The Political Writings of John Roberts Widdup(1)

[Stanley]

The Political Writings of John Roberts Widdup(1)
Topic: http://www.oneguyfrombarlick.co.uk/link ... IC_ID=4345
Date: 07 March 2006
Topic author: Sue
Subject: The Political Writings of John Roberts Widdup(1)
Posted on: 07 March 2006 14:49:01
Message:
John Roberts Widdup, a ‘barlicker’ by birth, was an active member of the Social Democratic Federation (S.D.F), 1893-1898, after which he emigrated to Canada. He was active initially in the Burnley area and later presented lectures to the whole of the North West and even London.
The S.D.F originated from the Democratic Federation, founded in 1881 by H. M. Hyndman, a movement that was important in the history of the Labour Party. In the 1895 General Election Hyndman secured 1493 votes in Burnley, and in the 1906 General Election he narrowly missed being elected in Burnley. At one time John  Widdup worked closely with Hyndman, but around about 1896 this seemed to deteriorate, as indicated by a series of articles and letters in the Burnley Express and Advertiser.

John appears to have been an ardent Marxist, and indeed at the inauguration of the Socialist Party of Great Britain in 1904, his Socialist pamphlet. The Meaning of Socialism (1895) was regarded as a suitable party pamphlet.  (This being some 6 years after his emigration and apparent active participation in politics) He was the editor of the Socialist and North East Lancashire and Labour News, and chairperson of the Burnley Branch of the S.D.F. Burnley library is in possession of a small number of these newspapers, and the British Library has 11 in their possession, that are awaiting conservation procedures…This newspaper was regarded by the S.D.F to be a drain on their financial resources. The official paper was the Justice and it’s sale was needed to ensure that adequate income was generated for the party. It is of interest to note that the branches which were supporting the Socialist were to quote, ‘Burnley, Colne, Barrowford and Padiham.’

In the S.D.F annual conference of 1896 the publication of the Socialist was supported by Dan Irving, Burnley representative who said that the paper was started by the Burnley branch as it

’would supply a want that the Justice could not meet…..By means of the Socialist they were making converts to socialism from the ranks of the Liberal and Tory working men of Burnley…’

The Blackburn delegate, Tom Hurley, went on further to say that the
’articles which appeared in Justice were sometimes beyond the understanding of young Socialists who had just come into the movement. He maintained that the Socialist was necessary for Hyndman’s candidature in Burnley’


However, the outcome of this and other meetings were that the newspaper was pressurised to close down, and a very apparent breakdown in the communications between John and Hyndman. This appears to be just one of many issues where there was disagreement between the two men, and the party politics as a whole.

Shortly afterwards John left Burnley, eventually becoming more active in Wigan, Dewsbury and Armley in Leeds.

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The following is an from the Burnley, Express and Advertiser, February 15th 1896

HOW WE RAN A SOCIALIST NEWSPAPER
[ By ‘J.W.’]

The Socialist and North East Lancashire and Labour News , the publication of which ahs just ceased , has a history which ought not to be left unrecorded, as its adventures cannot fail to interest even those who have never heard of the paper’s existence. There has been none of the humdrum monotony about its career that characterises the everyday life of newspapers, otherwise there would be little justification for this article. It would be difficult to find in newspaper annals any parallels to the exciting and amusing episodes through which the Socialist has passed during the 28 months of its existence.
In running the Socialist we invariably ran counter to all the accepted principles to which newspapers are conducted. All businesslike caution we scorned, and looked to nothing but hot and intrepid enthusiasm to bring us success. In the starting of newspapers a certain amount of capital is supposed to be indispensable, which is probably the reason we made up our minds to start out without. Then, in naming a paper it is usual to seek for a name that will attract advertisers and the public; we chose a name that would repel both. Punctuality in publishing was a rule which we honoured more in the breach than in the observance, and instead of making our first issue (as is the custom) an especially strong and good one it was the poorest and feeblest sheet we ever issued in our whole career.
In the summer of 1893 Burnley and the surrounding districts were aflame with red hot ‘Socialist’ enthusiasm. The visit of ‘Nunquam’, the Socialist literary idol had given the movement a great send-off, and it went forward in leaps and bounds as the depressed condition of the cotton and coal trades grew more and more serious. Market places, open spaces, public houses, factory yards, and workshop gates were the scenes of continuous wrangles on the poverty problem, and the floods of controversy, of course, over-flowed into the columns of the local Liberal paper, giving the old-fashioned editor of that organ much grave anxiety; and his grim method of encouraging brevity among his correspondents was that of cutting out what they considered their best passages, the temper and tone of the wordy warfare did not improve as the discussion proceeded. Whether it was this reason that caused him to apply the closure, or the reason that the Socialist side of the argument was being better maintained than the other , it is difficult to say; but the reason must have been a powerful one in view of the fact that the discussion must have been giving the paper’s circulation a great flip? (I can’t decipher this word…).
The literary ardour of the Burnley Socialists was too hot to be quenched with a penful of editor’s ink arbitrarily scratched out on paper to the effect that ‘This correspondence must now cease’. ‘Why not run a paper of our own?’ we asked ourselves. No sooner was the idea mentioned than ‘those in the know’ came forward with figures to prove that we could easily run a paper which would produce a profit on its working from the very first week. These figures were hailed with more enthusiasm than critical consideration. We made up our minds that no time should be lost in opening up this goldmine. A newspaper ‘Board’ was at once instituted consisting of delegates from Burnley, Nelson, Padiham , Colne and Barrowford branches of the S.D.F all of which places were grouped together within a radius of eight miles in North-East Lancashire. The number of delegates from each branch was based on the branch’s membership, Burnley having seven, Nelson two, and the other three braches one each: and the profits when they rolled in, were to be divided in the same proportion as the delegates. In anticipation of the profits the branches unanimously paid levies to bind money to start the paper on the principle of throwing a sprat to catch a mackerel.
Arrangements were promptly made with a respectable Burnley firm to print the paper and to save expense we got the sheets from London, printed on one side with ‘non-political’ stereotyped news-matter. The size was double demy
Scorning all caution or anything savouring of ‘compromise’ the fatal name of ‘The Socialist’ was rapturously affixed to the paper, by the Board., but notwithstanding this, advertisements were not difficult to get, for the whole town of Burnley and the whole district round about were looking with no small curiosity for the first copy of the newspaper.
A journalist who had previously held several similar positions elbowed himself into the arrangements and was appointed editor and the paper was announced to come out on the first Friday in October 1893. Six days before that date the firm who had engaged to print the paper suddenly threw up the job although they had spent a very considerable sum on the plant requisite for the work. The reason given was that they feared ‘libel’: but probably the official Liberals of Burnley would give a truer explanation of this change of mind if they cared to do so.
A hunt had to be organised at once for fresh printer: and none was found who would print the paper nearer than Nelson, and hurried arrangements were at once concluded with a printer there to do the work.
As this printer’s machine, but of all of the days of the year, chose our publishing day on which to break down, our first issue came one day late. The rage of impatience that the delay caused was a revelation to us of the ravenous curiosity with which the paper had been awaited. When it did appear it sold like hot cakes and we could easily have sold out double the publicised number. The voracity of the public did not survive that first issue which was not surprising in view of the fact that it could not have provided anyone who bought it with five minutes interesting reading. The circulation dwindled so rapidly in the next few weeks that instead of profits there were frequently calls on the branches for further levies to make up the losses. After surviving sundry strikes of ‘comps’ for wages due, this paper nearly came to an end through the collapse of the firm that were printing it. We tided over the difficulty, however, by acquiring at a moment’s notice £50 worth of type with which to set the paper ourselves, having persuaded a Burnley firm to do the machining at an enormous price.
We had, about this time, got sick of the sheet from London. We were dumfounded one week to find among the stereotyped matter printed on it, a picture caricaturing and reducing to ridicule a S.D.F procession in London, which we had no option but to sell to our readers a part of our paper.. As soon as possible we abandoned this sheet and took a sheet on one side of which was ‘ Workman’s Times’ matter. This was a great improvement, although many fiery S.D.F.’ers expressed loud disapprobation of much of Joe Buress’s writings.
A number of ‘Imaginary Interviews’ in one or two of which gross libels on local public men were allowed to appear, soon got us into further trouble, and the Burnley firm refused to machine the paper any longer, having been threatened with an action by one of the libelled parties.
Hurried arrangements were at once made to have the paper printed at Colne, and for one week the paper was got out there in the face of almost insuperable difficulties. Then , the Manchester Labour Press, having undertaken to do the machining at a moderate figure this paper was for a time set up at Burnley and printed at Manchester, the forms being sent to and fro by train. After a time the type was removed to Manchester and set up there for three months, the paper was without an editor, the columns being filled by the voluntary contributions of an editorial committee.
In view of the inconceivable difficulties we had to face it is not surprising that the paper about this time, came out late with unfailing regularity. This of course worked havoc with the already slender circulation. The paper was dated Friday, but always came out on Saturday, and once it came out on Monday in the following week, which was worse than the man who ‘always had breakfast at five o’clock tea and dined on the following day.’ At the end of this three months an editor was appointed, and arrangements were made to print the paper at the ‘Star’ Office. We had not been there long before it became evident however, that the ‘Star’ people were in difficulties. We were there for three weeks, and for two weeks out of the three we had to work the machines ourselves as the ‘Star’ men were out on strike for arrears of wages. At the end of that time the ‘Star’ had collapsed, and the landlady who had not got her rent from the ‘Star’ people, refused for a time to let us bring our plant off the premises.
From here we made a hasty removal to Padiham, where for the last twelve months the printing has gone with comparative smoothness. We have, however, during that time received a long lawyers letter, threatening a libel action if we did not withdraw and apologise for certain statements concerning wages paid to young women by a Burnley firm. We neither withdrew the statements, nor apologised, and have heard no more about the matter. The paper was always a drain on the resources of the branches of the S.D.F. concerned in its production and two of these have long ago tired of waiting for the ’profits’, and have withdrawn their connection with it. The other three have found the burden too great and have had to give it up.
The paper has during its career been under the control of three different editors. The first of these would no doubt astonish H.M. Hyndman, when he rejected an article voluntarily written for the paper by that redoubtable Social democrat on the grounds that it was ‘not good enough to go in’. That was in the first four or five weeks of the paper’s existence. Hyndman has shown a certain chariness about contributing since then.
The ‘Socialist’ Board was sanguine enough, when the paper commenced, to expect that they would be able to get articles from ‘Numquam’ for nothing and it was one of their rudest awakenings when they received from him an intimation that he would contribute articles at the usual trade union price.


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This article resulted in a tirade of letters between john and Hyndman over the next couple of weeks.


I am grateful to the following bodies for locating and providing me with copies of articles pertaining to the political activities of J R Widdup, my great grandfather.
The Socialist Party of Great Britain
The World Socialist Movement
The Newspaper archives at Burnley library
The Working Class Movement Library at Salford
The University Libraries of Leeds and Huddersfield