G. to 1879 and 1883. ROoYDS, R. ........................ 1873 to 1877. SCHOFIELD, R. ................... 1873. ELLAM, H. ................ ... ...}. 1874 to 1876 and 1890 to 1892. GARTHWAITE, R. ................ 1874 and 1875. GREENWOOD, J. B. ......... ... 1874 and 1875. STEAD, G. k...} 1874, 1877 and 1878. HAIGH, H. ........................ 1875. HowE, W. ............... .... ...}. 1875 to 1878 and 1880 to 1883,

1885 and 1886.

Page 251

CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 25I

List or CDiIirEctors-continued .

BROADBENT, J. ............ ..... 1876 to 1880.

IREDALE, G. 1876 and 1877. KENWORTHY, J. ........... ..... 1876, 1877, 1882 and 1884. NoBLE, A. ......... cee seee ee e}} 1876 and 1877. TURTON, G. ...... }. .. 1877 and 1878. WALKER, S. ...... 2. 2k. ee}. 1877 to 1884. WHITWAM, G. ...... ..... .... 1877 to 1882 and 1884 to 1887. ARMITAGE, D. .... .. ee k} 1878. BALMFORTH, W. ........... se.... 1878 and 1884 to 1886, 1892 and 1893. Brammax, T. B. ................ 1878 find 1879. BROOK, G. F. 2. 1878 to 1881 and 1883 to 1886. DysON, B. 1878 to 1883 and 1885. CrRosLanD, B. L. ............2... 1879 and 1882 to 1884. Dyson, W. L. 1879 to 1886. GRINDROD, B. ................2.22. 1879 to 1885. HIRST, H. .............2.2.... ..}, 1879 to 1900. IREDALE, M. 1879 to 1881. SHAW, H. 1879 to 1882 and 1885 to 1888. WOOD, E. ...}. 1879. SYKES, J. kkk 6.6.2, 1880 and 1881. SHAW, J. 1881 to 1884. THEWLIS, T. 1881, 1882, 1884 and 1885. WEBSTER, IR................2....2. 1881 to 1884. DONKERSLEY, K. ............... 1882 to 1884, 1886 to 1893 and 1895 to 1897. MILNES, J. .e} 1882 to 1891 and 1894 to 1900. GEE, E. 1883 to 1890. LUMB, D. 1883 to 1885. SISWICK, J. 1883 and 1884. SHAW, A. 1883. SHAW, W. 1884 to 1890 and 1892 to 1895. SWIFT, H. 1884. CROSLANDy, J. ..................... 1886 to 1888. CROSSLEY, 1886 to 1910. JORDAN, J. H. 1886 to 1893. HALSTEAD, G. ................... 1886 and 1902 to 1910. SanNDpLaAND, T. B. ............... 1886 to 1888. LITTLEWOOD, C. ................. 1886 to 1890. WALKER, A................. .e... 1886 to 1893, 1895 to 1899 and I9OI. HrEywoop, A. .................... 1888 to 1906. CANBY, J. keke. es 1888 to 1891. ARMITAGE, WILLIAM............ 1890 to 1894. COTTON, R. .................. ...}. 1890 to 1893.

CASTLE, J. kkk eke e} 1891 to 1893.

Page 252

2532 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

List or DirEctors-continued.

CLIFFE, A. J. k}. 1891 to 1894 and 1900 to 1902. MATHER, S. ....................... 1891 to 1899 and 1902 to 1904. DAWSON, J. 1892 to 1910. ATKINSON, G. 1893 to 1910. GARSIDE, JOSEPH ............... 1893 to 1894. KETTLEWELL, J. W. ........... 1893 to 1895. LAWTON, B. .................2..2.2. 1893, 1894, 1896 and 1897. BRAY, J. 1894 to 1896. MILLER, J. 1894 to 1897. MooRrHxoOUSE, W. H. ............ 1894 to 1904. LEE, J. 6k kee kee eee ee.}. 1896 to 1902. HoPKINSON, W................... 1897 to 1900 and 1902 to 1905. TAYLOR, F. 1897 to 1900. WHITELEY, (G. ................... 1899 to 1901. DYysON, F. L. .................... 1899 to 1902. OATES, J. ...... keke 19oo to 1902. KELLET, W. ...................... 1900 to I19oI. PINDER, S. .................. ...... 19oo to 1910. WHITELEY, E. ................... 19oo to 1902, 1905 and 1906. SCHOFIELD, WALTER ........... I9oI to 1902. DowWwNING, J. W. ................ 19o2 to 1910. HAMER, J. ae e ese e e ee eee 1902 to 1910. HorRrsFALL, ABRAHAM .......... 1902. LEDGER, R. 1902 to I910. KINDER, B. ....................... 1904 to 1910. WILSON, G. 0.0}. 19o4 to 1907. LITTLEwOOD, B. ................ 19o5 to 1907. HAWLEY, J. ...................... 1906 to 1910. DOBSON, J......................... 1907 to 1910. NIcHOL, A. P. ................... 1907 to 1910.

3. LIstT OF PRESENT BRANCH STOREKEEPERS.

Lindley- DATE APPOINTED. FENTON TODD ...................... July, 1879. Previously at Mirfield 3 years. Moldgreen- JOSEPH WALKER ................... October, 1872. Lockwood-- ErnEst Morton HoLLAND ..... February, 1900. Mirfield-- Joun HEnrRY DonALDsoN ...... May, 1901. Paddock- ARTHUR LAURIE HAIGH ......... November, 1892. Northumberland Street- ALLEN HANSON...................... May, 1894. Previously at

Newsome years.

Page 253

CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 253

List or PRESENT BRANCH STOREKEEPERS-continued.

Milnsbridge- James AsquiITH ARMITAGE ... November, 1900. Previously at Lowerhouses 4 years. Primrose Hill- FENWICK DRAKE ............... January, 1892. Previously at Newsome 1} years.

Bradley- Joun HENRY SUTCLIFFE ...... June, 1909. Previously at Newsome I1 years. Rashclifie- HarRIs POLLARD ............... September, 1876. Marsh- DAaAvID WALKER.................. March, 1881. Lowerhouses- GEoRGE HEnxnrRry HoLLaNnD ... November, 1900. Newsome-

Joun Epwarp ... June, 1909.

Greenside- Joun EpwARD IBBERSON...... March, 1881. Aspley- WILLIE RICE ..................... March, 1887. Previously at Outlane 31 years. Outlane- CROOKS .................... March, 1887. Cliffe End- TOM LANE ........................ April, 1898. Previously at Newsome 9 months. Kirkheaton- Dyson SMITH .................... February, 1886. Previously at Lowerhouses 1% years. Oakes- Joun EpwArRD ..... September, 1897. Previously

+ at Newsome 8 monthks. Thornton Lodge-

Sam WRIGHT TURTON ......... February, 1892. Almondbury- BROOK SMITH .................... November, 1900. Beech Street- WALTER TOoWNEND.............. February, 1900. Birkby- FErED TownENnD KITsSON ...... May, 19or. Previously at Mir-

field 6 years.

Page 254

254 CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD.

4. List or AUDITORS.

November, 1860, to May, 1861-- PROFESSION . *WILLIAM BERRY ll.... No record . *WILLIAM DEARDEN........................... $ *J. BICKERDIKE »» August, 1861- * WILLIAM BERRY .......................2...... vs *WILLIAM H. WoOoODHOUSE .................. Printer. November, 1861- *WILLIAM BERRY No record . *CHARLES RAMSDEN. ......................... Schoolmaster . February, 1862- *WILLJIAM BERRY No record. *CHARLES RAMSDEN ............. ces e eee eel} Schoolmaster . *HENRY WOOD No record . July, 1862, and January, 1863-- WILLIAM HEPPENSTALL ... ... ... ......... $ July, 1863- Joun BERRY BEST ... ... .................. Farmer. JOHN BICKERDIKE ..............2............ No record. January, 1864, to January, 1865- JaAmMEs PURCHON ....................... Accountant. July, 1865, to July, 1871- FRANK CURZON .............................. . a, January, 1872-- W. E. THOMAS Schoolmaster. J. DONKERSLEY ee.. 0}. o July, 1872, to January, 1875- JOSEPH TAYLOR ) July, 1875, to January, 1877- THoMAs WESTERBY...... seee neenee e eevee ee eas Accountant. July, 1877, to January, 1879-- THOMAS WESTERBY........................... $3 FRED LOCKWOOD l............................ $, July, 1879, to July, 1880-- C. WHEAWILL a SHAW HAIGH . 6, January, 1881- . FRED LOCKWOOD ............................. $ CHARLES RAMSDEN .......................... Schoolmaster .

* Quarterly Audits. Remainder, Ilalf-yearly Audits.

Page 255

CO-OPERATION IN HUDDERSFIELD. 255

List or AUupItOoRs- continued.

July, 1881- C. WHEAWILL Accountant.

January, 1882- THOMAS WESTERBY ...... ...... sll... lll... FRED LOCKWOOD ...... .22.22.2 ..22.2.2...

July, 1882, to July, 1888- {C. WHEAWILL }

October, 1888, to October, 1907- *RICHARD CRABTREE ....................

January, 1908, to July, 1910- *WHEAwILL and SUDWORTH ...............

* Quarterly Audits. { Quarterly, from January, 1886. Remainder, Half-yearly Audits

Page 256

LONGSIGHT !

- MANCHESTER.


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