WORKERS KNOW YOUR HISTORY. CALTON WEAVERS’ STRIKE, 1787

      As June approaches it is an appropriate time to remember a bit of our history from the still on going struggle to protect our conditions. It is a struggle that has been part and parcel of the ordinary people's lives since capitalism first raised its ugly head. A continuing struggle against an exploitive system that benfits the few at the expense of the many. The Calton weavers strike was Glasgow's first recorded strike in that struggle.

BACKGROUND.

      Glasgow’s population at this period was around 60,000. Weaving was the main occupation in Glasgow and surrounding districts after the collapse of the tobacco trade due to the American War of Independence. The movement for parliamentary reform was still a seed in people’s hearts. It took the French Revolution to cause it to shoot and grow. Attempts by workers to unite in defence of their living standards were deemed an offence under common law. The weavers’ strike of 1787 was the first recorded strike in Glasgow’s history.

      Around June 1787 the Glasgow weavers and those of surrounding areas learned that the payments for weaving muslin were to be cut. This would be the second cut to the weavers income in eight months. Many meetings were held around the districs and on June the 30th 1787 seven thousand attended a meeting on Glasgow Green. On the 4th of July terms of a unanimous resolution from the meeting appeared in a letter printed in the Glasgow Mercury. The letter was sent by James Mirrie on behalf of the committee appointed by the weavers. The letter pointed out that the cut suggested by the manufacturers would bring weavers income down by one-fourth while other trades had been rightfully rising in face of an increase in house rents and other means of subsistence. It also stated that they would not 'offer violence to any man or his work'.

STRIKE.

      The strike started in June and lasted through July, August, September in to October. Calton was a district then just outside Glasgow’s boundary. Most of the population of the district were weavers. Around mid-day on Monday 3rd September, the authorities of Glasgow learned that a large crowd of weavers had formed at Calton near the city boundary at Gallowgate. The Lord Provost and Magistrates arrived to disperse the crowd but were driven back by stones thrown by the weavers. Later in the day the authorities were informed that the weavers were again assembling and proposed to march to Glasgow Cathedral.

RIOT ACT.

      The 39th Regiment of Foot, under the command of Colonel Kellet was sent. With them went the Lord Provost, the Sheriff-Substitute, a Magistrate and others intent on dispersing the weavers. The groups met at a spot near Drygate Bridge. The soldiers were ordered to open fire, 3 weavers were killed outright and three were mortally wounded. A considerable number were wounded. How many can only be guessed at.

MEMORIAL TO THE MARTYRES

 OF THE WEAVERS' STRIKE ABERCROMBIE STREET.

    It is now accepted that the Riot Act was not read, it is claimed that the Sheriff-Substitute was preparing to read the Riot Act when the soldiers opened fire in self defence. After the riot Magistrates offered rewards for information leading to the arrest of activists. As well as James Granger, one of the main organisers of the strike, others were arrested but not brought to trial. On the 4th September the Magistrates brought in another regiment from Beith.

     Towards the end of September Colonel Kellet and Major Powlet were presented with the freedom of the city. At the Tontine Tavern a dinner was given for the officers. Each soldier stationed in Glasgow was given a new pair of shoes and stockings.

TRIAL AND SENTENCE.

        James Granger’s trial, he was then aged 38, married and had six children, took place in Edinburgh in the year 1788. It was the first case of “forming illegal combinations” in Scotland. He was found guilty on Tuesday 22nd July and sentenced on Friday 25th The sentence was that he be carried to the Tollbooth, to remain there until the 13th August, on which day he would be publicly whipped through the streets of the city at the hands of the Common Executioner; that he should then be set at liberty and allowed till the 15th October to settle his affairs, after which he is to banish himself from Scotland for seven years, under the usual certifications, in case of his again returning during that term. A severe price to pay for trying to prevent a wage cut. James Granger returned and took part in the 1811-1812 strike and lived to the age of 75.

More on Glasgow's working class history HERE.
 
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OK CORRAL MENTALITY.

     

      With all the hooray, back-slapping and triumphalism of Obama's visit to this country so soon after the assassination of Osama Bin Laden gives the impression that we all agree with this action, a state action that defies the rule of law. It makes his statement that America and Britain have, “the ability to lead the world not by force but by example” all the more hypocritical. When has Britain or America lead the world by the rule of law, both countries have bombed and blasted innumerable countries into submissive arrangements, all "just wars" of course.

     

      We should read his patronising statement as no more than simply a bit of UK public ego stroking, what he really meant was that America will lead the world. Of course he doesn't consult with the world as to whether it wants to be lead by America or any other nation for that matter. It is the same old macho Americanism, the OK Corral culture still prevails, dressed up in modern clothes but just as selfish and just brutal.

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A SOLD REVOLUTION???

        As Cameron's battle for Libya thunders on we have to admit that it bears no resemblance to the original idea of an “Arab Spring” What was originally floated as a wee umbrella to help the pro-democracy uprising in Libya get on with the their revolution, has now changed into a NATO attack on the government of a North African country. In the regime change being sought in Libya, we have to ask the question, “who is doing the changing” and why? The Libyan people would do well to remember that there is no such think in politics as a free lunch, and also, that NATO and the Europeans are not spending a projected £1 billion in a six month military expenditure out of benevolence towards a North African pro-democracy movement. The European track record in that part of the world does not read of benevolence and democracy.

         The best that the Libyans can expect out of this is a partitioned country, or a civil war. In either case the infrastructure of their country will be in tatters, they will be dependent on the West for loans in an attempt to reconstruct the country. The West will have it troops in, just to keep the peace, of course, and it will also have control of the oil. The Libyans meanwhile can get on as best they can with their civil war or partitioned country.

      Is there anybody out there that believes that the Libyan people will come out of this the victors? When the "rebels"called in a foreign imperialist military power, they sold their revolution. They may get rid of Gaddafi, but their new masters, the West backed up by NATO will prove to be just as ruthless and perhaps even more so. When it comes to oil and profit, people come away down the scale.

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PROTECTING PEOPLE BY BOMBING THEIR CITY!!!

          
     Cameron's Libyan war crashes on with the anticipated escalation and so another night of heavy bombing in Tripoli, this blows wide open the sham about NATO protecting civilians. The West wants Gaddafi's oil and wants him out of the picture, protecting civilians is just the attempted slim badge of legitimacy. So Gaddafi goes, the West rushes in to support the "rebels" in Benghazi and a long civil war ensues. The West sends in a peace-keeping force and starts to take control of the oil as in Iraq, and as in Iraq, not giving a shit about what state the country of Libya ends up in, just as in Iraq. The people can fight and kill each other while the Western corporate world gets on with the business of milking the people and the country of its oil. When Gaddifi goes it will be interesting to see if the new regime spends as much of the oil revenue on free health care and free education as the Gaddafi regime, time will tell.

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TEAPOT COLLECTIVE INTRODUCTION TO ANARCHY - PAGE 11.

 

       Here we go with another exciting page from that wee book, Your Anarchist Teapot Souvenir Introduction to Anarchy, from the Teapot Collective.  Enjoy page 11, page 10 can be read   HERE.         

     --we'll need to do away with both bosses and factories. Anarchists have been up trees, occupying offices, trashing machines, stopping roads, sinking whalers, fighting against a system which is wiping out the future and making the present a misery.

Anarchism is a vision.

     Imagine living in a world where people were able to come together to create a new, free society, realising their desires. Grim and anonymous cities could become places we can actually live in. Tedious useless work would become redundant and room made for play and productive activities we enjoy. Crime could be reduced drastically by a return living in real communities where people look after each other. With the decline of industrial agriculture and economy, the rivers could run clear--

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MORE AN THAT,- LAND OF THE FREE!!!.

       The following information was gleaned from an article on DISSIDENT VOICE, the full article is well worth a read, very detailed and informative.

       While it is becoming more widely know that the US imprisons a greater proportion of its citizens than any other country in the world, it should also be noted that the US, that Land of the Free has seen an increase in the number of peaceful protesters being arrested since Obama came to office. Since the Obama inauguration there have been over 2,600 arrests of activists protesting in the US. Recent research shows that since the start of 2011 over 670 individuals have been arrested at protests in the US. More than 1290 during 2010 and 665 arrested during 2009.

       There has been a steady increase in the number of people arrested at protests since 2009 and these protests have covered a wide range of campaigns. They have been protests against US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Guantanamo, strip mining, home foreclosures, Nuclear weapons, immigration policies, mistreatment of hotel workers, police brutality budget cut backs, the mistreatment of Bradley Manning, Blackwater, attempts to cut back on collective bargaining.

      What is also happening in the US is that there is a steady increase in the number of Americans willing to risk arrest and imprisonment for acts of civil disobedience. That itself is a healthy sign that the American people are becoming more aware of the total lack of democracy in their country.

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THE ANARCHIST CRITIC.

  

    The latest copy of The Anarchist Critic, issue No. 92 May 2011, can be viewed and downloaded as a PDF  HERE.

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REAGANITES CALLING FOR REVOLUTION!!!

   

     A voice from the inside explains how an elite group of Wall St. oligarchies are plundering the world, ripping everything they can from the poor and middle classes to protect their unearned wealth. Land grabbing in Greece, pension grabbing in Ireland with the same prescription for the rest of Europe. A Western world devoid of democracy, more or less being used as a honey pot for the very, very rich. This guy from the Reagan administration believes that revolution is the only answer to this plundering of the poor and middle classes. We know it is the only answer, where there is no democracy, and there isn't, only the people can create democracy.

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A CALL FROM STOP THE WAR COALITION.

     

     Without a trace of irony, President Barack Obama -- the commander-in-chief of an empire which straddles the world, who has more than doubled the troops in Afghanistan, who continues to occupy Iraq, who has dramatically escalated a deadly drone war in Pakistan and who is currently bombing Libya -- spoke last week of the "moral force of non-violence" and said he "will not tolerate aggression across borders". (SEE Choking on the Hypocrisy of Obama's Hollow Platitudes: http://bit.ly/kBiFrl )

     Obama is currently waging three wars which are opposed by the majority of people in Britain and the United States -- in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya. He has already, in his first two years in office, attacked six countries -- two more than George W Bush.

    This is why Stop the War, CND and other organisations have organised an anti-war protest at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday 24 May, at 5.30pm, when Obama is on a state visit to Britain, with bed and breakfast provided by the Queen.

    The protest will call for the withdrawal of all troops from Afghanistan, an immediate end to the bombing of Libya and freedom for Palestine, which yet again was let down in Obama's speech last week by rhetoric which far outstripped any indication that he is going to do anything to stop Israel's countless violations of international law.

PROTEST WHEN OBAMA MEETS THE QUEEN
TUESDAY 24 MAY 5.30PM BUCKINGHAM PALACE
LONDON SW1A 1AA

     Called by Stop the War Coalition, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Justice for Bahrain Campaign.

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LIBRARIES OR BOMBS??

     

      While the Cameron/Clegg public school thugs shout cuts, cuts, cuts, Cameron's little Libyan war has become Cameron's killing fields. The “No-fly zone” has now escalated into a continual bombardment of Western Libya. NATO has just completed its heaviest bombardment of the city of Tripoli since the so called, “protect civilians” campaign began. How do you protect civilians in a densely populated city by heavy bombardment of weapons of mass destruction? Perhaps the citizens of Tripoli are worth less than the citizens of Benghazi.

      All this killing doesn't come cheap, oh dear no. While the millionaire duo shout, “We can't afford” social services, libraries, education, child care, etc. the bill for Cameron's violent little ego trip, is reckoned to cost around about £1 billion by the autumn. Experts state that the cost to date is around the £300-£400 million with the bill rising by about £38 million a week. A far cry from smug low life Osborne's figure which he quoted at the start of the killing that it would only be in the tens of millions. To people of his ilk, that's just pocket money, he could probably pay for that himself.

WHO NEEDS SOCIAL SERVICES?

        The true cots will not be known for some weeks yet, when the Defence Officials make their announcements. Of course all the cost will be understated as we are about to escalate this affair with the announcement that we will be now using attack helicopters. Another little very expensive military toy that we can obviously afford.

A HOSPITAL??

       Why do we tolerate “our” government spending over £1 billion in six months on the destruction of a country and the killing of its people. This continual free spending when it comes to foreign military intervention and slashing and cutting at all our social services while muttering, we can't afford, we can't afford, lays bare the unbridled hypocrisy of this millionaire cabal of public school thugs.

        This is the situation that capitalism and its bed partner, party political politics, has given us, an elite bunch of pampered parasites controlling everything and showing complete disregard for the ordinary people. However, wonderful sparks of hope keep springing up, with the latest being Madrid and some other cities in Spain. Support appearing in other cities across Europe, with the ordinary people beginning to realise their power and the growing awareness that with solidarity we can change this world. We can create a fairer and more just world freed from the capitalist greed and profit motive, we have the power to create a world we would be proud to leave to our children and our grandchildren. As the world is at the moment, being raped, plundered and polluted, all for profit for parasitical shareholders, we fear for the future of our children and our grandchildren. It doesn't have to be that way, there is an alternative, all we have to do is all come together and discuss the world we want for the future.

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TAHRIR SQUARE, MADRID, EDINBURGH, ---???

      Sunday saw a large march and demonstration in Edinburgh in support of the popular uprising in Spain, you can read more and see more photos on Indymedia Scotland here are a couple of photos to start you off.

Photos from Indymedia Scotland.

     There were also demonstrations of support in other cities across Europe. Is the sleeping lion about awake and rise?

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PROFIT FROM ILLNESS!!!

        The title of a recent article in the British Medical Journal should perhaps create some cause for concern. The title was, “How the Secretary of State for Health proposes to abolish the NHS in England”. There are those who shout, “scaremongering” but to any open minded individual it soon becomes obvious that it is an accurate assessment of the proposed changes to the NHS in England.

       The article states that the proposed Bill will fundamentally change the basic premise of the NHS, pointing out that the duty of the Secretary of State to provide comprehensive health care will be abolished. The government will hand over its responsibility for health care of UK citizens to commercial consortia whose primary function and driving force will be economic, seeking profit, not health and well being of the people. As commercial concerns these organisations will be governed by trade laws which mandates free competition. As commercial enterprises they are obligated by law to seek the best possible profit for the shareholders. How will that square with long term expensive care, or a quick fix as opposed to a long term cure?

NEW TEST FOR ASSESSING TREATMENT!!

      The “pause” that the Cameron/Clegg public school thugs have proposed is just that, a “pause”, not a change. I suppose the millionaire duo and their team will hope that the “pause” will let the opposition die down and then they can remove the “pause” and carry on as before.

      Calling for changes to this “privatisation” Bill is not what should be sought, it must be scrapped or we accept a national private health system, a money making paradise for the corporate greed machine, and for those who can't afford it, a second rate health system.

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