''R v Lovelass and Others'' (1834) 172 ER 1380 is a formative case in the history of

UK labour law United Kingdom labour law regulates the relations between workers, employers and trade unions. People at work in the UK can rely upon a minimum charter of employment rights, which are found in Acts of Parliament, Regulations, common law and equit ...

. It saw the

Tolpuddle Martyrs The Tolpuddle Martyrs were six agricultural labourers from the village of Tolpuddle in Dorset, England, who, in 1834, were convicted of swearing a secret oath as members of the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers. They were arrested on ...

, farm workers who wished to form a union to prevent wage cuts, convicted and deported to Australia. It triggered protests which led to the workers' eventual release and return to Britain.

Facts

Tolpuddle Tolpuddle () is a village in Dorset, England, on the River Piddle from which it takes its name, east of Dorchester, the county town, and west of Poole. The estimated population in 2013 was 420. The village was home to the Tolpuddle Martyrs, ...

, a village in

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

, George Lovelass (also spelled "Loveless" in a different report of the trial,R v Loveless and Five Others (1834) 1 Moody and Robinson 349, 174 E.R. 119 and sometimes "Lovelace") and James Lovelass, James Brine, James Hammett, and John Standfield, had met in Thomas Standfield’s house, and had taken an oath to combine to attempt to raise wages for agricultural workers. They formed the ''Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers''. A witness, Edward Legg, had also taken the oath which included an undertaking to reveal nothing. Under the Unlawful Oaths Act 1797, passed in response to naval mutinies following the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

, it was illegal to make an oath, and a further offence to not reveal the oath. Lock (also spelled as Lark in the case report) gave evidence as a witness. Edward Legg as a witness said the following. Counsel for the defence argued that the purpose of the 1797 Act was to target mutiny and sedition, to break allegiance to the King. Associations to raise wages should no longer be illegal. The lodges of Freemasons were no different. Therefore, the Tolpuddle labourers had done nothing unlawful.

Judgment

Williams B gave the following directions to the jury, that the 1797 Act was essentially applicable to the labourers attempt to combine. The jury returned a verdict of guilty, that oaths were taken, and further oaths taken not to disclose the oaths. The prisoners were then to be deported to Australia.

Significance

The case triggered a swell of protest. 800,000 signatures were collected for the Tolpuddle labourers, soon to be known as the Tolpuddle Martyrs, to be released. Eventually, in 1837, the Home Secretary did release them and returned them to Britain. A Tolpuddle Martyrs' Festival and Rally is held annually in Tolpuddle, usually in the third week of July, organised by the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in England and Wales, representing the majority of trade unions. There are 48 affiliated unions, with a total of about 5.5 million members. Frances ...

Notes

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References

* S Webb and B Webb, ''

The History of Trade Unionism ''The History of Trade Unionism'' (1894, new edition 1920) is a book by Sidney and Beatrice Webb on the British trade union movement's development before 1920. Outline First published in 1894, it is a detailed and influential accounting of the ...

'' (1920) ch 3 *E McGaughey, ''A Casebook on Labour Law'' (Hart 2018) ch 1 United Kingdom labour case law 1834 in case law 1834 in British law

Facts

Judgment

Significance

See also

Notes

References