ARTHUR, James (1791â1877)
CHARTIST
A staunch radical who, for the whole of his adult life, refused to purchase salt because the government raised revenue from its sale, James Arthur was an important organiser in Carlisle during the first phase of Chartism. He was described as âa disciple of Feargus OâConnor and an associate of Bowman and Hanson and other local Chartist leaders ⌠from his shop in Rickergate most of the Chartist literature of the day was disseminatedâ [Cumberland Packet, 14 August 1877].
When Arthur joined with Henry Bowman and Joseph Broom Hanson to launch the Carlisle Radical Association in 1838, he was already forty-seven years old and a well-known radical figure. Born in Coylton near Ayr, the son of Hugh Arthur and Mary Goldie, on 22 February 1791, he had arrived in the town in 1818, and in the announcement of his marriage to Elizabeth Ellis, a stay maker, the following year was described as a ânumber manâ [Carlisle Patriot, 26 June 1819]. In 1821, and for fifteen successive years, Arthur was elected by the select vestryâthe men who governed the parishâto be assistant overseer in Rickergate. By the early 1830s, when he openly supported parliamentary reform, he was also running a book shop. He was one of the new electors and âvoted at the first election after the Reform Act but never againâ [Carlisle Patriot, 22 December 1871].
Almost all Chartist activity in Carlisle flowed through Arthurâs book shop in Rickergateâfrom the sale of the Northern Star and the Northern Liberator (âthe best paper in the universe for working peopleâ) and of tickets for such celebrations as OâConnorâs visit at the end of 1841 to the collection of signatures for the petitions and of funds for the support of arrested and imprisoned Chartists [Carlisle Journal, 25 July 1840]. In May 1841, the wife of John Frost received one shilling from âa few female Chartists per J. Arthurâ and in November 1843 five shillings was sent, one shilling of it from Arthurâs own pocket, to assist the wife of the transported William Ellis [Northern Star, 22 May 1841]. Arthur even provided accommodation for Chartist lecturersâDr. John Taylor lived with him for three weeks at the beginning of 1840. However, his ambition that he might edit a local Chartist journal from his shop, with working men providing the funds by purchased 5s shares was not to be realised.
Arthur did not consider himself to be a natural public speaker and preferred to organise meetings and occupy the chair, on occasion appearing âin his elegant white hatâ [Carlisle Journal, 29 August 1840]. In the second half of 1840, he brought the Urquhartite missionaries William Cardo and John Richards to Carlisle who duly set out why Chartists should fear Russia. It was not only at Chartist meetings that Arthur filled the role of chairman but also at meetings the Chartists had taken overâfor example, in May 1840, he was elected as chairman at a meeting organised by the Anti-Corn Law League. Without occupying the chair, Arthur would seek to direct public meetings. At a meeting called by churchmen in December 1839 to promote better use of the Sabbath, he proposed an ironic vote of thanks at the end for the use of the room, declaring that âbefore this he and his friends could not get it for either love or money; but now they had it for nothingâ [Carlisle Journal, 21 December 1841].
The bitter feelings the Chartists felt towards the Whigs found no better outlet than through Arthur who could be relied upon to denounce them âin terms most racyâ [Carlisle Journal, 26 June 1841]. During a by-election in East Cumberland in summer 1841 he circulated an address which accused the Whigs of being âthe most treacherous, cruel and persecuting government which ever existed on the face of the earthâ [Carlisle Journal, 6 June 1840]. The interference of the Chartists greatly angered the local Whigs:
Mr Bowman is the keeper of a beer shop and until lately had no visible means of obtaining a livelihood. Mr Arthur is a bookseller, not supposed to be abundantly supplied with this worldâs goods. Yet these men have their horse and gig at Cockermouth, are living at a first rate inn and, if dress were any indication of character, might be mistaken for âgentlemenâ. We ask, who pays for all this? [Carlisle Journal, 6 June 1840].
They answered the question themselves, branding Arthur and his friends as âthe physical force orange Chartists of Carlisle ⌠the acknowledged Swiss troops of Toryismâ [Carlisle Journal, 6 June 1840]. Long after his Chartist career was over, Arthur continued to express his contempt for the Whigs. Almost certainly he did take Tory money in the early 1840s.
The Whig newspapers certainly detested Arthur. In its leaders the Carlisle Journal would refer to his appearance and his personal circumstances. Arthur unsuccessfully sought to sue the newspaper in February 1841; the following month the paper gleefully reported that he had drunkenly disturbed a meeting of teetotallers. There was, however, great admiration for Arthur amongst the Chartists. Hanson described him a âpure and honest patriotâ and a Dalston working man named his son after the Chartist newsagent [Carlisle Journal, 20 June 1840].
At the critical Chartist conference in Manchester called amidst the turn-outs of August 1842 Arthur occupied the chair. He made clear that he supported a general strike to secure the Charter. This led to the arrival at his shop at the end of September of two police officers with a warrant for his arrest. This âvery unexpected and unpleasant newsâ was followed by a search of his shop and house, including âeven the drawers in the chamber of my wifeâ, and his departure in handcuffs for New Bailey prison in Manchester [Northern Star, 15 October 1842]. Arthur was charged with inciting a riot, but, when the Northern Star reporter-turned-informer William Griffin was unable to identify him, he was released. âNever in the whole course of my time did I feel more indignation than I did looking at the vile wretch Griffinâ, an embittered Arthur said on his return to Carlisle. Securing his release had cost him ÂŁ10 [Northern Star, 15 October 1842]. His ordeal was, however, not yet over. Arthur was one of the large group of Chartists who faced the charge of conspiracy at Lancaster in March 1843. âMy Lord, I deny the whole of it for I have never fired a gun in my lifeâ, he declared in court [Carlisle Patriot, 22 December 1871]. Though Arthurâs case got as far as the Court of the Queenâs Bench, he returned from London, after a prolonged stay, without being sentenced.
Despite this experience, Arthur continued to express his support for the political and economic rights of the working class, often in collaboration with Hanson. He was chairman of a meeting addressed by OâConnor in Carlisle in November 1843, and the following month of a meeting addressed by William Hill, recently dismissed as editor of the Star (which ended in furious exchanges when men loyal to OâConnor turned up). He publicly supported the claims of the handloom weavers for improved wages and called for the release of the imprisoned Richard Oastler: âThere was no man in England had ever done more or had a better spirit, thank Godâ [Carlisle Journal, 3 February 1844]. In 1845 Arthur found himself dragged into William Ashtonâs rancorous quarrel with OâConnor, Ashton alleging that, in late 1839, John Taylor had planned to go âto Carlisle and put James Arthur in possession of that town and barracksâ [Northern Star, 3 May 1845]. Arthur played no part in the Land Plan or the revival of Chartism in 1847â1848.
The census of 1851 indicates that James and Elizabeth Arthur were living separately. Arthurâs wife and son had taken over the book shop whilst he ran a small newsagent, where he was the agent for such concoctions as Dr. Lacockâs Pulmonic Wafers (a treatment for coughs) and Brodieâs Purifying Vegetable Pills (to be taken âfor the cure of scorbutic affectionsâ) [Carlisle Patriot, 29 October 1849]. He was regularly to be seen delivering newspapers to his customers by hand.
From time to time Arthur re-emerged in his old Chartist colours. He acted as chairman when Bronterre OâBrien addressed a poorly attended meeting on the Crimean War in January 1856. When town meetings were called to petition for parliamentary reform, such as in January 1858, Arthur was present. His long-standing political ally Joseph Broom Hanson died in September 1864, but Arthur continued to argue for what they had both always believed in. At a reform meeting called in December 1865 he interrupted a speech to complain about the timidity of the plans. Amidst cries of âturn him out, turn him outâ, he was denounced as a âsnake in the grassâ [Carlisle Patriot, 2 December 1865]. Without manhood suffrage, Arthur refused to use the vote he had secured many years earlier. A few years before his death a correspondent to a local newspaper observed that âMr James Arthur could give more information about the Chartists in Carlisle than anybody in the cityâ [Carlisle Patriot, 1 September 1871]. From Arthur there was silence. He had stories to tell, but he wasnât telling them. Described as âindustrious and peaceable, if rather eccentric âŚâ Arthur died at his home in Crosby Street, Carlisle, on 9 August 1877.
Sources: (1) Periodicals: Carlisle Journal, 1838â1877; Carlisle Patriot, 1838â1877; Cumberland Pacquet, 1877; Northern Liberator, 1838â1840; Northern Star, 1838â1844. (2) Books: The Trial of Feargus OâConnor and Fifty-Eight Others on a Charge of Sedition, Conspiracy, Tumult and Riot 1 (1843; 1970 edn.); J. Epstein, The Lion of Freedom: Feargus OâConnor and the Chartist Movement 1832â1842 (1982); O. Ashton, R. Fyson, and S. Roberts (eds.), The Duty of Discontent: Essays for Dorothy Thompson (1995); M. Chase, Chartism: A New History (2007); W. Farish, The Autobiography of William Farish: The Struggles of a Hand-Loom Weaver (1996 edn. ed. O. Ashton and S. Roberts); W. Hamish Fraser, Chartism in Scotland (Pontypool, 2010). (3) Articles: J. Barnes, ââThe Men of the Northâ: The Chartist Movement in Carlisle 1838â50â, Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmoreland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society, vol. 15 (2015), 195â209. (4) Thesis: J. Barnes, âPopular Protest and Radical Politics: Carlisle, 1780â1850â, (Lancaster, PhD, 1981). (5) Obituaries: Carlisle Journal, 10 August 1877; Carlisle Patriot, 10 August 1877; Cumberland Pacquet, 14 August 1877.
STEPHEN ROBERTS
BARKER, Sara Elizabeth (Dame) (1904â1973)
LABOUR PARTY OFFICIAL
Sara Barker was the eldest of the three daughters of George Barker and Ethel nee Brier. She was born and raised in 4-6 Jubilee Road in the Siddall area of Halifax in the West Riding. Her father, George, would prove to be a great influence on her. He had been an apprentice gardener before becoming a licensed grocer in his familyâs business. A keen member of the Halifax and District Off-Licence Holdersâ Association, he was its chairman from 1917 until his death in 1940; he was also, in 1933, the Chair of the National Federation of Off-Licence Holdersâ Associations [Halifax Courier, 5 August 1939].
George Barker was also involved in Labour politics in Halifax. A lifelong member of the Independent Labour Party (ILP) he became a Labour councillor for Southowram Ward in 1920 [Guardian, 23 January 1961]. He was actively involved in civic affairs; as a councillor he served on the Improvements Committee at a time of major redevelopment in Halifax and in 1932 became an Alderman [Halifax Courier, 5 August 1939]. He became a Magistrate in 1933; the pinnacle of his career was his election as Mayor of Halifax in 1939 [Halifax Courier, 5 August 1939, Guardian 23 January 1961]. George Barker firmly believed in serving his community, indeed the Halifax Courier, described him as âsalt of the earthâ, one of those people whose ambition was only to âimprove the lives of citizens ⌠and succeeding generationsâ [Halifax Courier, 11 November 1939]. The Barker family involved themselves âin service of what the French call the communeâ [Halifax Courier, 11 November 1939].
Such Labour Party activism was not peculiar to Halifax. Across the country, party activists believed they could âwork practically to ameliorate conditions, notably through local government, and to raise hopes and expectationsâ [Tanner (2000) 260]. Although the character and significance of such altruism are often questioned by modern scholars, its importance should not be ignored. This was the moral driving force behind civic politics at the time, transcending conventional party divisions [Shapely (2012) 310â314]. Understanding this commitment is fundamental to appreciating what drove and informed the behaviour of men such as George Barker.
At the time of her fatherâs death, Sara Barker was Secretary-Organiser of the Halifax Labour Party. She had been immersed in Labour politics from a young age, brought up by her father to respect and adhere to the doctrine of collective endeavour and local representation. In an interview with the Guardian, many years later, Barker explained her fatherâs influence, revealing that some of her earliest memories were âgoing door to door, collecting subscriptions from membersâ [Guardian, 23 January 1961]. At 16, whilst still in college, she had become secretary of the womenâs section of the Halifax Labour Party. She later claimed these early experiences and the understanding of the minutiae of local organising helped her throughout her career [ODNB (2004); Guardian, 23 January 1961]. She was one of the volunteer activists who, together with a small professional core, worked to sustain the young Labour Partyâs organisation and help it grow from a movement that represented working-class interests into a potential party of government [Tanner (2000) 248]. In later life, Barker would speak of her idealised memory of a golden age when âsocialism was a family affairâ, and where local party officials âcould be great visionariesâ [Guardian, 23 January 1961].
Barker was educated at Siddal Elementary School and then at Halifax Technical College where she studied commerce. At the age of 17, she took a job as an accounting clerk at one of Halifaxâs many engineering firms [ODNB (2004)]. Further education was an important aspect of life for many working-class socialists and Sara was no exception [Taylor (1986) 14]. She took night classes in English, Economics and Social Sciences for many years and as often as three nights a week [ODNB (2004)]. Barker had two passions during the early years of her life, her education and the Halifax Labour Party.
By 1935 Barker had been active within the party for 15 years and had held a number of senior voluntary posts, including President of the Halifax Labour Party, Secretary of the Womenâs Section and Secretary of the Halifax, Huddersfield and District Labour Womenâs Advisory Council [Barker (1955) 2]. Years of hard work within the party as a voluntary official paid off. In 1935, the role of Secretary-Agent of the Halifax Labour Party became vacant. The holder of this full-time post was typically the only paid employee of a local party. The Secretary-Agentâs core responsibility was to coordinate and utilise the results of an annual registration of electors, and undertake a meticulous canvass of the constituency, alongside her administrative duties [Pugh (2010) 51â52]. Barker was the successful candidate out of 135 applicants. It was her first full-time job in the Labour Party [Guardian, 19 April 1962]. Being appointed as a Secretary-Agent when only in her early 30s was a remarkable achievement, but given that she had been climbing the ranks and learning the trade as a political organiser since her teenage years, in a community where her family were politically well-established the ascent was perhaps less unsurprising.
During the 1930s, she became involved in a national campaign that attempted to provide local parties with greater standing and influence within the wider party. Party members were dissatisfied with the comparative weakness of local parties. During this time, trade unions maintained overwhelming control over party policymaking structures such as the Conference and National Executive Committee. As a conference delegate in the 1920s, Herbert Morrison had begun to argue that the Labour Party should have more effective representation for its local organisations. In July 1933 campaigners formed the Association of Labour Parties. This initiative was significant, as it was the first time the ordinary members of the party had organised in the hope of improving their representation within Labourâs structures [Worley (2005) 189â190]. Barker was no radical, and became concerned about the campaignâs links with the left-wing Socialist League and in particular the influence of Sir Stafford Cripps. Under Hugh Daltonâs chairmanship the party was committed to tabling proposals for the 1937 party conference. Early in 1937, Barker had persuaded the Halifax party executive of the need for constitutional reform. She convened a meeting in Leeds attended by 93 delegates; 28 Divisional Parties were represented. A regional committee representing local parties within Yorkshire was formed. Barker was elected its secretary and Lady Mabel Smith, a leading activist in Yorkshire who had previously sat on the partyâs National Executive Committee, became its chairman [Pimlott (1977) 124â125, 128]. Barker subsequently endorsed an argument put forward by Wakefield MP Arthur Greenwood that trade unionists were often amongst the most active and...