These deductions, together with charges of about 1s.

a week which were made to finishers for

gas, were supposed to secure economy in the use of rivets and fuel. Where the grindery was
provided by the employer, the rivets were weighed out in quantities sufficient to complete the
work in hand. If any were wasted the operative had to pay for them in order to buy others.
Another reason advanced for the charges was that the shoemakers were 'largely a migratory
people' who might abscond with the furnishings. One witness admitted that while this was to
some extent true, the objection was not a serious one. The union objected to this system. One of
its aims was to obtain room, light, and grindery free of charge. Leicester, through its Board of
Arbitration, was the first centre in which all finishers were admitted to the factories, where these
services were provided without cost to the operatives. Thus by 1892 it was stated that under 5 per
cent. of the workers in Leicester were employed outdoors. (fn. 112)

The main reasons for the introduction of the factory system were the needs for uniformity of
output, economy of time, labour, and materials, and for supervision. Other contributory causes
were the development of heavy machinery, the use of power to run it, and trade-union agitation.

The Amalgamated Society of Cordwainers, formed in the 18th century, was drastically
reorganized in 1862, and became the Amalgamated Society of Boot and Shoe Makers in 1874,
(fn. 113) when the machinists split off to form the National Society of Boot and Shoe Riveters
and Finishers, (fn. 114) later the National Union of Boot and Shoe Operatives (N.U.B.S.O.). The
introduction of machinery after 1850 was at first resented by the men and there was a lot of
thoughtless opposition. Though in some places hand shoemakers struck against it at first and
probably suffered as a consequence, on the whole it did very little harm to them. The wages of
these craftsmen went up, (fn. 115) but the new methods were disliked, and the idea of the factory
system was abhorrent to the hand workers. Monday had been the traditional 'shoemakers'
holiday'.

The policy of the cordwainers' union, no doubt conditioned by the experience of the handloom
weavers and in Leicester by the framework-knitters, was not to attempt to compete with machine
products. As easy processes passed into machine operations they abandoned them and
concentrated upon maintaining the particular qualities of their own special article. The society
refused to oppose the introduction of machinery and advised those of its members who could not
get handwork at the established rates to accept factory work. It encouraged the new factory
workers to organize themselves and thus avoid unfair competition from cheap labour, and as
early as 1863 a resolution was passed 'that men employed in the riveting and finishing peg work,
and those working in factories, be recognized and can belong to any section or form sections by
themselves'. (fn. 116) In a short time the society found itself composed of two classes, craftsmen
and factory workers. As the numbers of the latter began to exceed those of the 'seat workers', as
they were called, policy decisions became more difficult. By 1874 the old society had proved
incapable of dealing with the employers' attacks on the local unions or of coping with changed
industrial conditions. (fn. 117) In that year the machine workers seceded to form their own
union, the present N.U.B.S.O., encouraged to do so by the handcraft workers. Since then the two
unions have remained on friendly terms, refusing to allow competition among themselves or to
be played off one against the other.
Two months after its formation at Stafford N.U.B.S.O. had 35 branches with a total membership
of 4,204. The Leicester branch stood at 1,397, the largest single branch, which it still was in
1955. The headquarters of the union were transferred to Leicester in 1876. Membership of the
branch continued to grow. In 1903 11,000 operatives were members of the union out of a total of
27,000, and another branch had opened in the town especially for clickers and pressmen, with a
membership of 2,463. On the other hand, local membership of the cordwainers' society stood at
25 in 1903. (fn. 118)

The manufacturers of the town, constantly forced to deal individually with labour problems and
disputes, decided in 1871 to create an effective organization to protect themselves and to enforce
a better discipline in the industry. The Leicester Boot and Shoe Manufacturers' Association came
into being, under the presidency of W. H. Walker. Among its aims were the protection of
members from harmful practices by traders, and the issuing of trade reports. (fn. 119)

The policy of conciliation, which is a distinctive feature of the industry's history, was early
established. (fn. 120) This meant that there was some tradition of arbitration upon which to build
a settlement in the dispute of 1895. The union, in its first quarterly report, maintained that it was
'in the interests of the trade as well as the welfare of our union [that] we urge upon the officers
and members, the need of cultivating a firm faith in the policy of referring disputes to boards of
arbitration for mutual settlement, for we believe that arbitration means the safety of trade
societies'. (fn. 121) In 1878 the Leicester Arbitration Board was set up, to be followed quickly by
similar boards in other centres. (fn. 122) Formed of equal numbers of locally elected employers
and unionists, the board had referred to it 'every question, or aspect of a question, affecting the
relations of employers and workmen individually or collectively'. (fn. 123) In the event of
disagreement the matter was referred to an independent umpire, agreeable to both sides, and in
the early days usually a leading manufacturer from another town. The board's activities were
thought to minimize disputes and strikes, but were not altogether effective. In 1883 a strike was
averted only by the intervention of the Mayor of Leicester, Sir Thomas Wright, and this led to
the establishment of the National Conference in 1892, with Sir Thomas as the neutral chairman
and the later Lord James of Hereford as independent umpire, to deal with national questions
affecting the whole industry. The National Conference was constituted like the local arbitration
boards and held its first meeting at Leicester in August 1892, with representatives from the
N.U.B.S.O. and the Federated Associations of Boot and Shoe Manufacturers of Great Britain.
This federation had been formed in 1891, with headquarters at Leicester, after the lead had been
given by manufacturers in the town, with J. Griffin Ward of Stead & Simpson as first president.
The local manufacturers' associations could no longer feel at any disadvantage in fighting the
union's claims. (fn. 124)