Are you all asleep! Here is an interest read for you all, this was sent to me by a friend. >From Irene Life of George Loveless Excerpts from his diary "About the years 1831-2, when there was a general movement of the working classes for an increase of wages, the labouring men of the parish where I lived (Tolpuddle) gathered together, and met their employers to ask them for an advance of wages, and they came to a mutual agreement, the masters in Tolpuddle promising to give the men as much for their labour as the other masters in the district.......... Shortly after we learnt that in almost every place around us the masters were giving their men money, or money's worth, to the amount of ten shillings per week. We expected to be entitled to so much - but no, nine shillings must be our portion. After some months we were reduced to eight shillings per week. This caused great dissatisfaction, and all the labouring men in the village, with the exception of two or three invalids, made application to a neighbouring magistrate, namely, William Morton Pitt, Esq., of Kingston House, and asked his advice. He told us that if the labourers would appoint two or three and come to the County Hall the following Saturday, he would apprise the chief magistrate, James Frampton, Esq. (whose name I shall not soon forget), and at the sane time our employers should be sent for to settle the subject. I was nominated to appear, and when there we were told that we must work for what our employers thought fit to give us, as there was no law to compel masters to give any fixed money to their servants. In vain we remonstrated that an agreement was made and that the minister of the parish (Dr. Warren) was witness between the masters and the men; for this hireling parson - who at the time said of his own accord, 'I am witness between you men and your masters that if you will go quietly to your work, you shall receive for your labour as much as any men in the district; and if your masters should attempt to run from their word, I will undertake to see you righted, so help me God' - so soon as reference was made to him he denied having a knowledge of any such thing. From this time we were reduced to seven shillings per week, and shortly after our employers told us that they must lower us to six shillings a week." " As to the trial, I need mention but little; the cowardice and dastardly conduct throughout are better known by all that were present than could be by any description that I can give it. Suffice it to say, the most unfair and unjust means were resorted to in order to frame an indictment against us; the grand jury appeared to ransack Heaven and earth to get some clue against us, but in vain. Our characters were investigated from our infancy to the them present moment; our masters were inquired of to know if we were not idle, or attended public-houses, or some other fault in us; and much as they were opposed to us, they had common honesty enough to declare that we were good labouring servants and that they never heard of any complaint against us; and when nothing whatever could be raked together, the unjust and cruel Judge, Williams, ordered us to be tried for Mutiny and Conspiracy under and Act, 37 George III., cap. 123, for the suppression of mutiny amongst the marines and seamen a number of years ago at the Nore"- The gravaman of the charge seems to have been the administering of an oath by an unlawful society.--Loveless continues: " I shall not soon forget the address of the Judge to the jury in summing up the evidence. Among other things he told them that if such societies were allowed to exist it would ruin masters, cause a stagnation in trade, destroy property- and if they should not find us guilty he was certain they would forfeit the opinion of the grand jury. I thought to myself, there is no danger, but we shall be found guilty, as we have a special jury for the purpose, selected from among those who are most unfriendly towards us; the grand jury, landowners; the petty jury, landrenters. The Judge then inquired if we had anything to say. I instantly forwarded the following short defence in writing to him: 'My Lord, if we have violated any law, it was not done intentionally. We have injured no man's reputation, character, person, or property; we were uniting together to preserve ourselves, our wives and our children from utter degradation and starvation. We challenge any many, or number of men, to prove that we have acted, or intended to act, different from the above statement.' The Judge asked if I wished it to be read in court. I answered, 'Yes.' It was them mumbled over to a part of the jury, in such an inaudible manner that, although I knew what was there, I could not comprehend it. And here one of the counsel prevented sentence being passed by declaring that not one charge brought against any of the prisoners at the bar was proved, and that if we were found guilty a great number of persons would be dissatisfied. 'and I shall for one,' said he." "Two days after this we were again placed at the bar to receive sentence, when the Judge told us, 'that not for anything that we had done, or as he could prove, we intended to do, but for an example to others he considered it his duty to pass the sentence of seven years' penal transportation across His Majesty's high seas upon each and everyone of us.' When the ship dropped anchor before Hobart Town, Tasmania, the magistrates came on board, and Loveless had to submit to being "bullied" by one of them - a Mr. Thomas Mason, who seemed very anxious to learn about the dreadful Union movement in the Home Country. Since, however, Loveless could not tell him what he did not know himself, the magistrate apparently lost his temper and threatened Loveless with a second trial and severe punishment. Upon being taken ashore, Loveless was drafted off to work "on the road with the chain-gang," and afterwards he was sent to work on the Government Domain Farm, New Town. Here he worked as a convict for eighteen months; sleeping in a leaky hut; suffering from insufficient food and over-work; and always in fear of being flogged for some petty mistake, until on February 5th, 1836, he was allowed to go forth on a ticket-of-leave "to employ himself to his own advantage in the Colony, until further orders." Eventual Release. The agitation for the release of the Tolpuddle martyrs as they came to be known was, however, kept up both in and out of Parliament by the London Dorchester Committee; and Loveless and four of his companions arrived in London on June 13th, 1837 - James Hammett arriving later. A Memorial Proposed. There can be no doubt that the bold stand made by Loveless and his companions for the right of collective action was an important factor in the rise and development of Democratic Institutions in this country. They paid the price of winning for posterity privileges which they themselves did not enjoy. Their integrity of character, strength of conviction, and calm heroism command the highest admiration of all. Their story is one which Trades Unionists of to-day and of the future will read with a deep feeling of gratitude.