resentatives of Trades Councils, Federations of
Trades, and Trade Societies in general." Its plan was based on the
annual meetings of the Social Science Association, and it was
contemplated that it should meet each year in a different city and sit
for five or six days. This first general Congress was attended by 34
delegates, who claimed to represent some 118,000 trade unionists. The
next meeting, at Birmingham, in 1869, was attended by 48 delegates,
representing 40 separate societies, with some 250,000 members. With
the exception of the next year, 1870, the Congress has met annually
since, the meetings taking place at Nottingham, Leeds, Sheffield, and
other cities, with an attendance varying between one and two hundred
delegates, representing members ranging from a half-million to eight
or nine hundred thousand. It elects each year a Parliamentary
Committee consisting of ten members and a secretary, whose duty is to
attend in London during the sittings of Parliament and exert what
influence they can on legislation or appointments in the interests of
the trade unionists whom they represent. In fact, most of the activity
of the Congress was for a number of years represented by the
Parliamentary Committee, the meetings themselves being devoted largely
to commonplace discussions, points of conflict between the unions
being intentionally ruled out. In recent years there have been some
heated contests in the Congress on questions of general policy, but on
the whole it and its Parliamentary Committee remain a somewhat loose
and ineffective representation of the unity and solidarity of feeling
of the great army of trade unionists. As a result, however, of the
efforts of the unions in their various forms of organization there
have always, since 1874, been a number of "labor members" of
Parliament, usually officers of the great national trade unions, and
many trade unionist members of local government bodies and school
boards. Representative trade unionists have been appointed as
government inspectors and other officials, and as members of
government investigating commissions. Many changes in the law in which
as workingmen the trade unionists are interested have been carried
through Parliament or impressed upon the ministry through the
influence of the organized bodies or their officers.

The trade-union movement has therefore resulted in the formation of a
powerful group of federated organizations, including far the most
impor