Object Title

Spitalfields Weavers

Original Format

Petition

Description

Tract distributed to the Lords by the Spitalfields silk weavers the 9 July 1823

This tract was given to the Lords by a committee of silk weavers before they entered the Houses of Parliament to vote on the repeal of the Spitalfields Acts, on 9 July 1823. Passed in 1773, the main clause of those laws empowered the justices of the peace of London to enforce lists of prices negotiated between the silk manufactures' Masters and Men. The parliamentary debates over their repeal were opened on 9 May by the violent critiques of David Ricardo, who said that they served to 'cramp the freedom of labour itself.' He easily convinced the Chamber of Commons to do away with those old regulations that he believed contradicted the principles of political economy.

The bill thus passed to the House of Lords, who were much more sceptical about these arguments, and inclined to recognise the beneficial effects of the Spitalfields Acts in terms of political stability. That is why the weavers displayed on the front of their tract, on either side of the traditional emblem and motto of the trade, a soldier and a sailor, to underline their patriotism during the Seven Years War. Their loyalty to the King is then directly related to the prosperity produced by the Spitalfields Acts, as opposed to the 'speculative measure' prescribed by political economy. In doing so, the weavers summoned the traditional agreement on which the acts rested, that consisted in granting industrial regulations in return for a promise from the workers not to engage in any political activity.

This attitude was harshly criticised by most of radical political leaders, such as Francis Place or William Cobbett, who depicted the Spitalfields weavers as 'base dogs.' However, a large majority of the Lords approved the weavers’ arguments and adopted amendments which led its proponents to drop the bill. It was nonetheless reintroduced the following year, in May 1824, and finally passed 17 June. The repeal caused terrible industrial damage to the London silk industry, but also disoriented politically the silk weavers’ community. Indeed, the repeal of the Combination Laws, passed just a few days before, meant that the workers’ movement would now rally around the large politicised associations that were emerging in the northern industries and towns. Many weavers were reluctant to join this movement, as it implied abandoning their traditional repertoire of collective action, but the repeal of the act made that repertoire increasingly ineffectual.

Further readings

CLAPHAM, John H., 1916, « The Spitalfields Acts, 1773-1824 », The Economic Journal, vol. 26, n° 104, p. 459-471.

COBBETT, William, 1912 [1830], Rural Rides, 2 vol., Londres, J. M. Dent (Everyman’s Library).

HUPFEL, Simon, 2012, « The Spitalfields Acts and the Classics : Ricardo, J.S. Mill, Bowring, and Senior on the London silk industry (1823 to 1841) », The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, vol. 19, n° 2, p. 165-195.

Contributor

Simon Hupfel

Spatial Coverage

Spitalfields, London, England

Temporal Coverage

9 July 1823

Date

1823-07-09

Bibliographic Citation

Source: British Library Add. MS 27799, f. 163

Rights

perm

Rights Holder

British Museum and Simon Hupfel
British Library Mss., Add. 27799, f. 163

Subject

groups

King George IV

Parliament

Political Economy

Silk Weavers

workers