MARTYRDOM – 1830's STYLE

In the south west of England there is a glorious, bucolic county known as Dorset. It is a green and pleasant place with the economy mainly centred on agriculture. In the midst of this verdant area lies the small town of Tolpuddle, and it was from this place that six English agricultural labourers started their “martyrdom”. They were known (and always will be) as the “Tolpuddle Martyrs”. Their crime? To be accused of forming a ‘secret society’, which was totally untrue as what they did form was the precursor to what is now a Trade Union and was called ‘The Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers’. Their punishment? To be transported by ship to Australia, for seven years.   

Before his transportation one of the six, George Loveless, wrote these stirring words:

God is our guide, from field, from wave

From plough, from anvil and from loom

 We come, our country’s rights to save

And speak a tyrant factions doom

We raise the watch-word, liberty

We will, we will, we will be free

This ‘injustice under the law’ backfired, and a petition with over 800,000 signatures demanded their release as they were regarded as heroes. Supporters organised a huge march – one of the first successful marches ever to take place in UK. As a result, four of the six were acquitted and returned to England. Most went to live in Canada where there are several monuments devoted to their struggle (as well as those in Tolpuddle along with a Martyr’s Museum).

My reason for writing this is simple. We face a similar situation now as they did 180 years ago and we need their spirit and courage to allow us to do now what they did then. We MUST stand up and be counted as humans with all the needs, wants and desires for our betterment and oppose those who would grind us into the dust under their feet through deviousness and injustice (even under the law).

Until next time (and fighting like crazy),

Peripatetic Scribe