Ask a question or
Order this book


Browse our books
Search our books
Book dealer info


ERLE, Sir William. - The Law Relating to Trade Unions.

Title: The Law Relating to Trade Unions.
Description: London, Macmillan 1869. Octavo publisher's cloth, ix,92pp. ¶ A presentation from Erle to fellow judge Sir Edward Vaughan Williams. Begun as part of the Trade Union Commission to ascertain the state of existing laws, the work grew "beyond the immediate scope of our commission" and is here published separately. "Many of the principles were obtained by my own induction .. I intended .. to state the law as it is, and only rarely express an opinion as to what the law ought to be." This was really a primer for the other commissioners. "A very lucid exposition," says the DNB but the reviewer for The Spectator differed vehemently. Erle received a thorough thrashing for his appalling style and grammar which, rather than hiding clear thought displayed too clearly the "looseness of his thought". A week later the same writer (J.M.L. - a champion of labour) returned to deliver another drubbing to Erle and this book, this time sounding an alarm about the wider dangers of Erle's specious claim to have published an opinion free book before the Commission's report was finished. Erle is credited with being the formative influence of the 1871 Trade Unions Act which redressed the illegality of trade unions in law - credit that seems undeserved in many ways as the liberality of the act is the legacy of the minority report - and I bet J.M.L. would have something to say about that.

Keywords: law politics trade unions c19th England history social reform progress social sciences

Price: AUD 150.00 = appr. US$ 103.78 Seller: Richard Neylon, Bookseller
- Book number: 5142