John Folhous Wilson & Charles Banks

Indictment against John Folhous Wilson, and Charles Banks, Colliers, 10 Jan. 1818

John Folhous Wilson, now or lately weaver at Westmuir, in the barony parish of Glasgow, and county of Lanark; and Charles Banks, now or lately collier at Stevenston, in the parish of Stevenston, and county of Ayr, you are indicted and accused, at the instance of Alexander Maconochie of Meadowbank, His Majesty's advocate, for His Majesty's interest:


That albeit, by the laws of this and of every other well-governed realm, illegal combination or conspiracy, and particularly illegal combination or conspiracy among a great number of workmen or artificers, for the purpose of compelling their masters or employers to raise their wages, or the prices of their work or labour, by imposing upon their masters or employers, and upon other workmen or artificers, arbitrary and illegal rules and regulations; by striking work, or threatening to strike work, in a body, or in great numbers, at one, or nearly at one, and the same time; by subscribing and collecting money for promoting the purposes of such illegal combination or conspiracy; and by administering or taking oaths for the purposes aforesaid, binding or purporting to bind those taking the same to secrecy, is a crime of an heinous nature, and severely punishable: Yet true it is and of verity, that you the said John Folhous Wilson and Charles Banks are both and each, or one or other of you, guilty thereof, actors or actor, or art and part: In so far as, during the years 1816 and 1817, great numbers of operative colliers, resident in various places in the counties of Ayr and Lanark, and elsewhere, to the prosecutor unknown, did wickedly and illegally combine and conspire together, for the purpose of compelling their masters or employers to raise their wages, or the prices of their work or labour, and to impose upon their masters or employers, and upon other workmen or artificers, arbitrary and illegal rules and regulations:

And, time aforesaid, the said operative colliers, within the county of Lanark, and elsewhere, in the vicinity thereof, so combining or conspiring, were formed into and acted as a body or association, calling themselves The Glasgow and Clydesdale Friendly Association of Operative Colliers; and the said association did, time aforesaid, hold divers meetings at Tollcross, in the barony parish of Glasgow, and county of Lanark, which were composed of a number of deputies or delegates from the operative colliers at the different collieries in Lanarkshire, particularly in the lower ward thereof, and in the vicinity of the same; for the purpose of concerting or resolving upon measures for the furtherance of the said illegal combination or conspiracy; and the said association did then and there impose on or receive contributions in money from all or many of the last mentioned operative colliers, for the purpose of defraying expenses incurred in the prosecution of the said combination or conspiracy; and the said association did then and there appoint clerks and treasurers, and other members of its own body, and did employ and pay them for managing its business, and did strike work, or threaten so to do, in a body, at the same time; and did administer and take oaths, binding or purporting to bind those taking the same to secrecy; all with the view and intention of carrying into effect the wicked and unlawful purposes above mentioned:

And, in the course of the year 1817, the said operative colliers within the county of Ayr, so combining or conspiring, were formed into, and acted as a body or association, and held meetings, which consisted of deputies or delegates from the said operative colliers in the said county, and also of deputies or delegates from the said operative colliers in the lower ward of Lanarkshire, and assembled at Irvine, Stewarton, Dundonald, and Kilmarnock, all in the county of Ayr, and other places in the said county of Ayr; and the said association did then and there impose on or receive contributions in money from all or many of the said operative colliers in the county of Ayr, for the purpose of defraying expenses incurred in the prosecution of the said combination or conspiracy; and the said association did then and there appoint clerks and treasurers, and other members of its own body, and did employ and pay them for managing its business, and did take and administer oaths, binding or purporting to bind those taking the same to secrecy; and did strike work, or threaten so to do, in a body, at the same time, all with the view and intention of carrying into effect the wicked and unlawful purposes above mentioned:

And you the said John Folhous Wilson did act as clerk to the said association at their said meetings at Tollcross above mentioned, and did write the minutes of the said meetings, and transact the other business thereof, for which you received a salary of one pound four shillings per week; and you did also act as clerk to the said association, in the county of Ayr, at the said meetings thereof; and you did write the minutes of the said meetings, and transact the other business thereof, for which you received the salary of one pound sixteen shillings per week, and a gratuity of one pound over and above:

And you the said Charles Banks did act as preses of the said meetings of the said association within the county of Ayr aforesaid:

And you the said John Folhous Wilson and Charles Banks did both and each, or one or other of you, actively endeavour to promote its illegal objects.

And particularly, upon the 13th day of October 1817, or on one or other of the days of that month, or of September immediately preceding, or of November immediately following, a meeting was held, at Stewarton, in the parish of Stewarton, and county of Ayr, of the said operative colliers, so combining and conspiring, which consisted of deputies, or delegates, from the lower ward of Lanarkshire, and also from the collieries of Ayrshire; and, at this meeting, you the said John Folhous Wilson acted as clerk, and you the said Charles Banks as preses; and the said meeting did agree to a number of resolutions, to the effect of organizing the said illegal association, and of levying and collecting money for the purposes thereof aforesaid; and did adopt and approve of a set of printed resolutions, entitled, " Articles of the Glasgow and Clydesdale Association of Operative Colliers," for the purpose of imposing upon the masters or employers of the said colliers, and upon other workmen and artificers, a number of arbitrary and illegal rules and regulations, a copy of which printed articles is hereto annexed:

And you the said John Folhous Wilson did then and there write the minutes and proceedings of the said meeting at Stewarton aforesaid, and did thereafter cause the same to be printed and circulated:

And, at the said meeting, an oath of secrecy was administered by certain of the deputies from Lanarkshire to the deputies from Ayrshire; and you the said Charles Banks did then and there take the said oath, binding or purporting to bind those taking the same to secrecy, the particulars of the said oath being to the prosecutor unknown, in consequence of the parties having refused to reveal the same; and, a few days thereafter, you the said Charles Banks did administer the said oath to several operative colliers, to the prosecutor unknown, at Stewarton aforesaid.

And further, on the 1st day of November 1817, or on one or other of the days of that month, or of October immediately preceding, the said operative colliers, associated in the said illegal combination, and acting in furtherance of the purposes thereof aforesaid, did, at Dundonald, in the parish of Dundonald, and county of Ayr, assemble and hold a meeting, and form resolutions, and did approve of and resolve to circulate an address to the operative colliers in general, to induce them to join in the said illegal association; and did resolve to strike work in a body at the same time, if their demands were not agreed to by their masters and employers, for an increase of their wages, or of the prices of work or labour; and you the said John Folhous Wilson did act as clerk of the said meeting, and did write the said address; and you the said Charles Banks did act as preses of the said meeting.

And further, on the 10th day of November 1817, or on one or other of the days of that month, or of October immediately preceding, the said operative colliers, associated in the said illegal combination, and acting in furtherance of the purposes thereof aforesaid, did, at Kilmarnock, in the county of Ayr, assemble and hold a meeting, which they called the General Committee of Operative Colliers, and did form resolutions, and did draw up and agree to a petition to their masters and employers, and did cause the same to be transmitted to Mr. George Taylor, partner of the firm of John Taylor and Sons, merchants in Ayr, and who was in the active management of certain collieries in the vicinity of Ayr; which petition demanded a redress of grievances, and increase of wages or prices of work; and the said meeting did resolve and agree, if the said petition were not agreed to, that the whole members of the said illegal association should, on giving fourteen days notice to their masters or employers, strike work in a body at the same time; and, in consequence thereof, the said George Taylor did, a few days thereafter, receive notice from the operative colliers, working at the said collieries under his management, the said colliers being associated in the said illegal combination, that they were to strike work in a body in fourteen days after the said notice, if their demands were not agreed to:

And you the said John Folhous Wilson did act as clerk of the said meeting, and aid write the minutes and resolutions thereof, and did also write and transmit the said petition to the said George Taylor:

And you the said Charles Banks did then and there act as preses of the said meeting.

And further, time aforesaid, the operative colliers working at Longford colliery, in the parish of Kilwinning, and county of Ayr, did, at Longford aforesaid, give notice to John Marshall, coalmaster there, that they were to strike work in a body at the same time, if they did not obtain a redress of grievances, and increase of wages or prices of work, the said colliers being associated in the said illegal combination.

And further, on the 17th day of November 1817, or on one or other of the days of that month, or of October immediately preceding, the said operative colliers, associated in the said illegal combination, and acting in furtherance of the purposes thereof aforesaid, did, at Irvine, in the county of Ayr, assemble and hold a meeting, consisting of deputies or delegates from the different collieries in Ayrshire; and the said meeting did receive the reports of the different deputies, of what was doing in furtherance of the association, and an account of the money subscribed, collected, or levied, at the different collieries from which they came respectively, part whereof was paid to a person at the said meeting appointed to receive the same, as treasurer; and you the said Charles Banks did then and there pay eight shillings, less or more, as a contribution from the associated operative colliers at Stevenston aforesaid:
And you the said John Folhous Wilson did act as clerk, and you the said Charles Banks as preses, of the said meeting:

And you the said John Folhous Wilson and Charles Banks were both and each, or one or other of you, parties to, or concerned in, all and each of the acts above libelled, wickedly done and committed as aforesaid, for the furtherance of the purposes of the said illegal combination or conspiracy:

And from the Clerk of you the said John Folhous Wilson having been apprehended and taken before William Justiciary. Eaton, Esquire, sheriff-substitute of Ayrshire, did, in his presence, at Irvine, on the 17th day of November 1817, emit and subscribe a declaration; and having been again taken before the said sheriff sustitute, you did, in his presence, at Ayr, on the 18th day of November 1817, emit and subscribe a declaration:

And you the said Charles Banks, having been apprehended and taken before the said sheriff substitute, did, in his presence, at Irvine, on the 18th day of November 1817, emit and subscribe a declaration:

Which declarations, being to be used in evidence against each of you respectively; as also, a number of documents, letters, and papers, specially enumerated in an inventory hereto annexed, being to be used in evidence against both and each of you, will be lodged in due time, in the hands of the clerk of the High Court of Justiciary, before which you are to be tried, that you may have an opportunity of seeing the same. At least, times and places foresaid, an illegal combination or conspiracy was entered into by the said operative colliers, associated as aforesaid, for the purposes of compelling their masters or employers to raise their wages, or the prices of their work or labour, and of imposing on their masters or employers, and upon other workmen or artificers, arbitrary and illegal rules and regulations; and meetings were held, resolutions adopted, and acts done, as above-mentioned, and oaths of secrecy administered and taken, in aid and furtherance of the said illegal combination and conspiracy; and you the said John Folhous Wilson and Charles Banks, are both and each, or one or other of you, guilty of the said crime, actors or actor, or art and part.

All which, or part thereof, being found proven by the verdict of an assize, before the Lord Justice General, the Lord Justice Clerk, and Lords Commissioners of Justiciary, you the said John Folhous Wilson and Charles Banks, ought to be punished with the pains of law, to deter others from committing the like crimes in all time coming.
(signed) H. Home Drummond, A. D.

"Copy of the Articles of the Glasgow and Clydesdale Association of Operative Colliers," referred to in the foregoing Indictment.
It being now ascertained, that 750,000 carts of coals are required yearly for the Glasgow and export markets, the weekly proportion of said quantity being 14,423 carts, it becomes necessary to guard against any infringement that would tend otherwise to destroy the prices obtained, which are so moderate, just, and reasonable. Accordingly, the following articles are agreed upon, to form ihe local arrangements in each work in the association.

First. No boy under ten years of age shall be admitted to work at the coal-wall; at which period he shall receive one-fourth part of a man's work till he arrive at thirteen; he shall then receive half a man's work; and so on till the age of fifteen, when he shall receive a three-quarter man's work, and continue thereat till seventeen, having given six months previous notice; he shall then be admitted a member of the Glasgow and Clydesdale Friendly Association of Operative Colliers.

Second. That no person in this association shall take any person to learn as a collier, who never was in the line thereof before, unless he pay seven pounds sterling into the association, and serve two years to his said master, and then to be subject to the rules of the association ever after.

Third. That no neutral boy shall be taken below thirteen years of age; at said period, he shall receive one-fourth of a man's work till fifteen; and from fifteen to seventeen, half a man's work; from seventeen till twenty, a three-quarter man's work; provided that during said period he hath paid into the association, the sum of seven pounds sterling, in equal proportions; at which period, having given notice, as in article first, he shall be admitted a member of the association.

Fourth. That any neutral man, at the age of seventeen, by paying seven pounds, one-half on hand, and the other half during his engagement, may be learned as a collier, provided always, that he shall only be entitled to one-third of a man's work, for the first year; two-thirds thereof for the second year; and the whole thereof during the third year, but shall not be admitted a member of the association till the three years are completed in the above form.

Fifth. That one at the age of eighteen, shall receive one-third part of a man's work for the first year; two-thirds thereof during the first half of the second year; and the whole thereof during the last half of said year. Provided, in all cases, that the sum of seven pounds be paid into the association.

Sixth. The orphans of an operative collier, shall, in all cases, be admitted on the same principle as in article first, the same as if their fathers were living.

Seventh. That the son of a collier, arrived at the age specified in article fourth, who may have been at some other employment, but choosing to learn as a collier, shall serve the period mentioned in said article, and pay into the association the sum of ten shillings and sixpence sterling, and shall then be admitted a member of the association.

Eighth. That any person not having a man's work, shall pay, upon receiving the same, the sum of two shillings sterling, in name of his proportionate part of the funds for behoof of the association.

Conclusion. That were the above articles strictly observed, the operative colliers never would experience those fluctuations as they have done, within these few years past, from low wages; but, on the contrary, would be enabled, by moderate and steady wages, to educate their children in those branches of education, without which they are like a wild olive plant in a good soil; and, indeed, from the want of education, all those evils, in a great measure, less or more, that we have suffered, hath arisen; ignorance being the dupe of avarice, tyranny, and ambition. (signed) H Home Drummond, A D

10th January 1818 :.— Informations ordered.
20th May 1818: Interlocutor of Relevancy.—The Lord Justice Clerk, and Lords Commissioners of Justiciary, having again resumed consideration of the criminal indictment, raised and pursued at the instance of His Majesty's advocate, for His Majesty's interest, against John Folhous Wilson, and Charles Banks, pannels, with the informations for the prosecutor and pannels, given in, in obedience to the order of court, of date the tenth day of January last, upon the relevancy of the indictment, and heard parties prosecutors upon the import of the Act of Parliament of the 39th and 40th Geo. 3. c. 106; They sustain the jurisdiction of this court, to try the crime libelled; repel the objections stated to the relevancy of the indictment: Find the same relevant to infer the pains of law: Allow the pannels, and each of them, to prove all facts and circumstances that may tend to exculpate them, or either of them, or alleviate their guilt; and remit the pannels, with the indictment us found relevant, to the knowledge of an assize.
(signed) D. Boyle, J. P. D.

Diet deserted Simpliciter.
Whereupon His Majesty's solicitor general represented, that he had reason to believe, that the judgment of the court, sustaining the relevancy of the indictment as laid, would have the effect of a sufficient warning for the present, to all those, who misled by bad advice and example, had engaged in these dangerous combinations. That the persons forming these illegal associations, had some time ago, for the most part, returned to their work; and that he was always desirous, as far as consistent with the public safety, to allow persons accused, to experience the lenient administration of the laws; and therefore moved the court to desert the diet simpliciter.

The Lord Justice Clerk and Lords Commissioners of Justiciary, in respect of what is above represented, desert the diet against the pannels simpliciter, and dismiss them front the bar.
(signed) D. Boyle, J. P. D.
[Return on Trials or Combination in Scotland, Fifth Report of the Select Committee on Artizans & Machinery 15 April 1824]

From the NAS catalogue:

Ref AD14/18/38
Title Precognition against Edmundstone, James Crichton, Alexander Mair, Thomas Ferguson, John Douglas, John Folhouse Wilson, Charles Banks, James McPake, William Nicol, David Thomson, William Paterson, Robert Spiers, Walter Neilson, John Sampson for the crime of illegal combination

Accused:

Edmundstone, alias Edmunston, collier and changekeeper Tollcross, Glasgow, Address: Gray Dennistoun, Glasgow
James Crichton, collier, Dalbeth Coalworks, Address: Main Street, Tollcross, Glasgow
Alexander Mair, son of Robert Mair, collier at Tollcross Colliery, Age: 20
Thomas Ferguson, collier, Address: Bridgeton, Glasgow
John Douglas, collier, Clyde Iron Works and shopkeeper, Address: Tollcross, Glasgow
John Folhouse Wilson, weaver, Address: Westmuir, Barony, Glasgow
Charles Banks, collier, Address: Stevenston, Ayrshire
James McPake, collier, Greenend Colliery, Lanarkshire, Address: Lanarkshire
William Nicol, collier, Greenend Colliery, Lanarkshire, Address: Lanarkshire
David Thomson, collier, Greenend Colliery, Lanarkshire, Address: Lanarkshire
William Paterson, collier, Greenend Colliery, Lanarkshire, Address: Lanarkshire
Robert Spiers, collier, Barrowfield colliery, formerly weaver, Address: Tollcross, Glasgow
Walter Neilson, collier, Greenend Colliery, Lanarkshire, Address: Lanarkshire
John Sampson, collier, Dalbeth Coalworks, Address: Tollcross, Glasgow


High Court - John Folhous Wilson, weaver at Westmuir, near Glasgow, and Charles Banks, collier at Stevenston , Ayrshire , accused of illegal combination or conspiracy , were then put to the bar. They pleaded Not Guilty . Mr Henry Cockburn for the prisoners , and Mr H. Drummond for the Crown, were heard at considerable length on the relevancy of the indictment. The Court ordered Informations to be given in. [Scotsman 17 January 1818]High Court - John Folhous Wilson, weaver at Westmuir, near Glasgow, and Charles Banks, collier at Stevenston , Ayrshire , accused of illegal combination or conspiracy , were then put to the bar. They pleaded Not Guilty . Mr Henry Cockburn for the prisoners , and Mr H. Drummond for the Crown, were heard at considerable length on the relevancy of the indictment. The Court ordered Informations to be given in. [Scotsman 17 January 1818]

High Court of Justiciary - Yesterday John Folhous Wilson, weaver at Westmuir, near Glasgow, and , Charles Banks, collier at Stevenston, Ayrshire , accused of illegal combination and conspiracy , were put to the bar. When this case was formerly before the Court, informations were ordered to be given in on the relevancy of the indictment. The Judges having still some doubts regarding certain points of the case, delayed giving their opinions , and ordered additional informations . [Scotsman 14 March 1818]