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A Glimpse of MABON A Glimpse of MABON A
Proud Welshman, Politician for the Rhondda and President of the Miners of South Wales
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A Valuable Biography on Mabon
Dr. D. Ben Rees, a Liverpool-based Welsh historian, was the first biographer in the Welsh language of William Abraham (1842–1922), better known as Mabon, a famous trade unionist, parliamentarian, journalist, eisteddfodwr, and Liberal-Labour leader.
Mabon served as the MP for the Rhondda from 1885 and joined the Labour Party in 1908. The first biography of Mabon in English, written by Dr. E.W. Evans, appeared 65 years ago. After such a long period, it needed to be analysed by one of the most remarkable historians of his generation, Reverend Dr. D. Ben Rees, author of biographies in both Welsh and English on devolutionists such as Jim Griffiths, Gwilym-Prys Davies, Cledwyn Hughes, and Aneurin Bevan. Dr. Rees also wrote a study in English on Bessie Braddock, as well as a biography in Welsh 54 years ago on Mahatma Gandhi, alongside numerous works on Welsh missionaries who served in Northeast India.
W.E.GladstoneaDavidLloydGeorgeacnid KeirHardieaNoahAblettydoedd,prifddyny Lib-Labhyd1909,ganiddoyradeghonno orfodwisgolliwiau’rBlaidLafur.Ymae’rgyfrol honyngyflwyniadteg,difyroddyntlawda ddaethyngysurusogyfoethogonda gadwoddynffyddloni’wddelfrydau,iei’r iaithGymraeg,i’rcapelMethodusa’rlofayn mhobdosbartho’rDe,i’wrienia’ideulu,ei brioda’rplantagafoddygofalgorau.
His latest book, on the history of the Labour Party in Wales, will be published in October 2024 and will mark the 99th book with which he has been involved. Titled Cyd-ddyheu a’i Cododd Hi: Hanes y Blaid Lafur yng Nghymru, this new work is another valuable contribution to our understanding of Welsh politics.
GeralltPennantaDBReesynPennyLane
Glimpse of MABON
Proud Welshman, Politician for the Rhondda and President of the Miners of South Wales
Cynlluniwydyclawrgan SionWynMorris,GogleddLerpwl
Ben Rees
D. Ben Rees
D.
A Glimpse of MABON
First published in 2025 by Modern Welsh Publications
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted by any means without the prior permission of the publisher.
© D. Ben Rees 2025
The right of the author to be identified as the author of this work as being asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
A CIP catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 978-1-7393373-7-7
Typeset by www.beamreacuk.co.uk
A Glimpse of MABON
Proud Welshman, Politician for the Rhondda and President of the Miners of South Wales
D. Ben Rees
Modern Welsh Publications
Mabon being honoured by the University of Wales
PREFACE
to William Abraham (1842 – 1922)
I was absolutely thrilled to be the first historian to write a biography in the Welsh language on the remarkable Mabon who dominated most of Victorian and Edwardian Wales. A native of the village of Cwmafan, near Port Talbot, he began his life in a small cottage cared for by a pious mother. He lost his father when he was young and depended so much on the activities that took place in his chapel called Tabernacle. Denied secondary education, he left for the local coal mine where he began at an early age to organise his fellow workers. He was given an abundance of opportunities by his minister and elders as a precentor and within the Band of Hope weekly meeting with the children as well as the Sunday School.
The Eisteddfod Movement attracted him as a young miner. That is why William Abraham became known as Mabon. He was versatile, he could sing and write essays which gained him prizes. Mabon was given responsibility within the Eisteddfodic circles as an adjudicator and a compère. He had a delightful but powerful tenor voice which assisted him immensely. His rendering of hymns and the Welsh National Anthem used to quell any undue rebellion in the trade union circles. A proud Welshman, he cherished his language and had his opportunity to support the first Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg (Welsh Language Society) at the National Eisteddfod in Aberdare in 1885.
That was an important year for him for he became the Member of Parliament for the Rhondda, the name of the constituency which encompassed the two valleys (Rhondda Fach and Rhondda Fawr). Mabon came there at the heyday of the Welsh coal industry in the period between 1875 and 1920. He witnessed the colossal sociological change in the once remote and sylvan valleys which became the centre of the steam-coal trade. Mabon was himself an incomer like the majority who flocked to the collieries that dominated the landscape. By 1913, fifty-three large collieries employed 42,000 men to dig nine and a half million tons of coal, or one sixth of the maximum output of the South Wales coalfield. Mabon settled in the valleys when he came to be a miners’ agent at Pentre, a
rather forgotten village compared with the more militant township of Tonypandy in the Rhondda Fawr or Ferndale and Mardy in the Rhondda Fach.
A staunch Liberal all his life, like so many of the inhabitants, he straddled the two camps, the Liberals and the Labour Party and became like so many miners’ leaders in England a very well-known Lib-Lab. His huge physique, his brilliant oratory and his identification with progressive measures endeared him to his supporters. Failing twice to be selected as the official candidate, in 1885, he stood as an independent Lib-Lab to win over the Liberals and came out as the winner with a substantial majority. From 1885 to 1920 he was the local Member of Parliament hero and idolised when he went to Westminster as well as his two visits to the USA. The Liberal leaders, W. Ewart Gladstone and David Lloyd George, had a high regard for him and so did Labour leaders from Ramsay MacDonald to George Barnes after 1908 when he joined the Labour Party. Mabon became the spokesman for Welsh Nonconformity in all its aspects, in its campaign for the disestablishment of the Anglican Church and for privileges that had been denied to them particularly in the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. A stalwart of the Sliding Scale in the mining world, he kept the miners contented for most of his life from long drawn out strikes, but by the end of the Edwardian Age, Noah Ablett (1883-1935), a native of the Rhondda who was responsible for persuading the South Wales Miners’ Federation to transfer scholarships from Ruskin College, Oxford, where he himself had been educated, to a new Central Labour College located in Earls Court, London, was a rising star. Ablett ensured that the College would disperse Marxist teachings to a generation of leaders which included future Members of Parliament of the calibre of Aneurin Bevan, Ness Edwards, James Griffiths and novelists such as the Rhondda miner, Lewis Jones. Ablett with Noah Rees and W. H. Mainwaring (all Rhondda based intellectuals) were among the small group based on a café in Tonypandy who met to discuss and finally wrote the important pamphlet The Miners’ Next Step in 1912 which was responsible for popularising the philosophy of syndicalism. This was a world alien to Mabon. It was categorically opposed to the conciliatory attitude of the older miners’ leaders, in particular our leader we have scrutinised Wiliam Abraham.
Mabon did not give in; he kept his popularity and became a celebrity through his advertisements in favour of a Welsh cup of tea and a love of tomatoes. The lad brought up in a small cottage by Port Talbot was one of the richest trade union leaders in Britain by the end of the First World War. He never lost his popularity. His voice encouraged the miners, and they followed him. Even Ablett did not arrange a coup. He died as a hero of the Welsh nation, next to Lloyd George, in the galaxy of the great Welshmen of his day. This is the hero that I delved into his life activities, his ideas, his passions and his background and his undoubted charm.
I am grateful to all those who assisted in the process, especially to Dr Pat Williams, who is always willing to review my work, to Angela Lansley, both from the Liverpool Welsh community for all their efforts, to David Fletcher who has been a steady hand for the last twenty years, and the encouragement of Mererid Boswell and Rhian Davies of the Welsh Book Council. Dr Peter Brooks, a native of Rhondda
Fach, who was the doctor who looked after Gwilym PrysDavies, gave me photographs to do with one of Mabon’s closest friends, David Watts Morgan, who also became a Labour MP for the Rhondda Fach constituency. Siôn Wyn Morris prepared the cover for both books, an unique effort for which I am grateful. Dr Huw Edwards of London on 18 June 2023, after reading the Welsh edition, wrote to me to plead for an English version. I am so glad that I listened to my friend and to implement his wishes before the National Eisteddfod of Wales came to Pontypridd in August 2024 for the Rhondda-Cynon Taf area which has welcomed the Festival to the valleys immortalised by giants such as Mabon. The Welsh language version of Cofiant Mabon was well received, and as I have been told, it is very important that those who do not read the Welsh language should be able to appreciate the life and work of a pioneer of the Trade Union and Labour Movement in Wales. I hope that it will receive the same welcome as the Welsh version as the publishers Modern Welsh Publications, the only publishers of Welsh books in England, had to have two editions of Cofiant Mabon in the bookshops distributed by the Welsh Book Council from its centre in Llanbadarn Fawr, near Aberystwyth.
D. Ben Rees, Liverpool
INTRODUCTION
Mabon, born as William Abraham in 1842, is a forgotten hero today within Britain but in his golden era (from 1880 to 1910) he was the most popular Welshman in the Welsh nation. In 1914 his place was taken by David Lloyd George but the people in the coalfields continued to praise him until his death in 1922. He was regarded as the first Labour Member of Parliament. of the workers in heavy industry and, in his history, his strongest supporters were the miners of the Rhondda Fawr and Rhondda Fach. He was born on 14 June 1842 in a small cottage in Cwmafan between Pontrhydyfen and Port Talbot. His father traveled from Llanfabon to Cwmafan in search of work which he found in the copper industry. His mother – a virtuous woman - was from the parish of Margam, and the son spoke fondly of her throughout his life. His father died when he was a small boy and he had to go to work in the bowels of the earth at ten years of age as a colliery doorkeeper. Aged nineteen, he married Sarah, the daughter of Cwmafan’s blacksmith and she was the mother of six children (one died in 1899) until her own death in 1900. Mabon was brought up as a devout Calvinistic Methodist member of his local chapel and was blessed with a beautiful tenor voice. At fifteen years of age he was appointed precentor in Tabernacle CM Chapel. Working conditions were hard at the colliery and the lad began to express his opinion and defend people who were being mistreated by the managers. He was soon dismissed, and consequently surrounding collieries would not employ him for he was called a troublemaker.
He made the huge miscalculation of venturing with eleven other people to Chile in South America to seek work, leaving his wife and family behind in Cwmafan. There were problems on the sea journey from pirates and fierce storms before they reached the port of Valparaiso. The whole scheme was a huge disappointment to him and he was lucky to meet with a ship’s captain from Cornwall who allowed him a free journey for menial tasks, So he broke his heart after some months of frustration and left his mates behind in the copper works of Chile. He was glad to return home. He lost thirteen months in time and broke an agreement that had been drawn up by the capitalists. He was expected to stay for three years in his new work. He was criticized harshly for breaking the agreement by the chapel leaders in Cwmafan but manged to calm them in a special extraordinary meeting called by his fellow elders.
After his return he moved to a colliery in Waunarlwydd in the Swansea area and saw the need for aTrade Union to defend himself and his fellow-miners. He helped Tom Halliday from Lancashire to set up the Amalgamated Association of Miners in the north west of England as well as south Wales. He became the first full-time miners’ agent in the Loughor area. When he decided to move to Rhondda in 1878, a farewell concert was arranged for him. His supporters flocked from Loughor, Cwmbwrla (where he and his family had been living), Penclawdd and Waunarlwydd in his honour. By 1883 the Loughor District miners had arranged a Testimonial tribute for him in the form of a Concert. In Rhondda he had a golden opportunity to achieve his ambition as a representative of a nonconformist radicalism which after all transformed social, industrial and religious life in Wales from 1880 until 1920.
Mabon was a multi-talented and ambitious character, he had a clear distinct voice when addressing the crowds, incomparable eloquence and the desire to represent the miners at Westminster under the banner of the Lib-Lab. That was the background he cherished with the influence of Methodist preachers such as Edward Matthews of Ewenny near Bridgend and William Evans of Tonyrefail in the Rhondda weighing heavily on him in terms of their emphasis on abstinence, morality and the value of peaceful co-existence between servant and master. Physically he looked like an Old Testament Prophet with his black beard and muscular physique.
On 3 December 1885 the results of the parliamentary election for the new Rhondda seat were announced and the seat was won, not by the Liberal Party’s chosen man Frederick Davis the son of the owner of Ferndale pits, but by Mabon the Rhondda miners’ agent. Mabon twice failed to secure the Liberal nomination for the seat but adopted the idea of uniting the Liberals and those who favoured Labour and Trade Unionism in the grouping which became known as LibLab and stood under that name for decades. It was a very significant result as Mabon had overcome all the obstacles and, for the next 35 years, he kept the seat safely without having to worry at any General Election. He was the first ordinary Welsh-speaker to be chosen as an M.P. in the name of the working class and under the patronage of W. E. Gladstone and latter Tom Ellis and Lloyd George and the Liberals of the Valley’s chapels. He was the ideal candidate with his melodious voice, the man who kept the idea of Trade Unionism alive in the South Wales coalfield after the failure of Halliday and the A.A.M.
It should be remembered that his philosophy of trying to settle every conflict without a strike pleased most of the chapel going miners. They gave him confidence. He was the miners’ chief negotiator not only throughout the south Wales coalfield but, at the end of the century, throughout the British coalfields. Indeed, his reputation and influence was witnessed in the mining coalfields of Europe. He took up the idea of the Sliding Scale: that wages rose and fell according to market prices. Through the use of the Welsh language and prayer, he succeeded in settling one conflict after another from 1885 until the bitter long drawn out conflict in the Tonypandy strike in 1910-12. In that strike different attitudes were perceived amongst the miners and the owners. However, for over twenty years,
Mabon reigned as he was a warm-hearted Welshman, committed to self-rule for Wales and using more Welsh in Parliament than anyone before or after. He recited every syllable of the Lord’s Prayer when the Tories were spitting out hatred at him. His popularity was evident when in 1901 and 1905 he visited the United States. He was hero worshipped by the Welsh in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. Sermons he delivered on a Sunday, lively lectures in the weeknights as well as ample anecdotes and and humour in the dinners held in his honour. No Welshman was ever more warmly welcomed to the U.S.A. No-one came anywhere near him for popularity in 1901. He urged the American miners to call for capital and labour to co-operate with each other. Neither the Welsh nor the American press lost their interest in him, particularly when he was elected to the Privy Council in 1911. Queen Victoria and her son the Prince of Wales thought the world of him as did the long-standing Liverpool born W. E. Gladstone and his wife from Hawarden in Flintshire. They would hold a special dinner for him every six months in their London home inviting the English and Welsh Establishment to attend and to recognize his talent, even to applaud him. On his second journey to America in 1905 he had an interview with President Theodore Roosevelt; in the eyes of Labour leaders in America he was none other than Mr. Wales.
Praising Mabon and stressing his central place in Welsh life were essential elements in the task of putting Wales on the world map. As a consequence of the report on education in Wales, subsequently referred to as the Treachery of the Blue Books first published in 1847, the Welsh in response to it tried to support the image of ‘A pure Wales peopled by happy Welsh people.’ Mabon was the ideal leader for them and by 1911 there were more miners under his banner than those of any other trade unionist throughout Britain and Europe. Mabon performed another service: he established male voice choirs as one of the foundation stones of the working-class culture which was supported by one of the most prominent eisteddfod supporters of his age. He was the best ever leader on the eisteddfod platform. He continued as an M.P. far too long but none of the Rhondda rebels such as Noah Ablett made an effort to deselect him, though after 1911 he was absent a great deal from the chamber. He found it hard to leave the closely knit group of Lib-Lab MPs in Westminster for the benches of the Labour Party in 1908. During the First World War the well-known pacifist became a warmonger in order to please Lloyd George. He succeeded in sending forty thousand miners into the battlefield of Flanders and France. He was the best recruiter of soldiers in Wales, better even than the pulpit giant Dr John Williams of the village of Brynsiencyn in Anglesey. During the First World War he became a rich man with his investments and his role in the advertisements of tomatoes and tea. When he died on 14 May 1922 at his home in Pentre, thousands gathered in Treorchy and in September it was announced that he had left the sum of £38,000 equivalent to £454,807 in 2020. Within less than a century he had become a forgotten hero but, with the centenary of his death in 1922, and the publication of a Welsh language biography which went into two editions (see Appendix 3) we have a chance to put him on a pedestal again by the publication in 2024 of an English language biography.
After all, he was the greatest figure of his time.
CHAPTER 1
MABON’S EARLY DAYS
Trade Unionists who have a memorable pseudonym are exceptionally rare in Welsh history and William Abraham is one of them. He was born 14 June 1842 in a tiny cottage, 22 Copper Row, in the village of Cwmafan near Port Talbot, the fourth son of Thomas Abraham, a miner and copper worker and his wife Mary who, according to the Trade Union leader Lewys Afan, came from around Margam. 1
His father died when William was very young and, by 1851, they had moved to 25 Copper Row and the responsibility for his upbringing fell upon his mother. His father Thomas came originally from Llanfabon in East Glamorgan and he travelled to Cwmafan to get work in the copper industry. Mary was a very virtuous woman and particularly religious, a firm Calvinist and faithful to the Calvinistic Methodist cause.
It was his mother who taught him to read in both languages and he was completely fluent before beginning his education in the Church School.2 Mabon remembered how, as the child of Nonconformists, he was forced to go to the Parish Church on a Sunday. And if he and others of a similar background were not seen there, they would be punished with the birch on Monday morning. According to Lewys Afan, members of the Calvinistic Methodist Chapel would rejoice when he came to the notice of the public, saying: ‘He is one of us.’
However, the upbringing William Abraham received was that which was offered throughout the length and breadth of Wales by the Nonconformist chapels. The chapel was the prime influence in a village like Cwmafan during the years of William Abraham’s childhood. Who were the members of the chapel? Mainly ordinary workers like Thomas Abraham, miners, workers in the steel mills and shopkeepers of every sort and led by those called elders in the Calvinistic Methodist chapels and deacons in the Welsh Independent and Baptist chapels. Overall charge was in the hands of the minister and,
1 Lewys Afan, ‘Poblogrwydd Mabon fel AS’ Tarian y Gweithiwr (Workers’ Shield), 25 March 1886, 3.
2 E. W. Evans and John Saville, ‘William Abraham (Mabon)’ in Dictionary of Labour Biography, volume 1 (London and Basingstoke, 1972).
by the time of the childhood of this gifted boy, from 1842 to 1852, the majority of them were very able leaders. As the years went by the strength and talent of nonconformist ministers would increase. It was they who made the chapels powerful and dynamic all over Wales, England and the United States, the subject of wonder and discussion. Cultural and religious witness was admired, and people flocked to be members of an institution which provided so many activities. The political minister, as I call him, was the loudest on the Cymanfa (Festival) stage and was heard speaking eloquently in the annual Preaching Meetings held wherever there was a flourishing Welsh Chapel. Some of the important theological figures of the time feared that political ministers would turn the chapels into political clubs for the Liberal Party. Principal D. Emrys Evans gives a good example from the life of Samuel Roberts (‘SR’, 1800-1883) of Llanbryn-mair:
Perhaps the example of the compatibility of the evangelist and the social reformer was Samuel Roberts of Llanbryn-mair, the faithful minister, valiant fighter for peace and ardent reformer who thought deeply about the principles of government and devised a host of social improvements and brought them to the attention of the authorities.3
William Abraham’s debt to the chapel was enormous and he never forgot that. He benefitted greatly from the Band of Hope, a temperance based organisation, then Sunday School for all ages and singing meetings. He frequented the Seiat, the religious discussion meeting, where he was enlightened as to the faith and regularly had the Scriptures explained to him. As a small boy he looked forward to the communal hymn singing sessions.
He succeeded in reading music and ventured to compete in chapel and community based eisteddfodau (cultural festivals). This was an apprenticeship for a post he occupied throughout his life, namely Blaenor y Gân (Precentor). He would work together with the organist or the accompanist and choose suitable tunes for the hymns which were chosen according to the Sunday theme. Being a Precentor was not equivalent to being a fully fledged elder (also called blaenor) but he would stand in front of the Sêt Fawr (Elders’ Pew) in front of the pulpit to lead the congregation in harmony and to praise the Lord of Life in His sanctuary.
In the Tabernacle chapel, Cwmafan he was reared as a Calvinist. The leaders and members of the denomination followed the doctrines of one of the most important reformers of the Protestant Reformation, John Calvin of Geneva.4 John Calvin saw every step that he took from his childhood in France to his continuing work in Geneva as an adult in terms of predestination and being one of the chosen people of Almighty God.5
William Abraham saw his life as a way of praising God and his success in life is a sign of blessings of the Infinite surrounding him. The people amongst whom he was brought up
3 D. Emrys Evans, Crefydd a Chymdeithas (Religion and Society) (Cardiff, 1933), 113-14.
4 D. G. Hart, Calvinism: A History (New Haven and London, 2013), 17-20.
5 Ibid., 16, 20, 38, 65, 80, 82-3, 88-90.
in Tabernacle Chapel, Cwmafan were people who believed in self-discipline and who, as far as possible, respected the importance of the Sabbath as a day of rest as well as worship. Though they had been destined for eternal life since before the world was created, they were expected to give as much as they could to the requirements of their present life. They believed, according to the Confession of Faith drawn up in 1823, that they were not to be idle or lazy or to wander without a purpose from place to place. They should be honest in everything, forswear alcoholic drink and reject gambling. Calvinists should be generous to others, merciful to the needy and sympathetic to those who were lonely or in grief.
We hear the voice of many a Trade Unionist and Liberal M.P. in what I have described and also that of many of the great leaders of the Victorian Age. This is at the core of the learning and activities in the chapels of Wales. Professor D. Emrys Evans, himself a son of the manse, summed up a picture of William Abraham’s fellow-members.
Most of the saints were lively, orthodox Puritans and the most important things for them were the salvation of the soul, keeping the Sabbath and keeping the doctrines.6
By now, the members of the Presbyterian Chapels of Wales have lost their grip on these three essentials – evangelising, keeping the Sunday special and preserving Calvinistic theology. But in the early years of that talented young boy in Cwmafan the importance of these three tenets can be witnessed. But the chapel, as has been mentioned, was much more liberal, secular and cultural and political than mentioned by D. Emrys Evans, though it comes close to what he describes in his book on religion and society.
Cwmafan as a village had a large number of Nonconformist chapels during the time of William Abraham’s childhood. The oldest of the chapels was Seion Chapel which was opened in 1821, and then Tabernacle, the Chapel of the Calvinistic Methodists which was built in 1837. The Rock Chapel which belonged to the Welsh Independents came to serve the community in 1840 and Penuel Welsh Baptist Chapel in 1844. William Abraham remembered the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel opening its doors in 1849 and Bethania Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in 1851 and then in 1859, the year of the religious revival, the chapel of the Bible Christians, a denomination not much heard of in South Wales in those days.7 The young lad saw a great deal of building work carried out in his early years. From 1845 to 1847, over five hundred houses were built in the village of Cwmafan.8
William Abraham was set an example of firm leadership, which stood him in good stead for his future life, from the chapel minister, the Reverend Thomas Edwards, an interesting character who loved to participate in the Liberal Party politics of the day. Another nonconformist minister who offered him sincere friendship was the minister of Seion, the Reverend Edward Roberts. He kept a grocer’s shop where his (Abraham’s) mother bought most of their weekly goods. Roberts was naturally sympathetic towards her in
6 D. Emrys Evans, Crefydd a Chymdeithas, 114.
7 NLW Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Archives 14,842, a typescript on Mabon by the Reverend Daniel Davies of Pentre, Rhondda.
8 Ibid., 5.
Wern’), see 1860, Massachusetts and Raymond Volume 1
the loss of her husband and would be full of understanding on Saturday night which was time for the weekly payment. Many a family took advantage of his kindness, more than they should have and he was often called Father Roberts by the members of the Irish community who lived in the village.
Mary Abraham’s family never missed services on Sunday morning and evening nor the Sunday School in the afternoon. The Reverend John Parry of Chester and all other propagandists for catechism, could praise the religious atmosphere in Wales by the 1830s. Wales had incomparable preachers and three of the most able died within three years of each other in that period namely: Christmas Evans, the hero of Welsh Baptist congregations, who passed to glory in 1838, William Williams of ‘Y Wern’, the bright star of the Welsh Independents who left the Rhosllanerchrugog area bereft of him in 1840 and then the giant of Calvinistic Methodism John Elias of Anglesey, often called the Pope of Anglesey, who was laid to rest in Llanfaes near Beaumaris in 1841.9
William Abraham’s generation was deprived of the three most famous Welsh Nonconformist preachers, but by the time of his boyhood, other giants had come to fill the shoes of those who had departed. In Glamorgan, William Abraham’s peers heard three fine preachers, namely the Reverend William Evans, Tonyrefail (1795-1891), Edward Matthews, Ewenni (1831-92) and finally David Saunders, Aberdare, Liverpool, Abercarn and Swansea.10 All three of them fostered the Calvinistic Methodist cause throughout Glamorgan and Monmouthshire in a period of industrial turmoil and a huge increase in population, especially in the Cynon Valley, Ogmore Vale and the Rhondda Valley. William Evans of Tonyrefail supported politicians like Mabon from one election to the next. The greatest of the preachers who came to Cwmafan was the larger than life Reverend Edward Matthews who began his career in Hirwaun in 1830, then was the minister of Penuel Calvinistic Chapel in the heart of Pontypridd and who lived in comfort at Lower Ewenny, Cardiff and Simonstown for the rest of his long life. According to the historian, the the Reverend Dr Gomer M. Roberts, he was without any doubt ‘the king of the Sasiwn (quarterly sessions) amongst the Calvinistic Methodists for a long period.11 He was rightly described as the ‘greatest master of mockery and sarcasm that I ever encountered.’12 These men inspired William Abraham as he grew to manhood.
The time came for him to think about earning a living and he had very little choice. A coallevel was opened in Waunlas in 1750 and another, Y Wern, in 1812 and the Morfa Mine was sunk in 1849 and it was there that the ten year old boy went to help his widowed mother He had this opportunity in 1852 and remembered well how he left his mother’s cottage with his tin miner’s flask of water under his arm, his food box in his pocket and
9 For William Williams (always referred to as ‘Williams o’r Wern’), see R. Tudur Jones in Dictionary of Evangelical Biography 1730- 1860, Volume 2 (Donald M. Lewis, editor) (Peabody, Massachusetts 2004, 1201-2; for John Elias, see Edward Morgan, Letters and Essays ( Edinburgh, 1973), and on Christmas Evans, Raymond Brown in Dictionary of Evangelical Biography 1730-1860, Volume 1 (Donald M. Lewis, editor), 367-8.
10 All these pulpit giants are recorded in N.L.W. Biography on Line 11 Y Bywgraffiadur Cymreig hyd 1940, (London, 1953), 584-5.
12 D Ben Rees, The Welsh in Liverpool: A Remarkable History (Talybont, 2021), 88.
with his other hand holding on to the hook at the top of his Davy lamp. He descended to the bottom of the pit where the fireman would be waiting for him to give the last twist to the bottom of the lamp to lock it, the Davy safety lamp, which had served as a good friend to every miner in Britain since 1812. He was given the important task of the pit door-boy – that is looking after the door through which the wagons of coal would pass to their destination. The world was a hard and pitiless one for the strong boy; it was quite different from most industries, though one has to remember that the tin, iron and copper works in Cwmafan were not in existence till 1866, which meant that the only choice he had was working as a coal miner.
Outside the colliery confines, the young miner had plenty of activities to keep him happy. One of the organisations from which he benefited greatly was the Sunday School. It was a day to remember when, in his teens, as a 17 year old energetic lad, he was invited to be a teacher to a class of 5-10 year olds. One of the brightest boys in the class was John Hughes (1850-1932). His parents, Dafydd and Elizabeth Hughes, had moved from Swansea to Cwmafan and had become members of Tabernacle; these boys (four of whom went into the ministry) were educated by the young teacher. Later in his life, he delighted in the fine scholarship of John Hughes and his brothers and especially in John’s contribution as a powerful preacher, the minister of the flourishing Fitzclarence Street Welsh Calvinistic Church in Liverpool and a poet and effective writer.13 His brothers were of the same calibre – three of them served in the Anglican Church.14
It was in this period that William Abraham adopted the eisteddfodic pseudonym Mabon and that name became familiar and particularly popular for the rest of his life. He adopted the name Mabon in memory of his father who came to Cwmafan from Llanfabon. Another reason for adopting a pseudonym was that he had become used to the competitive spirit of local eisteddfodau. Each chapel would hold its eisteddfod. Bethania Chapel Eisteddfod, for instance, was held on Christmas Day, with a session in the morning from 10 a.m. and the afternoon one at 2 p.m. Great emphasis was placed on writing as well as on music and recitation. In sending work for assessment, a pseudonym was expected and now he would use the name Mabon at every opportunity in public.
He became an avid reader and read widely in both languages. The poet John Ceiriog Hughes known simply as Ceiriog became one of his favourites in Welsh and in English he thought highly of the poetry of Alfred Tennyson. He learnt a lot from the books of John Stuart Mill and Thomas Carlyle.15 He regularly wrote articles for the eisteddfod competitions and won prizes which encouraged him. By the time he was fourteen, he was one of the up and coming future leaders of the chapel. At least, he was in charge of the temperance movement for the children, called the Band of Hope. Later in his life he could say:
13 The other brothers were Reverend Lewis Hughes, Gower; William Hughes, Colton, Salisbury and James Hughes, Minetown, Hereford Diocese. See D. Ben Rees, The Welsh in Liverpool, 88 14 N.L.W. The Papers of Reverend W. Rhys Nicholas. Manuscript No 70 on Mabon.
15 William Evans (Gwilym Afan) and LL. Griffiths (Glan Afan), ‘Cymanfa Ganu Cwmafan’, Y Celt, 11 May 1902, 2.
What I am today, whatever that I may be, I owe to the Sunday School, Band of Hope and the Eisteddfod.16
His musical talent was very useful and, by the time he was sixteen, he was involved with the Tabernacle Choir and, a year later, was invited to be Conductor of the Mixed Choir of the Welsh Independents’ Rock Chapel. This choir was extremely successful in local eisteddfodau under his capable leadership. Mabon filled the role of precentor in the Tabernacle.
Two cultured men were mentioned as upholders of the musical tradition of sacred music in Cwmafan.17 One of Mabon’s successors as precentor in the Tabernacle was William John. He held the position from 1872 until 1909. He taught the Chapel Choir the main oratorios for a period of 37 years.18
Mabon was very fond of his employers in the coalfield and, before starting on his work, the mine was in the charge of an intelligent man called John Biddulph. He believed the miner should improve himself and opened a Reading Room so that they could spend an hour or two reading the daily and weekly papers and journals in Welsh as well as English. Biddulph set up an educational organisation called the Mechanics’ Institute and this resource proved a great help to the ambitious young man. Biddulph made sure to employ two clergymen to minister to the miners, especially when they experienced accidents and hardship.19 Mabon had a terrible accident in the mine and the clergyman was very kind to him and, as he recovered, he derived great benefit from the Reading Room. Amongst the journals Mabon read was Y Diwygiwr (The Reformer) under the editorship of David Rees of Llanelli, the minister of the Independent Als Chapel from 1829 until 1868. David Rees was a great radical and had a major influence on Mabon. He heard him lecture and Y Diwygiwr was one of his favourite journals in his youth. David Rees always campaigned against alcohol and Mabon himself became a total abstainer. John Biddulph made sure that there were not too many beer houses near the colliery to tempt the drinking miners.
David Rees was scathing about the landlords and industrial and marketing monopolies, against the system in the industrial areas of paying in kind, against black slavery in the United States and British imperialism in countries like India. He supported the cause of Rebecca in the early 1840s and her followers dressed up in women’s clothing in north Pembrokeshire against imposing heavy taxes at the toll gates as they carted lime and other necessities from Carmarthen to their smallholdings on the Preseli mountain. Rees, like many others in the county of Carmarthen could not come to terms with the violence some of these radicals exemplified in destroying the tollbooths. He was in favour of the
16 Mabon became the leader of the Band of Hope. See D. M. Evans, (Cymro), Dathliadau Jiwbili Tabernacl, Cwmafan (Cardiff, 1924), 10-11. 18 N.L.W. Papers of Reverend W. Rhys Nicholas, No 70 on Mabon
17 Ieuan Gwynedd Jones, ‘Smoke and Prayer: Industry and Religion Cwmafan in the Nineteenth Century’, The Journal of Welsh Religious History Volume 6,1998, 31-2.
18 Huw Edwards, Capeli Llanelli, (Carmarthen, 2009), 39.
19 Robert Griffiths, Streic! Streic! Streic! (Cardiff, 1986), 15.
A boy miner like our hero Mabon
William Abraham (Mabon)
Thomas Davies – the father of S. O. Davies MP
principles of Chartism but felt that some foolish, unprincipled and irreligious leaders besmirched the protest.
Young Mabon absorbed the ethos of Nonconformism, the firm stand on Calvinism and Radicalism which cared for the ordinary people.20 He saw this in the coal mine in Cwmafan. He never spoke of his life as a young miner apart from referring to Biddulph, but there was no-one amongst his fellow workers prepared to stand up for the human rights of the worker. He himself had started work as a door-boy at age ten but by the time he was seventeen, he felt extremely uncomfortable about how conscientious men going about their hard daily work were treated with contempt. He spoke up frankly for the rights of his fellow miners, causing the company employing them to be fearful of him and very suspicious. The solution for the colliery proprietors was to dismiss him for drawing the attention of his fellow miners to human rights.
This was very worrying for the family living in 30 Lower Row, Cwmafan, his mother and family needed every week Mabon’s wages. Mercifully, he found work in the copper industry. He himself had fallen in love with a young woman called Sarah Williams who came from the Gower Peninsula. Her father was David Williams, who became a Cwmafan blacksmith. By now Mabon was nineteen and she Sarah was twenty but she had been completely deprived of formal schooling, so that she had no opportunities in terms of literacy.21 Mabon was determined to improve the lot of his fellow workers and was greatly disturbed by the hardship and oppression he saw, with nobody available to defend the miner who was mistreated and disrespected. He realised that women worked in his colliery as in other Glamorgan and Monmouthshire mines. The pay of both the men and women was quite unacceptable. During the nineties, the women would receive between six and eight shillings for a week’s work totalling 54 hours. At the end of the century, the majority were receiving only a shilling a day, a wage of seven shillings per week. Throughout the nineties women and girls were expected to work underground and were, for the most part, employed to make bricks.
Being sacked strengthened the resolve of the doughty fighter. Hard days were at hand – days when he had the house to himself to teach Sarah some literacy and days to work out how to help the miners who had no-one to support and represent them. Eventually he found work in the copper industry but his main wish was to be involved again in the of coal-mining industry.
20 Weekly Mail, 3 April 1897, 9. There were at least half a dozen women working as miners in 1897 at the coal face in the Cwm Colliery, near Ebbw Vale, in Nantwen colliery, Bedlinog and in the Dowlais collieries of Dowlais.
21 According to W. Rhys Nicholas, Mrs Sarah Abraham (neé Williams) had only a week’s education during her childhood and her teens. N.L.W Papers of W. R. Nicholas.
CHAPTER 2
WANDERING
By the 1860s, Mabon had regular face to face meetings and committees of mining experts which led him to understand the coalfield and how to guide them as a leader of South Wales miners in the seventies. He was a man moulded by Nonconformism, by chapel spirituality, endless theological discussions in the weekly Seiat (group meetings) as well as the Adult Sunday Schools where the Scriptures threw light on the difficult circumstances often found in the collieries. In Cwmafan he inherited cultural and religious values, Sunday School life, the Singing School usually after the evening service and preparation for all the local eisteddfodau (competitive meetings) which often meant attendance at ten different vestries and chapels. All this was a by-product of the cultural activities of the Chapels and their constant competition and determination to be the most flourishing religious cause in the locality. There was a sincere belief among these Calvinists that hard work, disciplined life at the home and daily chapel activities were all interlinked and to be cherished so as to produce a rounded, principled individual.
Every society in Wales produced its leaders and they would speak on issues of the day. In the chapel, the minister was usually the recognised leader, though lay people distinguished themselves in Sunday school work, literary activities and, in Mabon’s case, in the weekly Band of Hope.22 Mabon revelled in researching, as well as writing for the eisteddfodau though he did not always win in all the competitions.23 The local Welsh language press enjoyed giving prominence to young and old who were supporting chapel
22 Another leader who followed Mabon was James Griffiths. (1890-1975), MP for Llanelli and, before that, the President of the South Wales Miners Federatioin. James Griffiths says that all his early memories derive from the Sunday School and the Band of Hope, especially under the influence of John Evans, a station-master and charismatic leader of the the Independent Chapel in Gellimanwydd, Ammanford. See James Griffiths, Pages from Memory (London, 1969), 16; D. Ben Rees, Cofiant Jim Griffiths: Arwr Glew y Werin
23 Thomas Arthur Levi, ‘Tomas Levi (1825-1916)’, Y Bywgraffiadur Cymreig / The Dictionary of Welsh Biography 1940 / The Dictionary of Welsh Biography until 1940, 510. Mabon got to know the Revd. Thomas Levi when he was minister to the Calvinistic Methodist Chapel near Ynys in Ystradgynlais (1855-60) and Philadelphia, Treforest (1860-76) before moving to Aberystwyth. He did exceptional work through the children’s magazine Trysorfa y Plant (The Children’s Treasury) and Mabon bought the magazine for his family from 1862 until 1890.
orientated culture. I was able to locate the name of young Mabon after he won a gold prize for writing an essay adjudged by far to be the best by the Reverend Thomas Levi who was the most successful editor of a children’ magazine in nineteenth century Wales. It was called Trysorfa’r Plant and reached a sale of over fifty thousand copies.
Mabon’s standing by the time he was seventeen years of age attracted both local and regional attention. In Mabon’s early days, the workers in heavy industries did not have local leaders to compare with Welsh Nonconformist chapel leaders such as David Rees of Llanelli but it was only a matter of time though it took a long time for Trade Unionism to become a force in south Wales and the man who kept the flame alive during years of indifference was, to the Eisteddfod goers Gwilym Mabon, but to the miners simply Mabon.
By 1864, because he could not find employment in Wales, Mabon was ready to consider travelling to the South American continent and to Chile. Chile is a country on the western side of South America and the discovery of plenty of copper in the Atarama desert attracted adventurous people from different countries to seek El Dorado and become rich. A railway system was developed in 1851 and that helped to develop the copper industry.24 Eleven Welsh people travelled with Mabon to Chile and, having reached the country, they realised that they had been badly misled. El Dorado did not exist in any shape or form and what work there was for them was extremely scarce. These Welsh workers had foolishly signed a three year contract, a binding agreement and it is hard to believe that a man as clever and shrewd as Mabon and with a wife and two young children living in Cwmafan in Wales would have fallen into this trap. It is not surprising that he failed to refer to this unfortunate ordeal in the memoirs that I have seen in his hand. He was not at all comfortable outside a puritanical Calvinistic Welsh-speaking community, especially when some of his fellow-workers were willing to behave badly in his sight and attend a circus of all activities on a Sunday afternoon. For a staunch Calvinist who respected Sunday as the Lord’s Day, that was without any doubt the wrong thing for any Welshman to do. He longed in his hiraeth (intense longing) to return to West Glamorganshire and, after a period of thirteen months, he managed to escape from his self-imposed captivity and return, bitterly frustrated, from this fraught adventure.25
As can be imagined, it was a hard journey from Wales to Chile. The boat called Hawkeye took four long months to reach Valparaiso and the foolish Welsh adventurers were thrown about like a loose ball by the waves that frightened the life out of them in many a storm. Many sailors lost their lives on the journey past Cape of Good Horn and, after reaching dry land in South America, Mabon was idle for a month and eventually had to accept lowpaid work in Tonguoy. This experience together with hiraeth for his wife and children, his mother and the chapel folk of the Tabernacle was enough to convince him that there was no place like home. By chance or by providence, he met a kind fellow Celt, Captain
24 Fran Alexander (ed.), Encylopaedia of World History (Oxford, 1998) 136.
25 D. Davies, ‘Mabon a’r Capel’ / Mabon and the Chapel, Y Drysorfa / The Treasury Dec. 1949, 12; LL.G.C. (Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru – National Library of Wales, Papers of the Revd. W. Rhys Nicholas. Ms. 70.
Walters from Truro, who offered him work on board ship, thus saving him having to pay for the voyage back to Wales. 26 The fact that the captain came from Truro made the point that so many of the Cornish working class were ready to emigrate to the United States and Chile to work in the copper industry.
Mabon arrived back after being away for thirteen months and, via a friend, got his job back in the smelting furnace. Once he had reached the shelter of his home, the monthly meeting of the Elders of Tabernacle Chapel arranged an interview with him in order to hear from his own lips the reasons for breaking the contract for three years which they, as Calvinists, regarded as sacrosanct. This is a good example of the discipline that John Calvin had inserted in his magum opus The Institutes of Christian Religion for the inhabitants of Geneva and anywhere else. Calvinists in the rest of the world were expected follow suit. This explains clearly why Mabon himself, in his years as Miners’ Leader, expected the miners, like the owners, to respect contacts and agreements. After one of the elders had brought the issue of the Mabon affair to the attention of those who attended the Meeting in Tabernacle Vestry, a popular elder, John James then rose and addressed the accused and said with compassion in his voice, ‘Let us hear what Bill has to say.27
John James did not want any of them to be tempted to vote to exclude Mabon of all people from the Seiat and the chapel community for his alleged offence in Chile in the light of Calvinism, without hearing his side of the saga. They knew as elders that the man behind the enterprise was none other than a cultured Welshman, Thomas Francis (Afonian), from the Orchwy Valley.28 Thomas Francis was a rather selfish individual. It is true to say that he would have left Mabon in dire straits were it not for the ship’s captain from Cornwall. It was through him that he escaped to freedom in the Land of My Fathers. Thomas Francis was a great friend of Islwyn, the poet and preacher, William Thomas, from Monmouthshire and there is a verse in his book of poetry mentioning ‘Johnny and Thomas Francis’, Guayacan, Chili.29 On hearing Mabon’s side of the story presented in his own particular way, the rest of the Seiat members were won over before he had completely finished his defence.
By 1869 the smelting industry was in economic trouble and Mabon and other workers heard that they would have to work fewer hours. He heard that one of his acquaintances, Evan Daniel, and his family, intended to leave Cwmafan for Cwmbwrla, a suburb of Swansea. He was employed in the tin works. Mabon knew only too well what it was to work until sweat was pouring from his body but the new job was again exceptionally difficult. He wrote of his experience in English:
26 Ben Bowen Thomas, ‘Mabon’, Y Traethodydd (The Essayist), Oct. 1948, 26.
27 David Davies, Bywyd a Gwasanaeth y ddiweddar William Abraham (Mabon) (The Life and Service of the late William Abraham), winning essay in the Treorchy National Eisteddfod 1928. Ll. G. C. Archives of the Calvinistic Methodists 14, 842, 7.
28 Ibid.
29 The verse is in Gwaith Barddonol Islwyn (The Poetry of Islwyn), ed. O. M. Edwards (Treherbert, 1897), 146.
The work was very different from that which I had become accustomed. It was excessively hard, and needed a man of great strength to do it. We had to break up the iron ‘stamps’ which, after coming from the furnace, had been under the forge hammer. To do this, we had to use a great sledge-hammer weighing fifty pounds and, with my muscles that I attribute to the strength of my arm, which remains to the present day. 30
Despite the horrifically hard work, the well-built man possessed enough energy to enjoy the spiritual and cultural life of Y Babell (The Tent) Calvinistic Methodist Chapel in Cwmbwrla. Y Babell stood in an ideal position, quite like the synagogue Jesus frequented in his youth in Nazareth. Y Babell Chapel, as I remember well, stood at the top of a hill as one entered Swansea from West Wales. Y Babell Chapel was newly opened and, from his first week there, Mabon threw himself into the witness of temperance in the Band of Hope meetings. He was soon leader of a party of the most dedicated chapel musicians who were called Y Babell Glee Party.31 Mabon, as usual, enjoyed opportunities as a poet, leader of the children’s activities and was above all a most able musician. Everyone around him in Swansea and the outskirts greeted him with affection and respect as ‘our Mabon’. The tin industry in its organisation and management hierarchy did not give Mabon the same thrill as the coal industry did and, in 1870, he returned to the life of the colliery. He obtained work in Caercynydd Colliery in Waunarlwydd, a village situated between Gowerton and Swansea. This was an extremely important decision as he was again, as in Cwmafan, involved in a situation which offered him a great deal of social, trade union and chapel leadership.32
In 1871, he witnessed bitter strikes, a situation totally unexpected in the history of Welsh coal miners. The strikes which took place in 1871, 1873 and 1875 were not ideological battles but the only way left for the miners to convince the colliery owners to offer fairer wages and better working conditions than they had done in the past. Through studying in detail Mabon’s life we can see how hard it was to build Trade Unionism within the working class in Wales in the Victorian era.
In the English coalfields, the miners formed unions to defend themselves from exploitation by their employers. In 1863 there was established a trade union called the Miners’ National Union and miners from different parts of England came to support it.33 But the MNU refused to deal with the question of wages or to support strikes, focussing only on improving the pits in terms of safety. Many miners came to feel that the attitude of the Miners’ National Union was hopeless as they argued that bargaining for better wages was one of the fundamentals of trade unionism. This discontent was expressed loud and clearly, and a leader appeared called Thomas Halliday. This pioneer set up a trade union in
30 LL. G. C. The Papers of Mabon X.C.T. 399 A 159. Article by Mabon. But there is no name of the journalist and it is undated.
31 E. W. Evans, Mabon (William Abraham, 1842-1922): A Study in Trade Union Leadership (Cardiff, 1959), 6.
32 Ibid.
33 Ibid.
Lancashire called the Amalgamated Association of Miners (AAM). The aim of the new trade union was to improve wages for the miner and help them to come to an understanding on the issue under consideration. Then if they were deliberately obstructed, they should opt for an all out strike so as to limit the profits of the coal owners. The AAM as it was known in the Welsh coalfield was much more militant than the Miners’ National Union. Halliday himself travelled to Wales where he soon realised he could gain more members for his emerging trade union.
It was not easy for the new trade union as the masters had got in first and had formed the South Wales Steam Collieries Association. Nevertheless, the AAM won supporters, including Mabon, in south Wales. He made an impression in Waunarlwydd, not only amongst the miners but also amongst the chapel leaders, particularly the chapels of Bethel in Gowerton and Seion in Waunarlwydd. Seion was a Welsh Baptist Chapel and its minister, the Reverend William Davies was won over by Mabon’s eloquence. He arranged a meeting with him and advised him at the Special Preaching Meetings and Cymanfanfaoedd. (The Yearly and half yearly Preaching Festivals) to consider a path to the ministry as he would have a bright future as a preacher. He promised that he would give him every assistance with preparation, praying earnestly that Mabon would accept the serious challenge. His mother agreed with the Reverend William Davies that he should consider the Welsh Nonconformist Ministry as a means of dedicated service to Almighty God and his fellow workers. A number of miners in that era embarked on the venture of becoming popular Welsh Nonconformist pulpit giants. Ben Davies of Ystalafera and W. Hezekiah Williams (Watcyn Wyn) left the pit for the pulpit and this happened regularly in the south Wales coalfield during the life and times of Mabon.
After much prayer and serious thought, Mabon expressed his desire to be a lay preacher and a leader within the chapels. This suggests that to him there was a great deal in common between being a Minister of the Gospel and a Trade Union Leader as well as a political leader. It all indicates Mabon’s religious sincerity at the outset of his career as a prospective leader of the South Wales miners.
In summer 1871 there took place a particularly important episode in Mabon’s life in Waunarlwydd on the outskirts of Swansea. Lewis Morgan, an early trade union pioneer, travelled from Treorchy in Rhondda Fawr to address a public meeting on behalf of the AAM Union in Waunarlwydd. Lewis Morgan was not an eloquent public speaker though he knew his subject well and he made the mistake of presenting his views in the English language and not in Welsh, the language of the majority of the workers at the small but militant Caercynydd colliery. Lewis Morgan spoke for twenty minutes and it looked as if the meeting, which had been well-briefed, was going to finish without any worthwhile decision being made.34
Before the large crowd of miners scattered, the Chairman turned to Mabon and said, ‘Look here, William, can’t you say a word, my boy? Mabon rose, quite nervous and remembered
34 Ibid.
that Lewis Morgan had presented the need to come to an agreement so as to resolve labour problems. The whole atmosphere of the meeting changed immediately, and Mabon was well-received. He spoke of the dangers and troubles of being too militant but on the other hand he wanted to teach the employers a lesson. The Chairman was delighted and Lewis Morgan rejoiced. He shook Mabon’s hand with gusto and said that he needed to start to organise the miners of West Glamorgan without delay. He listened to the advice of the Rhondda miner and, in his spare time, he went about addressing and organising the miners. His efforts were very successful and he became a favourite of his fellow-workers. Mabon had a strong, firm personality and was equally fluent in both languages. He played a prominent part in the 1871 strike and made a great impression on his fellow-workers. By the end of 1871 he had established a lodge of the Miners Union in Waunarlwydd and was duly elected Secretary. The academic, Dr E. W. Evans wonders at the unusual decision that took place. Mabon, who had shown more interest than most in organising a lodge before Lewis Morgan’s visit, is immediately elected Secretary. After all, he had only joined the trade union a short time before Lewis Morgan came on the scene.
In the months that followed, he threw himself with all his strength, ability and enthusiasm into the task of building a Trade Union in east Glamorgan and east Carmarthen. Lewis Morgan called to see Mabon and, in spring 1872, a meeting was arranged in the Athenaeum in Llanelli to consider whether it was appropriate to set up a Loughor district branch of the Lancashire based Trade Union. Mabon was elected Secretary of the Loughor District and John Howells, a miner from Loughor as President. It is more than likely that this was the first district of the trade union to be established in west Wales.35 Within a matter of months, Mabon had won over a good proportion of the miners to consider the three principles discussed in the meetings held in 1871 and 1872. In his view, the first task was for the employers to allow the miners to join the Trade Union voluntarily; secondly for the employers to acknowledge the importance of the Trade Union as the sole organisation defending the miners; and thirdly to try to improve conditions at the collieries in terms of wages, safety underground and the daily as well as weekly working hours.36
In April 1872 Mabon represented Loughor District in a general assembly of the Union and took advantage of the opportunity to address it in English and made such an impression that he was elected a member of the Executive Committee before the day’s proceedings were over.37
It has to be understood that Labour Unionism was not at all acceptable to the early owners of the collieries; for them they were people creating disorder. And many knew that, in the long run, the outcome could be the loss of work and when the owners of Caercynydd colliery heard that he had been elected to the Executive Committee, he was told that his employment with them would terminate at the end of the year.
35 Ibid.
36 David Davies, Bywyd a Gwasanaeth William Abraham (The Life and Service of William Abraham), 12.
37 T. R. Jones, ‘‘The Life and History of William Abraham’, The Ocean and National Magazine, X, 1936, X7.
He worked his last shift just before Christmas 1872 and his mining days came to an end. He worked only twelve years in the bowels of the pit but had almost fifty years ahead as a miners’ leader, one of the most important voices, not only in the south Wales coalfield, but in the United Kingdom.
With a large family to support, Christmas 1872 was a painful one for the lovable unemployed miner. He remembered vividly how his wife recalled the first strike in which he was involved in at Cwmafan in 1860. 38 They both of saw many of the wives and children of miners going from door-to-door begging for a piece of bread because of the lack of financial support while on strike. There was no Trade Union to give any assistance to workers on strike in 1860. It was a little better in 1871 because of those miners who were willing to be involved in trade union witness. Mabon felt that heavenly providence looked after them when, as a family, they were saved by the offer of a job as the salaried agent of the Loughor District Miners organisation belonging to the AAM. He was the first full-time agent in the entire history of the miners in Wales.
Mabon was an important figure in the development of the post of a miners’ agent also Within forty years, the Trade Unions of the coalfields came to depend heavily on these men who organised a district which could include in Loughor 17 or in another district 30 or perhaps 50 or even70 or more collieries from their office. Dr E. W. Evans described the role the miners in south Wales at the beginning of the twentieth century thus:
They were, of course, much more than mere industrial experts. Their style of life was more that of a professional man, a white-collar worker, than it was that of the collier. The position was one of considerable responsibility and had commensurable power and influence. Mabon’s character was a shining example of the potential in a miner’s agent’s life; the message was not lost on younger men like Frank Hodges or Vernon Hartshorn, whose espousal of different methods and more radical language cannot conceal their kinship to the older men.39
The Loughor District was big enough to justify having a fulltime agent and Mabon was elected by fifteen out of the seventeen lodges. He made his mark outside Loughor District quickly, especially as a most eloquent speaker and a full-time agent who cared for the well-being of the miners.
Early in 1873 there was another strike – this time amongst the workers in the south Wales iron industry – and Mabon had a chance to use his talents on behalf of the strikers. He was widely respected for his stance. For the first time ever he travelled that year to the Rhondda Valley – a valley where he himself would soon be living. Mabon advocated compromise rather than striking to resolve industrial problems. He was called to settle problems in Cwmtwrch in the Tawe Valley in the anthracite coalfield and with his particular gift succeeded in persuading the overseer to re-employ the miners in the colliery. And
38 ‘Llythyr Hen Golier’, ‘An Old Miner’s Letter’, Gwladgarwr, 24 November 1860, 1.
39 E. W. Evans, Mabon (William Abraham, 1842-1922), 10.
although there were calls upon him from all over south Wales, he knew that it was the Loughor District miners who were financing his post and that his priorities lay there. His first task was to win over more miners to be members of the Trade Union in the Loughor District pits than travelling to other districts.
He was lauded when, at the end of 1874, it was revealed that eight thousand miners belonged to the Trade Union in Loughor District. However, in general, the Union had not grown in 1874 and this created something of a problem in terms of financial resources. On New Year’s Day 1875, another strike began. By now Mabon was recognised as a leader. Indeed, Dr. E. W. Evans argues that it was this strike that made Mabon the chief miners’ leader.
It was during this strike that Mabon first emerged as an influential leader with sharply defined principles and opinions on industrial matters. He not only took his place in the forefront of the movement, but also adopted an independent policy which on occasions clashed with that pursued by Thomas Halliday, the English president of the organisation.40
This did no harm at all to his popularity as Thomas Halliday was unable to communicate well with Welsh-speaking miners. The two strikes – one in 1871 and the second in 1875 – showed that Mabon was a respectable, responsible person, ready to disagree with rash and militant movements. This strike showed that Mabon was more popular in south Wales than Halliday, the President of the Union. Halliday was more hot-headed than him, less careful in his pronouncements and more ready to call the miners out on strike. The important thing for Mabon was caring for the miners and their families. They came first every time, not the Union, nor winning the battle. Seeing the miners’ children depending on the goodwill of charities, individuals, chapels and soup kitchens, as he saw in his native village in 1860, made him persuade the miners to consider compromise. He considered that there was a great responsibility on the owners. and in the 1875 strike, he came into contact with a Welsh speaking capitalist called David Davies of Llandinam.41 They had so much in common – both were staunch Calvinists and both promoted the world of Nonconformism and the chapels. But there was more of a gap between him and Thomas Halliday than with David Davies. David Davies understood Mabon better than Halliday.
By April 1875 the Rhondda and Aberdare Valley miners agreed that the strike should be settled by a small committee of owners and Trade Union leaders with the Chair to have the casting vote were they to fail to reach an understanding.
This policy was Mabon’s, not Halliday’s; and that was clearly understood in the meeting which was held in Merthyr Drill Hall. There was no agreement whatsoever between the Welshman and the Englishman. Another meeting was called, this time in Aberdare. Once
40 Ibid.
41 Mabon, Tarian y Gweithiwr (The Worker’s Shield), 2 April 1875, 3.
again, Halliday refused to compromise. Mabon continued to argue eloquently and, on that day, he won the debate. It was agreed that they should start the process of settling the disagreement.
Mabon believed in good will and co-operation between workers and their employers for the good of the allimportant industry. The case should be discussed in a friendly atmosphere and, if there was no way of reaching an agreement, an independent arbitrator would be called upon rather than resort to industrial warfare. The important thing was to keep the miner’s life free of strife and strikes so that every aspect of the industry would prosper. In his opinion, striking was a meaningless weapon and they, as miners, should aim for an understanding with the proprietors, leavened with reason and common sense in the long run.
He knew that justice was always on the side of the miner who was trying to defend his wages. The unfair scheme of the employers was to decrease the miner’s wage by ten per cent. By April 1875, the women and children of the miners were struggling. They managed to meet as a committee to settle it once and for all in the Royal Hotel in Cardiff. David Davies the proprietor of the Ocean Collieries in the Rhondda hypocritically and cleverly called on the miners to be mindful of their living, to be responsible people, saying that he had the right to greet them kindly, as he was a good friend to them. He constantly deceived the miners as, naturally, his aim was to represent the pit owners.
Mabon, Halliday and the miners were to be vanquished without some clever bargaining. They were forced to accept a reduction not of ten per cent but of twelve per cent. David Davies and his fellow capitalists wanted them to take up their tools and start working in the pits with a reduction of fifteen per cent. Mabon could not in all conscience accept such an insulting offer but agreed on behalf of the miners to accept a new agreement which meant that any change in the gradings of their wages from then on would be decided on a sliding scale. This is the wording: ‘On a sliding scale of wages, to be regulated by the selling price of coal.’
For William Thomas Lewis (later Lord Merthyr of Senghenydd) 42 who drew up the scheme, David Davies agreed – despite his own proposal – to chair the joint committees which would determine the sliding scale. Without Mabon, there was little hope, as the Sliding Scale was a scheme which pleased him greatly. His remittances on the plan can be seen especially in the magazine Red Dragon.
Mabon saw himself as a mediator who passionately loved the mining communities, his Calvinistic Methodist Chapel, his God and Saviour Jesus Christ. He brought principles of
42 R. T. Jenkins, ‘Syr William Thomas Lewis (1837-1914, Lord Merthyr of Senghenydd)’ Y Bywgraffiadur Cymreig, 528. He became very powerful in the coal trade and claimed to have devised the ‘Sliding Scale’ scheme though some others ascribe it to others such as H. Hussey Vivian, Lord Swansea and Mabon. See Elizabeth Phillips, Pioneers of the Welsh Coalfield (Cardiff, 1924), 256-61, but I believe that he, Mabon and David Davies were the three who planned it.
the orthodox religion of the Calvinistic Methodists into the life of the Union. He extolled negotiation as ‘the great principle of the arbitrator’ and as ‘a blessed principle’.
On 2 April 1875 the weekly paper Tarian y Gweithiwr (The Worker’s Shield) proclaimed Mabon’s stance:
The religion of our country teaches us this great principle as it always refers to one who is a Mediator between God and men… We are totally convinced that the only benefit to capital and labour is, not the death of the workers’ Craft Unions, but wholehearted cooperation from enabling both to be able to form amicable and conciliatory boards throughout the country, such as would foster peace and promote trade without sacrificing the independence of either side.43
When the strike occurred, Mabon wrote to the 4 June 1875 issue of Tarian y Gweithiwr seeing better days on the horizon. He said:
The twelve and a half per cent was lost but the principle was won; the war was lost but peace was won and great numbers of people are ready to commend it in the hope that South Wales will shortly be able to proclaim “There will be no more warfare”, and that in the future peace will reign in the relationship between our trade and our craft:‘ peace like the river and justice like the waves of the sea’. 44
This was Mabon’s attitude to the troubles in the southern coalfield in 1875 and, indeed, during his period as the Leader of the Miners’ Union. His view was that of, not only many of his fellow chapel goers who were miners, but also that of the Welsh and English press. Views like Mabon’s were seen regularly in the editorials of Gwladgarwr (The Patriot), Tarian y Gweithiwr, Y Faner (The Banner) the South Wales Daily News and Goleuad (The Illuminator), the weekly paper of the Calvinistic Methodists, and Y Tyst (The Witness), the weekly paper of the Welsh Independents.
For Y Gwladgarwr in 1875, the age of the strike was over. In Tarian y Gweithiwr, which was very sympathetic to Mabon, there was, for a short term, a fiery columnist who called himself Llwynog o’r Graig (The Fox from the Rock). During these years, particularly from October 1876 to August 1878, Llwynog o’r Graig mercilessly attacked the villainy of the gaffers and the avarice of the coalfields. Mabon had no better supporter at the outset of his career as a Trade Union pioneer than from Llwynog o’r Graig. He was a colourful character named Thomas Davies living in Abercwmboi, near Aberdare, originally from Cefneithin in Carmarthenshire and the father of S. O. Davies who was a Labour M.P. for Merthyr and Gibbon Davies, miners’ leader in Ammanford and district.45
Mabon prepared a verse summarising his philosophy to be recited at strike meeting:
43 Tarian y Gweithiwr, 2 April 1875.
44 Tarian y Gweithiwr, 4 June 1875.
45 For Thomas Davies and S. O. Davies, see Robert Griffith, S. O. Davies – A Socialist Faith (Llandysul, 1983); for Gibbon Davies, see D. Ben Rees, Cofiant Jim Griffiths, 89-90.
Meibion Llafur mawr eich lludded, Ymsymudwch yn y blaen, Cyned gwreichion eich iawnderau
Hen deimladau oll yn dân; Digon hir yr amser basiodd I ymdrybaeddu yn y baw; Mwy na digon i’r sawl welodd Rhannu angen un rhwng naw:
Unwch, unwch gyda’ch gilydd, Unwch beunydd bob yr un, Dyma’r unig ffordd obeithiol I wneud y glöwr du yn ddyn:
Pob rhyw slim feddyliwr slafaidd
Torwch, drylliwch, teflwch draw, Dewch i’r byd gael teimlo rhinwedd Eich gweithredoedd ddydd a ddaw.
Below is a translation:
Weary sons of Labour
Move onwards
May the sparks of your rights be kindled
Old feelings all on fire
The time has long passed For wallowing in the mire;
More than enough for those who saw
What one person needed being shared amongst nine:
Unite, unite together
Unite every day, every one This is the only hopeful way Of making the black miner a man:
Every taunting, slavish thinker
Break, destroy and then cast aside
Come into the world to feel the virtue of Your deeds in the days to come. 46
Mabon was at his best amidst his supporters, emphasising that ‘In unity there is Strength’. He did his best to convince the public of the virtues that were exemplified by the miners. Mabon raised the Welsh miner onto a special pedestal, stressing in particular his love for his home, family and his fellow workers. It was therefore not surprising for the editor of Tarian y Gweithiwr to say this about the miner on 30 July 1875:
The moral, virtuous and gracious conduct of scores of thousands of Welsh workers in the latest “strike” and the “lock-out” have caused the whole world to look with surprise, to wonder and to praise.
Propaganda of this sort, other than that spoken passionately by Mabon and printed in most Welsh language papers, was never in favour with most industrial workers besides
46 Tarian y Gweithiwr, 4 June 1875.
the slaves of the lamp.47 There was a reason for this, namely the hatred of many reasonable, respectable Tory-leaning people towards the working class. After all, the idea of Trade Unionism was condemned by the South Wales Association of Calvinistic Methodists in a quarterly meeting in Tredegar as long ago as 1831. So, throughout his life and especially from 1875 to 1910, Mabon was adamant that the image of the conscientious, cultured, chapel-going miner should be on a pedestal. Emyr Humphreys, the novelist and son of a Wesleyan Methodist minister, summed him up well:
The early strikes were led by chapel men and the call for justice was based on the adaptation of Christian principles. It was still possible for the miners’ leaders and the management and even the owners to attend the same chapel.50
One 48of our most perceptive novelists spoke accurately (and every word in the quotation is totally relevant to a biography of Mabon):
We see that the 1875 strike was not a strike for money in Mabon’s opinion but for a principle, namely the basic right of the worker to have a voice on the issue of his daily work. Neither he nor Halliday was ready to leave wages to the whim of the owner and that is why the Sliding Scale became a matter of principle to him. Wages would rise and fall according to the price the employer received for the coal.49
Dr E. W. Evans says:
The sliding scale was therefore a novelty only in so far as it would remove the friction which had previously attended changes in wages and make strikes or lockouts unnecessary.50
But, as Dr Evans suggests, Mabon was unaware of its main weakness, namely that it allowed the owners to sell under the appropriate price and to over-produce in order to make a profit. In the coalfield there were countless years of hardship and, doubtless, the owners accepted the best bargain every time. What Mabon wanted was to have a relationship of agreement and co-operation and that was also the wish of the miners belonging to the Loughor District.
It is not surprising that the miners made sure that he would be the spokesman at the Sliding Scale Committee. He kept the reins in his hands for many years as he was able to discuss terms and wages capably. An anonymous miner in Tarian y Gweithiwr said that the Miners’ Union should aim to appoint Welsh-speakers as officers and indeed, do everything in the native language.51 Mabon himself wanted this. He would like to see an independent Welsh-speaking Miners’ Union in south Wales. He went on an emotional
47 Editor, Tarian y Gweithiwr , 30t July 1875.
48 Emyr Humphreys, The Taliesin Tradition: A Quest for Welsh Identity (London, 1953), 196.
49 Ibid.
50 E. W. Evans, Mabon, 14.
51 Tarian y Gweithiwr , 25 July 1875, 4
journey to address miners in meetings in Llanelli, then to Ebbw Vales, Tredegar and the Cynon Valley and through every mining village in the Rhondda Valleys 52 but with little support.53 It was only a minority of miners who were on the same wavelength as him. On the need for trade unionism many of the miners were not convinced of the need and even fewer who felt like supporting a Welsh language Trade Union.
There was no grass roots support to be had for Mabon and his Welsh language trade union and there was pressure on the Loughor District to belong to the existing Miners Union which had its stronghold in the north west of England. This was most disappointing for Mabon as he realised that the majority of miners were happy enough to work in the colliery without belonging to a Union. Not even Mabon’s oratory could convince these men. A number of them saw him as a fanatic and doubted him and his passionate message. In 1875, Mabon failed to achieve his goal.54 What the majority of miners, who were willing to support his stance, wanted was a small trade Union responsible for a small number of collieries.
Between August and October 1875, Mabon and his main supporters, succeeded in setting up 24 Unions based on 24 districts, each one ultimately belonging to the General Miners Union and jealous of their independence.55 In the first Miners’ Conference held in April 1876, Mabon was elected President. But he soon heard at that conference an a huge amount of opposition and the atmosphere for extending the work was apathetic. After all, only some four thousand miners were trade unionists; the vast majority did not want to be members of the Miners’ Union.
By 1876 the coal industry was under a cloud. The employers got rid of every bonus which had been available to the miners for working extra hours. That move should have indicated the need for confrontation. Mabon tried once again to arrange a conference to discuss the situation. This was arranged on 6 November 1876.56 There was no way of convincing his fellow miners to act but there was no support for his leadership. He was left in low spirits. After all, he was the only agent of the south Wales coalfield in the world. The miners who were chosen as agents in the various districts had to look for work as miners. Mabon and Halliday tried to revive the AAM. Thomas Halliday was chosen as Secretary but, by September 1877, only seven hundred miners had joined the Union.57 The cause of Trade Unionism amongst miners was slowly coming to an end as far as south Wales. was concerned.
52 ‘Portread o Mabon’(‘Portrait of Mabon’), Y Genedl Gymreig / The Welsh Nation, 11 May 1892, 8.
53 In the Portrait of Mabon in Y Genedl Gymreig 11 May 1892, 8 it says: ‘This campaign was unusually successful’. The author of the portrait suggests that the journey through every mining village in the Rhondda was an important factor in his being appointed agent to the Rhondda District of the Miners Union.
54 Tarian y Gweithiwr, 10t Sept. 1875, where Mabon complains on the difficulty of improving the Trade Union as so many of the miners who did not belong considered him a militant leader and, even amongst the miners who were members, they were pretty lukewarm on him
55 E. W. Evans, Mabon, 17.
56 Ibid.
57 Ibid.
There were obvious reasons for this. Firstly, the AAM, apart from Mabon, did not understand the mindset and background of the south Wales miners. Secondly, the majority of the miners, as we have seen, were pretty indifferent, and others who would be prepared to belong were unable to pay the membership fee. Thirdly, there was, within the south Wales coalfield, too much of an independent spirit with different districts acting independently of each other. Fourthly, the miners often worked under different and difficult conditions from each. Some were employed in the iron industry; others by individual coal owners; some producing coal only for the local market and others for export. However, the main reason was that enacting the Sliding Scale undermined every attempt to revive Trade Unionism.
As Mabon was one of the chief supporters of the Sliding Scale and involved in putting it into practice, the miners could not help seeing that the Miners Union and the Sliding Scale and Mabon were deeply bound up with each other. There were hard months and, by February 1876, the miners, because of the Sliding Scale, were living on minimal wages. As Dr E. W. Evans says:
Coal prices were so low that the men were only entitled to the minimum wage rate. This meant that the miners’ wage rates were so reduced, and as the award was retroactive any excess pay received since 1st January had to be refunded… Then again, the adoption of a sliding scale removed the main justification for trade unionism by making collective bargaining unnecessary. In practice, the workman who paid his sliding scale levy of a penny per month was no worse off than the miner who paid seven or twelve times as much to his union branch.58
That quotation says it all. The Sliding Scale had diminished the influence of trade unionism amongst the miners and the miner received much less in the long run from his relationship with the Union than the penny a month towards the Sliding Scale.59 It was clear by 1877 that Mabon was greatly diverging from the standpoint of the majority of the miners and that he had failed to create a Trade Union which could incorporate the Districts. He realised that Loughor District was in no condition to keep him as a full-time agent, and he was advised to consider once more moving from Cwmbwrla to Pentre in the Rhondda Fawr and this took place in February 1877 in the hope that he could succeed in establishing a Miners Union for the Rhondda Valley miners.
The Loughor District miners could not let him go without holding a farewell meeting for him in the form of a concert in Loughor . His supporters flocked to the concert from Loughor, Gorseinon, Llanelli, Cwmbwrla, Penclawdd and Waunarlwydd on Saturday
58 Ibid. Apart from Monmouthshire and the Merthyr District, Trade Unionism had shot its bolt.
59 Ibid. 19. The view of E. W. Evans a John Saville was: ‘Genuine trade unionism was impossible under the conditions of successive sliding-scale agreements, and effectively the further growth of trade union organisation in the whole coalfield was delayed for another quarter of a century.’ See E. W. Evans and John Saville, ‘William Abraham (Mabon, Dictionary of Labour Biography, Volume 1 (London and Basingstoke, 1972), 2. The main historian of the miners agrees with what E. W. Evans and John Saville suggest. See R. Page Arnot, The Miners’ Years of Struggle (London, 1954), 20.
evening 17 June 1878. Almost a fortnight later on Thursday evening 30 June, Mabon was seen enjoying himself in Pentre Temperance Hotel (his home in the Rhondda was in Pentre). His task was to interview young miners who wanted to join Dinas Male Voice Choir. The task was entrusted to him, as well as two other amateur musicians,60 one called himself Alaw Buallt and the other was the headmaster M. O. Jones of Treherbert. They were three prominent eisteddfod-goers in the Rhondda Valley of that period.
60 R. D. Griffiths, ‘Moses Owen Jones (1842-1908)’ Bywgraffiadur Cymreig 1940, 468. In May1863, M. O. Jones (originally from Dinorwic) was appointed head of a school in Treherbert and spent his life there. He was conductor of a choir, composer of hymn tunes and, like Mabon, a Chapel Conductor. He carried out this work in Carmel, Welsh Independent Chapel in Treherbert.
CHAPTER 3
THE RHONDDA MINERS’ AGENT
Mabon’s removal from west Wales to serve the Rhondda Valley miners was an important event in the history of the trade union movement. The 1875 strike had weakened trade unionism but a hard core remained in the Rhondda Valley. The Rhondda Valley miners were also known as the Cambrian Miners’ Association. Within a short period of time, Mabon became familiar to miners in all the Rhondda pits.
Walter Coffin was a coal industry pioneer, a young man of twenty-four who was ready to take a chance and experiment in the coalfield. He opened five levels in 1809, 1811, 1812 and 1832 and then followed up with the Brithweunydd level in 1839 and Gellifaelog colliery in 1845. By the forties, others came to capitalise on his success and open collieries in Cymmer, Porth, Bedw, Llwyncelyn and Gyfeillion, Cwmclydach, Ynyshir, Troedyrhiw. Tynewydd.63 The lower part of the Rhondda Fawr Valley was a focal point for the coal industry whilst the upper part of that valley remained largely a rural area. By the end of the fifties of the nineteenth century the development of collieries was taking place also in the adjoining valley called Rhondda Fach.
In the second period from 1870 to 1913 there was a massive development in the coal industry throughout both valleys. By now, the railway industry in Italy, Spain, the Balkans, Brazil and Argentina were seeking Rhondda coal as were their ships.61 Between 1870 and 1884 twenty-four coal mines were opened in Rhondda and Mabon was a witness to most of them after he moved to live in Pentre. Some of these collieries were huge such as the Glamorgan Coal Company in Llwynypia and David Davies of Llandinam’s Ocean Company with pits in Ton Pentre and Cwmparc. Fernhill pits were sunk in Treherbert and Blaenrhondda under the Baptist entrepreneur Thomas Joseph and his friend Ebenezer Lewis.62
61 By 1913, there were 53 pits operating in Rhondda and 44 of these employed over 500 miners in each one, with 21 of them employing over a thousand miners. See E. D. Lewis, ‘The Coal Industry’, ibid, 31.
62 The powerful preacher Dr. Owen Thomas of Liverpool praised Thomas Joseph of Tŷ Draw, Treherbert. Dr. Owen Thomas delivered a lecture and preached four times and the coal owner organised for a carriage to take him everywhere; he was treated like a prince. It is not surprising that he praised Thomas Joseph: ‘A very intelligent gentleman – and understands
The Cwmbran Coal Company in Clydach Vale was formed by Samuel Thomas and the Naval Colliery Company was responsible for developing the settlement called Penygraig and Tonypandy coal mines and the company established by of the Cory brothers from Cardiff saw their opportunity in Pentre and Y Gelli.63 The collieries belonging to Mabon’s friend, the capitalist David Davies of Llandinam had the upper hand.64 By the nineties, when Mabon was the King of the Rhondda, pits at the top of the Rhondda Fach in Maerdy were opened by Mordecai Jones.65
The Ynyshir pits and the National pits in Wattstown came as result of the efforts of James Thomas. In the eighties, the Hafod colliery, later named the Lewis Merthyr pit, was sunk by William Thomas Lewis a man of the same ilk as David Davies. Both were involved in the Liberal Party and in the life of chapels and churches.
So it was proud Welshmen who were the majority of colliery owners and this was true too of the Trade Union leaders. Welsh speakers were in the majority amongst the Rhondda miners. Mabon was a youngish man of 35, with a beard as black as a crow and with a delightful speaking and singing voice. He was a charismatic character who came to prominence during the 1875 strike and the failure of the strike soured the miners who were trade union members. When Mabon rose to his feet on the stage of Pentre Town Hall in Rhondda to greet trade union members who had invited him he was duly unimpressed. Only thirty miners had made the effort to welcome him and listen to his address. More, however, came to Tonypandy on 9 April when he spoke very effectively and with strong conviction.66 He was just as strong in Llwynypia during the same month, calling for a restructuring of the trade Union with the establishment of branches which could contribute regularly to the District Fund.67 He had around him sincere supporters in William Evans of Pentre who came to be nicknamed Mabon bach and Tom Davies owner of the Windsor Hotel Ton Pentre and was called Davies the Windsor. William Evans
everything as well as if not better than any man in South Wales.’And Dr. Owen Thomas was quite right. Thomas Joseph was the first person in the Rhondda Valley to develop the longwall style of excavating coal in 1863. See D. Ben Rees, Pregethwr y Bobl: Bywyd a Gwaith Owen Thomas (Liverpool and Pontypridd, 1979), 159.
63 There is a detailed record of the family by the historian W. W. Price of Aberdare. His record of the Cory brothers and their generosity to religious causes in the Rhondda Valley can be seen in Bywgraffiadur Cymreig, pps 75-76.
64 Ivor Thomas, the author of Top Sawyer (1938), the story of David Davies (1818-1890), Llandinam, and he is responsible for an an entertaining note in the Bywgraffiadur Cymreig. We are amazed at Davies’ vision, of building railways, creating a new dock in Barry, sinking coal mines and getting a railway from the top of the Rhondda Valley to the docks. There is a mass of useful material in Llandinam’s papers in the National Library of Wales and I enjoyed reading some of it in the eighties. Gwyn Alf Williams likened him to ‘The Boris Yeltsin of Broneinion.’
65 W. W. Price, ‘Mordecai Jones (1813-80)’, Bywgraffiadur Cymreig, 466-7, E. Phillips, Pioneers of the South Wales Coalfield, 205-9. Like Mabon and David Davies, he was a Calvinistic Methodist and, after sinking the Mardy pit in Rhondda Fach (1876), he was quite prepared to give land freehold on his estate in Mardy on which to build chapels. I preached numerous times in the 1960s in the two Calvinistic Methodists chapels in Mardy without being aware of the gift of Mordecai Jones who was one of the most powerful men born and brought up in Brecon. It was extremely important in the history of his denomination to promote the Brythonic Schools in the South and in the North.
66 Tarian y Gweithiwr 13 April 1877
67 Tarian y Gweithiwr 27 April 1877
performed his duties as secretary competently as did Tom Davies as treasurer. But, after a few weeks in the Rhondda, Mabon and his fellow officials were thrust into the middle of the disastrous tragedy at Tynewydd Colliery near Porth. On Wednesday 11 April a hundred miners and boys were at work in the Tynewydd pit. The majority had finished their shift when, between four and five o’clock in the afternoon, water broke through from the old Cymmer colliery (where 114 men were killed on 15 July 1856) and poured through the mine. The whole world soon heard about the heroism of the miners and, indeed, it was a dreadful experience for families, the Porth community and the miners’ leaders, especially the recently established Mabon. They heard that fourteen miners were lost. Mercifully, there were two groups of five who found themselves in air-pockets which kept them alive. The story in detail was told by David Jenkins and Moses Powell, two of those trapped underground and Mabon arranged for their memoirs to be printed in book form at his native village of Cwmafan.68 He persuaded his acquaintance Reverend David Jones of Porthcawl to translate it into English under the title Life from the Dead and this was also published in Cwmafan.69
The desperate miners were comforted by prayers and sacred hymns. Tom Stenner was primarily responsible for this. According to his biographer he was one of the ‘godly men’ who had no fear of the collieries for he was known as a Christian of fervent prayer. Tom Stenner could neither read nor write a word of any language but he made sure that every colliery that employed him had what he called in his native tongue a y cwrdd (a meeting house). To the miners of Tynewydd, young and old, he was Christ-like.70
68 Bywyd o Feirw, sef Hanes y Carcharorion Tanddaearol ym mhwll Tynewydd, Cwm Rhondda o Ebrill yr 11eg hyd yr 20fed, 1877 (Life from the Dead, namely the History of the Underground Prisoners in Tynewydd Pit in the Rhondda Valley from April 11th-20th 1877) by David Jenkins and Moses Powell (two buried in the colliery), Cwm-afon, c.1877.
69 The story was translated into English by the Revd. David Jones of Porthcawl and published under the Life from the Dead (Cwm-avon, no date.) Later there were the article of Emrys Pride, ‘Profile of a Collier’, (in) Rhondda: My Valley Brave (Risca, 1975), 40-51 and Ken Llewellyn, Disaster at Tynewydd: An Account of a Rhondda mine disaster in 1877 (second impression, Penarth, 1992).
70 Tom Davies, Tom Stenner: Bywyd a Helyntion Hen Golier o Gwm Rhondda (The Life and Troubles of an old Rhondda Valley Collier) (Aberdare, 1936).
Colliery disaster
Miners marching
A hymn written by Dafydd William of Llandeilo Fach near Pontarddulais, ‘Yn y dyfroedd mawr a’r tonnau’ (in the deep waters and waves) was sung by the rescuers. The prisoners underground heard the sweet and sincere singing. The following morning, rescuers broke through 36 feet of coal to find them. In the other air pocket, four out of five were found alive, miners who had been without water and with only candles to light them in their awful plight. They were thankful for the truck and the narrow shelf a few inches where they could rest above the waters. That was the only safe place for their tired bodies for ten long days but they had an opportunity to pray fervently and to sing songs of faith joyfully. David Jenkins, the oldest of them all, although he was only forty, guided them in prayer. He was a deacon with the Welsh Independents. The value of the spiritual life of the valley chapels, the Sunday School, the Seiat and Gospel teachings and the education provided by the Singing School was proven in the crisis as they asked the Sustainer of Life for comfort in their darkness, hope in their despair and release from the waters which were slowly filling the air-pocket.71
On Thursday afternoon 12 April, the tired core rescuers heard the glorious singing. They thought that they were about half a mile from their target. Their only recourse was brute strength with their picks. On Monday afternoon 16 April, Mabon asked 16 of the best coal cutters in Wales to come together to make a tunnel, six foot wide, three foot high, through 114 feet of coal to reach the brave Tynewydd miners. Their lives and those of the coal cutters were in the balance as Mabon knew very well and the journalists called the campaign ‘The Charge of the Rhondda Brigade’.
Then on Thursday 20 April, when they were within yards of success, the coal cutters had to flee for their lives because of the release of poisonous gas. Having discussed the situation, six volunteered to complete the work: Daniel Thomas, the owner of Brithweunydd pit,
71 Ken Llewellyn, Disaster at Tynewydd, 33-35, 37-8.
William Beith a mechanical engineer from the Harris Navigational Colliery in the Quaker Yard community near Treharris and four miners, namely Isaac Pride, Abraham Dodd, John William Howell of Ynyshir and Gwilym Thomas.
It was Abraham Dodd who pushed himself first through the gap with Isaac Pride positioning himself as a bridge over which he could push himself. Such was the bravery to which Mabon wrote an extensive report for the Western Mail. The Times, which could be critical of the Welsh and of the working class, had a chance to send a reporter to Tynewydd pit. Likewise, the Daily Telegraph who had never been fair to the Welsh working class sent a key reporter. A journalist even came from the United States to represent the New York Herald and to write about a heroic story. Queen Victoria sent her photographer to take pictures of the brave men. Irving Montague, the best photographer of the day, was there for the Illustrated London News; unfortunately, John Thomas the photographer from Everton of the Liverpool Welsh did not come anywhere near the colliery. It was a missed opportunity.
Daniel Thomas, William Beith, Isaac Pride and J. W. Howell received the Albert Medal for their valour. Abraham Dodd and Gwilym Thomas were unfortunately ignored. This was a great pity as Abraham Dodd was seriously burnt at Ynys-hir pit on 12 May – a colliery belonging to Daniel Thomas and James Thomas the overseer of Tynewydd Pit.
James Thomas was presented with an Albert Medal (second class) but, as he was facing an accusation of manslaughter on 15 May, with Mabon present to give him moral support, the offer was rescinded.72
The other odd thing was the ignoring of Gwilym Thomas who was one of Mabon’s best friends, a man who had an excellent baritone voice. He won first prize at the National Eisteddfod of Wales six times and was a miner for twenty five years. He personified the cultured miner at his best and Mabon boasted of his feats at the Eisteddfod. He deserved the medal but, to Mabon’s incomprehension, did not get one. The case of James Thomas caused him concern too. Mabon travelled to Swansea Assize Court on 6 August 1877 to assist James Thomas in his despair. The jury failed to agree on a verdict. He was tried again in Cardiff on 9 April 1878 before a Judge and was found innocent of having acted with undue negligence. The fact was that the miners faced dangers every day and it is amazing that Mabon had succeeded through his Christian faith so well and for so long in getting the miners to accept the situation. After the episode in Tynewydd colliery there was great emphasis on singing Welsh hymns and praying in meetings in the mines and at the chapels.
The musician Joseph Parry wrote a hymn which was sung for the first time on Sunday 12 May 1877 in Cymmer Chapel where David Jenkins was a deacon. Here is the hymn:
72 Ibid., 119.
Di Dyner Dad! boed llusern ffydd
Yng ngrym Dy law’n gwneyd nos yn ddydd
Lawr yn y dyfnder, swyn Gwlad well
Fo’n codi allor ym mhob cell;
O dyro’th nawdd, Greawdydd cu, I lowyr dewr y dyfnder du.73
And here is the translation:
Loving father! May the lantern of faith
In the strength of your hand make night into day
Down in the depths, may the magic of a better land
Raise an altar in each cell
‘Oh beloved Creator, bring your protection To the brave miners in the black depths.’
Joseph Parry started the process of consolation but Mabon organised things practically, opening a fund and holding a Meeting of Consecration on 4 August 1877. Forty thousand miners came to Cilfynydd Common in Pontypridd near the famous Rocking Stone to honour the brave men in a meeting chaired by C. R. M. Talbot the MP for Glamorgan.74
The miners marched from the middle of Pontypridd in their working clothes, with their lamps lit and their picks on their shoulders, to greet the Lord Mayor of London, the man who opened the fund to help needy families. Widows received £250 each and there was £50 for poor David Hughes, a lad who had lost his father and his brother in the flood. What a position to be in at the beginning of his working class life. There were numerous gifts from politicians in the House of Commons, from the Daily Telegraph office and the League of St. John of Jerusalem and the Bible Society handed over bibles signed by Lord Shaftesbury.75 Albert Medals were presented to twenty-four rescuers. The Fourth of August 1877 was a day to remember for the miners of the Rhondda Valley and their leader Mabon.76 The purpose of it all, as far as Mabon was concerned, was to emphasise that courage was boosted by the Christian Faith which they had received through their upbringing from their baptism in the Nonconformist chapels. That was the message delivered by David Jenkins, Moses Powell and their permanent hero Mabon by the Rocking Stone on Cilfynydd Common where the Druids practised their poetic skills. Man created by God was seen at his best and that man had faith in his Creator and Sustainer as well as hope in his fellowman. But the love of Jesus was the culmination of their enduring faith.
73 Ibid., 121. Hywel Teifi Edwards regrets that we, as Welsh speakers, have not had a novel or a short story to commemorate Tynewydd. He says: ‘There is not in Welsh, the miners’ mother tongue, a verse or a story - like Twenty Tons of Coal, B. L. Coombes – nor a play to immortalise them despite all the praise they received in 1877… Thankfully, since 1974, we have Nicholas Evans ‘masterpiece Entombed – Jesus in the Midst, which, ever since I first saw it has become an ineradicable image for me of the epic of Tynewydd.’
74 Ibid. 127.
75 Ken Llewellyn, Disaster at Tynewydd, 68-73.
76 Ken Llewellyn, Disaster at Tynewydd, 74-5, Tarian y Gweithiwr August 1877, 3; Y Faner, 15 Awst 1877, 7; Hywel Teifi Edwards, Arwr Glew Erwau’r Glo, 126. He says, in his inimitable way:
But, before the end of 1877, the South Wales Coalfield was in the middle of a distressing depression. James Clement, the Gilfach Goch poet, spoke in Welsh of their suffering:
Ai caethwas fydd heb obaith gwell
Na’i lwyr newynu yn y gell?
One could interpret it as a question of despair, ‘Will [the miner] be a slave, with no hope of anything better / than complete starvation underground?
August 4, 1877, stands as a significant date in the history of the South Wales coalfield. That evening, Cardiff’s streets were illuminated, and a feast was held to honor the Lord Mayor of London. He traveled from the capital city of the British Empire to recognize the exceptional contributions of Welsh miners.
Mabon suffered personal pain and deeply grieved yet again especially as the miners had supported him faithfully in the Llwynypia conference. It was there they formed the Cambrian Miners’ Association. 77 A proposal that William Abraham should be retained as agent was agreed. The Cambrian Miners’ Association was the first of the miners’ societies to function and it survived until unification in 1890.
The role of the CMA or, in Welsh, Undeb Glowyr y Rhondda, was to collect money to pay the agent and, if there was dispute, it was he who would have the job of settling it.78 And as they were determined to support the Sliding Scale there was no expectation of having any bitter strikes as had happened in 1871 and 1875. This pleased Mabon more than any other expectation. Everything, however, depended upon him, more than any other trade unionist.
A Council was set up to give him backing and to have representatives from different parts of the valleys, the Rhondda Fawr and Rhondda Fach, to discuss miners’ benefits. Mabon decided against forming lodges or branches for the collieries, as this could cause discord and disagreement. The main purpose of the Trade Union in the Rhondda was to work together and remain in sympathy with each other. Then they had the role of engaging in discussion with the owners, the majority of whom held the same values as he did within the world of Liberal politics.
The leader had enough freedom to keep him content. He kept contact with the miners and regularly visited the coal owners. He showed his ability to resolve disputes quickly. But he was not immune to criticism though most of his critics used pseudonyms in their letters to the press. They made complaints against him, a few now and again demanding his dismissal and others more conscientiously asking for the end of the Sliding Scale. He did not have to worry about his job as he had a core of supporters who admired him greatly. Mabon wanted to treat every dispute from the pespective of both parties. He sympathised with the coal owners who were honest enough to tell him that they were
77 Hywel Teifi Edwards Ibid., 127.
78 Ibid., 64.
short of capital, and, on the other hand, he knew well that thousands of miners and their families depended totally on these capitalists for a living to keep their homes comfortable. The coal owners were aware that he could sometimes be quite stubborn in discussion but that he could be effective and fair. Mabon always wanted agreement rather than strike action. That is what usually happened as Dr E. W. Evans says:
Moreover, by shrewd bargaining and skilled negotiating, he had concluded an agreement in return for relatively few concessions.79
At this time, Mabon felt that he should lead the Rhondda miners to a period of consolidation. His most important responsibility was to place a positive plan before the Trade Union members. He had a difficult time during the period 1878 to 1882 and found he had to consider the view of the radical Welsh Independent Minister of Religion Samuel Roberts of Llanbrynmair on emigrating to the United States. He saw that that was the way out for several families. That is why a number of miners from south Wales travelled to the coalfields of Virginia, Pennsylvania and Iowa. Research carried out on the Welsh miners in the state of Iowa shows clearly the emigration that took place to a coalfield was much smaller than that to the larger coalfield of Pennsylvania.80
In 1879, Mabon believed that emigration was an excellent way of winning a fair wage. He realised that there were collieries with insufficient work and too many workers, within them, which brought about a situation where wages were relatively low. By that year, his view, which was rather foolish, given his own disastrous trip to Chile in 1864, was being taken seriously amongst the Rhondda miners. Mabon supported the Workmen’s Emigration Society.81 The active agent managed to organise six branches of the society in the Rhondda Valleys. Membership of the society came to a shilling and a contribution of £5 was expected from each migrant. Interest was then paid on that amount. Anyone could have his place in this lottery. If successful, he was sent to the United States with a substantial lump sum of £150.82 The winner was expected to repay the money within ten years with interest. The scheme succeeded beyond all expectations.
79 E. W. Evans, Mabon, 21. ‘Contributions of 1½d and later 2d per month were deducted from wages at the colliery offices, the clerks retaining a small percentage for their services. The organisation was not collecting money to form a fighting fund, and its sole aim was cooperation with the employers’.
80 There is an important chapter on the Welsh miners in Iowa in Cherilyn A. Walley’s book, The Welsh in Iowa (Cardiff, 2009) She sa, with roughly half the increase due to the immigration of Welsh miners, 119.ys: The peak of Welsh emigration to Iowa occurred in the 1870s and 1880s with roughly half the increase due to the immigration of Welsh miners, 119.
81 Cherilyn A. Walley says that the Welsh miners were supportive of the Trade Union. That was not true of the majority of miners in the South Wales coalfield at the same time.‘When British miners emigrated to America, they brought their knowledge not only of mining, but also of union organizations. With such a background, it is no surprise that in Iowa the Welsh were some of the biggest supporters of local unions, and eventually the United Mine Workers (UMW). And the future UMW leader, John L. Lewis, was born and raised by his Welsh parents in Lucas Iowa’, 123. See also Dorothy Schwieder, Black Diamonds: Life and Work in Iowa’s Coal Mining Communities, 1895-1925 (Ames, 1983.), 126-9; and the excellent biography of John L. Lewis by two history professors: John L. Lewis: A Biography by Melvyn Dubofsky and Warren Van Tine (New York, 1977), 619 pp.
82 Tarian y Gweithiwr, 9 July 1879.
Mabon went all the way to Yorkshire to a miners’ conference held at Barnsley in May 1879 when representatives of the British coalfields came together to consider the rise of 10% in the miners’ wages.83 If the offer was refused, the miners would vote on strike action. Mabon was chosen as one of the deputation to see the officers of the Union of Mineworkers to tell them about the deliberations and the extent of support for the policy. After returning from Yorkshire, he went travelling with his message amongst not only the Rhondda miners but to other areas of south Wales.
The fervent Welsh trade unionist felt that the local miners deserved good wages and was ready to back the appeal, as they were receiving only three shillings and a penny for ten hours work in the Rhondda collieries in comparison with five shillings and twopence for eight hours work in the Northumbrian collieries. Gradually he realised that the Sliding Scale was not as worthwhile as he had believed three years earlier but he could not envisage any system that was equally good.
All the collieries that were sunk as he was arriving in Rhondda and a little before were drowning the market for coal. Naturally his response was to ask the coal owners not to produce so much coal. He realised that the owners were in trouble, as they were flooding the market and over-producing. The Barnsley conference was an eye-opener for Mabon. He had heard quite a number of the miners’ leaders arguing in favour of the miners working fewer hours per day in order to protect their present wages and the jobs. He came to realise that campaigning for fewer working hours was extremely relevant to his role as a trade union leader. 84
He gave considerable thought to the idea and eventually arranged a conference in November 1880 to discuss how appropriate it would be to reduce the miner’s working day from ten hours a day to nine so as to produce less coal and to safeguard the health of the working force. Mabon was the main proponent of the nine hours, as Dr E. W. Evans says:
Mabon was perhaps the foremost champion of the nine hours movement. He not only advocated the shorter shift but even warned the men that the scheme would fail if they did ten hours a day.85
He argued that reducing working days by an hour would be very advantageous to the coal owners as well as to the miners. The leader had some support in the conference and he thanked them for discussing the plan and his own committee’s thinking. He continued to press the miners to commit their minds to the idea of nine hours per day as working hours in the pit and, though he had a core of supporters, the fact was that, by June 1881, the vast majority of Rhondda miners were again in favour of ten hours per day. For the miners, the wage was all-important for the sake of their families and they would not think
83 Ibid
84 Ibid.
85 E. W. Evans, Mabon, 26
about losing an hour’s pay for the sake of the coal owners or even of their own health. After all, competition was keen in the coalfields and his opponents argued with sincerity. If the Rhondda miners were to produce less coal, this did not mean that the miners and coal owners in the European coalfields would do likewise.
In December 1882, Mabon travelled to Leeds to another conference of representatives of the British coalfields. At that conference it was agreed that it was high time to argue for an eight hour working day or a five day week and that this should be implemented from February 1883.86
The declaration and proposal were immediately ignored in south Wales. Mabon was the only representative from Wales who travelled to Leeds. His own miners immediately rejected the argument. He was criticised by the leaders of the Cynon Valley Miners for aligning himself with this unnecessary move.87 There was a debate in the Glamorgan press between the miners of Rhondda and Cynon Valley after Mabon and the well known miners’ agent David Morgan published articles on the topic. Eventually, the Rhondda miners refused to follow Mabon on the issue and forbade him to travel to Manchester to another conference in 1883 todiscuss the campaign further. The leaders of the Aberdare District could not agree for one moment with Mabon. It was to them a matter of principle and of economic reality. Mabon was the only south Wales leader for many years to promote the view which was fiercely criticised by the Welsh coal owners and the rank and file of miners for years. He was concerned as a leader that the local trade unions were forgetting to make plans for the accidents which happened so regularly in the pits and the ill-health which miners and workers in the heavy industries suffered. Important issues of this sort were left in the hands of insurance companies or friendly societies such as the True Ivorites and the Oddfellows. The Philanthropic Order of True Ivorites was a Welsh movement established in Wrexham in 1836. Mabon thought highly of the Ivorites for its work in providing sickness and burial benefit payments. Furthermore, they were to be commended for holding regular eisteddfodau. Mabon was a staunch supporter when the Ivorites’ activities moved into the middle of the South Wales Coalfield in Glamorgan. At that time, twenty thousand people belonged to the Ivorites and a large number were miners. The Philanthropic Order of True Ivorites continued to be more acceptable in mining areas than the insurance companies. Mabon thought that the best example of which he was aware was that organised by the Union of Mineworkers in the north-east of England. He would refer often in those years to the Northumberland and Durham Miners’ Permanent Relief Society which was set up in 1862.
At a miners’ conference in October 1878 it was agreed that a committee of four, including Mabon, should prepare a plan similar to that of Durham and Northumberland for the miners who worked in Wales. 88 The most difficult aspect of the report work was done by
86 Tarian y Gweithiwr 14 December 1882.
87 Tarian y Gweithiwr, 11 January 1883.
88 E. W. Evans, Mabon, 29.
Mabon himself but, despite the scheme being very well thought-out, it was again rejected by a large majority at a conference a month later.89 The problem was money. Mabon and his committee expected too much from the pockets of the miners who received such derisory wages in the first place. It was hoped that parliamentary politicians could come up with a more acceptable plan than Mabon and his friends had produced.
The colliery masters were motivated to set up a society called the Miners’ Permanent Provident Society to fill the obvious gap.90 This was an attempt on the part of the owners to avoid the responsibility laid on them by the law called the Employers’ Liability Act of 1880. This law allowed a beneficiary payment to workers who were injured as the result of a lack of care on the part of the coal owners, but this was of no use to workers who had opted out by belonging to an insurance scheme.
Mabon realised that this scheme was more generous to workers such as the miners. He became an important figure in the preparation. His views and input were sought in the preparation of the scheme.91 Within a few years, it was realised that Mabon had been invited to be Secretary of the Society and that he had refused, as he did not want to give the impression that he had been bribed and because he saw that he was really needed by the Rhondda miners who would be like sheep without a shepherd were he to leave for finer pastures.
He became one of the most enthusiastic supporters of the proposal. Personally he did not have a high regard for the 1880 Act, as it did not provide for workers who were injured as a result of their own actions nor in circumstances where, as far as could be seen, nohuman being was responsible for the accident. He supported the proposal of the capitalists who were supporting W. E. Gladstone in his effort to establish a fund which could give financial assistance to any miner who was injured at work. This scheme was supported by both the coal owners and the miners underground. Mabon very soon realised that the workers were in fact again rejecting the Society. This was happening throughout the Welsh coalfield by February 1881.
Mabon had no expectation of seeing his hopes fulfilled. It was clear that the miners were ready to accept what was on offer on the issue of safety in the workplace. The miners felt that, in the long run, their human rights should be discussed by the courts. Because of the feelings and arguments of the Trade Union members, Mabon was compelled to withhold his support for the scheme. As early as October 1881, the Rhondda District Miners’ Union changed its rules to establish a Defence Fund in order to have sufficient capital to take their battle into the courts of the land as well as the tribunals. With this fund, the Rhondda miners, with Mabon at the helm, succeeded in helping a young miner from Abergorci who had lost his arm in an accident in the colliery.96 In the long run, this Fund was a
89 Tarian y Gweithiwr, 22 November 1878.
90 E. W. Evans, Mabon, 30.
91 W. G. Dalziel, Records of the several Coal Owners’ Association in Monmouthshire and South Wales, 1864-95. (Cardiff, 1995), 631.
godsend and the miners 92on this occasion had much more foresight than Mabon. By 1912 the Fund had paid out the enormous sum of £917, 373. to miners’ widows for funeral costs, disability pensions and old age pensions.93
Mabon knew that it was not easy to make arrangements for the miners but that was what he wanted to do; it was his prime ambition. His chief concern was to care for the miner as a whole person, physically, financially, mentally and spiritually. He could not bear to see miners’ families living on charity and the memory of the soup kitchens of 1860 and 1879 was sufficient reason for him to persuade some of the miners to consider emigrating for a better life in the United States. Dr E. W. Evans describes him well:
His concern was always for those who suffered most when there was unemployment, when wages were low, and when the miners stopped work. He always felt responsible for them, and his conscience would let nothing stand in the way of their best interests.94
Mabon became a man to be admired by the Rhondda miners and indeed in communities throughout the two valleys. In 1887 he was appointed a Justice of the Peace – an important role in that period – and in 1885 he became a member of the Ystrad Literary and Debating Society. He set about writing and publishing a pamphlet that he had written called –Political Economy and the Education of the Working Classes. It was published in 1883. He was regularly asked to contribute in Welsh to Tarian y Gweithiwr and in English to the South Wales Daily News and the Western Mail.
By 1883 Mabon had another strong, abiding ambition, namely to represent the miners at Westminster. He was a Liberal in his political views, that is in the tradition of Henry Richard and Gladstone. The Rhondda Steam Coal Miners’ Association (RSCMH) expressed an interest for one of their leaders to represent the Rhondda seat. They argued that the candidate should be from amongst the miners.95 A number of them naturally thought of Mabon as he had been acting as Secretary of the RSCMH for six years. He would be the ideal candidate in the opinion of the Trade Union officials.
But the politician who launched his attempt was Henry Austin Bruce, the first Lord Aberdare.96 After all, he was in Gladstone’s Cabinet as Secretary of State and was chair of the Privy Council in 1873 when he was ennobled. At a large meeting in 1884, Lord Aberdare made himself perfectly clear as where he stood. However, in 1883 the idea circulated that because Mabon wrote for the Western Mail he must be a Tory in the guise of a Liberal. Lord Aberdare confronted this silly accusation and placed complete trust in
92 Tarian y Gweithiwr, 23 February 1882.
93 E. W. Evans, Mabon, 32.
94 Ibid.
95 Chris Williams, Democratic Rhondda: Politics and Society, 1885-1951 (Cardiff, 1996).
96 Frederick Rees, ‘Henry Austin Bruce, (1815-1895), the first Lord Aberdare Bywgraffiadur Cymreig hyd 1940, 49; Letters of Henry Austin Bruce, Lord Aberdare of Duffryn (Oxford, 1902).
him.97 Lord Aberdare called him ‘a true and perfect Radical’ and if he was a Tory where was their evidence for such an accusation.98 Lord Aberdare placed complete trust in him as a Liberal:
The trust of the miners of Monmouthshire and South Wales in Mabon, just like the Liberals’ trust in Gladstone is too firm for to be shaken, let alone killed off, by his enemies.99
Such support inspired significant confidence in the trade union leader. It clinched the debate for him, and this was reinforced by the 1884 Parliamentary Reform Act. This gave the vote to all male taxpayers (and to some landlords) in the county elections. This had been in place in borough elections since 1867. This was an important step towards more democracy in 1884 but still totally inadequate. There was no vote at all for women and sons who lived at home with their parents. Those receiving help under the Poor Law were excluded. So Mabon had at least some hope of being nominated for the important Rhondda election. He continued to be hopeful.
On 19 January 1884, 22 mining lodges voted for him as their candidate. A conference of all the coalfield lodges was called and it was decided to back Mabon. It was decided that each pit committee should become a parliamentary committee for the agent’s candidature. An Executive Parliamentary Committee of ten was elected to co-ordinate the campaign when a General Election was called.100 But, before then, there was an interesting tale to tell and one which deserves another chapter.
97 D. Williams (Paleinws) Garnfach, ‘Mabon ym Maerdy’Tarian y Gweithiwr, 25 June 1885, 3.
98 Ibid.
99 Ibid.
100 Chris Williams, Democratic Rhondda, 33.
WINNING THE RHONDDA ELECTION, 1885
I cannot help admiring Mabon, especially in his determination to represent Rhondda in Parliament in 1885. Years before this he had dsiplayed his wish to enlighten ordinary people. He really believed that the Tories were not prepared to extend the vote to many people, as they believed that the common people were ignorant of local government affairs. At every opportunity, Mabon showed his confidence in W. E. Gladstone, the patriot and warm-hearted philanthropist, as he called him, in a public meeting in Llanelli in 1882.101 He came with Henry Broadhurst, the MP for Stoke on Trent to the town, with the aim of educating the young people in politics.102
By 1885 Mabon was an ideal candidate, possessing good humour, a strong voice and an abiding interest in people. One of the Western Mail reporters who called himself ap Gwilym said this of him in spring 1885:
His lips have been touched with the live coals, his voice is sonorous and penetrating and his action graceful and suited to his words.103
William Abraham (Mabon) had spent seven years in Rhondda and, during that time, had had amazing success in raising the Trade Union’s profile and had educated so many of the miners who listened to him about the value of trade unionism. This took place after the dismal failure of the Amalgamated Association of Miners.
Although he had quite revolutionary and different ideas from most of those involved in the mining world in Wales, he was still regarded as a moderate leader in the tradition of the Lib-Lab miners’ leaders such as Thomas Burt and Enoch Edwards in England.104 Burt
101 Tarian y Gweithiwr (The Worker’s Shiel), 26 January 1882, 3.
102 ‘Paul Adelman, Henry Broadhurst (1840- 1911)’, in Dictionary of Labour Biography, volume 1 (Edited by Joyce M. Bellamy and John Saville) (London and Basingstoke, 1972), 62- 68, also his autobiography, Henry Broadhurst, MP, The Story of his Life from a Stonemason’s Bench to the Treasury Bench (London, 1901).
103 Ap Gwilym, ‘Mabon’, Western Mail, January 12, 1885.
104 H. F. Bing and John Saville, ‘Thomas Burt (1837-1922)’, Dictionary of Labour Biography, volume 1 (London and Basingtoke, 1972), 59-63; A. Watson, A Great Labour Leader: being a life of
and Mabon were very similar people. Both were zealous religious people and excellent organisers as well as having a gentle and peace loving demeanour. Burt succeeded in winning the Morpeth seat as a Liberal in 1874 and held the seat until 1918, a period of 44 years. He became Father of the House of Commons and a perfect example of what was called a Lib-Lab politician. They were Liberals in terms of their background and beliefs and their great achievement was the ability to reconcile two opposing attitudes, the working-class Labour ways and their personal beliefs as Liberals and we shall discuss this later in this chapter.
Mabon was the outstanding miners’ leader not only in Rhondda but throughout the South Wales Coalfield. By 1885, other leaders had appeared such as David Morgan (Dai o’r Nant) in Aberdare and Isaac Evans as miners’ agent for Neath, Swansea and Llanelli.105 Mighty Mabon was regarded more highly than both of these agents by the working miners.
The proactive nature of Welsh Nonconformism and the Radicalism of ministers of religion such as David Rees of Llanelli and William Morris of Treorchy were thought to be responsible for the fact that Rhondda was a safe seat for the Liberal Party. By creating a new constituency in 1884, many commentators believed that the Liberals were sure to choose someone from the working class as a parliamentary candidate. As ap Gwilym argues, the Rhondda miners had a well-known leader who played a prominent role in public matters, who was also religious, cultured and political in his interests. His name was Mabon.
The Liberal Party was ready to prepare for the Election whenever it came and, in January 1885, there was established what was called a Rhondda Liberals Association under the administration of the Three Hundred, as has been noted.106 It was arranged that 60 representatives would come from each of five districts to organise and nominate a Liberal candidate for the Election.
Sixty representatives from five districts came to vote, from Treherbert, Treorchy, Ystrad, Tonypandy and Rhondda Fach. They were called together in April 1885. The Executive Committee of the Liberal Society placed six names before the representatives namely Alfred Thomas; Edward Davies from the Ocean Coal Company; Walter Morgan a solicitor of Pontypridd; Marchant Williams a barrister in London, the entrepreneur Lewis Davis of Ferndale and the trade unionist William Abraham (Mabon). Alfred Thomas, who had his
the Right Honourable Thomas Burt (London, 1908); Joyce Bellamy and John Saville, ‘Enoch Edwards (1852-1912)’, Dictionary of Labour Biography, volume 1, 109111.
105 John Saville, ‘David Morgan (Dai o’r Nant, 1840-1900)’, Dictionary of Labour Biography, volume 1, 244-46; Joyce Bellamy and John Saville, ‘Isaac Evans (1847-1897)’, Dictionary of Labour Biography, vol. 1, 113115. They were also editors of Volume 1.
106 The Liberal Party in Rhondda followed the Radical Liberal plan of Birmingham when the National Liberal Federation was launched in 1877. Constituencies were enabled to set up a General Committee of Three Hundred – or 600 in a big city like Birmingham – with the ability to act politically. See H. J. Hanham, Elections and Party Management: Politics in the time of Disraeli and Gladstone (London, 1950), 133-140.
eye on another seat declined and so did Edward Davies, son of David Davies Llandinam. They withdrew their names at once.
In the first vote, the two legal brains, Walter Morgan and Marchant Williams lost the day leaving Lewis Davis and Mabon to stand in the final round. Lewis Davis received 143 votes while Mabon had only 51. One hundred and six Liberal representatives failed to vote, which was extremely disappointing to every one of the candidates.
Lewis Davis was an excellent choice, as he was a steadfast Welshman, a colliery owner in Ferndale, where three thousand miners worked for him, and from a family which contributed significantly to the life of the Cynon Valley and Rhondda.107 His father David Davis of Blaengwawr, Aberdare, was one of the coal industry pioneers and had been President of the Aberdare Liberal Society. 108 As we see from reading the Western Mail and other papers, he could often be extremely hot-tempered.109
Having given detailed consideration to the nomination, Lewis Davis withdrew in May because of responsibilities in the pits under his care and the fact that he was not totally comfortable with some of his prominent fellow Liberals. An open-air meeting to reconsider the choice of candidate was arranged on a mountainside in Pandy, near Llwynypia. Two of Mabon’s friends, both MPs, came to the meeting, namely Henry Broadhurst from Stoke on Trent and Sir Vivian Hussey. Both politicians encouraged Mabon to consider standing for the the seat. Lord Aberdare, however, failed to turn up but sent an apology which was published in the Western Mail.
I think, therefore, that Glamorganshire should have its labour representative, that the Rhondda district seems peculiarly fitted for such a representative, and if I may be permitted to express my own opinion on such a subject, the labour of the Rhondda could find no fitter or better representative in Parliament than yourself.110
107 L. J. Williams, ‘The First Welsh “Labour” MP. The Rhondda Election of 1885, Glamorgan’, Cylchgrawn Cymdeithas Hanes Lleol Morgannwg (The Glamorganshire Local History Association), vol. vii, 1962, 81. J. L. Williams emphasises that the Rhondda election was extremely important for three reasons. Firstly, there was a significant outcome in that, despite losing the nomination twice and despite the obstacles and harassment he had encountered, Mabon still had an astonishing victory and was the representative for Rhondda for the next 35 years. Secondly, this was the first election under the Reform Act. Thirdly, Mabon was the first working class candidate in Wales to be sent to Parliament. Politicians like Henry Richard came from the Middle Class.
108 Indeed, if it were not for Lewis Davis and his father, no pits would have been sunk in Glyn Rhedynog and, unfortunately, the name was changed to an English word Ferndale. See Llewelyn Morgan, Hanes Capel Wesley Ferndale (The History of Wesley Chapel Ferndale) (Ferndale, 1922), 5. A Times reporter visited Ferndale in November 1867, describing the place thus: ‘Almost all the population of 800 is lodged in houses rudely built of wood, like American log huts.’ The Times, 15 November, 1867. Lewis Davis and his brother David Davis went into partnership with their father and the company was known as ‘David Davis and Sons’. They had to face two tragedies.178 miners lost their lives in 1867 and 53 in 1869. (CC. LW4 398, The Ferndale Colliery Explosion (Cardiff, 1867). There is an English biography of Lewis Davis (1829-88) in D. Young, A Noble Life: Incidents
109 David Davis (1797-1866), see D. Ben Rees, Chapels in the Valley (Ffynnon Press, Upton, Wirral, 1975), 112-128-9, 147.
110 For Lewis Davis being hot-headed see Cardiff Times, 22 November 1884 and the Western Mail, 23 April 1885, but also remember his background: ‘From childhood, the Sunday School, the
Lewis Davis saw through Lord Aberdare’s cunning two-faced action and reminded everyone of the words spoken in his hearing by Sir Vivian Hussey. He said that it was Hussey who had advised him to stand in Liberal Party colours. Hussey replied that what he had said was that Lewis Davis should stand in East Glamorgan and not in the Rhondda constituency. These are his incredible words:
I say boldly that W. Abraham would not represent the election of the Rhondda division; that the majority of the miners do not want him; and the other electors would prefer naming a man of another stamp. 111
This hypocrisy and provocation were very harmful, creating division amongst the Liberal élite in Glamorganshire. It is clear that neither Lord Aberdare nor Vivian Hussey wanted to see Mabon as an MP. It is clear that Lewis Davis did not want to concede to Mabon, who had come second in the vote. Lewis Davis was a powerful man in Glamorganshire. Was he not President of the Rhondda Liberal Society, taking considerable care to exclude Mabon from being the inevitable Vice-President? This was a serious error. But Davis had a hold on the lives of thousands of miners and their families in Rhondda Fach and his wealth meant that he had influence with which the poor miners’ leader Mabon could not compete. Where would a candidate to please the rich capitalist from Ferndale be found?
The solution came to him at in his home in Ferndale. It should be Edward Davies, heir to the Llandinam empire, a colliery owner, who had been nurtured from childhood in the Nonconformist way of life and from teenage in the world of the Liberal Party, as his father had been before him.112 In addition, the Ocean miners, unlike the Ferndale workers, were not members of Mabon’s Trade Union. He spoke immediately to Edward Davies but he did not want to change his decision with regard to re-considering the candidature. Edward Davies had no desire to stand. Lewis Davis then saw his golden opportunity and presented the name of his own son, Frederick Davis. Eighteen months beforehand, Ferndale had held a carnival of revelry to celebrate Frederick Davis’s twenty first birthday. Although he was young, he had the support of his father, his family, his people and his wealth to back him all the way to Westminster. He was much better educated than Mabon. After all he had been privately educated in Reading before going to Trinity College Cambridge and, the week prior to the meeting for choosing a candidate, he had been called to the Bar.113 His educational career was of the highest standard and this meant a great deal to cultured services at the Wesleyan Chapel at Hirwaun, the preachers who were regularly welcomed to his home, the choir and those who took any public part in the services, to him were of paramount importance.’ See David Young, Lewis Davis, 34.
111 Western Mail, 17 May 1885.
112 South Wales Daily News, 15 and 16 May 1885, L. J. Williams, The First Welsh “Labour” MP, 83.
113 For the Llandinam family, see ‘Teulu Davies (Llandinam) / The Llandinam Family’ in Gwyddoniadur Cymru yr Academi Gymraeg / The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales (Eds. John Davies, Menna Baines, Nigel Jenkins and Peredur L. Lynch) (Cardiff, 2008, 270-1. Unfortunately, Edward Davies is not named. The Edward Davies who is named is Edward Davies (Celtic Davies, 17756-1831). For Edward Davies, (1852-98) read Onlooker, True Citizenship (London, 1947). In the seventies, Edward Davies was extremely active in the Rhondda Valley. He was the President of the Treorchy Society of Cymmrodorion and of the Good Templars, and there was never an eisteddfod held in any Rhondda Fawr mining village without Edward Davies being invited to be Chair.
miners in the two valleys. He was also mature for his age and would be able to answer at the hustings the most penetrating questions without any difficulty at all.
On Wednesday evening 12 June 1885, with 182 of the 300 representatives gathered together, he was adopted with a huge majority as the Liberal Party candidate. He received 125 votes whilst Mabon had only 56, fewer than half.114 (The young man, Frederick Davis, confidently accepted the nomination at once, but Mabon immediately refused to accept the unfortunate result. He announced that evening that he would be opposing Frederick Davis as a Labour-Liberal candidate. As W. E. Gladstone had resigned as Prime Minister and Lord Salisbury was prepared to lead the Government in the interim, he knew the election would not be far off.
In the next election, Rhondda would be quite different from the majority of constituencies. With two Liberal candidates about to contend for the prize of entering the House of Commons, it was no longer a battle between the Tories and the Liberals. Both Liberals of the Rhondda were ready to back a radical Gladstonian agenda.115
By the beginning of July, Mabon was being badly harassed. His dependable supporter Daronwy Isaac was accused by a Tarian y Gweithiwr reporter of betraying him behind his back. Daronwy Isaac had accused Mabon of being at heart a Tory in Labour-Liberal clothing.116 It was a blow to his confidence but he accepted it without demur. Mabon began his campaign early in July, in a well attended meeting in a large chapel Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Chapel in the mining village of Mardy. Amongst the audience which attended was Dewi Williams of Ynyshir who sent his observations to the local newspapers. Dewi Williams claims that some of the Mardy audience had purposely tried to snare Mabon. He wrote in a flamboyant Welsh style which has been translated:
There was a gang of cowardly locusts present with their tails wagging. These malicious and envious locusts had decided beforehand to poison the pith of the argument and ruin labour’s message through asking innumerable and most irrelevant questions ever asked of a politican.117
In his view, Mabon answered each one of the questions satisfactorily. Dewi Williams praised the obvious courage of some of his fellow residents from Ynyyshir on a different evening who attended a meeting at which Fred L. Davis was present. Williams regretted that an individual named Rees Dafis had express complete trust in the young capitalist cum business man on behalf of the audience.118 He had no right to utter those words.
Mabon realised that he had a great battle on his hand but truly believed that this was his golden opportunity. There was no let-up in the civil war as both of them were quite close to
114 L. J. Williams, ‘The First Welsh “Labour” MP’.
115 Ibid.
116 Western Mail, 3 October 1885.
117 Report of Dewi Williams (24 Ynyshir Road, Ynyshir) Tarian y Gweithiwr 2 July 1885, 3.
118 South Wales Daily News, 26 November 1885, 3.
each other in terms of their initial philosophy but not of their upbringing. Both supported W. E. Gladstone but there were some differences. Mabon believed, naturally enough that every MP should be paid by the government of the day while the wealthy young man who had his father’s backing rejected that suggestion. Beneath the minor differences, there was a fundamental difference between Capital and Labour. Mabon considered himself someone who could unite the two wings – a Liberal in his principles and Labour with his working-class roots at the work place. After all he argued that the miners had thought about a candidate like him before there was any mention of setting up the body called the Three Hundred.119 In Frederick L. Davis’s opinion, Mabon represented one part of society wheras he represented all of it. This was not completely true. In analysing the membership of the Three Hundred, it can be seen that miners were in the vast majority. There were at least 143 miners behind the Liberal candidate along with 48 craft workers, 29 ministers of the Gospel, 23 pit officials and 11 professionals.120
In the meetings which were held, most of the questions came on matters to do with the needs of miners in the coal industry and, on this, the agent had the upper edge on Davis. For after all he had more detailed experience and knowledge. Mabon was chosen by the Society of Rhondda Miners, officially known in English as the Rhondda Miners’ Association. It should be remembered that the Rhondda Miners’ Association did not represent every unionised miner in the constituency. About half the miners belonging to the Association were from outside the constituency boundaries.121 Mabon was the agent for steam pits as well, since there was an Association for House Coal Colliers. The members of that Association or of the Union had left the choice of whom to support at the selection conference to the caucus.
It was a noisy election struggle with supporters on both sides frequently behaving out of character. From the Ferndale based Davis’s camp it was decided to attack Mabon foully as an individual. The man behind that strategy was Lewis Davis, the father and, by July, he had become loud mouthed. He was using others to besmirch Mabon’s good name.122 But for many, this strategy of Lewis Davis was a disaster, and his son lost votes. as well as sympathy. One of Mabon’s supporters said:
Inasmuch as abuse is no argument, it is but too evident that the father has spoilt the son’s case.127
Lewis Davis took great pleasure in being on the platform exposing Mabon in Welsh but, as the campaign progressed, his malice lessened.
119 Ibid., 21 January 1885, 4.
120 L. J. Williams, ‘The First Welsh “Labour” MP’, 86.
121 Ibid., 87.
122 It is hard to believe press reports about Lewis Davis’s behaviour when we remember David Young’s words about him in his biography. See D. Young, A Noble Life, 129: ‘Lewis Davis was a true patriot, a Welshman to the core; he knew and admired the language and was well acquainted with its literature, its theology and poetry, its music and preachers.’ 127 L. J. Williams, ‘The First Welsh “Labour” MP, 88.
Another constant criticism of Mabon was that he wrote for the Western Mail, the voice of the Tories in south Wales. Mabon explained that his contributions to that paper were reports and not political articles. He added that his own paper and the voice of Liberals in the south, the South Wales Daily News, had refused to publish anything about his campaign. In one meeting after another Mabon admitted that he had broken all links with the Western Mail since spring 1885 though he admitted that, on matters of economics and the coal trade, that paper was much fairer towards the workers than was the South Wales Daily News.123
Mabon embraced the chapels as much as he could and some of his political meetings were held in these buildings in order to save paying a great deal of money for the hire of halls. He was prepared to travel outside his constituency and did this in the midst of the battle, addressing a meeting in the Welsh Baptist Chapel in Mountain Ash. The chapel called Rhos was packed and he was at his best and a credit to the Liberals and to the Labour Party.
The reporter for Tarian y Gweithiwr who was present at the meeting said that a great number of those listening had said to him:
that Mabon was the best speaker they had ever heard and they were surprised that there was any hesitation in the thoughts of some of the Rhondda workers as to whether they should send him or a young, inexperienced man from the bosses’ class to represent them in Parliament. Without doubt, Mabon is the most gifted politician amongst the workers of Wales and England.124
But the greatest honour he had in his campaign for the Rhondda seat was an invitation to talk in his native village of Cwmafan in west Wales, as the residents still thought so highly of him.
Mabon spoke for an hour and a half in Welsh and English and, at the end, a number of Labour leaders expressed their total satisfaction with him. The whole purpose of the meeting was to raise Mabon’s spirits on his difficult journey to win the seat as an effective representative for Labour in Parliament. The most perceptive of Cwmafan’s labour personnel knew that Mabon had a number of people opposing him as a serious candidate.125 The reporter at the Cwmafan meeting was B. A. Griffiths and he answered the accusation that Mabon was a Tory because he sent reports to the Western Mail. B.A. Griffiths says:
Did the Revd. Cynddylan Jones of Cardiff not write for the same paper? Nobody would accuse Dr Cynddylan Jones of being a Tory. Why then accuse Mabon? The fact is that he (Mabon) is a radical to the core, worthy of Joseph Chamberlain, a man of the future.126
123 Ibid., 89.
124 Di-enw (Anonymous) ‘Mabon yn Aberpennar, Tarian y Gweithiwr, 5 November 1885, 3.
125 B. A. Griffiths, ‘Mabon yn Cwmafan (Mabon in Cwmafan)’ Tarian y Gweithiwr, 26 November 1885, 3.
126 Dr John Cynddylan Jones (1840-1930), yba.llgc.org.uk. There is a portrait of him in William
Mabon’s supporters were not very nice people in the campaign in summer and autumn 1885. From the outset, Fred Davis’s election meetings were, as the South Wales Daily News described them, full of fire and brimstone.127 The wellknown lay preacher condemned the vociferous noise and screeching of slogans that were heard and some of Mabon’s wisest supporters tried publicly to ask the trouble makers to be silent. They refused to listen. There was constant heckling in each of his meetings but, by November, all sorts of knickknacks and books were thrown on to the stage at Frederick L. Davis. Young lads were primarily responsible, the majority of them without a vote anyway. Fred L. Davis’s team often had to postpone a meeting because of the clamour and disorder in the halls where the public meetings were held.
At the beginning of December, slogans appeared in Tarian y Gweithiwr, praising Mabon and sent by an anonymous reader. Here is the first slogan:
If you would like to see the old Welsh proverb ‘Stronger is the country than the lord’ being implemented – Vote for Mabon.
If you want to show your disapproval of false deeds such as the Three Hundred election in Rhondda – Vote for Mabon.
The country expects us to return a truly Labour representative, then Vote for Mabon
Deceit breeds deceit and evil breeds evil, to avoid it vote for Mabon.128
At this time, the journalist Morien, who lived in Treforest, sent a declaration to the Rhondda and Glamorgan papers drawing the attention of the electors to the fact that there were unprincipled people amongst the Rhondda Three Hundred, besmirching Mabon. He claimed that Morien was a dedicated Tory but he had endless admiration for the miner’s Trade Union leader. According to these detractors, as Morien was a Tory, so too must Mabon his hero be. 129 The first voter to make use of ‘this laughable reasoning’ was Evan Davies of Primrose Hill, Heolfach, Rhondda. By his own admission, Davies was joking but Frederick L. Davis took advantage of it as if it were the truth. Morien believed that so many sincere Welsh people ‘longed to see Mabon in Parliament’. Morien says, ‘There is a seat for him, next to Messrs. Burt and Broadhurst.’ A man who called himself ‘Rhondda Fach’ put the choice like this:
Morris (ed.) Deg o Enwogion (Ten Famous Figures) (Caernarfon, 1959). He shocked his fellow Calvinistic Methodists in one of the denominational courts when, early in the twentieth century, he said that he, a keeper of the Calvinistic faith, had voted for the Labour Party!
127 The story in full can be found in the South Wales Daily News on 23, 24, 9, 24 and 29 and 6, 13, 19, October and 21, 27 November 1885.
128 Letters to the Editor, ‘Sloganau Mabon’ Tarian y Gweithiwr, 3 December 1885.
129 Owen Morgan (Morien, 1836-1921) in The New Companion to the Literature of Wales (editor Meic Stephens) (Cardiff, 1998) 508. He was the son of a Dinas, Rhondda Valley miner and was a journalist for the Western Mail from 1870 to 1899. He was influenced by Iolo Morganwg and Myfyr Morganwg and wrote an entertaining book, A History of Pontypridd and the Rhondda Valleys published in Pontypridd, 1903.
What will the Rhondda electors do in choosing their member – listen to sycophants and turncoats or to Vivian, Burt and Talbot.130
This was the choice. Choose a wealthy Liberal or a Liberal who also wanted to give priority to the Labour Movement which was striving for a more reasonable life in all the constituencies in Wales.
Mabon had won the support of only two Ministers of the Gospel whilst Fred L. Davis was backed by at least thirty of them. One of the ministers who was faithful to Mabon was the Revd. J. S. Edwards of Treorchy. He was publicly criticised by the Revd. John Evans, ‘Eglwysbach’ as he was called, one of the most gifted preachers of the Wesleyan Methodist Church.131 He made a special journey from his pastorate in London to the Rhondda Valley to pit his wits against Mabon.132 In his letter, J. S. Edwards said:
All that can be said about Mr. Evans is that he is acting “the little cat” i.e. opening his mouth before opening his eyes.133
Eight days before voting day Frederick L. Davis sent a circular to the electorate arguing that all the opposition he had had in the public meetings had deprived him of the best opportunity to present his case to them and so he was appealing to the voters for fair play when they cast their votes.134 He asked the electors and particularly supporters of the Liberal Party to vote for the official candidate rather than the unofficial candidate who had failed to gain the votes at the Selection conference.135
But, as it happened, Mabon was treated just as badly in F. L. Davis’s stronghold – Ferndale and Tylorstown in the Rhondda Fach – on Wednesday and Thusday evenings 11 and 12 November as the official Liberal candidate had been.136 In Ferndale he was asked stupid questions to create mayhem. Mabon’s son was hit in the teeth by a blunt instrument whilst a stone was thrown by an unruly attendant but fortunately missed his father.137 It failed to hit him but Mabon and his family were frightened. The following evening his meeting in Libanus Calvinistic Methodist Chapel in Tylorstown was postponed. This was the only meeting that was postponed and the fact that Frederick L. Davis’s supporters had dared to make trouble in a place of worship was a topic of conversation throughout the constituency. Receiving the circular was like water off a duck’s back to the electorate. It recalled the mindless trouble and the postponement of the meeting in Libanus Chapel. Good-living people were at last admiring the miner’s leader. Good
130 Morien’s statement, Western Mail, 3 December 1885, 4.
131 E. Tegla Davies, ‘John Evans (‘Eglwys Bach’, 1840-97)’, Bywgraffiadur Cymreig hyd 1940, 230. He was a minister with the Wesleyan Methodist Church in London in 1885. He came down to the Rhondda especially to campaign against Mabon. A biography of him was published in 1903 by Thomas Hughes and J. P. Roberts.
132 Dewi Williams ‘Mabon yn Ferndale’, Tarian y Gweithiwr, 19 November 1885, 4.
133 Ibid.
134 Frederick L. Davis’s circular letter, South Wales Daily News, 28 November 1885.
135 Ibid
136 Dewi Williams ‘Mabon yn Ferndale’, Tarian y Gweithiwr, 19 November 1885, 4.
137 Ibid
people from both camps were fearful of seeing further disruption on Wednesday 2 December, which had been stipulated as the election day.
Frederick L. Davis’s finery and wealth were to be seen on the streets of the Rhondda villages early that morning. The Liberal Party candidate and his sisters travelled in a horse-drawn carriage through Rhondda Fawr whilst thebrave Mabon, the miner, made his way on foot along the same road. Colonel Lindsay, the Chief Constable of Glamorgan, journeyed through both valleys on horseback and, during the day, had quite a lot of mud and gravel thrown at him by people from both camps. That was the fate of the Chief Justice Ignatius Williams when he appeared. Stones were thrown at him but there was no accident, and he immediately arranged that the taverns which were to be opened at eight o’clock in the evening should be closed for the whole night of election day. As it happened, both candidates were pleased with Ignatius Williams’ decision, as Mabon and Fred L. Davis were convinced abstainers.
The streets of the Rhondda Valleys were filled with restive and uneasy crowds. The coal pits were closed for the day. Conflict came in the end in Mabon’s home, Pentre, and for a good reason. The police arrested four miners who had shown some insolent behaviour after the final campaign meeting.143 There were also rumours that the box carrying the votes 138(which would be travelling on the train from Ferndale) was going to be destroyed. For some five hours, there was an ugly battle around the police station in Pentre. In the end, the police were victorious, especially when heavy rain fell, soaking the protestors. They were soon dispersed – many of them with high hopes of seeing tomorrow a new dawn in the political representation of the Rhondda.139
Mabon had the privilege of the company of two of Glamorgan’s interesting Nonconformists ministers. First of all, the Revd. Evan Jones (Gurnos), who had close links with the Rhondda Valley.140 He was ordained minister of a small Independent church in Treorchy in 1867 and also took charge of the Baptist Chapel in Llwynypia. He was minister of Betws church in Bridgend in 1885. The second minister has been named as the Revd. John Salisbury Edwards of Treorchy.
Mabon also had support from a number of staunch Liberals such as David Lawrence and Howell Ajax, and Thomas Davies, the owner of Windsor Castle Guesthouse in Ton Pentre. He was known in the locality as Thomas Davies ‘Windsor’. He married three times and was ultimately the father of fifteen children. Mabon was also supported by Walter H. Morgan from the law company of Morgan and Bruce. The baker T. Pascoe Jenkins, the grocer Aneirin Cule and the lawyer John Morgan were also enthusiastic in his support.141
138 L. J. Williams, ‘The First Welsh “Labour” MP, 90.
139 South Wales Daily News and Western Mail, 3 November 1885.
140 E. D. Jones, ‘Evan Jones (Gurnos, 1840-1903)’, Bywgraffiadur Cymreig hyd 1940 (Llundain, 1953), 435.
141 Chris Williams, Democratic Rhondda: Politics and Society, 1885-1951 (Cardiff, 1996), 36
Apart from his father and his family, Frederick L. Davis’s main supporters were the shoe merchant Richard Lewis, the builder David Williams and Tom John, the headteacher of the primary school. Three out of the thirty ministers who backed him were seen canvassing, namely Evan Richards, Morgan Charles Morris, two Welsh Independent leaders togehter with the Baptist minister, William Morris (Rhosynnog) from Noddfa Chapel,Treorchy.142
These supporters decided to visit every polling station from Ystrad to Tylorstown. When the results were issued, there was huge surprise. Mabon had won, though it was a different story in Ferndale. One leg puller sent a telegram to Ferndale from Pentre (where the votes were counted) to say that F. L. Davis had won. The joy was short-lived. F. L. Davis did not come to hear the verdict though he did not have far to go across Penrhys Mountain. This suggests that he was afraid that he was not going to be chosen to represent the two valleys at Westminster. When the verdict was announced William Abraham (Mabon) had won with a majority of 867 votes and there was an obvious enthusiastic reaction to the news in Pentre despite the heavy rain.143 There was no disturbance and, although the Chief Constable Lindsay had sent a hundred police to keep order, there was no need for them at all.
The following morning, the Cwmparc miners, three hundred of them, came with a big rope in their muscled hands to drag Mabon’s carriage through the upper part of the valley from Treorchy to Ton Pentre and down to the Tynewydd, home of William Morgan, the father of the lawyer W. H. Morgan. Mabon was able to acknowledge the good wishes of his supporters along the way, shouting Diolch yn fawr (thank you) to them. They returned later to Heolfach, soaked to the skin, as a heavy rainstorm fell on the crowds, Mabon’s supporters and Mabon himself were soon soaked. Lewys Afan, the Trade Union pioneer from the Port Talbot area and Morien the reporter had a chance to give an official thank you to the miners for their unfailing support to their leader.
Mabon had shown an unusual ability to cross the divide between the respectable religious Nonconformism and the harsh, rugged world of the miners. For a significant number of the miners, religion was the most important factor in their lives rather than painful conflict between the working class and the middle class. In 1885, Liberalism was more important as a philosophy to the Rhondda miners than being a Trade Unionists with Labour leanings. Yet they wanted to have an MP from their own industry and way of life to represent them at Westminster.
The battle had been a hard struggle, as both candidates were active and fervent Liberals. Politicians feared interfering in an election between two from the same party. Edward Davies worked on behalf of Frederick Davis and David Davies, MP for Cardigan, wrote a letter supporting him. Sir R. Edward Reed, Liberal MP for Cardiff and the well-known Henry Richard, MP for Merthyr, spoke on his behalf. Joseph Chamberlain and John Bright,
142 Ibid.
143 Ibid. At two o’clock on Thursday afternoon 3 December 1885, the result of the Rhondda parliamentary election was published with a turnout the previous day of 83%.
two of the shining stars of the Liberal Party, sent letters in favour of Frederick Davis, while Mabon had the patronage of Lord Aberdare and Sir Vivian Hussey MP. Mabon had help from his co-agent Isaac Evans, his friend William Lewis (Lewys Afan), from the Tin Workers Union and David Randell, a lawyer who, in 1888, became MP for the Gower constituency.144
Liberal officials in Rhondda were wise to welcome Mabon after his victory rather than to ignore him. The morning after the result, the South Wales Daily News stepped into the breach clearing the feelings of betrayal shown on both sides.145 After all, Mabon’s majority was sufficient to justify his being elected as MP. The South Wales Daily News had been apparently annoyed, as Mabon had been regularly writing for the Western Mail.
So the new member of parliament was invited to write a weekly column for the South Wales Daily News and it would also appear in another weekly owned by the same company, namely the Cardiff Times. The title of the column would be Workman’s Topics. 146 This contribution was a way forward for the Liberal Party in South Wales and a way to keep the miners’ and workers contented. After all, the 1885 election had shown that the Liberal Party needed to cherish a politician like Mabon who was a typical nonconformist with national aspirations. The Liberals managed to maintain a healthy relationship for the next twenty-five years. Their standard bearer succeeded in closing the divide amongst local Liberals with the result that no-one from the Liberal Party stood against him in future elections. In 1885, ten constituencies in Glamorgan were in the hands of the Liberals. There were two groups of MPs in that party. Central Glamorgan constituency which contained the Llyfni, Ogmore and Garw mining valleys was a miners’ seat as were Rhondda and its neighbour constituency of East Glamorgan, which was represented from 1885 until 1900 by Alfred Thomas, the Mayor of Cardiff and President of the Union of Welsh Baptists.147 Like Mabon, he based his politics on nonconformism. South Glamorgan, after all, was also a miners’ seat.
The second group of MPs were professional people such as S.T. Evans and Brynmor Jones and they depended less on the mining vote. But Mabon’s victory was particularly important, as he was the most important Lib-Lab of them all. A Labour and Liberal Society was created in Rhondda and subsequently in the East Glamorgan constituency. At the end of the year, Lewys Afan wrote an article weighing up Mabon as the new MP and saying to his electorate:
144 E. W. Evans, Mabon, 35.
145 L. J. Williams, ‘The First Welsh “Labour” MP,’ 92.
146 Ibid
147 Alfred Thomas was mourning the loss ofhis mother and made a significant contribution to the East Glamorgan Baptist Festival in Heol y Felin Chapel, Trecynon, Aberdare on 24 and January 1885. He gave the address in the Welsh language on ‘Required Qualifications for Candidates for the Ministry’. See ‘Cymanfa Bedyddwyr Dwyrain Morgannwg’, Tarian y Gweithiw , 2 July 1885.
Things are thriving in the valley since he came amongst you and the strikes which afflicted you in his time are few and exceptional, and each time he is willing to stand. 148
In the 1885 election, Mabon was a new name and a promising representative. As a Liberal said in the Weekly Mail, he was the only representative of the working class in the whole of Wales in the General Election. It was incredible that he had succeeded and managed without an Oxford University background to understand the difficult issues of the time in political terms. Here we see the surprise of a typical letter writer in discussing his determination to be a candidate and how he managed to gain a majority for his standpoint of a Lib-Lab representative:
They have brought out from their midst a self-made and self-improved man of singular ability and well suited for Parliament. Strange to say, he is the only Labour candidate in this great country, swarming with working anonymous letter writer had expressed it in a nutshell Mail, 28 November 1885
148 Lewis Afan was very conscious of Mabon’s lack of education. He went to a state school, not a public school like Frederick L. Davis. Mabon was born in a cottage in Copper Row on the banks of the River Afan and went to Penycae School. But Lewis Afan said, ‘But it was as good a school as seen in every other district.’ .
CHAPTER 5
UNDISPUTED POLITICAL AND TRADE UNION LEADER
By the end of 1885 Mabon had been crowned the political leader of the Rhondda Valleys and he proved to be an easygoing ideal Trade Union Leader among the miners of his new constituency. He was the local MP as well as being the miners’ agent; and he was also a useful leader in the life of the Calvinistic Methodist chapel in Pentre and heavily involved in the world of the Welsh eisteddfod. The coal industry employed the bulk of the male population and thus supported their families; but there was a great need for a leader capable of defending the miners’ benefits and campaigning for improving their circumstances and standard of living. Mabon’s main task was to represent Labour as well as Liberalism in the constituency. However, he was not going to deny his background and his belief in the fundamentals of Liberalism. He was not the only one in the coal industry throughout Britain who felt that way, especially those politicians who came from the same Nonconformist background as he did. He was serving two masters. Soon the Labour councillors and Labour politicians came to expect him and his fellow Lib-Lab members of parliament to toe the line and discard Liberalism.
Mabon was a perfect example of the emerging Lib Lab movement between 1880 and 1908. He was not the only one – the vast majority of the mining leaders were in the same boat. Mabon belonged to those who campaigned for better standards in the coalfield, pleading for better wages and fewer working hours. They were cultured and religious men of stature who understood and respected the institutions and movements of ordinary Welsh society. Mabon had worked miracles and got rid of obvious wrongs such as the truck system and the practice of employing children underground. The historian Peter Stead said of Mabon’s generation:
Their position was one which allowed them to fight, to strike and to confront the owners. This fact is often played down in surveys of the careers of these men, who, after all, created the modern machinery of trade unionism in South Wales.149,150
149 Peter Stead, Working-Class Leadership in South Wales, 1900-1920 (Swansea, 1973), 329-353, reprinted from Welsh History Review, vol. 6, no. 150 1973. The quotation is from p. 331.
There were huge expectations on seeing Mabon reaching Parliament on 25 January 1886 and he delivered his maiden speech in March on an issue very close to the hearts of the Liberals, namely the Disestablishment of the Church in Wales.151 He admired Gladstone as a leader enormously. After all, the leader gave Mabon the sum of £50 towards his election expenses. No other parliamentary candidate in Wales from 1885 except Mabon received an honorary payment from the leader of his party. It was also arranged to set up a Rhondda Liberal-Labour Association and to present an annual allowance of £160 per year to the new M.P. His maiden speech showed that he wanted to be heard by the other members of the House of Commons. He did not believe in speaking so that he could hear the sound of his own voice and, when another General Election came in July 1886 the Davis family of Ferndale did not seek to obstruct him. So he was elected unopposed.
This gave him an opportunity to travel around Wales supporting a number of candidates.158 He spoke on behalf of Sir Edward Reed in Cardiff, while he and his supporters took the opportunity of meeting him in Williamstown in his own constituency.152 Mabon supported Arthur Williams in a meeting at the village of Llanedi in the Carmarthenshire countryside and addressed a larger audience in Llanelli on behalf of the candidate Arthur Stepney.153 The great attraction of that meeting was that Joseph Chamberlain was on the same platform.154
He went from Llanelli to the ancient settlement of Cardigan where he spoke on behalf of the barrister who won, namely Bowen Rowlands.155 From Cardiganshire he travelled by the pleasant route to the town of Aberystwyth where again he spoke on behalf of Bowen Rowlands. From the town of the College by the Sea, he took the train to Montgomery to speak for Steward Randal156 and from there to Merionethshire to speak for T. E. Ellis one of the up-and-coming stars of the Liberal Party.157158
151 E. W. Evans, Mabon, 35.
152 Sir Edward James Reid (1830-1906), builder of iron ships, author, politician and Liberal MP for Pembroke, (1874-1880), then from 1880 until his death, MP for the city of Cardiff. Author of Shipbuilding in Iron and Steel (London, 1868) and Our Ironclad Ships: their Qualities Performance and Cost (London, 1869). See ‘Death of Sir Edward Reed’, The Times, 1 December 1906, 1.
153 Sir Emile Algernon Arthur Keppel Cowell–Stepney, Second Baron (1834-1909), landowner and Liberal MP for Carmarthen borough between 1876-1878 and 1886-1892. It could be said that his contribution during his two terms at Westminster was very disappointing. See T Jenkins, ‘Death of Sir Arthur Stepney’, The Cambrian, July 7, 1909, 4.
154 At this time Joseph Chamberlain faced considerable opposition from London Liberals and those from smaller towns such as Llanelli. See H. J. Hanham, Elections and Party Management: Politics in the time of Disraeli and Gladstone (Hassocks, Sussex and Hamden, Connecticut, 1978), 147.
155 William Bowen Rowlands (1836-1906), was a schoolteacher, cleric with the established church before converting to Catholicism and MP for Ceredigion from 1886 until 1895. He ousted David Davies of Llandinam, the owner of Ocean pits in the 1886 election by a hair’s breadth, just nine votes. See ‘Death of Judge Bowen Rowlands’, Pembrokeshire Herald and General Advertiser, 7 September 1906, 1.
156 Tarian y Gweithiwr , 15 July 1886, 1. Mabon admired the action of Henry Richard in putting the sum of two hundred pounds into the hands of one of his supporters, the well-known Independent Thomas Williams, so that it could be divided amongst the miners of Cyfarthfa colliery in his constituency.
157 T. I. Ellis, ‘Thomas Edward Ellis (1859-99)’, Bywgraffiadur Cymreig hyd
158 (London, 1953), 199-200. From being secretary to Sir John Tomlinson Brunner MP, he was chosen to fight Merionethshir for the Liberal Party and won it in 1886.
He received a warm welcome in Merionethshire in every village where he spoke. He began in Dolgellau, giving an address in the Public Room with a large audience loving every minute whilst the MP was speaking. The reporter for Y Dydd, the local weekly newspaper of Dolgellau, said:
His way of speaking is different from the usual. In his speeches, he asks those listening questions on practical subjects.
The address was backed by Randal, a Llanelli lawyer and the four of them (Ellis, Roberts, Randal and Mabon) travelled to Corris, centre of the quarrying industry in the south of Merionethshire. This was a well-attended meeting at 7 o’clock and everyone had his chance to speak, as they were expected to address a meeting at the slate quarrying village of Abergynolwyn at 10 o’clock. Mabon gave a powerful speech to the enthusiastic audience, virtually none of whom had heard him or seen him in the flesh. Ellis and Mabon reached Towyn by midnight with a crowd of around two thousand supporters gathered there patiently, so that they could hear Mabon in his Welsh lilting hwyl. 159 The following day, thousands of rural farmers and their families heard him again in the Welsh language as powerful as he had ever been, this time in the town of Bala.160
Obviously everyone in Mid Wales had to make a special effort to attend meetings where there was a chance to hear him spell out his radical programme. In August, the Liberal Party arranged a meeting in Porthcawl to congratulate him on being elected to Parliament unopposed in July 1886. The wish of the meeting was that he should continue to represent the Valley – valley narrower than a cockerel’s step. At this meeting it was proposed by the Revd. E. Evans of Newtown and seconded by the Rhondda grocer, Thomas Llywelyn of Pentre that, as the Liberal Party and as members of it, they had complete trust in him as the Welsh spokesman and in the leadership of W. E. Gladstone. Mabon was greeted wherever he appeared with shouts of approval.161
In his speech, Mabon referred to the need for Britain, in the interests of democracy, to abolish the House of Lords, to him a barren and defective institution. He expressed his desire, as an MP, to support W. E. Gladstone on the issue of self-government for Ireland. During his extensive address, he noted how the Nonconformists were still suffering as secondclass citizens and he wanted to right the injustice they had experienced for decades.162 Mabon received deafening applause for a learned speech in the best tradition of the Nonconformists. The meeting decided to ask the Welsh
Liberal MPs in the following months to invite the eloquent giant to their constituencies to present the radical speech they had heard that day in Porthcawl.163
159 In Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru (Welsh dictionary) hwyl is defined as ‘characteristic musical intonation or sing-song cadence formerly much in vogue in the perorations of the Welsh pulpit. See also ‘Mabon ym Meirion’ (Mabon in Meirion) , Tarian y Gweithiwr , July 22, 1886.
160 Ibid.
161 Tarian y Gweithiwr , 19 August 1886.
162 Ibid.
163 Ibid.
Mabon always cared about the needs of the miners and that is why the south Wales coalfield had an Indian Summer from 1875 until 1893 – eighteen peaceful years in those valleys largely due to the wisdom of their leader. In addressing the miners, Mabon’s favourite sentence was always, ‘Half a loaf is better than no bread at all’. That was his abiding desire. When a dispute arose in one of the Rhondda collieries, Mabon would travel there immediately so as to discuss everything thoroughly before calling for strike action. At the beginning of October 1886, he travelled to the town of Rhymni to settle a dispute in the local pit. Before leaving that day, he made sure that a meeting would be held for him before returning on self government for Wales. He was introduced by T.N. Evans as an MP ‘who was making a name for himself on the Westminster stage amongst the finest orators in the world.’164 It pleased him enormously.
The meeting was held in the Tabernacle Welsh Chapel and the building was full to listen to Mabon on his favourite topic, self-government for Wales. He showed the benefit of selfgovernment so that the Welsh nation would have the right to ‘legislate for ourselves’. He spoke eloquently to his Rhymny valley miners and families, awakening their emotions. Soon the large audience ‘lost themselves in applause’.165
T. Twynog Jeffreys, a Welshman who could write poetry, proposed the following resolution and John Jones seconded it:
That the feeling of this meeting is warmly in favour of self governmente for Wales; and that we rejoice greatly in seeing the movement under way to form a Welsh National League with the aim of bringing this about. 166
Mabon was thanked profusely by the Revd. G. Griffiths, minister of Penuel Chapel, Rhymni and by another fervent Nonconformist, Robert Thomas. The meeting also stated that they were, as miners, ready to contribute towards Mabon’s expenses in Parliament, as the Labour representative of miners of south Wales and Monmouthshire. Those Welsh tradespeople who were present felt the same way as the miners; they stressed the need for more parliamentary representatives in the style of Mabon.167
Gladstone offered the new MP the post of Deputy Secretary in the Home Office. But, after long consideration, he refused, as he saw that he had enough to do as a mining agent and an MP. He promised that he would never miss the opportunity to express his concern for self-government, on the economic and social needs of Wales, on the Welsh language as well as the material and cultural needs of the working class. But his speciality was the coal industry and he never missed an opportunity to take part in the debate on that matter to the House of Commons.168
164 ‘Mabon yn Rhymni’, Tarian y Gweithiwr, 7 October 1886, 4.
165 Ibid.
166 R. T. Jenkins, ‘Thomas Twynog Jeffreys (1884-1911)’, Bywgraffiadur Cymreig hyd 1940 , 405. He kept a shoe shop in Rhymni and inspired the Rhymni literary circle. He suffered for years from rheumatism.
167 Tarian y Gweithiwr, 7 Oct. 1886, 4.
168 His speech on the 1887 Coal Mines Bill of 1887 was received extremely well and the South
He was active on the House of Commons Select Committees on employment and on the needs of the Devon and Cornwall coalfields. Hefacilitated the Stannaries Act in 1887. Mabon travelled to Manchester to the Miners’
Conference for six days in November 1886 and he and Dai o’r Nant travelled a second time to another Miners’ Conference in Manchester on 20 April 1887.169 After all, Mabon had collaborated with so many people a great deal on his Sliding Scale.170 The main topic of the Conference was the Mines Regulation Bill and Dai o’r Nant proposed the amendment to the resolution namely involvement in the scope of the terms of service of the safety supervisor of the mines. Later in the year, from 11-14 October 1887, at a conference of miners from Wales, held in Edinburgh Scotland and England Mabon and Dai o’r Nant travelled together. Between them they represented sixty thousand miners from the communities of Merthyr, Aberdare and Rhondda.
Mabon171 was a very prominent member of the Royal Commission on Mining Royalties appointed in 1889, and of the Royal Commission on Labour in 1891 as well as the Royal Commission on Mines in 1906. No-one other than Mabon was appointed to three Royal Commissions. Everyone agreed that he was considered an expert on the situation in the coalfields and the culmination of his dedicated success took place with the passing of the Mines Regulation Act in 1911. On that occasion an important minority report was prepared by Mabon, Enoch Edwards and Robert Smillie, the leader of Scottish miners. The minority report received a surprising amount of attention in the mass media.172 It was not the first time he had been involved in a minority report; for he was responsible for a minority report on the Royal Commission on Labour in 1891 which was prepared mainly by him and Tom Mann. It was published in a booklet which was highly praised by Sidney Webb, one of the main intellectuals in the Labour movement. Mabon believed passionately in
Wales Daily News report for 23 June 1887 conveys his mastery of the subject and his ability to express himself in Parliament:‘His figures and quotations from the Report of the Royal Commission were effectively marshalled; the delivery was deliberate and emphatic, and the speech was listened to with marked attention by the Home Secretary, who took ample notes of it, and with admiration and approval by the Liberals and many of the Conservatives. Young Tories were touched by his pathetic but manly appeals for the coalminer in his perilous work.’ We know that each one of these acts, namely The Workmen’s Compensation Act, The Employers’ Liability Act and especially The Eight Hours Act owed a huge amount to Mabon’s influence and his parliamentary speeches.
169 There is an excellent biography of Dai o’r Nant by John Saville of Hull University. See ‘John Saville, David Morgan (Dai o’r Nant, 1840-1900)’, Dictionary of Labour Biography, vol. 1 (London and Basingstoke, 1972), 244-46.
170 Dai o’r Nant supported Mabon on the issue of the Sliding Scale. He was one of five people who supported the Sliding Scale on 12 July 1876. The others were Mabon, John Prosser, Henry Motchard and Thomas Halliday. The second proposal on 17 January 1880 was one of eight with Mabon again been one of the signatures. Then on 6 June 1882 he and Mabon and five others again supported the Sliding Scale as well as on 15 January 1890 when David Morgan and Mabon and eight leaders were in support. On 1 January 1892 Dai o’r Nant and Mabon were amongst the eleven who supported it. Dai o’r Nant and Mabon were amongst seven others who signed on 17 February 1893. He did not sign the agreement on the Sliding Scale on 7 November 1887 as it was somewhat different from that agreed in 1882. He and Isaac Evans refused to recommend keeping on with the Sliding Scale on 25 March 1895. Mabon with his friends David Morgan (Dai o’r Nant) and Isaac Evans continued to disagree after years of being united. On the issue of the Sliding Scale. Ibid, 245.
171 Ibid
172 E. W. Evans, Mabon, 37
parliamentary legislation and welcomed the bills behind the 1888 Intermediate Education Bill and later the 1894 Eight Hours Bill.173
Mabon was considered one of the chief representatives of all the miners in Britain. He would always be chosen as a member of delegations such as the one to discuss mining legislation in 1887 when he was literally wearing two hats – one for the miners and the other for the employers. He was allowed to use his persuasion, if not propaganda, on the importance of having an eight-hour working day for the miners. Gladstone welcomed him as well as the Home Secretary very warmly in 1893 and also in 1896.
He was a proud and steadfast Liberal from his early days of poverty which he experienced in Copper Row, Cwmafan and the succour he received in Tabernacle Calvinistic Methodist Chapel. By the Lib-Lab days, he gratefully accepted the discipline of the Liberal Party and worked energetically for them in Wales. In 1888 he was appointed member of the delegation from south Wales that was sent to Ireland. Through the Liberal Party, he was on good terms with the foremost Liberal politician of the Victorian era W. E. Gladstone, a great hero of the Welsh people. They would dine together every three months to discuss Wales and its people. Both politicians had an abiding love of music. Mrs. Catherine Gladstone, a native of Hawarden, gave Mabon, soon after he became an MP, a silver leek to wear on St. David’s Day in the House of Commons. Before the arrival of Lloyd George in Parliament, Mabon was without doubt Mr. Wales. Another great friend of his was Thomas Edward Ellis and Mabon did not forget speaking on his behalf in 1886 on the large waste ground in Bala for a whole hour without using one word of English ‘and although it was getting late, Mabon had to sing the National Anthem Hen Wlad fy Nhadau before they adjourned for their homes.174
Thomas Edward Ellis and he were naturally on the same wavelength. T. E. Ellis’s words to the voters of Merioneth after he won in 1886 were these:
Wales, like Ireland, has many enemies in the new Parliament but, if the representatives of Wales have as much sense as their electorate, this Parliament will not go past without the rights of Wales getting the attention they deserve.175
T. E. Ellis repaid Mabon, addressing a meeting and sharing a stage with his warm-hearted friend in his constituency in the Rhondda. From 1890 onwards, Mabon gave a great deal of help to the young solicitor David Lloyd George after he won the seat of Arfon borough in a by-election. From then until the end of Mabon’s career, they were on friendly terms. Lloyd George even managed to persuade him at the beginning of the First World War that the muscular young miners of the Rhondda were needed on the battlefield of Europe.
173 Ibid.
174 Ibid., 35
175 T. I. Ellis, Thomas Edward Ellis: Cofiant (Aberystwyth, 1948), cyfrol 2, 212, ‘Thomas Edward Ellis, gwleidydd’, T. I. Ellis, Thomas Edward Ellis: Cofiant (Aberystwyth, 1948), cyfrol 2, 212, ‘Thomas Edward Ellis, gwleidydd’ (Thomas Edward Ellis, politician), Gwyddoniadur Cymru yr Academi Gymreig.
He was the Welshman of his day: he had the energy and desires of a working- class leader. It was he who seconded the proposal at a meeting held by the Cymmrodorion at the National Eisteddfod in Aberdare in 1885 to form a Welsh Language Society.176 Ironically, this meeting was all in English – even Mabon’s short speech. The main impetus for the movement came from Dan Isaac Davies (1839-87) who, in 1885, published a book called 1785-18851985 Neu, Tair Miliwn o Gymry Dwy-Ieithawg mewn Can Mlynedd (1785-1885-1985 Or Three Million bilingual Welsh People in Two hundred Years) – a real pipe dream.177 Two others who were willing to take on the responsibility for the new society were Isambard Owen, the first chairman178 and Beriah Gwynfe Evans who agreed to be secretary.179 The sudden death of the founder in 1887 was a lethal blow to the Society but Mabon ensured that the aim of the Society to make Welsh an important subject in the schools of Wales would come to the attention of the commission that prepared the Elementary Education Acts of 1888. Unfortunately, the schools of Wales were not prepared to take advantage of the rights they were given. That was not Mabon’s fault, but he was highly disappointed with the response.
As we have seen, Mabon held worthy views on the needs of Wales as a nation. We heard him in Rhymni in 1887 and he visited other urban centres, pleading the case for selfgovernment for Scotland and Wales. In discussing Wales, he dearly hoped to see the formation of a Welsh National Executive, a body with the capability of treating Welsh issues thoroughly. So, do not come to the conclusion that he wanted independence for Wales. What he believed was that the Welsh members in the House of Commons should form a group to discuss and express an opinion on the prosperity of the Welsh nation, but this did not come about as it would have been a step towards creating a party within a party. The leadership of the Liberal Party could not agree with such a proposal, So it did not happen.
Mabon was aware that he had achieved his ambition of being a miners’ agent and also an MP for the area where his faithful supporters, the miners, lived. But he knew that both within and outside the Labour movement, there was a constant call for trade union leaders to propagate Socialism. In September 1872 Y Faner said that Socialism was often called Communism, as the Labour leaders in Germany feared to use the word Socialism.180
176 R. T. Jenkins and H. M. Ramage, The History of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion (London, 1951), 213.
177 For Dan Isaac Davies (1839-87) see ‘Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg’ (The Society for the Utilisation of the Welsh Language (1885) (in) Gwyddoniadur Cymraeg yr Academi Gymreig (The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales) (Cardiff, 2008), 224.
178 (Herbert) Isambard Owen (1850-1927), medical doctor and patron of Welsh Universities, Armstrong College Newcastle upon Tyne and who served as Vice Chancellor of Bristol University from 1909 until 1921. One of the most prominent Welsh exiles of his time. See Gwyddoniadur Cymru yr Academi Gymreig, 676.
179 Beriah Gwynfe Evans (1848-1927), journalist and playwright, born in Nant-y-Glo, though his father Evan Evans was from Llanddewibrefi till he emigrated to the USA. B. G. Evans was very influential in promoting the career of David Lloyd George and created alarm in the religious camp with his baseless observations on the eighteenth century Methodist Religious Revival. He was secretary of the Cymru Fydd movement and his political novel, Dafydd Dafis (Caernarfon, 1848) is worth reading today. See Gwyddoniadur Cymru yr Academi Gymreig, 336.
180 Baner ac Amserau Cymru, 7 September 1872,1
But by 1888 the word and the philosophy behind Communism was spreading widely and quickly in Wales. Landowners were feeling very fearful and were careful in choosing tenants for their cottages. The landowners did not want to choose people who would support the Radicalism of men such as Mabon and the Welsh Independent minister Dr Pan Jones, Mostyn on the issue of land nationalisation. The nationalisation of land appealed to the young politician Lloyd George. 181 .
A good example of a tenant farmer being undermined for his belief in Socialism is to be seen when Jenkin Williams who worked for Lewis James of Bryn-yr-Ychain, Llanfarian, received a generous gift for his diligence on the farm. Lewis James presented him with an overcoat and waistcoat worth 25 shillings. In the view of the Welsh language correspondent for Y Faner from Llanfarian village near Aberystwth:
This is the most effective way of opposing coownership (Socialism) and preserving the independence of the worker.182
There were frequent blows delivered against Liberalism. Official Liberalism horrified many an anonymous correspondent to Tarian y Gweithiwr. In 1887, Casawr Gormes (Opponent of Injustice) wrote a long letter on the situation of the miners in South Wales. As far as he was concerned, the Liberal Party was as bad as the Tories in its attitude to the miners:
Where would there be more religious Toryism than amongst the pastors of the Calvinistic Methodists, the ministers of the Welsh Independents and who proclaims and speaks more strongly on the philosophy of Liberalism than they do? The same can be said of the owners and overseers of the mines. They profess to be Radicals but in deeds and action they are the most extreme Tories.183
Mabon depended on the Welsh papers for his support. He was grateful for the publication called Amddiffynnydd (The Defender) and for Tarian Y Gweithiwr, which included a great deal of propaganda during the 1875 strike, and how they managed to attack the fakeLiberalism of the South Wales Daily News effectively. Y Tyst (The Witness, official weekly of the Welsh Independents) and Y Dydd (The Day) based in Dolgellau usually failed to support the miners. This changed four years later when a weekly called Y Gweithiwr Cymreig (The Welsh Worker) was published.184 It made a fatal mistake in fiercely opposing
181 89.8% of the land in Wales was at this time farmed by tenant farmers and only 10.2% by freeholders. Radicals like Samuel Roberts and his biographer Dr. Pan Jones and the young David Lloyd George began a campaign in favour of the nationalisation of the land . They often discussed in the Welsh press what came to be called Pwnc y Tir ( The Issue of the Land ) T. E. Ellis was the most prominent politician and advocate for the tenants who were under the thumb of the landlords and Mabon supported these two able politicians, T. E. Ellis and David Lloyd George. For Bwnc y Tir see , Gwyddoniadur Cymru yr Academi Gymreig 762. For Dr Pan Jones, see D Ben Rees. Inheritance, Volume 2023, 7
182 Llanfarian, Baner ac Amserau Cymru , 10 August 1889, 5.
183 Hywel Teifi Edwards, Arwr Glew Erwau’r Glo: Delwedd y Glöwr yn Llenyddiaeth y Gymraeg, 18501950), xxvi.
184 Here are the years of these papers: Y Gweithiwr (The Worker, 1858-60); Amddiffynydd y
Mabon’s candidature for the Rhondda parliamentary seat, maintaining that he was too much of a friend of the Western Mail. 185 It meant that it had very little hope of survival. As Hywel Teifi Edwards said:
However, through opposing Mabon, it stopped being a dependable mouthpiece for the Liberal values which promised so much for Wales in the seventies, eighties and nineties of the last century.192
Mabon was a kind-hearted politician, always full of pity. That is why he represented the miners killed in the colliery explosions to the delight of the grieving families or at the inquest following a fatal accident. He would represent in court the miners who had lost their health through inhaling the dust of the collieries. The neglect of safety rules by the authorities was always discussed by him which he did very effectively.
He delighted in lifelong education for Welsh boys and girls, from primary schools to secondary schools and on to university. He was asked to open new schools, to present prizes to students who had done well in the industrial class and he would be more than ready to address chapel societies on his experiences as an MP. But he gave much of his time to the world of the Eisteddfod. There would be an eisteddfod on the calendar of every community and Mabon was asked to act as master of ceremonies or to judge the recitation competitions. He secured a place in the Gorsedd of Bards at the National Eisteddfod of Wales. In 1887 Mabon was invited to be a master of ceremonies in the Welsh National Eisteddfod when it was held in London. He showed his ability as a compère by his managing of a rowdy eisteddfod audience where thousands of people had gathered together. There was no microphone at his disposal but he had a voice which was authoritative and carried clearly. He became good friends of prominent eisteddfod poets and adjudicators such as Dyfed (Reverend Evan Rees) who began as a miner in Aberdare and became a Calvinistic Methodist Minister.186 It was Dyfed who prepared Mabon’s epitaph. However, the female artist and eisteddfod-goer whom Mabon loved was the Italian operatic singer who came to live in the upper reaches of the Swansea Valley. She was Adelina Patti of Craig-y-Nos.187
Gweithiwr (The Worker’s Defender, 1874-6) and Y Gweithiwr Cymreig (The Welsh Worker, 1885-9). See also Aled Jones, Press, Politics and Society: A History of Journalism in Wales (Cardiff, 1993), 39, 284.
185 The life of the journal Y Gweithiwr Cymreig survived for four years Its failure to survive for a longer period was ascribed to unremitting attack from denominational papers and the failings of distributors, It is certain that its fierce opposition to Mabon’s candidature for the Rhondda parliamentary seat in 1885 on the basis that he was too much of a friend to the Western Mail, did it no good at all in the Rhondda.
186 Beti Rhys, Dyfed: Bywyd a Gwaith Evan Rees, 1850-1923 (Denbigh), 116 pp. A review by Gwyneth Morgan, Taliesin, 50 (1984), 82-5; W. Rhys Nicholas, ‘Tri Archdderwydd y Fro : 1. Dyfed (Evan Rees, 18501923); 2. Edgar Phillips, 1889-1962); 3. Jâms Niclas (James Nicholas, 1928-2012), in Abergwaun a’r Fro (ed. Eirwyn George) (Llanydybïe, 1986), 24-41.
187 ‘Adelina Patti (1843-1919) in Cydymaith Cerddorion Cymru (eds. Pwyll ap Sion and Wyn Thomas) (Talybont, 2018, 340-341). Adelina Patti was an opera singer who died at her Welsh home Craig-y-Nos in the Upper Towy Valley. She had a remarkable career and, at one point, was the highest earning entertainer in the world. She had a great admiration for Mabon and his styleof singing. For Patti see Gwyddoniadur Cymru yr Academi Gymrei , 689.
In his active life, he motivated the Miners’ Eisteddfod and was part of the South Wales Miners’ Union for decades. At the outset, it was decided to hold the Miners’ Eisteddfod on Mabon’s Day. As Mabon said to two MPs who had accompanied him to the Ynyshir Eisteddfod in his constituency:
Here are my people; the marks of their labours are on their hands but if their hands are hard, the have tender hearts.188
He was very loyal to Nazareth Calvinistic Methodist Chapel, Pentre where he became a very influential officer as an elder and precentor; he also took charge of the children in the Band of Hope and showed generosity towards chapel funds. He organised the Chapel Choir as he had done in Cwmafan and nurtured his talent as a commendable lay preacher.189
The world of the collieries in Rhondda was so different in the eighties, nineties and first decade of the twentieth century because of him, as no important meeting was allowed to be held without him opening it without prayer.190 He took for granted that this should happen in the majority of collieries. He expected the miners to hold a Prayer Meeting at the beginning of a shift. The atmosphere was like a meeting of Calvinistic Methodists at Nazareth, Pentre. In his addresses, he emphasised the duties of the miners as well as their rights. He pressed them to be sober, hard-working people, supportive towards each other, ready to reconcile and be peace-loving. He appealed to the miner to be a moderate person and not inflammatory. It should be remembered that the Miners’ Agent enjoyed a significant amount of authority. In his classic book, The British Coal Trade, H. S. Jevons says that the success of trade unionism depended so much on the miners’ agent:
If he is a good organiser, energetic and firm in negotiations, he secures good terms for his men in all disputes, and keeps them loyal to the Trade Union, whilst strikes are rare and never unofficial, because he has the men well in hand. 191
Jevons could have been writing about Mabon in his book. Jevons argued that a miners’ agent who was weak and a poor organiser and who argued without having prepared his brief on behalf of the miners soon lost the trust of the men he was representing. That was how industrial conflict which was bad for everyone arose. Unofficial strikes happen constantly and that is how the Trade Union loses members. That is why it is important, said Jevons, to choose an agent who is not only a good communicator but also has business skills.
188 David Davies, ‘Bywyd a gwasanaeth y ddiweddar William Abraham (‘Mabon’) (The Life and Service of the late William Abraham). Essay in the National Library of Wales Archive of the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists.
189 Ibid.
190 E. W. Evans, Mabon, A Study in Trade Union Leadership, 43.
191 H. S. Jevons, The British Coal Trade (London, 1915), 131
Mabon fitted the expectations of a good miners’ agent, a hero to most of his members, a clever negotiator, who was always ready to compromise. Every time he acted in a dispute he would be extremely careful. As he himself said:
Whatever happens, I am determined to keep my head. When a man loses control of himself, he loses everything.192
He would keep quiet for a long time and refuse to let others incite him. Mabon had many virtues as a negotiator He understood human nature and the miner he represented. He thought the world of every one of them. In a dispute, he would say exactly the right word or use a relevant illustration or render a popular well known hymn or a sentimental lyric by the popular Welsh poet Ceiriog.
At an important meeting in Bristol, Mabon arrived to an empty hall. He knew very well that there were hundreds of miners outside, smoking and laughing and chatting. Instead of shouting for them to come into the hall, he went straight to the piano and began to play some very well-known tunes that would be familiar to working class Englishmen, people of the tavern and concert halls. He saw about a dozen miners coming slowly into the hall to listen and, at that moment, Mabon began to sing in his tuneful, tenor voice which had even pleased the best operatic singer in the world. Within minutes, the hall had filled up with every one of the miners sitting happily. There was no need to rebuke them or call for order or to raise his voice. This was Mabon’s technique at its best – such was the style of the master psychologist.193 He would silence the miners of south Wales and the Eisteddfod audiences in the same way through singing familiar hymns and, within no time, the miners themselves would be joining him in the familiar song. There was always a large choir in front of him and he delighted in leading them. Then, the song which had united them allowed him to raise his topic and theme. He would start quietly, in a friendly fashion, conversationally, letting the miners ask questions, but then, having been fair to everyone, he would raise his voice and, under the spell of his eloquence, even his most extreme critics would wither away in silence.
Mabon’s genuine nature was to be seen wherever he was, in a private conversation, in his own home and in the political, religious, literary or trade union meetings held for him. When he was criticised publicly, he would not frown or leave the podium. He would stay with his fellow-miners. When the miners wanted to act contrary to his advice, he would be sure to tell them that they were following the wrong course, recognising that the employers in this particular case under issue deserved the support of the miners.
It could be said that the hauliers’ strike in 1893 had been an eye-opener for the seasoned campaigner. He recognised an element that he had not witnessed for a very long time. In one of these meetings the unruly behaviour of some of the delegates disappeared
192 David Davies, ‘Bywyd a gwasanaeth y ddiweddar William Abraham (‘Mabon’.), a typescript that was submitted for the National Eisteddfod of Wales Treorchy in 1928 193 E. W. Evans, Mabon, 44.
miraculously. David Hughes, a fine Rhondda boxer, rose to his feet and walked to the stage to challenge in a contest any of the hauliers who dare to belittle Mabon, his hero. The violent group quietened down. Nobody had the confidence to accept the challenge of David Hughes.194
In his heart, he was peace-loving and for him, reconciliation was the only path. He could always see both sides of an argument though naturally, his main sympathy was with the miners. But he genuinely believed that the two sides should consider compromising with each other for the sake of the industry, the community, the pit, the miners and their families and the employers. It is hard to conceive how the miners’ attitude changed in the twentieth century. Think of Mabon going to discuss problems which arose in a colliery. He would meet with the night-watchman, the officers of the lodge who were the union officials from the mine together with the owner and the chief overseers. Having greeted them all sincerely, then he would lead them a short way along and then they would go their own ways without any further discussion. This was always, at this time a sufficient method to settle local disputes. Another time, Mabon would turn to the employer saying that he knew his father well, then expressing the hope that they would be able to keep in that mind so that they could be best friends. He left the colliery office to address the miners and let them know that the problem that upset them had been settled between him and the employer.195
All this shows that a very particular unique trade union leadership was necessary in the world of the coal industry in south Wales. But he could not achieve it without the complete trust of the miners and also, on the other hand, the collaboration of the employers. Although he had many critics, they could not succeed to overcome his charisma, wisdom, his way of speaking especially through the medium of Welsh and his authority as a leader. Dr E.W. Evans said:
At the turn of the twentieth century he was the most prominent figure in the mining world of South Wales, and the extent of his popularity may be gauged by the fact that his name printed on a packet of tobacco or on a bottle of sauce was sufficient to ensure the success of the product.196
He made a fortune from the advertising business.
In January 1888 there came into being a federation which was clumsily entitled the South Wales and Monmouthshire Workmen’s Federation. This association was placed in the hands of a committee which was elected annually to safeguard the interests of the members of the local unions. The miners who belonged were expected to pay a farthing a month to meet the administrative costs.197 Though it was a step forward, the fact is that the new Union was no stronger than the District Unions. Mabon was elected President
194 Ibid., 45
195 Ibid., 46.
196 Ibid.
197 Ibid., 48
of the new Union and believed it could be an effective tool in the coal industry. The first important issue to arise was the miner’s working hours. Should they continue to work a ten-hour day or decrease the shift to eight hours for the sake of the miner’s health? At an international conference in Edinburgh in October 1887, Mabon made a name for himself for a proposal of the greatest importance. He argued that ‘eight hours was sufficient for a day’s work for miners underground.’ It was further suggested by the Executive Committee (of which Mabon was a member) that the pit should be out of production for a day a week. The argument in favour of this was to save the coal that was available in the hope of seeing wages rise by ten per cent.205 Sadly, Mabon could not support this as the wages paid to south Wales miners were linked to the Sliding Scale. At a subsequent conference the response on behalf of the south Wales miners was that they were battling only for the eight-hour day. Due to Mabon’s perseverance the campaign was successful.198
At the Miners’ Union Conference in June 1888, victory was proclaimed. Every Monday was set aside as Mabon’s Day and this would give the miners a chance to follow their interests such as gardening, practising singing in the Male Voice choirs and holding meetings of worship. This was a civilised move which pleased the communities where the miners lived with their wives and children. The arrangement caused great pleasure in the winter months, when it was getting dark before four o’clock in the afternoon. This move of getting a day to relax ís one of the giant Mabon’s greatest achievements. Unfortunately, it only lasted a decade.
The wages that were paid in south Wales distressed him as a trade unionist, as he knew that the Midlands coalfield in England offered excellent wages – an increase of ten per cent. This was discussed in south Wales in the November 1888 conference and there was a long discussion on the issue. The employers agreed a rise of five per cent and said that they would consider the rest. But the colliery owners wanted to see the end of Mabon’s Day. This day meant that the Powell Duffryn combine lost the huge sum of twenty thousand pounds per annum.
The bulk of the miners were angry about these discussions and, at a Miners Conference in February 1889, the owners’ request was refused. Mabon argued that they should offer a 12.5 per cent wage rise and the agreement would then be accepted.199 He knew that there was no hope at all of achieving this, so he pursued his own system of working, namely compromise. From this compromise, there came a ten per cent wage rise.
An important event in the history of Trade Unionism was the Newport Conference in 1889 to establish the Miners’ Federation of Great Britain. Mabon was there on behalf of the south Wales miners but left early, together with the representatives of the Durham coalfield, when the motion was passed condemning the Sliding Scale.200 The Conference was in favour of setting up Conciliation Boards, as well as supporting the call for the existing
198 South Wales Daily News, 14 and 15 October 1887
199 Tarian y Gweithiwr, 13 June 1889 207 E. W. Evans, Mabon, 50.
200 Ness Edwards, History of the South Wales Miners’ Federation (London, 1938), 5.
Trade Union leaders to be more aggressive towards the coal miners. The Conference laid down one condition which made it impossible for Mabon to continue working with them, namely that no-one who supported the Sliding Scale would be able to join the Miners’ Federation of Great Britain. The miners of the Monmouthshire District Union were keen to join the Miners Federation but, at another conference, there was astonishment that the south Wales miners did not want to join the miners from the rest of Britain in their campaign for an increase in wages. This volte face occurred because of Mabon. As Dr E. W. Evans insisted:
This new moderate attitude, however, was very largely due to Mabon’s influence, which was exerted to the full at this critical juncture.201
Mabon thought privately to himself that the miners tended to be much too greedy. He argued as strongly as he could for the value of the Sliding Scale and of collaborating and compromising on its success for years. He felt that the miners were unreasonable in their stance and Mabon was under a cloud for being so honest with them and for being so stubborn himself in ignoring what is called in the history books the New Unionism. This was a phenomenon which became prominent at the time of the Dockers’ Strike in London in 1889 and there was an obvious growth in Trade Unionism in Britain from 1889 to 1891. So many people came to discuss Trade Unionism especially in cities such as Swansea and Cardiff and large towns like Newport and Merthyr Tydfil. The Rhondda miners under Mabon’s leadership were quite different in their attitude and outlook. They did not discuss Trade Unionism but rather as staunch Nonconformists they were more involved with the Liberal Party agenda – particularly Disestablishment of the Church and selfgovernment for Wales. This pleased their MP enormously. A Welsh language poet of this period who called himself by the bardic name of Ednant of Llandderfel (he hailed from Llandderfel near Bala) wrote a verse in one of the traditional strict metres called an englyn in praise of Mabon. Ednant felt that he was a faithful, steadfast philanthropist in Wales and ‘an adornment as a parliamentarian’ – the image of a perfect radical.202 As Ednant indicated, Mabon deserved praise, as he was a character who greatly appealed to both country and town people, to those living like Ednant in the countryside of Edeyrnion as well as those who voted for him in the mining villages of Penygraig and Treherbert. In the Rhondda Mabon had all the skills necessary to convince employers to agree with him and his understanding and eloquence secured the miners’ support. In 1890 he came to an understanding with the employers of the coalfield. Then for the next eight years the Sliding Scale sealed the agreement between the two sides, the miners and the coalowners. The Miners’ Federation of Great Britain had no patience with the south Wales miners as they realised they could do nothing without Mabon’s consent and backing. Only twentyeight thousand south Wales miners joined the British Miners’ Federation with the result that there was only £153 in the coffers for that year. It was a weak trade union in the South Wales Coalfield and the employers realised this fact. The employers saw no point
201 E. W. Evans, Mabon, 51 202 Ednant (Llandderfel) ‘Mabon AS – Hwn sy’n addurn fel seneddwr’, Baner ac Amserau Cymru, 17 June 1887, 6.
in maintaining an agreement with them and so the relationship was ended. They reverted to negotiate with the King of the Rhondda, the one and only Mabon.
In 1893 in Ogmore Vale, a strike began and within a week it spread to a host of pits in Rhondda so that almost twenty thousand miners were on strike by then.203 They were seeking a wage rise which would be sufficient for them to live on. The strike developed into a painful conflict. Mabon and his deputy trade unionist official T. Daronwy Isaac arranged meetings to persuade the hauliers to settle the dispute. Both addressed anthracite miners on the banks of the Rivers Twrch and Llynfell in East Carmarthenshire in August 1893.204 Twrchfab (Son of Twrch) reported in Welsh on this meeting, which is translated:
Oh, alas that our areas and our reasonable men are being trampled underfoot like the mountain turf or useless chaff under the feet of strangers and wild and inexperienced half baked youngsters. Oh, dear Wales, open your eyes.205
Twrchfab calls William Abraham and Daronwy Isaac ‘two martyrs of the demands of capitalism and labour.’214
The hauliers’ strike was a hard and bitter battle. After all, the hauliers worked under very hard conditions. Indeed the Welsh language short story writer, D. J. Williams, who in his early days had worked as a miner in the colliery of Ferndale, said that the hauliers’ task was the ‘most onerous task any souls could ever undertake’.206 He continues in his memorable style though it has been translated:
By the devil boys, leave it there until daylight says the haulier the previous night after he and his horse had left or three others were straining themselves until they saw sense in trying to get a full tram back on the rails and failed. By the way, I never heard of a haulier finishing his underground shift without swearing, and yes, swearing in his heart and with all his muscular strength at times too; you surely deserve the triple crown of glory.207
We know of the schism that there was between the miners’ leaders on the issue of the strike. There were two groups within the leadership. On one side there stood William Brace, Ben Davies and others arguing that it was the British Federation that should bring the revolt in the hauliers’ story to an end. On the other side stood Mabon, Daronwy Isaac and David Morgan (Dai o’r Nant) who were the most important members of the Sliding Scale committee. They wanted to stay with the old scheme which they had had for two decades and to improve on it. One miner wrote to Tarian y Gweithiwr complaining that he was not at all comfortable with either side. But a miner calling himself Yr Hen Goediwr
203 Twrchfab, ‘Mabon yng Nghwmtwrch’, Tarian y Gweithiwr, 24 August 1893, 5.
204 Ibid
205 Ibid 214 Ibid
206 D. J. Williams, Yn Chwech ar Hugain Oed (Aberystwyth, 1959), 99.
207 Ibid
(The Old Woodman) disagreed bitterly with him. He was a longstanding supporter of Mabon. He recalled the situation:
I remember a time when the wretched miner had to carry his wood three or four hundred yards to the mouth of the pit and watch it there after carrying it until they were nearly forced to stay out of their homes both day and night. There was no prayer meeting or church meeting to be had during the week.208
Who was the leader who changed the situation for the south Wales miners? The answer was obvious, none other than Mabon. Yr Hen Goediwr stated:
In 1887 when the Mines Act was being revised, Mabon proposed (as he was the man who was behind it that each owner should have to put the wood near the stall of each pit or where it would be needed so that it would be convenient for him at his work instead of having to be carried from further afield.218
Yr Hen Goediwr believed this should be a permanent move:
Everyone should inform all those who will come after us of the great good that Mabon has done for us, poor old miners. And we should all acknowledge him for this good work. Instead of throwing mud and stones at him , throw him flowers. 209
There was conflict in Blaenau Gwent and Rhondda and the Government sent soldiers, a thousand of them, to keep order. The hauliers were annoyed with Mabon and his constant propaganda and approval of the Sliding Scale. The opponents put their confidence in the Miners’ Federation of Great Britain. As far as the Federation was concerned it was acceptable to use strike action as a final weapon in an industrial dispute. The north Wales coalfield miners became part of the Miners’ Federation of Great Britain in 1893 but the bulk of the Miners’ Union in the south did not take up membership as they were following Mabon and his loyal support for the Sliding Scale. However, in Monmouthshire, Mabon’s policy was challenged under the leadership of another determined trade unionist William Brace of Risca.210 He was the main Federation man in the Monmouthshire coalfield. In 1893, of the 118 thousand miners working in South Wales mines, six thousand belonged to the Federation and forty thousand to the Unions which approved of Mabon’s leadership.
208 Yr Hen Goediwr, Tarian y Gweithiwr, 26 September 1893, 3. 218 Ibid.
209 Ibid.
210 ‘R. Page Arnot, Joyce Bellamy, John Saville, William Brace (1865-1947)’ in Dictionary of Labour Biography, Vol. 1, 51-53. He was born in Risca and worked in the collieries of Risca, Celynen and Abercarn. Brace was a Baptist lay preacher and, in 1890, Monmouthshire miners’ agent. From the outset, he was completely opposed to the Sliding Scale. Monmouthshire was a small trade union district but, under the leadership of William Brace it developed into a centre for the organisation of mining unionism at its best. There developed, however, mutual loathing between the two leaders, both of them lay preachers, especially during the Hauliers’ Strike of 1893. The hauliers were opposed by the colliery owners, at least by ten miners’ agents in south Wales under the leadership of Mabon and Thomas Richards as well as by the military and the police. The only two mining agents who supported the hauliers’ strike were Brace and Isaac Evans. A new era in the history of miners’ Unionism came when Brace and Mabon forgave each other and agreed on a Trade Union for all the south Wales miners.
At least 74,00 miners were outside the fold, completely de-unionised. So over half the miners had no-one to argue officially on their behalf because they were not willing to pay their trade union dues. But although Mabon appeared to be the main instigator, he knew that economic circumstances could limit even him. Between 1890 and 1896 the price of coal on the docks fell from 13 shillings to nine shillings and twopence a ton. The Sliding Scale was blamed for this as the system tempted the coal owners to sell their coal for a low price and thus keep the wages of the miners relatively low. But the ambitious companies were growing more powerful, sinking more coal mines in a number of communities. The Miners’ Unions which came under Mabon’s charm and guidance were after all a local Trade Union which emphasised the values of Welsh Nonconformism and especially the principle and manifesto of Liberal Party. Naturally, Mabon’s viewpoint was not at all attractive to the vast majority of English and Irish immigrants who came in their thousands to seek work over Offa’s Dyke. Between 1891 and 1901 52,000 people were attracted to the county of Glamorganshire with fewer than half from a Welsh Nonconformist background. It is true to say that coastal towns such as Barry were the main attraction for many of these immigrants but there was a strong faction that landed in the valleys. Indeed, the historian John Davies said:
By the end of the century, they were sufficiently numerous in the coalfield to weaken the loyalty to Mabon a man who depended heavily on his ability to charm Welsh and Welsh-speaking congregations.211
After all, he had come to public notice on the eisteddfod stage and in the pulpits and chapels of the south Wales valleys after acquiring a foothold in the mining industry.
Other than in the Monmouthshire coalfield, the south Wales miners had little sympathy for the hauliers. A section of the Welsh-speaking miners believed that the strike had taken place because of the propaganda of workers from Bristol as well as those miners from the Forest of Dean who had moved to find work in south Wales. The Welsh-speaking miners ,many of whom who hailed from west Wales, stood apart, blaming the strike on people with a different language and culture. In the words of Dr E. W. Evans, ‘a gang of reckless hauliers.’212
Mabon was perturbed. He travelled ceaselessly to address meetings in the coalfields from east to west. For him, the strike was completely illegal. According to a newspaper one heckler said in a meeting, ‘Let Mabon call meetings like this and there is no success for the movement.’213 Indeed, Mabon’s influence on the miners – both Welsh and non Welshspeaking – was the main reason for the failure of the hauliers’ strike.
Brace, the Monmouthshire miners’ leader, admitted that he could not compete with Mabon’s eloquence in the Welsh language as well as his rhetoric and that his efforts to
211 John Davies, Hanes Cymru (Harmondsworth, 1990) 457.
212 E. W. Evans, Mabon, 58.
213 South Wales Daily News, 12 August 1893, 1.
win over members of the District Unions to join the Federation of Miners of Great Britain had been a total failure. Brace suggested that the miners’ leaders should meet to create a more effective trade union, independent of the Sliding Scale and the British Miners’ Federation.214 As Mabon did not agree with that practical suggestion, nothing came of it. It fell on stony ground. According to Mabon, the local Union should be strengthened before setting about building up a trade union which could represent the whole of south Wales. Brace advised his members to pay the levy towards the Sliding Scale. This would give them the right to attend the Sliding Scale Conferences where they could voice their opinion and be free to argue continually about the need for a Federation of South Wales Miners.
Brace arranged a Round Table Conference for miners’ agents, an extremely important group, and was delighted that those who supported and those who opposed the Sliding Scale came together to one location. There was a parochialism and an obvious desire within the local districts to preserve their identity. A month later the Society of the Colliery Workmen 215 was established. There was no fundamental change – the status quo was the only alternative. If anything, the evidence on behalf of the miners was weaker, as miners who supported the Sliding Scale and miners who came from the Anthracite Coalfield of West Wales refused to change their support. Without doubt, the reason for this was Mabon’s opposition to the new union. Amongst the devotees of the Sliding Scale and the anthracite coalield of West Glamorgan and Carmarthenshire was William Abraham, the well-known Mabon. It was there and the Rhondda that his influence was the strongest. In 1893 he continued to believe that there was nothing more to be offered to the needy miners than the Sliding Scale.
Remember also that Mabon and Brace were not bosom friends. They were very different characters from each other and yet they had so much in common as miners’ leaders. William Brace belonged to the generation that followed Mabon whilst Mabon had given years of service to the miners before the existence of the younger man from Risca. Dr E.W. Evans described the tension memorably:
Mabon’s cautiousness irritated Brace, while Brace’s enthusiasm and inexperience made him appear a hot head in Mabon’s eyes.216
Brace was more colourful in his dress and his speech and tended to be much more challenging than Mabon. William Abraham would always criticise policies rather than people. Brace was quite different; and in the summer of 1893 he went too far by slandering Mabon. It became a legal tussle and had incredible press publicity. There was a trial in Swansea assize court before Judge Wiles.217 Mabon was represented by two barristers who were also Liberal politicians namely Abel Thomas, QC, Liberal MP for East Carmarthen and S. T. Evans, Liberal MP for West Glamorgan together with the solicitor Arthur Lewis.
214 E. W. Evans, Mabon, 56.
215 R. Page Arnot, Joyce Bellamy, John Saville, Dictionary of Labour Biography, 1972, 52.
216 E. W. Evans, Mabon, 57.
217 Tarian y Gweithiwr, September 20, 1893, 2.
They were briefed by the company of Morgan and Rhys of Pontypridd whilst Brace was defended by J. Brynmor Jones, QC and Allen Upward and briefed by the legal company of Meyrick and Davies of Cardiff. The court was packed to overflowing for the hearing. It was an extremely sad case. Those who attended were entertained for six hours, with Brace and Mabon being examined and crossexamined by formidable barristers before an eminent Judge. Strong feelings were expressed on both sides and the Judge threatened to adjourn the case if such bursts of emotion persisted. The Judge summed up in concise words asking the jury to give deep consideration to this vexatious conflict between two of the main leaders of the coalfield. The jury took three minutes to come to its verdict that William Brace of Risca in Monmouthshire was guilty of slander against William Abraham and that he should pay the sum of £500 in compensation and also the costs of the case. This meant he was landed with a bill of of £800. Brace’s strongest supporters, namely the agent Isaac Evans and P. D. Rees of Aberaman, near Aberdare were to be seen among those who were present. Mabon’s chief supporters, William Evans (Mabon Bach) and Tom Richards, later a Lib-Lab MP were also present.218
Brace spoke in a contemptuous manner saying, that he would not pay the sum of £800 as he was, after all, a poor man. The reporter for Tarian y Gweithiwr marvelled that Brace had already sent an appeal to his supporters for financial help with the legal costs. This suggests that he himself felt guilty of libelling Mabon. even before the judge delivered his verdict. Brace further refused to make an immediate apology before having a chance to discuss the whole issue with his fellow trade union officers in Monmouthshire.219
Nevertheless, according to the editor of Tarian y Gweithiwr what attracted the attention of the cultured working class in the south Wales valleys was the National Eisteddfod held during the week of the case in Pontypridd under the direction of Judge Gwilym Williams rather than the legal case of Brace and Mabon. The topic of conversation at the Eisteddfod amongst the miners was the victory of the Reverend John Ceulanydd Williams (‘Ceulanydd’, 1847-99) for an awdl (a metrical poem) on ‘Pwlpud Cymru’ (The Welsh Pulpit)220. Certainly Mabon would have been extremely comfortable to have been the master of ceremonies during the ceremony of Chairing the Bard. The winning poet had been pastor for Salem and Caersalem Welsh Baptist Chapels in Maesteg, another mining town, since 1882.
William Brace and his followers tried to denigrate the reputation of Mabon; they were even ready to deprive him and his large family of the financial resources to live together. In actual fact they misrepresented his whole life, accusing him of being in the hands of the employers, on whom he depended for his weekly wage. He received no apology nor means of reconciliation. He received a sum of £500 from the Court authorities though Mabon was claiming the sum of £1100 in compensation for libel.
218 Ibid.
219 Ibid.
220 ‘B. G. Owens, John Ceulanydd Williams (‘Ceulanydd’, 1847/51-99)’ in Bywgraffiadur Cymreig hyd 1940, 992-3
The Cambrian Miners’ Association agreed with the defence of their agent and refused also to support the new association. Mabon did not receive the sum of £500, as Brace and his national Trade Union had failed to raise the money. The mine-owners, out of respect for Mabon and his genuine ideals, were happy to pay £500 towards his legal costs. Mabon nobly refused the kind and generous offer.221
Mabon decided to challenge Brace in a meeting in Abergwynfi. on Saturday afternoon 14 September. Mabon ascended the pulpit in Abergwynfi Baptist Chapel to address a large gathering of miners.222 There was a silver band welcoming him at the railway station and with a sizeable procession the large figure of Mabon made its way to the chapel. After being introduced he spoke for over an hour, in both languages, on the contribution of he Sliding Scale. At the end of the meeting, a vote of confidence in his leadership was passed and the Lib-Lab leader went home pleased with the response. In the Abergwynfi meeting, Mabon set out his reasons for opposing a new miners’ trade union. It was being established by people like Brace. He had completely ignored the miners he was representing. These were difficult enough days for the coal industry without having a frustrating quarrel. He argued with conviction for the miners to stop producing so much coal. After all, he was seeking an acceptable wage and he pressed the workers to keep to nine hours per day in order to reduce production.
Mabon’s parliamentary victories in 1885 and 1886 were extremely important for the Labour movement and for the Trade Union movement in Wales. His victory was a huge step forward for the working class in south Wales and in particular for the mining communities. He was keen that Europe and elsewhere would benefit from the massive coal resources that were at their disposal. He also saw what could happen through committed Labour members in local government. Mabon was not one of the main leaders of Cymru Fydd (Young Wales movement) established to revive Welsh Liberalism with the ultimate aim of a future Assembly for Wales. He did, however, because of his friendship with Lloyd George and Tom E. Ellis, campaign for Cymru Fydd as he wanted to do his best to combine Liberalism and Labour. This effort will be discussed in the next chapter. The hauliers’ strike dismally failed because he was not the guiding light. Mabon also realised that the workers who worked in the heavy industries were very different from Liberal supporters of Lloyd George and Tom Ellis. In the agricultural and quarrying industries of Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire.
221 E. W. Evans, Mabon, 58. 222 Ibid
MABON CONTINUES HIS OWN UNIQUE STYLE AS A TRADE UNION LEADER
William Abraham was a courageous leader of men, enjoying an enriching religious and cultural life and giving strong leadership to his supporters and to the Trade Union he had created. However, his life could have come to an end in 1888. Huge gratitude was expressed throughout Wales when they heard of his narrow escape in August 1888.223 He had gone with a friend to Builth Wells in Breconshire for a break. One afternoon they hired a small boat to enjoy a few hours on the River Wye. They were both rowing the boat but, without warning, the boat turned on its side throwing them both into the deep waters of the river. Within a short time, the rumour spread around Builth Wells that the miners’ leader had drowned but he was miraculously saved by a number of people on the river bank. According to the reporter of Y Celt newspaper, ‘It is said that Mr. Abraham had a near escape from drowning.’224
Wales would have lost one of its main leaders had that happened but he survived what could have been a major disaster. It was a close call. The Liberal Party in Wales depended heavily upon him. When there was a need to campaign nationwide, Mabon was the first to be called upon. He was extremely popular in mid and north Wales for his oratorical skills in both languages. When the Liberals in Machynlleth needed an eminent spokesperson in December 1891 to support F. S. A. Hanbury-Tracy MP for Montgomery borough, they invited Mabon.225 Two other MPs were invited to support him226 However, Mabon received
223 ‘Dihangfa Mabon’, Y Celt, 24 August 1888, 3.
224 Ibid
225 The Hon. Frederick Stephen Archibald Hanbury-Tracy, MP, Liberal MP for Maldwyn Borough 1877 to 1880. He lost to Pryce Pryce-Jones in 1885 by 83 votes. A year later he won the seat back with a majority of 173. He lost the seat to Pryce Pryce-Jones again in 1892. Pryce-Jones was an enterprising trader in Newtown and his company is still there today. Wikipedia says of him. ‘Creating the first mail order catalogues – which consisted of woollen goods – for the first time, customers could order by post, and the goods were delivered by railway.
226 One of the other speakers was William Pritchard Morgan (1844-1924), lawyer, owner of Gwynfydd gold-mine in Dolgellau and Liberal MP for Merthyr Tydfil from 1888 until 1900. He lost his seat to Keir Hardie in 1900. See also Philip Mennell, ‘William Pritchard Morgan’, The Dictionary of Australian Biographers (1855-1892)’ (London, 1892), 332.
more applause than all the others put together and spoke on one of his favourite subjects as a Nonconformist: the Disestablishment of the Church in Wales. He brought his speech to its end by singing the National Anthem with gusto.227
The issue which became toxic amongst the miners at this time was the opinion of the different trade union leaders on the Sliding Scale. In Summer 1892 Mabon resigned from the Executive Committee of the Cambrian Miners’ Association so as to give a chance to the miners to pronounce their verdict on this question: namely which was their favoured choice, either belonging to the British Union of Mineworkers or staying with Mabon and the obligations of the Sliding Scale. A hundred thousand miners voted, with the vast majority of them re-electing Mabon to the Welsh Miners’ Executive Committee and also supporting the Sliding Scale.228 This episode shows how complicated Mabon’s political life had become. On the one hand, he was eager to support the needs of the growing Labour movement and, on the other, he could comfortably compromise with the respectable Liberals he knew in the chapels, eisteddfodau and amongst the south Wales miners. He had to keep both these groupings in mind at all times. He belonged to the world of Labour and he was determined to stay within the world of the Liberal Party.229
It was important for Mabon to keep a good relationship with local politicians, those Labour inspired councillors who became prominent through the County Councils Act of 1888. Rhondda was given ten representatives on the Glamorganshire County Council until 1912. The following year the number increased to twelve councillors together with those who had served for a while and were then made Aldermen. There was another opportunity through the Local Government Act and the creation of Ystradfodwg District Council (YUDC) which was renamed Rhondda Urban District Council in 1897. There was also the Board of Guardians with a total of twenty seats for Rhondda as part of the Pontypridd Board of Guardians. Liberals formed the vast majority of councillors and elected delegates on all of these councils, which was the mechanism for making sure the communities were safely in the hands of the middle class. When, in 1885, Mabon came to power with his emphasis on Lib-Lab, the Liberals knew they would receive the backing of the well-read, cultured people who gathered around their hero, Mabon. In the nineties the Liberals were doing well, though they were aware that those who called themselves socialists were knocking on the doors of all the new councils of local government.230
However, until 1910, Labour had little success in getting their spokesmen on the Board of Guardians and they were also in the shadows of the County Council. When there were
227 Mabon ym Machynlleth’, Carnarvon and Denbigh Herald, 11 December 1891, 6.
228 ‘Mabon supported the Sliding Scale principle because he was convinced that it would remove the determination of wage rates from the arbitrary control of the Employers’ Association and avert the possibility of their demanding reductions which had no participation in the selling price of coal’ See E. D. Lewis, The Rhondda Valleys (London, 1959), 168.
229 Chris Williams, Democratic Rhondda: Politics and Society, 1885-1951 (Cardiff, 1990), 47
230 Ibid
elections in Rhondda for any Council – local or county – they were usually elections between two Liberals. Mabon’s supporters were the leaders of the Liberal Labour Association but, before long, people who opposed Mabon were winning seats on the District Council. The RLLA (Rhondda Liberal-Labour Association) became a middle-class movement even in the days of the cultured agent T. Daronwy Isaac. Mabon recognised the political perils clearly.
Mabon’s salvation was that he could live and act without the RLLA as he did not have to contest any General Election during the nineties. In 1889, there was trouble in the camp for the County Council but William Morgan who supported Frederick Davis in 1885 and the Reverend John Salisbury Edwards who supported Mabon were prepared to speak on the same platform. Mabon spoke on behalf of both of them but in 1892 individual Liberals were given free rein to plan their campaign without too much interference from their MP.231 However, there was a personal problem when the Reverend William Morris (‘Rhosynnog’) decided to stand against one of Mabon’s closest friends, T. Daronwy Isaac, the agent for the local miners, a loyal member of the Sliding Scale and chairman of Rhondda Liberal-Labour Association.232 It was Daronwy Isaac who won against the well-known and popular minister of Noddfa Welsh Baptist Chapel, Treorchy. Mabon’s followers, however, lost in Tonypandy and Trealaw wards and the winner on this occasion was the bookseller William Gwrtydd Williams.
It was the politics of the well-known local characters and this was particularly difficult in the town of Treorchy as, in many respects, Rhosynnog was more of a ‘public man’ than T. Daronwy Isaac. Isaac’s advantage over Rhosynnog was that he was able to depend on the vote of the miners who had, after all, elected him as an agent – a very important role – in the first place. There was little hope of winning a seat for some of the ‘public people’ of the mining bureaucracy but there were clear exceptions such as Clifford J. Cory.233 In 1902 he won the Ystrad seat and represented it for eighteen years. Together with his brothers he owned Cory’s coal company with its headquarters in Cardiff. Some of the well-known ministers and colliery managers had a better chance, as can be seen in the careers of two others, namely William Jenkins and W. P. Thomas. Jenkins joined the coal company of David Davies of Llandinam in 1871. He was in charge as manager of Bute
231 This was a famous battle. The Reverend Dr William Morris was one of the founders of the Ystrad y Fodwg Liberal Association. See J. Vyrnwy Morgan, Welsh Political and Educational Leaders in the Victorian Era (London, 1908), 699. T. Daronwy Isaac was from West Carmarthenshire and moved to Treorchy in 1876. When it was necessary to have a second vote on a Rhondda miners’ representative for the Sliding Scale Committee in 1889, he was elected. He was Secretary of a number of charitable committees associated with the colliery such as, Abergorky Accident and Burial Fund for 20 years. He was a confirmed Liberal. Isaac became President of the Rhondda Liberal-Labour Association in succession to T. D. Jenkins. He was interested in poetry and was a competent writer in both Welsh and English. He was appointed agent for the anthracite coalfield as a successor to Mabon in 1900. ‘Anthracite District’s Agent: Colliers elect Mr T. Daronwy Isaac’, Evening Express, 16 August 1900, 4.
232 Chris Williams, Democratic Rhondda, 50.
233 Mabon praised the Cory Company, owners of Gelli, Pentre, Tynybedw and Treherbert pits. Over a period of four years, the miners were without work for only two days and that was because of a lack of empty wagons in which to carry the coal. Tarian y Gweithiwr , 9 September 1897, 4
Merthyr colliery near Treherbert until his retirement in 1915. He was very prominent in the world of education and local government right up to the end of his life.234 Throughout the years, he collaborated amicably with Liberals such as Mabon. He was the mentor also of an active Baptist in Noddfa Chapel, Treorchy, namely W. P. Thomas. He had been in the coal company’s office since his youth as a clerk and then company accountant before becoming private secretary to William Jenkins. He inherited Jenkins’ office and the fine living accommodation of Ystradfechan House, between Treorchy and Cwmparc.235 W. P. Thomas was a committed local councillor for twenty-four years and one of the most important deacons in the Union of Welsh Baptists. After all, colliery managers in general were extremely important local figures.
Doctors were another profession whose practitioners could be regarded as ambitious in the world of politics and inevitably, as politicians, they supported Mabon. In Rhondda Vale the surgeon to the Cory Brothers in the flourishing coal company, Dr William Evans Thomas, was on the local district council from 1894 until 1933 and on Glamorgan County Council from 1910 until 1930. The brothers Evan and Henry were another two medics –the sons of Naunton Davies, another popular political leader in the nineties.
The236 architect Rhys Samuel Griffiths was elected on to the local council from 1894 until 1912 and the lawyer William Thomas Davies served on the local district council from 1906 until 1915. He was a son of Dr Henry Naunton Davies.237 A great number of Mabon’s supporters were influential teachers. The most successful in the teaching profession of the Rhondda in the last decade were James Griffiths and Charles Morgan of Cwmparc known locally as ‘Y Sgwlyn’ (‘The Schoolmaster’).
It is important to remember the place of chapels and their ministers in Mabon’s political career. In the Nonconformist chapels, the miners received their basic religious education and training in terms of their Christian conduct They were taught to express an interest the truths of the Faith, learning the need for respect towards others.238
234 William Jenkins established a school for the miners’ children of Cwmparc Colliery and this is how he succeeded: ‘The manager of the colliery, William Jenkins of Ystradfechan House, formed a committee with himself as chairman, and he recruited his colliery officials and six working colliers as members. The original school, which was housed in a loft over colliery stables, had one class of pupils whose ages ranged from 8 to 18. The Ocean Coal Co contributed a certain sum annually, and the pupils paid 1d a week. In 1871, a British School was built. The company continued its financial aid, and a poundage on the colliers’ wages was introduced to meet the additional expenses. See L. Wynne Evans, ‘Colliery Schools in South Wales in the Nineteenth Century’, National Library of Wales Journal X Winter 1957, 147
235 Chris Williams, Democratic Rhondda, 51, D. Ben Rees, Cofiant Jim Griffiths, Arwr Glew y Werin (Talybont, 2014), 106-7.
236 Dr Henry Naunton Davies (1828-1899) was born in Dinas, son of Dr Evan Davies, (1801-50) who was known by his bardic name, Ieuan ap Dewi. He was a Trade Unionist and published the book Rhifedi ac Undod Duw (Cardiff, 1846) in defence of Unitarianism against the views of the Reverend John Jones of Rhydybont, Llanybydder. See E. D. Lewis, Rhondda Valleys, 193.
237 Chris Williams, Democratic Rhondda, 52.
238 John Morgan Jones, ‘Crefydd yng Nghwm Rhondda’, Y Goleuad , 28 February 1912, 4.
A number of these ministers deserve to be remembered, as they were so famous in their time. They, after all, were the community leaders as Dr E. D. Lewis says:
Their leadership was distinguishable, not by any accidental of births or riches, but simply the fact of leadership – by superior intelligence, a higher degree of education, the gifts of oratory in pulpit or on a platform. They, therefore, became the natural leaders of Rhondda Society in a way that the local landowners could never be, and the local industrial master had never attempted to be. 239
Many of the most eloquent would receive regular invitations to Preaching Meetings throughout Wales with the result that they were unwilling to give time to such work as a District Councillor. This was true of the following: Thomas Davies, Bethlehem (Calvinistic Methodist) Treorchy; Ben Watkins, Penuel (Calvinistic Methodist) Ferndale; Dr Ben Davies, Tabernacle (Welsh Independent) Treorchy; Evan Richard, Ebenezer (Welsh Independent) Tonypandy; J. T. Evans, Bodringallt (Baptist); J. H. Jones, Bethesda, Pentre (Welsh Independent) and R. B. Jones, Porth, a fervent and enthusiastic Baptist in the 19045 Religious Revival.240
Dr Lewis Probert of Pentre and Dr Ben Davies made their contributions as interpreters of divinity to their denominations.241,242 Gwrhyd Lewis of Cwmparc and M. C. Morris of Bethesda, Pentre were regarded as minor Welsh poets, while Dr M. H. Jones, the minister of Jerusalem in Ton Pentre was a historian who contributed extensively to the history of Howell Harris and the Methodist Revival.243 The importance of Dr. William Morris as a politician has been noted . They were a dynamic group and apart from Dr Morris, they kept out of party politics though all were strong supporters in terms of voting for the Liberal Party.
The solid trade union philosophy espoused by Mabon was based on the coal industry. It became acceptable to the miners of the constituency. Mabon could persuade enough of his close friends to serve for the good of the local community – especially the miners’ agents, secretaries and chairs of the lodges and checkweighmen. They were people who had succeeded because of their innate ability and not through money and the patronage of capitalists. Mabon stressed that these talented people, whom he knew so well, should be chosen to represent the area, called the ward, where they lived. He was not in favour
239 E. D. Lewis, Rhondda Valleys, 220.
240 Ibid.
241 R. G. Owen, ‘Lewis Probert (1837-1908)’ Bywgraffiadur Cymreig hyd
242 , 754. He was installed as the first minister of the Welsh Independent Chapel in Bodringallt in July 1867. In his seven years in Rhondda he established a number of chapels, namely Siloh Chapel in Ystrad, an English chapel in Ton Pentre and a chapel in Cwmparc. T. Eirug Davies,’ Ben Davies (1840-1930)’, Bywgraffiadur Cymreig 101. He was born in Dinas, Rhondda and was minister of Tabernacle Chapel, Treorchy for twelve years. At one service in 1880, Dr Ben Davies received 133 new members into Tabernacle Chapel. See Mihangel ap Rhys, Braslun o Hanes Eglwys Annibynol y Cymer, Porth (Porth, 1938), 23.
243 Dr Morgan Hugh Jones (1873-1930), see D. Ben Rees, Haneswyr yr Hen Gorff (Liverpool and Llanddewi Brefi, 1981) 16-23; 25; 27-9; 33-4; 38, 50, 64, 74, 76-77.
of a councillor living in Pontypridd and representing Llwynypia for instance. When the seat of Mardy became available in 1902 and again in 1908, Mabon made sure that the candidates hailed from the mining village of Mardy and were living there. They were expected to reflect the area where they lived and it was best if they were also leaders in one of the many Nonconformist chapels in the locality
Take the profile of William Thomas Jones, a Rhondda district councillor from 1894 until 1916 and again county councillor from 1901 until 1916. What were his qualifications? Firstly, he worked as the accountant for Abergorky colliery and secondly, in his spare time, he was prominent in the Free Church Council in his area, a deacon with the Welsh Independents and a committed Sunday School teacher. Then look at the life of John Samuel who was a local councillor in Rhondda from 1899 until 1901. He was a miner and also a deacon and treasurer of Noddfa Chapel, Treorchy, and his friend in the Deacon’s Pew was W. P. Thomas, another Liberal.
Mabon made sure that his fellow eisteddfodwr, Enoch Davies, a Treherbert grocer and well-known Calvinist, would consider serving on the Glamorganshire County Council. He agreed and served from 1901 until 1928. 244 Daniel Richard Jones was a manager at the Fernhill colliery and served on the Rhondda District Council from 1903 until 1912. D. R Jones and Mabon enjoyed each other’s company in hymn singing festivals. Because of his loyalty to the mining community he was elected President of the Fernhill Workers’ Institute.245 In Pentre and Ton Pentre, there were two faithful councillors who supported Mabon, namely Elias Henry Davies and Elias Thomas Davies.246 Elias Henry Davies was a Welsh Independent leader and a prominent Freemason. He was wellknown in the life of the Rhondda Cymmrodorion Society and, in time, President. In his everyday life he was an estate agent and was extremely busy since he came to know Mabon after he moved to live in Pentre. The other councillor was Elias Thomas Davies, County Councillor from 1898 until 1901 and a chapel elder until his death in 1915.
Without effective organisation, the politics of the Rhondda were in the hands of the charismatic, colourful personality of Mabon. It was he who decided who should be the candidates on the different Councils. During this period, Mabon’s great failing was to ignore the task of organising a party machine with more working-class leaders holding the reins. Despite this, as we shall see in the next chapter, he was becoming aware that his days as a serious Liberal must be coming to its end and that he should consider supporting those who were backing Keir Hardie, Noah Ablett and the more militant socialists belonging to the Labour Party.
The political victory of 1885 was, to a large extent, a personal victory. He was an ambitious politician and ready to challenge the Liberal establishment in Rhondda and to get the better of them. This was extraordinary as his role as miners’ agent was not sufficient for him to
244 Chris Williams, Democratic Rhondda, 54.
245 Ibid
246 Ibid
win the day. After that, from 1885 until 1905, the Rhondda miners did not want anyone else but him. He was in this regard a very shrewd politician, who was able to promote the Liberal Party in association with trade unionists, some of whom had a connection with the socialist organisations. He seem to keep both camps content. The only time that the Cambrian Miners’ Association had to be involved in a dispute was when William Evans, alias Mabon Bach (Little Mabon), stood for the District Council. Chris Williams’ assessment is accurate:
Mabon himself made no attempt to spawn a political power-base or to set a tradition, beyond the establishment of the R. L. L. A., which fell swiftly under the control of his ex-opponents. This was due to his failure to recognise that the interests of Labour required more than representation by himself alone.247
This was a serious political weakness in his personality. He did not want to see Labour taking over from the Lib-Lab so as to dominate the political life of the Rhondda. And yet, there were people like him who did want to see district representatives who held ILP views. They favoured socialism and welcomed the opportunity to debate and legislate and win contests against the Liberals. The Liberals made sure that no candidates from a Labour background would have the chance to stand in an election.
It was essentially a class conflict contest, though Mabon hardly realised the implications. Some members of the socialist societies led by the Marxist H. M. Hyndman argued that the miners who supported the Liberal Party were betraying their class and their comrades. The fact was that Liberalism was the philosophy of the majority of sincere trade unionists. Before 1893 and the birth of the Independent Labour Party in Bradford that year, the socialists were usually visible only on the margins of society. The fact that neither Mabon nor anyone else from Wales went to the Conference to establish an Independent Labour Party says it all. However, after 1893, there was a different mood even in the Rhondda and a few of the foremost socialists travelled to win disciples in the Rhondda. That is why Tom Mann visited the valley in 1896 and a branch of the Independent Labour Party was established in Mardy.248 It was a small branch of twenty members but Hyndman’s society, the SDF (Social Democratic Federation) had already established a branch in Tonypandy. There was a socialist mission under the care of a London Welshman, Sam Mainwaring. He received support from members of the Independent Labour Party who lived in the Rhondda.249
These were days when socialism made very little impact in the valleys and was without deep roots. For at least twelve years Mabon could dismiss them as misguided. A younger generation of miners’ leaders appeared after a decade who had very little to say to Mabon.
247 Ibid., 57-8.
248 Tom Mann played an important part in the history of the Rhondda miners especially in the Cambrian Combine Strike. See R. Page Arnot, The Miners: Years of Struggle (London, 1954 (second impression), 114-115.
249 Ken John, ‘Sam Mainwaring and the Antagonist Tradition’, Llafur (Labour) 4, No. 3 (1986), 5566, Labour Leader,16 June 1894.
If they had had their way, they would have dismissed him. They soon realised however that it was hard, indeed impossible, for them to oust him from his throne as leader of the Welsh miners.
Mabon faced the Great miners’ strike of 1898 with his usual optimistic outlook. In September 1897 the miners at last voted in favour of reforming the Sliding Scale in order to ‘include the principle of a minimum wage,’250
The employers turned down the proposal, setting about making minor additions to the Sliding Scale as well suggesting as the abolition of Mabon’s Day.251 This was not an acceptable stand as Mabon’s Day meant so much to the miners and their families. The employers terminated their agreements with the miners. There came into being, not a strike, but what was called a lockout. The collieries were soon idle and, within a short time, whole families were seen complaining about the wretchedness of their lives especially when they were deprived of the assistance of the Poor Law. The Trade Unions received their subscriptions and the Miners’ Federation of Great Britain donated the sum of ten thousand pounds to mitigate the suffering, a small sum to keep a hundred thousand workers and their families from starving.
The dispute was a difficult one for Mabon. His moderate, prudent leadership had received a paralysing blow from the hands of the coal owners. He was an aunt sally throughout but the miners as well as the employers saw that no-one was comparable to him and, without his talents, all negotiations and discussions came to an end. The powerful employer W. T. Lewis thought that this time it would be possible to have complete victory over the miners but soon realised how important Mabon was as a mediator. His leadership was sought to provide a way out of the chaos that was on the horizon. Mabon realised that effective organisation was crucial and they could not afford to carry on without the assistance of a powerful Trade Union.252 The days of small regional unions were at an end. Therefore, on 11 October 1898, seven mining unions came together to form the Federation of South Wales Miners, known usually just as Fed. As abolishing the Sliding Scale was amongst the Fed’s aims (an aim which was achieved in 1903) it amalgamated in partnership with the British Miners Federation in 1899. In addition to the Fed there were smaller mining trade unions, the majority of them acting alone and independently of the Federation.253
250 John Davies, Hanes Cymru, 458
251 On Mabon’s Day the miners would have the opportunity to hold meetings and enjoy fellowship with miners from other areas. Some would attend an eisteddfod and the Hymnsinging Festival, tend to their gardens or allotments in the Spring and, especially in west Wales, harvest the hay in their smallholdings. So the miners were losing much more than an eight hour break when Mabon’s day was taken away from them.
252 Mabon addressed a large meeting of miners at the end of September 1898 in the Rhondda Valley. He urged them to form a strong trade union, amalgamating all the regional unions. He said that the Council of Miners of Great Britain was prepared for the Union of South Wales Miners to link up
253 At some point, the following trade unions and organisations were active in the South Wales coalfield: South Wales Colliery Enginemen; Stokers’ and Craftsmen’s Association; the South Wales and Monmouthshire Colliery Enginemen’s Association; Colliery Examiners’ Association; the National Association of Colliery Managers; the National Union of Clerks; the South Wales Colliery Officials’ Union and later the National Association of Colliery
For example, the South Wales and Monmouthshire Colliery Enginemen’s Association was formed in 1895 but did not apply fir membership of the Federation at all.254
On 11 October 1898 it was decided to elect Mabon as President of the South Wales Miners Federation.255 He, at last, was thoroughly convinced that William Brace and many others were perfectly correct in their opposition to the Sliding Scale. For weeks Mabon had been arguing fiercely in favour of the reformed Sliding Scale but by October 1898 he had been convinced that he should agree with his opponents. So there was nothing holding the South Wales Miners’ Union from being part of the British Federation and this came about in January 1899.
The miners came to care for what they called the New Union. In 1893 fewer than half the workforce was happy with its membership but by 1899 104,000 miners had joined up and, in 1903, the Sliding Scale, which had been a way of life for Mabon, was abolished. The Federation grew under Mabon’s leadership in the next decade when a quarter of a million members finally joined the South Wales Miners’ Union. This was the largest trade union ever seen in any industry within Wales. It became an essential part of the history of the Welsh nation.256 The National Health Service cannot come anywhere near that figure in Wales in 2021.
The conflict when the pits were idle from February to September 1898 provided sufficient reason for the socialist societies to take notice an become more involved. The Independent Labour Party came to propagate its message in the magazine Labour Leader linked to the editorship of Keir Hardie. By the end of the conflict in the coalfield there were ten Independent Labour Party branches in Rhondda giving a boost to the Mardy branch which had remained in existence since its inception.
At least there were some converts to socialism in the two valleys and at least socialism came onto the political agenda of some miners though it was not embraced by the bulk of them who remained firm in their support for Mabon and the Lib- Lab.257 The miners were more comfortable in the company of both right and left-wing Liberals than amongst the fiery socialists of the three small parties arguing for socialism, that is the SDF, the Independent Labour Party (ILP) and the Fabians which was formed in 1884.
Overseers, Deputies and Shotfirers (NACODS). See ‘Undebau’r Glowyr’, Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales (Cardiff, 2008) 938-9.
254 Ibid.
255 John Davies, Hanes Cymru, 458.
256 The Federation was extremely important as John Davies emphasises, ‘A time would come when it would have over a quarter of a million members. The Fed, therefore, is the secular body with the largest membership ever in the history of the Welsh nation and for a generation and more after 1898 its activities would be a central element in the life of that nation.’ John Davies, Hanes Cymru, 458
257 At the Miers’ Conference on 7 April 1898, the vote went against Mabon as Chairman and President. But they could not exist without him and so, when it became a matter of setting up a Trade Union and having a President, Mabon was the only choice. E. W. Evans, Mabon: A study in Trade Union Leadership, 60 and 63.
The Miners’ Union was the powerhouse and Mabon understood his role within it.258 After all, he realised that there was a branch of the Federation in every pit, which meant the existence of officers in the local lodge. He came to know of at least fifty of them as the Rhondda MP. The lodges varied in terms of membership. For example the Abergorky Colliery Lodge had 1,816 members at the beginning of the twentieth century. But the foremost was the Cambrian Combine Colliery which included one pit with a total of 3,183 members. The lodge belonged to the district and there were nineteen districts within the Federation in South Wales. The biggest of all was Mabon’s kingdom, Rhondda No. 1, with 31,000 miners by 1908. Rhondda was divided into two districts, Rhondda No. 1 and Rhondda No. 2. The name of the second district was Pontypridd and Rhondda which included the lodges at the bottom of the Rhondda Valley between Porth and Pontypridd, situated in the Trehafod and Hopkinstown collieries.
The large colliery lodges could elect an agent for themselves but, in the smaller lodges, there was a great deal of authority in the hands of either the Chairman or the Secretary of the lodge. It was important for Mabon to maintain a good relationship with these officers and lodges. As with the structure of the Calvinistic Methodists, the Fed insisted on a monthly meeting of the Lodge members. This would be held so that important questions could be discussed as well as representatives chosen to attend different conferences and to represent the lodge and bring back a report.
The meeting would choose an Executive Committee once a year which met weekly. But the most important figure was the miners’ agent who would be assisted by his deputies and District officers. Every district had the right to send representatives to the conferences and meetingsof South Wales Miners. The Miners’ Union showed no particular interest at that time in electoral parliamentary prospects, except for the Rhondda, or in local government.
Throughout the nineties, Mabon had no need to worry about the General Elections. He was elected unopposed in each of these elections but, by the time of the 1900 General Election, there was a change after a period of fifteen years without parliamentary opposition. The Conservative Party decided to nominate and accept as a candidate in 1900, a Cardiff based lawyer named Robert Hughes.
The General Election was called on 28 September 1900 with the voting scheduled for 24 October.259 The Rhondda constituency had more electors than Brecon, Carmarthen East (with only 5,557 electors) and Caernarfon Boroughs put together.260 In the Rhondda,
258 In the many meetings held under the leadership of Mabon from April to October 1898, he stressed that it would not be possible for miners who did not wish to belong to the Union to express their views at all. ‘In unity there is strength’ and he expected every miner to enrol in the Trade Union which represented the South and South East Wales Coalfield. By the end of 1898, 60,000 miners belonged to the Trade Union and the miners understood that the only way of maintaining good wages was through supporting the position of the Miners’ Union. See E. W. Evans, Mabon, 67.
259 Beti Jones, Etholiadau Seneddol yng Nghymru, 1900-1975 (Talybont, 1977), 29.
260 Ibid., 30
Mabon had a marvellous victory as can be seen in the results shown below:261
William Abraham (Lib./Lab.) 8383
Robert Hughes (Conservative) 1874 Majority 7509
Once again, in the General Election the Liberals were the biggest party in Wales. The Liberal Party won 26 seats. The Conservatives won 6 seats while the Labour Representation Committee won Merthyr for the first time with Keir Hardie returned to Parliament after five years of seeking a seat. LibLab had won one seat comfortably, namely Rhondda. However, they experienced the first stirrings of things to come. As early as 1900, the Independent Labour Party, the SDF, the Fabians and the Trade Unions formed what was called a Labour Representation Committee [LRC)] which, by 1906, was simply called by the name of the Labour Party. They needed some freedom to battle on their own without being partners to the Liberals at all.262 But remember the warning of historian Carl Brand of the the year 1900 ‘Yet the trade unionists who accepted the LRC were in the main at heart still Liberals not socialists.’263
261 Ibid., 31
262 Donald Sasoon, One Hundred Years of Socialism: The West European Left in the Twentieth Century (Hammersmith, London, 1997), 16.
263 Carl Brand: The British Labour Party (Standford, 1974), 12.
CHAPTER 7
A DIFFICULT CHOICE
It is hard to believe that both moderate and left-wing socialists as well as trade unionists in the Liberal camp came together in February 1900 to consider forming a political movement, christening it with the totally clumsy name of the Labour Representation Committee.264 It is true that it happened in the first year of a new century but the political camp had been disturbed by the Boer War in South Africa. One of the factions that came to London in February 1900, namely the Independent Labour Party, completely refused to support the war whilst another socialist group from the trade unions were in favour of Britain teaching the Boers a lesson. Neither Mabon nor the south Wales miners could identify themselves with the LRC and so it remained for most of the decade though Robert Smillie, the Scottish miners’ leader, worked hard to set up a similar body in Scotland, namely the Scottish Workers’ Representation Committee.265 Although they were invited to the meeting, the Co-operative Movement refused to come to discuss the proposal.
In the end, the new political party was called the Labour Representation Committee and scarcely any of those who came together thought it would last for more than a few years. Indeed, Ramsay McDonald said that the majority of those who came together had come with the idea of burying the ridiculous notion, of giving it a mortal blow so that they could go home that evening without any political party to be involved in. Everyone who was there was penny-pinching and the sum of a ten-shilling membership fee was set for a thousand members of the socialist organisations who wanted to belong. So, in the first year, the total of £210.00 came into the coffers – a substantial amount with which to fight a General Elections against the Tories and the Liberals. They managed to find fifteen
264 These two books tell the tale: Henry Pelling, A Short History of the Labour Party (London and New York), 1961; and Andrew Thorpe, A History of the British Labour Party (London and New York), 1971. Pelling’s is the classic work. There were six impressions between 1961 and 1978. The 1978 imprint contains the history from 1900 and the LRC to the days of Callaghan.
265 Robert Smillie (1857-1941), the leader of the miners in Scotland and one who was important in the history of the Labor Party as he persuaded his fellow miners to change their allegiance from the Liberal Party to the British Labour Party because he believed in the socialist faith. He was a close friend of Keir Hardie, and extremely kind to Jennie Lee when she stood for Westminster in 1929. He was invited to be President of the Day at the Ammanford National Eisteddfod in 1922, cheering the hearts of James Griffiths and his brother Amanwy and a host of Amman Valley miners.
candidates. Two of them were elected, both of whom had close links with Wales. Richard Bell was from Penderyn – a Welsh speaker – and was successful in Derby. There was a section of railway workers who were ready to support him.266
The other Labour candidate was Keir Hardie who came second in the Merthyr and Aberdare constituency. It was a constituency which sent two politicians to Parliament and Keir Hardie was elected although the Liberal capitalist David Alfred Thomas had the most support. It is doubtful whether Hardie would have taken the seat had not the other candidate, William Pritchard Morgan ‘The Golden King of Wales’ as he was called, offended D. A. Thomas by supporting Britain in the imperialist war in South Africa. D. A. Thomas pressed the electors who listened to him to disregard Morgan and support Hardie on this occasion. The fact was that nine trade unionists had won constituencies but five of them were miners’ leaders, namely Mabon, Thomas Burt, Charles Fenwick, Ben Pickard and John Wilson. They all stood as Liberal-Labour.267 Consequently only two – Hardie and Bell – won in the name of the Labour Representation Committee. Richard Bell was the treasurer of the LRC and its chairman in 1902-3 but, like Mabon, he found it hard to detach himself from his background as a staunch Liberal. After arriving in Westminster, he voted for the Liberals and, within three years, broke off his relationship completely with the Labour Representation Committee. 268 So the LRC was left in the House of Commons with one genuine politician – Keir Hardie. However, it would soon be clear that there was a genuine need for a political party to represent and defend the Labour Movement and the working class.
Mabon had the shock of his life in 1901 when, on 22 July, the House of Lords decided to back the Taff Vale railway company. There had been an unofficial strike by the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants against the Taff Vale railway company.269 It was a quite a mild strike but it enraged the chief manager of the company, Mr Ammon Beasley.270 He was a determined, successful, authoritative, rich and stubborn man and, when the strike began he immediately linked up with a right-wing movement called the Free Labour Association. He asked them to send at once sufficient people to drive the trains and maintain traffic on the railway. These were regarded as blacklegs or traitors. Trade union members from Merthyr to Cardiff were furious.271 Twenty-eight of those sent by the Free Labour Association were attacked, when they marched to the Cathays headquarters of the Union and confined there. After a suitable time, they were sent by train back to
266 There is an excellent record of Bell by Professor Huw Morris-Jones. See Richard Bell (18591930), Y Bywgraffiadur Cymreig hyd 1940, 28. Richard Bell was the uncle of the Revd. R. W. Bell, the distinguished minister of Tabernacle Welsh Presbyterian Chapel in Abercynon.
267 Francis Williams, Magnificent Journey: The Rise of Trade Unions (London, 1954), 221.
268 Huw Morris Jones, Y Bywgraffiadur Cymreig hyd 1940, 28.
269 As Trade Union Secretary Richard Bell was in charge of organising the strike. See Warwick University, Modern Records Centre, manuscripts 1 27/A5/TV/2/1/16/i-xx 1900.
270 There is romance in the career of Ammon Beasley (1837-1924). He was born in Rugby and began his working life as a clerk in Stoke on Trent railway station. He made an impression there and in Wolverhampton before
271 Trade Union branches were located at Aberdare, Abercynon, Treherbert, Tonypandy, Merthyr, Pontypridd, Llantrisant and Barry.
London.272 William Collinson of the Free League Exchange failed in his plan and Mabon spoke eloquently against ‘Blacklegs Collusion’ warning the Taff Vale railway company that the miners would be unwilling soon to produce coal for the trains.
Beasley was an emotional and dogmatic man and tried his best to have the last word over Mabon. The directors charged him to take the issue to be dealt with at a legal court and to seek compensation from the Railway Servants union for the company’s losses. Beasley took the matter as far as he could in the court system and eventually to the House of Lords. To the surprise of Mabon and the trade union lawyers, the Lord Chancellor agreed with Beasley despite the 1871 Labour Unions Act and the Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act 1875 These allowed the trade unions to take action on behalf of their members. From 1871 onwards, Mabon had strongly believed that the trade unions had a legal status which made it impossible for them to have to pay a fine for action against what was unjust and this was why he showed his disapproval of strike tactics. The Law Lords sitting in the House of Lords asked the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants to pay the huge sum of £23,000 to the Taff Vale Railway Company plus costs making a total of £42,000.
The Trade Unions were all in danger of being destroyed. Balfour and the Tory Government were perfectly willing to let that happen. And, worse than that, the reaction of the Liberal Party, which Mabon admired greatly and the Lib-Labs, were lukewarm and quite indifferent. It was clear that the south Wales miners under the leadership of Mabon and Brace were not, at that moment, going to campaign against the verdict. Indeed, the British Miners’ Federation decided to act carefully, as Francis Williams acknowledged, continuing, like Mabon, to sit on the fence:
Reaffirming its earliest decision not to affiliate to the Labour Representation Committee, it decided instead to organise political representation through the Political Committee of the Miners’ Federation itself, although on a larger scale than formerly financing candidates from a central political fund.273
The Committee for Labour Representation believed it could succeed in influencing the Liberal Party effectively. It reached that conclusion as four of the most important miners’ leaders in England and Wales, Ben Pickard, Thomas Burt, Charles Fenwick and Mabon were staunch Liberals.
There was no other Trade Union in this position. Other trade unions which wanted to have members in Parliament had to depend on the support of other unions. That was not a problem in constituencies such as Rhondda. Despite this, the LRC managed to win some trade unions to back them even if neither the South Wales Miners’ Union nor Mabon himself were willing to do so. Trade Unions with a large membership, like the cotton industry trade unionists in Lancashire, became prominent. There were a hundred
272 Francis Williams, Magnificent Journey, 223.
273 Ibid.
thousand members on the books of the Lancashire Textile Workers.274 By 1903 every union belonging to the Conference of Trade Unions felt that they should join up with the LRC. The exception was the miners. Despite this, in its annual conference in 1904 it was decided that the candidates they nominated would stand as Labour representatives and that they would co-operate with the LRP in Parliament.275 The truth is that Ammon Beasley of the Taff Vale Railway Company was going to be as much an architect of the Labour Party as were the two politicians that hailed from Scotland, Keir Hardie and Ramsay MacDonald. There was no real choice facing the Trade Unions other than to turn back to the fold of the Liberals. For Mabon, four things were important for the success of the Trade Unions:
i. To ensure appropriate wages for the workers for their labour in every industry.
ii. To ensure that workers worked reasonable hours. For him, eight hours were enough, those were the ‘reasonable hours’.
iii. Suitable protection for the lives of members whilst in their workplace.
iv. Direct representation at Westminster in the name of Labour.
Once again, Mabon underlined the conditions of Trade Unionism when addressing quarrymen in the Penrhyn Quarry, Bethesda in Caernarfonshire, in June 1903.276 Mabon knew that receiving a fair living wage would transform the life of the worker and his family. He could buy better food, clothing and live in comfortable houses which did not exist in the quarrying and mining villages. Mabon argued that a fair wage was the means of sustenance and also gave a chance for the miner and quarry worker to set aside a little money regularly for stormy days or times of strike.
He was vexed about the scheme of monthly bargaining – a custom carried out nowhere but in the North Wales quarries and the Cornish mines.277
On average, the quarry worker’s wage was five pounds per month and this was a pound a week less than the average wage of miners in the South Wales valleys. The wage was similar to that paid twelve years previously and yet, in the meantime, the price of slates had risen significantly.
Unsurprisingly, Mabon received deafening applause in Bethesda for his speech and then, on the following day, hundreds flocked together to fill Jerusalem Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Chapel, Bethesda for morning and evening services to listen to him proclaiming the ‘good news of the Gospel.’278
By 1906 the Labour Representation Committee was ready to forget its clumsy name and take on a title which was easier to say as well as to remember, namely the Labour Party.
274 Ibid., 227.
275 Ibid.
276 Ibid., 228.
277 ‘Amod Undebaeth’ Tarian y Gweithiwr, 25 June 1903, 1.
278 Ibid.
However, the Labour Party was not ready to take on the socialism of the Independent Labour Party though Keir Hardie had done his level best to undermine the Lib-Lab position in Parliament and to attack men of the calibre of Mabon constantly saying that his proper place was in the Labour Party and not supporting the Liberal Party. Even at the time of the birth of the Labour Party there were evident tension and differences between the Left and the Right.
Francis Williams summarised the situation perfectly writing in his classic book on the movement:
They neither sought to turn the Labour Party into an exclusively trade-union party, which would have been fatal to both its crusading vigour and its hope of national support, nor, while remaining loyal partners of their political allies, did they abdicate the right to make political decisions of their own through the TUC.279
It was quite clear that the political party called Labour Party could not exist without the contribution of the Trade Unions. With the Trade Unions, and the ILP being together the Labour Party could succeed with fervent energy, with a broad, international vision, promoting comradeship and moral fervour and especially keen to help the despised and forgotten.
However, at this period, the Lib-Lab had become powerful in the Rhondda Valley in the years 1903 to 1905, Mabon consistently said that
‘a new time has opened up – a period of peace (peace based on justice) had dawned and they prayed to the heavens that it would continue whilst they lived’.280
That was the message he harped on for the decade. He defended the Lib-Lab movement strongly to the Annual Conference of South Wales Miners in 1903:
The delegates were to be congratulated on the fact that the coalfield was now almost clear of disputes, troubles and strikes – they were able once more to harbour their funds for some further rainy days, though he hoped that they were rid of them for a very long time ahead.281
The South Wales Miners’ Union was successful in its campaign to win more members and now the Miners’ Union under the presidency of Mabon. It was a trade union with potential.282 For the MP it was requisite that they all worked for the benefit of the Trade Union and he hoped there would not be any conflict created needlessly by the miners and that, when disagreement arose, they would seek his help to settle it. In Mabon’s opinion,
279 Francis Williams, Magnificent Journey, 229.
280 Records of the Federation of South Wales Miners, Rhondda: meeting held on 25 May 1903
281 Records of the Federation of South Wales Miners 1903.
282 Peter Stead, ‘Working-Class Leadership in South Wales, 1900-1920’, Cylchgrawn Hanes Cymru (Journal of Welsh History) Vol. 6, No. 3, 1973, 332-3.
the miner’s life was improved by compromise, good will and understanding. That, in brief, was the attitude of one of the chief members of the Lib-Labs.
The great majority of miners in all parts of the Southern coalfield were happy with his leadership. There is a tale of him addressing the miners in Treherbert County School in October. His plea was for the miners to be ready to wage a recruiting campaign war and to convince those he called ‘nonunionists’.283 His friend the Reverend. John Williams, Labour MP for Gower, came to support him in his constituency. One of Mabon’s main supporters, Tom Evans of Penygraig, spoke to say that non-unionised miners were a dangerous group in the coalfield.284
During the same month Mabon was due to be at the Miners’ Festival in the west. Anthracite miners marched through the streets of Swansea to listen to three ministers of the Gospel who were there to show their support. One of the three, John Williams, was an MP and then there were his close friends the Reverend Dr Gomer Lewis, the Reverend Teifion Richards together with S. T. Evans, MP for West Glamorgan and Abraham Thomas. It was good to hear that 98% of the miners in west Wales were members of the Federation. A letter from Mabon was read out explaining that he could not be present as that day he had to be inspecting the Federation’s accounts.285
We must remember that in August the hero Mabon and his son and grandson had had an accident in Llanilltud Fawr. Quite without warning, their horse went out of control and escaped with Mabon and his loved ones in the carriage. It struck the corner of the road and it overturned. Mabon, who was a big man, was thrown from the cart onto his side and his arm was injured. His grandson received a head injury whilst his son escaped unharmed. The local doctor, Dr Gill, came to relieve the pain and ease the injuries of Mabon and his grandson.286
It was unalloyed pleasure for Mabon to learn in 1905 that one of his ardent supporters, Tom John of Penygraig in the Rhondda, had been elected President of the National Union of Schoolmasters and Schoolmistresses of England and Wales. He was the first Welshman to preside over the Conference and this was held in Llandudno in 1905. He was a faithful friend to Mabon and, like him, Tom John used to lead the numerous eisteddfodau in the Rhondda Valley.287
When the 1906 General Election took place Mabon did not have to stand again. He was returned to Parliament unopposed, as was his loyal friend Thomas Richards – another miners’ candidate in west Monmouthshire. William Brace had to face a challenge in South Glamorgan but he won the day under the Lib-Lab colours over the Conservative Wyndham-Quin. One of the most significant victories was that of A. Clement Evans
283 Tarian y Gweithiwr 19 October 1905, 1.
284 Ibid.
285 Ibid.,
286 Tarian y Gweithiwr, 17 August 1905.
287 Ibid., 19 October 1905, 3.
winning the Denbigh Borough seat against Conservative MP the Honourable G. T. Kenyon.288
1906 was an unusual victory in the history of the Liberal Party in Wales. It was an election to remember with 29 Liberal MPs elected to the House of Commons and 4 LibLabs. As one historian states ‘The Lib-Labs were essentially returned as part of a wider progressive vote.’289
At the meeting to adopt Mabon in Rhondda, the leader Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman sent a letter of greetings to the electorate. For Mabon, this was one of the most delightful documents of his generation and he was proud to agree with all that the Liberal Party leader proposed.290 It is strange to note that Mabon was not at all sure about the Labour Representation Committee nor the Labour Party and dismissed its importance at this stage. William Brace, another Lib-Lab, reacted more shrewdly and went so far as to say that he was supported officially by the Liberals and also by Labour together with the Council of Free Churches as well as movements in favour of an extending the franchise.
Like Mabon, Brace gave the impression that they, the Lib-Labs, represented people who wanted progress and development. They would like to see capitalism bearing fruit a hundredfold. This was the stance of the South Wales Daily News and Llais Llafur which was produced in Ystalafera. under the editorship of Ebenezer Rees. He was fully committed to Labour. Llais Llafur was instrumental in the task of establishing branches of the Independent Labour Party.291 From 1898 onwards, Rees campaigned to convince the miners and steelworkers to ignore the Liberal standpoint of the chapels. The paper gave a platform to the foremost socialists of the Welsh nation such as David Thomas the author of Y Werin a’i Theyrnas, the Calvinistic Methodist preacher R. Silyn Roberts and R. J. Derfel of Manchester to write in Welsh. 292
The obvious Lib-Lab tactic was co-operation instead of competing with each other. The only constituency in which the Labour candidate had to face a Liberal candidate was Gower.293 There, in the figure of John Williams, was a candidate who had so many qualities as far as his most fervent supporters were concerned. He was a Miners’ Agent, a minister of the Gospel, genial in personality and attitude.294 He succeeded, not because he stood for the Labour Party nor because he was supportive of enlightened Liberalism but because he was totally in favour of progress and development and was optimistic about the future
288 Beti Jones, Etholiadau Seneddol yng Nghymru (Talybont, 1977), 35.
289 Peter Stead, Working-Class Leadership in South Wales, 1900-1920, 333.
290 South Wales Daily News, 10 January 1906, 3.
291 D. Ben Rees, Cofiant Jim Griffiths: Arwr Glew y Werin (Biography of Jim Griffiths) (Talybont, 2014) 53.
292 David Thomas ( 1880- 1967 )’ in Atodiad i’r Bywgraffiadur Cymreig, 1951-1970 (London, 1997), 173; D. Ben Rees, ‘David Thomas’, Aneurin, Vol. 1, No. 4, 48-51; Ffion Mai Thomas, ‘R. Silyn Roberts’, Y Traethodydd t, Vol. xcvii, 1942, 79-94; David Thomas, Silyn (Liverpool, 1956); D. Ben Rees, ‘Robert (Jones) Derfel (1824-1905)’ (in) Dictionary of Labour Biography, volume xv, edited by Keith Gildart and David Howell, 2019, 72-79.
293 K. O. Morgan, ‘The Gower Election of 1906’, Gower, volume vii, (1959).
294 Joyce Bellamy, ‘John Williams (1861-1922)’ in Dictionary of Labour Biography, volume 1, 347-48.
of the Welsh language. So, according to Peter Stead, the Lib-Labs were much more than leaders within the Miners’ Union or any other union. This is his important insight:
They came to the elections as trade unionists, but trade unionists who could appeal to wider loyalties. They were more than leaders of labour.295
One could mention the campaign of James Winstone in the 1906 General Election in the Monmouthshire boroughs.305 Although Winstone was a miners’ leader, he did not stand officially in the name of his fellow trade unionists as Mabon did. Winstone belonged to the Independent Labour Party and his candidacy was supported by the Labour Party. Winstone failed to win the seat, not because he was unacceptable to the Liberals or to Labour but because he failed to win the backing of those people in every constituency who wanted a better world and a higher standard of living.296 It was evident that James Winstone’s candidacy was too Labour-based even for the majority of voters who were members of the trade unions and they followed the advice of John Burns and voted for the Liberal candidate.297
The 1906 Election was as much a triumph for LibLabism as for the Liberal Party and for those voters who were in favour of the idea of progress. After all the 1904/5 Religious Revival was a quite special event in the history of the ordinary people. And, in the Sunday Schools in 1906 for example, the theory of evolution came to be discussed as much as any other topic. The concepts of Huxley, Charles Darwin and others caused commotion in the minds of many of the electorate in Wales in 1906. And, to be victorious in seats across the country, it was necessary to remember those people who were discussing the theories of R. J. Campbell and the New Theology. His appeal was for Nonconformists to break free of the fetters of the Liberal Party as, in his opinion, that partnership had outlived its usefulness. Welsh radical, moderate Liberalism was the main characteristic of the politics of a large proportion of the miners at that time – the same sort of politics espoused by their leader Mabon. R. J. Campbell thought that there was need for a new mission to adapt Christian principles to deal with the difficult problems of society.298
295 Peter Stead, Working-Class Leadership in South Wales, 1900-1920, 334. 305 Joyce Bellamy and John Saville, ‘James Winstone (1863-1921)’ in Dictionary of Labour Biography, volume 1, 350-1.
296 Ibid., 351. According to the Times (25 June 1921), when he died in 1921 over twenty-five thousand people came to his funeral.
297 South Wales Weekly Argus, 30 December 1905, 4.
298 For R. J. Campbell, see D. Ben Rees, Cofiant Jim Griffiths, 43-4; 46-7; 51, 54, 61, 78, 87, 277-9. See R. Tudur Jones, Ffydd ac Argyfwng Cenedl, Hanes Crefydd yng Nghymru, 1890-1914, Prysurdeb a Phryder Vol 1. (Swansea, 1981); Hanes Crefydd yng Nghymru, Vol. 2, Dryswch a Diwygiad (Swansea, 1982), 11, 51, 67-9; 84; 202, 267-270, 280. For a description of Campbell from his point of view see his book, A Spiritual Pilgrimage (London, 1916); The New Theology (London, 1907). M. Wynn Thomas says of his influence in Wales, ‘But Campbell’s impact on working class Wales was through his seminal book. Highly respected by many of the Welsh chapel-going workforce, these taught that the essence of the Christian Gospel was radical social reform intended to secure justice for all, a reform that could be accomplished only by broadly socialist means.’ See M. Wynn Thomas, In the shadow of the Pulpit: Literature and Nonconformist Wales (Cardiff, 2010), 171.
Mabon knew that the Lib-Labs were first and foremost leaders of the trade unions. He did not forget that fact as he himself said after hearing the results of the 1906 General Election.
for twenty years, he had been as independent a Labour man as any socialist would ever be – call it by whatever name you will – as it was in the beginning, - so it shall be Labour first.299
However, to win an election the Lib-Labs had to wait for something bigger as William Brace, his deputy, said at the end of the election. He believed that he had been successful because he had won over Labourites, Liberals and the nationalism of the chapel-going Welsh Nonconformists and also the people who were proponents of progress. That is how he won the South Glamorgan seat. He was a Labour man in terms of his background and his contribution but understood that he would never win in just the colours of the LibLabs. In William Brace’s own words:
The division was cosmopolitan in character. He stood as a Welsh nationalist – his whole nature breathed nationalism. Wales had her particular question, and on that question, he was in entire agreement with the Progressives. He stood for freedom of food, freedom of conscience, and public control in education. 300
Mabon did not please the Independent Labour Party at all in 1901. They had eleven branches in the Rhondda valleys. The number increased to ninety in 1909. Mabon and Brace were continually criticised on the Executive Committee of the Federation by prominent members of the Independent Labour Party particularly Vernon Hartshorn, a man raised amongst the Primitive Methodists in the Pont-y-Waun area of Monmouthshire and who was Miners’ Agent in the Maesteg region from 1905.301 He wanted the Independent Labour Party to stand alone, free of the grip of the Liberal Party. The Liberal Party was extremely disrespectful towards him and allowed their Glamorgan leader of the Anti-Socialist League to influence the miners of Maesteg and District using slogans to belittle the Socialist faith of powerful men like Hartshorn.302
By 1906, in the Annual Conference of the South Wales Miners, Alfred Willis, a representative from Abertillery, could greet Mabon and the Lib-Lab beside him on the platform in these threatening terms:
You must be Labour men, pure and simple. You are not to be Lib-Labs. Good heavens, is there not enough dignity attached to Labour for us to stand on our own legs? I respect the old leaders for what they have done, but the needs of the present and the future cannot be effectively met by the methods of the past.303
299 South Wales Daily News, 13 March 1906, 3.
300 South Wales Welsh Argus, 3 February 1906, 3.
301 D. Ben Rees, Cofiant Jim Griffiths, 51.
302 Ibid
303 South Wales Daily News, 13 March 1906, 3.
Vernon Hartshorn made himself quite clear when a branch of the Labour Representation Committee was established in the Mid Glamorgan constituency:
It was to be a Labour organisation or nothing. If the Liberals chose to contest the division against Labour, then let them fight it out. It was not the Labour Party who would go down.304
As the years went by there was another more militant element fostered by critics on the industrial front, thinkers who had long since tired of Mabon’s leadership in the world of the coal industry. They believed that his political, industrial efforts under the banner of progress and the Lib-Lab were outmoded. A number of them were in Mabon’s constituency, the most eloquent being Noah Ablett, Noah Rees and W. F. Hay.
Ablett and Hay argued that the eight-hour law which was an important concern of Mabon had taken twenty-five years political campaigning before being passed in the House of Commons.305 Ablett and his followers were not going to wait so long for what they wanted but, as we have seen, this was a pipe dream.
However, from 1906 onwards, there was more and more criticism of the style and actions of the Lib-Labs. The Mediation Board did not carry out its work for the benefit of the miners. That was the chief criticism. It was clear that, by 1907-8, Vernon Hartshorn had had enough of the powerless compromise he saw in the coalfield. He argued that the best thing for the miners would be to throw it all over the cliff. Ablett, as we have seen, was one of the other voices – a daring leader and Mabon’s most dangerous opponent. He wore a number of colours from Syndicalism to Marxism and was a gifted communicator.306
He was a frequent correspondent in the local press – here is an example from the South Wales Daily News:
Very good. Mabon let us organise, but for what purpose? We don’t organise for the sake of organisation. Is not organisation only a means to an end? If so, will you tell us to what end do you want us to organise? The present policy of our organisation seems to be rather unsatisfactory, and we feel ourselves more in the power of our employers now than we were at the commencement of the federation. 307
304 South Wales Daily News, 25 May 1906, 4.
305 Mabon was a strong believer in the eight hour day campaign in his address at the Annual Conference of the Miners’ Federation of Great Britain in Birmingham on 2 October 1901, he emphasised ‘that when the necessity for a strike on the eight-hours question arrived, South Wales would be ready and willing, and some people would find out what little justification they had in calling him a ‘peace at any price man’. See E. D. Lewis, The Rhondda Valleys (London, 1959), 173.
306 Noah Ablett (1883-1935) was a student at Ruskin College Oxford and was one of the founders of the National Council of Labour Colleges. When a conference was held in Oxford to form a Plebs League, he was the Chair and the Plebs Social Club which was formed in Tonypandy carried out a lot of educational work for what he called ‘independent education for the working class’. In his article in the edition of Plebs, Noah Ablett wrote an article ‘The Relationship of Ruskin College to the Labour Movement’ See E. D. Lewis, The Rhondda Valleys (London, 1980), 173-4.
307 Noah Ablett, ‘Letter’’ in the South Wales Daily News, 23 August 1910, 4; Peter Stead, WorkingClass Leadership in South Wales, 1900-1920, 337.
Ablett maintained that the great need was to fight for better living conditions rather that what he called ‘farcical shamfighting’. What Ablett really wanted to see was brave generals throughout the coalfield rather than tame secretaries. He closed his very important open letter with this paragraph:
Mabon tells us ‘with all due diligence’ that we are young and inexperienced. And you, Mabon, with equal deference – you are old – almost too old to hear the rising generation knocking at the door of progress.308
Clearly Mabon had many opponents within his office and his executive committee, his constituency and the Union. For them, consensus was dangerous when what was called for was independent and militant leadership. Was it not high time for Labour to grow up and stand on its own feet? But they could not liberate themselves from the grip of Liberalism. For the 1906 election, Ramsay MacDonald stood for Labour and Herbert Gladstone for the Liberals, talking of working together for the good of both political camps.
It must be admitted that the reaction was a complex one – more complex than many a commentator and historian realised. Very gradually, there was a movement away from the Lib-Lab and a strong call for a movement which would express the wishes of the working class whom Mabon represented as a Rhondda MP. The Independent Labour Party failed to attract thousands of the working class to its ranks and the militant spirit and syndicalist message did not appeal to the majority of Rhondda miners. After all, the culture of south and west Wales was a culture which was competitive, neighbourly and one which respected and took note of MPs who possessed various talents and a wish to serve the whole electorate.
Without doubt, that was Mabon’s forte. He was not too political in his disposition – he liked the eisteddfod stage and the Rhondda Valley pulpits. In the mining communities of the south there was fierce opposition to political candidates with a narrow appeal and some of these suffered because of their failure to identify themselves with activities which were an important part of the electors’ lives. The Independent Labour Party did not succeed in supplanting Liberalism which had an aspect which was kindly, open and welcoming. And remember the joy in the life of the miners in 1908 when the Liberal Government decided to restrict the miners’ working day to eight hours and Lloyd George gave pensions to old people for the first time ever, five shillings per week to everyone over seventy. Labour exchanges were established at the same time and Lloyd George introduced what was known in England as the Robin Hood Tax and in Wales as the People’s Budget. In 1911 the Liberals passed the Insurance Act which gave workers and their families free family doctor care. Also, as a result of the Act, the dole was given to some workers for the first time.309
308 Noah Ablett, ibid., Peter Stead, ibid., 337-8.
309 D. Ben Rees, Cofiant Jim Griffiths, 54.
Labour could not improve on this programme and, for the ordinary people, it was hard to conceive of changing their allegiance from the Liberals to a new political party. Mabon could not envisage his joining the Labour Party. After long and arduous reasoning he did so after the Federations officially identified with the Labour Party in 1908. It was in that year that MPs in mining areas had to make a very difficult decision. A number of them failed to change their colours to support Labour and turn their backs on their Liberal Party friends, so as to promote the philosophy of the newlyborn Labour Party.
In Wales, the four Lib-Lab MPs sponsored by the miners, John Williams, William Brace, Tom Richards and Mabon decided, after a long debate, to support the Labour Party. But it was hardly a good time for the four to cross over from the Lib-Lab group to the Labour Party in the light of another High Court verdict. This was the Osborne case. In 1909, it was adjudged that the Trade Unions could not legally hand over any part of their membership fees to the coffers of the Labour Party. This meant that the Labour Party, which came into existence in 1906, was going to lose a significant amount of income overnight. It made it almost impossible for them to fight any parliamentary election as the office of MP was unpaid and so they would have to live on and depend on their own financial resources or on a union such as the Miners’ Union which was keen to support MPs in mining constituencies.
Although the four politicians had to identify themselves with the Labour Party, neither Mabon, Brace nor Richards changed their political views. Mabon did not use the word Labour in his General Election leaflets in January 1910. He was highly praised for his attitude by the local paper, the Rhondda Leader, which declared that his attraction was that he was at the call of everyone who belonged to the Rhondda constituency.310 In their view, he was an ideal representative, not just for Rhondda but for the Welsh nation as well. William Brace also left the word Labour out of his leaflets, appealing to the voters in the name of ‘Progress and Reform’ – whatever that meant to the majority of voters.
In Rhondda, since the establishment of a Marxist Club in Blaenclydach, there was a large number of young men, mostly miners, ready to learn and discuss the implications of Marxism. Noah Rees was behind this move in 1903 and the young miner, Lewis Jones, who wrote a famous novel Cwmardy, was one of his collaborators. Noah Rees involved W. H. Mainwaring, as well as those involved with the Rhondda Socialist 311 Between 1908 and 1909 this club managed to attract a host of what one could call evangelical socialists who travelled around Britain lecturing and proselytising. In 1909 people such as H. M. Hyndman and Henry Quelch, the editor of Justice came to lecture in Blaenclydach.312 However, there was also a larger group area who believed in Christian Socialism. It must be remembered that the vast majority of prominent socialists in Rhondda had been nurtured in Nonconformist chapels. Noah Ablett, after all, was a Baptist preacher in his teens; likewise A. J. Cook who moved from Somerset into Rhondda, had been a fervent
310 Editorial, Rhondda Leader, 15 January 1910, 1
311 Daryl Leeworthy, ‘Tonypandy, 1910: The Foundations of Welsh Social Democracy’ in Secular Martyrdom in Britain and Ireland: From Peterloo to the Present (edited by Quentin Outram a Keith Laybourn) (London 2018), 129.
312 Ibid.
S. O. Davies, an Abercwmboi-based young socialist, considered entrying the ministry with the Welsh Independents. In the Tonypandy area the miner, John Hopla, had a very genuine support for Christian socialism. He and his family had moved from Pembroke to Tonypandy and his father and his brother William were loyal to the English Independents’ Chapel in Winton Street, Tonypandy. John Hopla managed to attract some of the most prominent contemporary Christian Socialists to lecture in Rhondda. The two brothers, the Reverends Stitt Wilson and Ben Wilson from America, both accepted the invitation. Another attraction was having the Reverend R. J. Campbell from London and the Reverend George Neighbour, the minister of the Brotherhood Chapel in Mountain Ash, Aberdare Valley.
John Hopla displayed a great deal of ability as a leader of the miners who remained discontented, and 1908 was an important year for him as he inspired four thousand miners who were working in Llwynypia Colliery to be involved in a strike. The strike began on 23 November 1908. The following day there was a gathering of the workforce. The Miners’ Union Secretary, Tom Richards and the local agent D. Watts Morgan, came to speak with John Hopla as chairman. There was no breakthrough and another large meeting was arranged for 28 November and, this time Mabon came to meet the miners. D Watts Morgan accompanied him. There was a serious disagreement with the messages of both men. The only voice which received applause was that of James Winstone. He was the first acknowledged socialist to be elected to office in the South Wales Miners’ Union. Winstone begged the miners to forgo the strike, especially as it was almost Christmas, for the sake of their families. The bitter strike came to an end on 16 and 17 December without any material advantage. Hopla had at least endeared himself to his fellow workers and they elected him in March 1909 as their representative in the Glamorgan Colliery. He was to play a prominent role in the long dragged out Tonypandy strike of 1910-11.
In the 1910 General Election Mabon had to face a Conservative candidate. In the first General Election of the year from 14 January until 9 February, Mabon paid homage to both camps, the Labour as well as the Liberals. The result was:
William Abraham (Labour) 12,436
Harold Lloyd (Conservative) 3471
Majority 8,965
In the second General Election from 2 to 19 December, turnout was smaller in the Rhondda constituency so the majority decreased.313 The result was: 314
William Abraham (Labour) 9023
Harold Lloyd (Conservative) 3701
Majority 5572
There was no hope of the Conservatives ever removing Mabon. It was different for another
313 Ibid., 122-3
314 Beti Jones, Etholiadau Seneddol yng Nghymru, 1900-1975, 42
miners’ leader, Vernon Hartshorn in the Mid-Glamorgan constituency.315 In his defeat he blamed generations of Liberal tradition and anti-Labour prejudice. In the local paper, the Glamorgan Gazette, he named the most hostile group of all, ministers of the Christian Gospel of every denomination. In his disappointment he expressed his anger:
We have to overcome the active hostility of a couple of hundred Nonconformist ministers, but we shall go on.316
The Socialist evangelical firebrand, Ben Tillett, failed in Swansea as the Trade Unions ignored his appeal, considering him to be much too extreme for them. He sincerely thought that workers who voted for he Tories or the Liberals were traitors to the working class and by so doing selling their birthright.317 The Cynon Valley miners’ leader, Charles Butt Stanton, lost in the East Glamorgan constituency. Was he not the person who called on Brace, Richards and Mabon ‘to move on or move out’ of the important Federation posts before that election?318 He came third in the race after the Liberals and the Conservatives. It is evident, especially in Mabon’s history, that the personality and way of life of the candidates was all-important to the voters in 1910.
Keir Hardie was safe again in his constituency but again second on the list. As one shrewd historian claims:
By and large, Hardie was returned on the Progressive vote, his election being a coalition of ILP’ers, Progressives and Lib-Labs.319
He won in 1900, in 1906 and twice in 1910, as he was always more attractive than the second candidate who stood for the Liberal Party. Hardie failed to beat the main Liberal candidate. D. A. Thomas succeeded in 1900 and 1906 and Edgar Rees Jones in the two elections in 1910, garnering more votes from what was called the ‘sector which believed in progress and a better world.’ The essence of his vote was ‘Radical Progressivism’ according to Peter Stead but certainly, for Hardie himself, the Independent Labour Party was his main support. He believed faithfully that the future was in the hands of the ILP and the Labour Party.
315 Ibid., 43 a 48. In the by-election in March on the appointment of Sir S.T. Evans (a great friend of Mabon) as a high court judge, there was a struggle between F. W. Gibbons and Vernon Hartshorn. The result: F. W. Gibbons (Lib) 8920 Vernon Hartshorn (Lab) 6210 Majority 2710 And then in the General Election on 19th December: J. Hugh Edwards (Lib) 7624 Vernon Hartshorn (Lab) 6102 Majority 1822. For Hartshorn, See Peter Stead, ‘Vernon Hartshorn: Miners’ Agent and Cabinet Minister’ in Stewart Williams (ed.) The Glamorgan Historian, vol. vii (Cowbridge, 1969)
316 Glamorgan Gazette, 20 December 1910.
317 Ben Tillett (1860-1943) was a leader in the ‘new unionism’ in 1889 and was a Labour MP from 1917 to 1924 and 1929 to 1931. His memories can be found in his autobiography Memories and Reflections (London, 1931). Two biographies of him have been published, George Light (ed.), Ben Tillett: Fighter and Pioneer (London, 1943) and Jonathan Schneer, Ben Tillett: Portrait of a Labour Leader (London and Urbana, 1982). See also, John Saville and A. J. Topham, a record of him in the Dictionary of Labour Biography (DNB), vol. 4, edited by Joyce M. Bellamy and John Saville, (London and New Jersey) 1977.
318 Glamorgan Gazette, 20 December 1910.
319 Peter Stead, ibid, 341.
Other trade unionists believed that the voters had a debt to support the Welsh hero, David Lloyd George. The fact was that the majority of male electors of Wales were privileged with the vote. Women did not have the opportunity to vote, nor did a section of the ordinary working-class people either. In the view of intellectuals, the Labour Party meant the ‘party of the Trade Unions’. The Lib-Labs were by 1910 a spent force. They were not going to win the day politically, as Mabon had foolishly boasted in 1907. There was a strong core of ambitious miners being educated at Ruskin College Oxford and they wanted to have an independent Labour College to educate local political leaders. The first decade of the twentieth century became dramatic years of creating a new political party, an emotional and religious revival under the leadership of a young miner, of the incredible success of the Liberal Party in the General Elections of 1906 and 1910. They had already been busy preparing better living conditions and protesting through strike action. It was not syndicalism that was responsible for energising strike action in industrial relations. Mabon himself used the potential of strike action throughout his career but always as the final option in the argument.
During the last decade of the nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth century, the politics of south and west Wales, particularly in the coalfield, referred consistently to two people, Mabon and Brace. Stead says:
Mabon and Brace were dominant men, but they were also representative men. They had created a new tradition of working-class leadership, which was thought of as reflecting certain values.320
William Evans, Rhondda miners’ agent, called ‘Little Mabon’ always reflected his values and opinion. And as Peter Stead argues, the whole debate between Mabon and his critics is ultimately a debate about the leadership that was expected of working-class leaders in the coal mining valley communities. Parliamentary Politics and Trade Unionism were not the only spheres in which Mabon was active. One must include the chapel, the friendly societies, the eisteddfodau and the whole educational response through the Workers Educational Association (WEA), the Plebs League and the evening classes. The Party grew to mean much more than an MP representing a constituency; it became a way of life, with status and power as the voters were on the same wavelength as the people sent by them to Westminster. As Stead says:
The real revolution came in every town and village of South Wales where the position of the local workingclass leaders was transformed.321
We must remember two aspects of the revolution of which Mabon was an important part. In the first place, leaders were nurtured in the lodges and chapels from a working-class ethic which desired to serve its communities and which saw its golden opportunities in the Parish Council, Board of Guardians, District Council and the County Council. It was
320 Ibid., 344.
321 Ibid., 345.
easier for a miner to be involved at that level than at parliamentary level. For till the 1920’s the politics of Britain continued to be in the hands of two parties, the Conservatives and the Liberals They had no intention of giving up their power. There was no place at all for the Labour Party on the political map of Britain according to the great figures of the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party. It was an uphill battle for those who had become supportive of the Labour Party to win any seats at all. It would have been impossible without the pioneering work of the Labour-Liberal MPs. So the leaders of the new party saw that it was easier to open the doors to the Town Hall and County Hall than the door of the House of Commons in Westminster. And, at a local level, the most important factor that was needed by Labour was a charismatic personality. That has remained so in Wales till very recent times. The Independent Labour Party saw its chance but, unfortunately, many of them tended to be prickly and hard to deal with.
Normally, the successful ILP candidate had to be a man well-known outside the ILP branch, and a man capable of appealing to the wider progressive vote. 322
That is what often accounted for their failure such as in 1910 when Labour candidates lost their contests for the District Council in the Rhondda. The local paper explained that they had made many mistakes as leaders of the labour movement and consequently lost a goodly amount of support from miners who were still in the Liberal camps.323
So much was expected from Trade Union leaders, such as Mabon and Brace along with the miners’ agents and other officers in the mines. It was often constant, painful and slow work. It is a very hard task to reconcile workers who disagreed with each other and with the bosses, administering justice to those who feel that they have been let down, as well as dealing with legal cases and tribunals following tragedies in the collieries.
The structure of Trade Unionism brought a great deal of opportunities in its wake. Loyalty and ability at branch or district level brought its regular rewards. A man who had energy and ability like John Hopla could be chosen by his fellow miners as a checkweighman and later many had the chance to become a miners’ agent.324 For many of these local leaders, that was the pinnacle of ambition. By these means, they were fulltime employed in union affairs and they were the official voice of labour in the area in which they worked. That was the story, which happened to an elite of the miners. They could discard their working clothes, and an opportunity arose for them to wear white collars and an appropriate suit. They were soon at a distance from the underground miners but what was really important for the miners’ agent was that he had started at the bottom of the colliery. That was what gave them the experience and fellow-feeling for those they represented. Being chosen for office was a tremendous privilege, as Mabon always said when he was addressing the large meetings he held. The Welsh press would
322 Ibid., 346-7.
323 Rhondda Leader, 26 February 1910, 4.
324 The only portrayal of John Hopla is that written by Professor Dai Smith. See Dai Smith, The World of John Hopla Turned Around (Treorchy, 2014).
give exceptional publicity to the office of miners’ agent ever since Mabon filled the post as long ago as 1871.
Remember that it was rare to see and hear a miner on the Executive Committee of the South Wales Miners, the Fed as it was called. The historian R. Page Arnot says that the Executive Committee of the South Wales Miners’ Union in 1915 included fifteen miners’ agents, five check weighmen and only one underground miner.325 The leaders were people like Vernon Hartshorn, Charles Stanton, S. O. Davies and Noah Ablett, each one a miners’ agent and possessing very special influence. It was they who, with Mabon and Brace and Tom Richards, would be responsible for the political and industrial atmosphere of the Trade Union and particularly of the mining districts that they served. Through these, there developed a Trade Unionism bureaucracy which expected to see administrative talents given their rightful position. The majority of them had left school between eight and twelve years of age to work in the collieries. Some of the most ambitious of these lads became colliery officers, miners’ agents and ministers in Nonconformist denominations. An example would be the notable career of Frank Hodges, as we see in his autobiography, My Adventures as a Labour Leader, published in 1926. Hodges was working in the pit at thirteen. At eighteen, he was lodge secretary. He won a scholarship to study at Ruskin College Oxford and later in Paris. He became a miners’ agent for the Garw District when he was only twenty-four.326
The Lib-Labs’ period in south Wales had been weakened, for the miners had joined the Labour Party in 1908. Without the miners, the Labour Party would never have become so powerful in Wales, and it only happened after long bargaining. It took place when there was a consensus amongst the miners that it was the only way to confront the Tory Party which was their enemy. South Wales was gradually becoming Labour Party territory and the Liberals had to give in and acknowledge the reality of the situation. But, whilst Lloyd George was on his throne and powerful, it was hard for the Welsh in the heavy industries to ignore him. Mabon admired him greatly and, in his heart and mind, remained faithful to Lloyd George whilst he was an MP. By 1910, Mabon continued to support the Liberal Party in name, though he was regarded in the Rhondda as a Labour MP. It was a difficult choice after being Lib-Lab for twenty-five years.
325 R. Page Arnot, South Wales Miners: A History of the SWMF, 1898-1914 (Cardiff, 1967), 28.
326 Frank Hodges., My Adventures as a Labour Leader (London, 1926).
GRIEF, REVIVAL AND TRAVEL
1900 was a difficult year for Mabon and his family, a time of mourning in the home when his wife Sarah Abraham died.327 She passed to glory not in her home in Pentre, Rhondda but at 5 Southend Villas, Mumbles, an area that meant a great deal to her. Her family had moved from west Glamorganshire to Cwmafan and it was there that Mabon met and married her.338
Whilst Mabon was a public man, well known throughout Wales, there is no reference to Sarah in the contemporary press. She spent her life in the privacy of her home, looking after her children and after the needs of her husband. As Welsh mothers are portrayed, she was ‘the angel of the hearth’. The funeral was in Treorchy and brought a large number of Mabon’s supporters together.
Her body was taken by train from Mumbles to Treherbert and thence home to Pentre on the eve of the funeral. There was a short service in the home conducted by the Revd. Thomas Davies, the minister of Bethlehem Presbyterian Church of Wales, and then only the men walked to Treorchy Public Cemetery. Prominent members of the Miners’ Union attended the funeral, amongst them Tom Richards, Beaufort; A. Onions, Tredegar; D. Watts Morgan, Porth; Lewis Miles, Bedwas; Ben Davies, Ton Pentre; J. Davies, Dowlais; D. Beynon, Maesteg; J. Walters, Nantyglo; E. Meredith, Merthyr Vale; Tom Evans, Penygraig; T. Jones, Clydach Vale; P. D. Rees, Aberaman and J. S. Jones, of Treorchy. There were six councillors at the graveside led by Alderman R. Lewis of Pontypridd. Scores of Welsh hymns were sung by the choir of Nazareth Chapel, Pentre, under the baton of Tom Howells. There was a service in the cemetery chapel. The solid oak coffin stood before the altar. The dignified procession was organised by two of Mabon’s closest friends – D. Watts Morgan and Tom Morgan from Cymmer. Mabon delighted in the choir’s contribution, remembering that his wife Sarah was one of its members from the very beginning. After
327 Mrs William Abraham died at 5 South End, Mumbles having spent five weeks there with her daughter Mrs. Pugh. She suffered from chronic bronchitis. Mabon travelled to Mumbles on the night before her death. Another daughter, Mrs. Smith, also came and the three were there when his faithful wife died on the Friday morning. Weekly Mail, 21 July 1900, 3. 338 In the forty years of their marriage from 1860 to 1900, they had twelve children.
all, it was he who was the founder and conductor of Nazareth Chapel Choir for years until Tom Howells took on the challenge. Sarah Abraham was laid to rest in the same grave as her son who died in London over Christmas 1899.328
There is no record anywhere of Mabon pleading the cause of women’s suffrage. His priority was always the needs of the miners. One politician said that women had no rights of their own and no rights to anything that was his, no right to vote; and if they were in employment, they would not be paid what a man was paid for equal work. Sir Leslie Scott painted an accurate picture of the status of women up to the end of the Great War:
It will be seen that in England how the wife is, in many things, the property of her husband.329
In the following year, 1901, there was widespread grief over the Senghennydd mining disaster.330 The loss of lives in the Universal Colliery created lasting distress. The haulier William Harris was injured and was found lying with his head resting on his faithful horse who had served him for years with the underground tasks. The horse was dead and its kind master at death’s door. The first doctor to venture down into the pit was Dr Burke, the medical officer of the Llanbradach mines.331 Lethal gas had spread in all directions. Without doubt, the luckiest miner was William Davies the colliery ostler. Although he had considered working on for a while, he was persuaded to give up the idea. The explosion happened a few minutes after he left the colliery. The families who had come to the pit head were told that Mabon planned to come to the colliery on Sunday morning to greet and sympathise with the women who had lost their husbands.332 A total of 65 miners were lost and they are all named in the appendix to this book.
What strikes the historian reading the names of those who were lost at the Universal Colliery is that the majority of them were incomers. Many came to this pit from rural Cardiganshire and from the Aberdare Valley. One such was Thomas Jones of 2 Station Terrace, Senghennydd. He was sixty years old and was originally from the parish of Cilcennin in mid-Cardiganshire. He had worked for twenty years as a miner in the Bwllfa and Nantmelyn collieries in Aberdare before moving to work in Senghennydd. What made him move? Probably better working conditions as well as more pay. The list of the miners lost in the explosion reveals the huge loss to Caerphilly and district, as so many of those who died were leaders in the Nonconformist chapels of the villages of Abertridwr
328 Evening Express, 14 July 1900, 3, and also report in the Cardiff Times, 21 July 1900, 7.
329 The papers of Sir Leslie Scott (1869-1950) Liverpool are kept in the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick. Scott wrote eight pages on the place of woman in society and it was eye-opening to see how females were treated in the Victorian age and during the reign of Edward VII. Sir Leslie was Conservative MP for Liverpool Exchange from 1910 to 1929 as well as serving as a barrister and a judge.
330 In Wikipedia on Senghenydd Coal Mines Disaster, the focus is on the 1913 disaster. There is little attention given to the explosion in 1901.
331 81 lives were lost in the disaster, Evening Express, 7 March 1902, 2.
332 The South Wales Union of Miners was represented by Abel Thomas, barrister Evening Express, 23 October 1901, 3.
and Senghennydd. The same collieries and area suffered even more in 1913. It is difficult to comprehend that 439 men and 13 boys died. This was the largest number ever in a colliery in Britain. It happened at the Great Universal Pit in Senghennydd on Tuesday morning 14 October 1913.
Mabon attended the tragic colliery again in 1913. The miners’ leaders all made an effort to travel to Senghennydd. With Mabon came D. Watts Morgan and Ben Davies from Rhondda; E. Morrel travelled from Merthyr and from other parts of the coalfield, Thomas Richards, Alfred Onions, George Barker, John Williams, Evan Thomas, T. George, James Baker, T. Thomas, T. James, James Winstone, J. Jones, D. Beynon and J. Manning.333
Mabon was the most famous Trade Unionist in the whole of the coalfield. He had the company of D. Watts Morgan miners’ agent and district secretary.334 The other miners’ agent who accompanied them was Ben Davies of Pentre. Mabon showed leadership mainly through his oratory and throughout 1901 he spoke at a total of three dozen meetings. On these occasions, he emphasised that the miners deserved fair wages. This was the same mission that came from the more militant socialists within the coalfield. He pleaded with the pit owners to convince the export market to pay a decent sum. After all, this was the best coal in the world. He told the miners that the costs within the South Wales Coalfield were higher because of the difficult coal seams and the timber that had to be bought. The timber in the pits was a heavy burden on the owners. It came to an average of eight shillings for every ton of coal that was produced. In addition, they had a royalty of eight shillings.
‘You must remember as well’ said Mabon ‘there is cost of keeping the horses underground, as well as of getting water to the colliery.’335
In his reasoning this left little profit for anyone involved in the coal industry
At the end of 1901 Mabon was invited to visit the Welsh communities in the United States of America and, in January 1902, he began his itinerary travelling from one city and state to the other. By 1902 the United States had attracted more Welsh-speakers than any country in the world except England. Mabon knew of the constant emigration in the Victorian era
333 One of the most complete reports is to be found in the weekly paper of the Welsh Independents: Y Tyst. It gives the background to the colliery, which had been opened five years before in 1896 with 800 miners working for the company owned by Sir William Thomas Lewis. It was the night shift which suffered the tragedy; indeed, the majority of them were recently arrived workers. The sound of the explosion was heard up to three miles away like thunder. Y Tyst, May 29, 1901, 5. Alfred Thomas and the Revd. D. Roberts, the minister of Salem Chapel played an important role in both tragedies, in 1901 and 1913. See Tarian y Gweithiwr 6 September 1901, 4 and 1 May 1919, 8.
334 Joyce Bellamy, ‘David Watts Morgan (1867-1933)’ in Dictionary of Labour Biography, volume 1, 246-7. He had specialist qualifications and saved the lives of miners in explosions. He saved eighteen men in the 1913 Senghennydd tragedy. He supported Mabon and succeeded him as the chief miners’ agent in Rhondda. During the Great War he played a prominent part was awarded the DSO for his bravery. He was elected unopposed as MP for Rhondda East in 1918.
335 ‘Araith Mabon’, Tarian y Gweithiwr, 16 Sept. 1901, 2.
to the coal, iron and tinplate areas of the great country but especially to the coalfields of Pennsylvania, Ohio and Iowa.336 The Welsh hero travelled into the midst of the American Welsh during its golden age when Welsh cultural life was flourishing. That could be seen in the numerous flourishing chapels, the local and national eisteddfodau, all the different Welsh choirs as well as the publication of books newspapers and journals in both Welsh and English. Some of the areas were thoroughly Welsh-speaking, particularly in Utica and the surrounding villages in the New York state.
Mabon enjoyed spending as much time as he could in Utica. One of the reporters of the Welsh paper published in Utica, Y Drych , wrote:
He came amongst us like Santa Claus, with a sweet message and precious memories from Wild Wales. There was the smell of pastures, of small fields and green hedges of the mountainous land to the West of England on his clothes and daisies and buttercups around his feet; and how strange it is that the old fathers who have been in America since time immemorial are having a new and mystical taste of ‘The Land of my Fathers’ led by such an ideal representative.337
He was just the right personality to be greeting the Welsh exiles in the United States. Indeed, according to Y Drych he was an extraordinary Welsh ambassador. Wales could never have sent a more heroic figure:
Wales, when you are sending representatives to America, copy Mabon, come here to represent the old MotherCountry, not to represent a denomination or a political party.338
The 1902 journey was a huge success and when Mabon returned to Rhondda, he had the opportunity to thank the Rhondda District Miners in a meeting at Porth for taking care of the costs of sending him to the USA.350 He also acknowledged 339 that the Elder Dempster company of Liverpool, through the company chair, Sir Alfred Lewis Jones, had paid the general expenses of the journey.340 This was a significant amount but it highlights the admiration that Sir Alfred Lewis Jones had for his friend Mabon.341 After all, Sir Alfred Lewis Jones owned coal mines in the Maesteg area and his ships would be supplied by this coal when they docked in the port of Port Talbot en route to the west of Africa. Mabon paid a visit himself to these collieries as well as to the iron and steel works around Port Talbot. In addition, he preached regulalry on Sundays, lectured to all kinds of societies and spoke at rallies and conferences
336 Daniel Jenkins Williams, One Hundred Years of Welsh Calvinistic Methodism in America (Philadelphia, 1937), 390-420.
337 The essay can be seen in Baner ac Amserau Cymru, 15 January 1902, 15.
338 Ibid.
339 Tarian y Gweithiwr January 9 1902, 1.
340 For Sir Alfred Lewis Jones (1845-1909) see D. Ben Rees, Hanes Rhyfeddol Cymry Lerpwl (Talybont, 2019), 107, 161-6.
341 Tarian y Gweithiwr, 9 January 1902, 1.
In America, he emphasised how the best steam-coal in Britain was mined in the pits of the Rhondda Valley. According to Mabon, Wales was also the only country which could produce anthracite coal in west Wales. Loads of this precious coal were sent weekly from the port of Swansea to San Francisco. In the USA coalfields, the miner was expected to work a nine-hour day. He came across many Welsh miners in the coalfields who knew him back in Wales. The conversations were sweet and tears of hiraeth could be seen on the cheeks of many of these exiles.342
The coal which was used on the steamship on the return journey, to Britain came from the Nova Scotia mines. In Mabon’s opinion, this was perhaps better than the coal from Cape Breton, but he knew that its condition was so bad that he and his fellow-travellers had to be at sea for a week longer than should have been necessary.343 Mabon enjoyed travelling all over Wales and England to speak. He was the guest at the annual meeting of the Forest of Dean coalfield where he showed his ability to mediate.344 He was dismayed that, during the same week, James Winstone in a meeting of the Cwmbran colliery, had been belittling the Sliding Scale, suggesting that the miners did not receive fair dues under this out dated system. In October Mabon was the guest at the Annual Festival of Anthracite Miners in the Welsh speaking village of Brynaman. He was delighted to see two brass bands supporting the festival. The Gwauncaegurwen Silver Band marched through the Aman Valley and the Brynaman band came through Cwmtwrch, Cwmllynfell and on to Brynaman station.356
In 1902 Mabon had been accepted onto the European international stage. In May he travelled to Düsseldorf in Germany to the International Miners’ Congress and was chosen to be its treasurer, as a successor to Thomas Burt, one of the English miners’ heroes.345 This was a great honour for the Rhondda Valley Welshman and this was expressed in the Welsh press. Then at the beginning of 1904, after the death of Benjamin Pickard, Mabon was chosen to be treasurer of the Miners’ Federation of Great Britain.346 Clearly he was by now greatly respected by the miners of Wales, England and Scotland as well as by thousands of miners in Europe and the United States. But his main concern was for the miners of Rhondda and South Wales despite how intractable they could be, particularly given the miners’ failure to pay a sufficient sum to be a member of the new trade union the South Wales Miners’ Union. Dr E. W. Evans says:
342 Ibid.
343 Tarian y Gweithiwr 24 July 1902, 2.
344 Ibid
345 E. W. Evans, Mabon, 69. See also H. F. Bing and John Saville, ‘Thomas Burt (1837-1922)’ in Dictionary of Labour Biography, vol.1, 59-63. Burt was a man very similar to Mabon – tenderhearted, of a peaceful nature, a fervent Methodist and an outstanding organiser. He managed to win the Morpeth seat as a Liberal in 1874 and held it until 1918, 44 years as an MP. He was Father of the House. He believed in the dis-establishment of the Anglican church in England as well as in Wales.
346 John Saville, ‘Benjamin Pickhard (1842-1904)’ in Dictionary of Labour Biography, vol. 1, 268-270. He was born in the same year as Mabon. He was the son of a Yorkshire miner. He was a firm nonconformist and a passionate Wesleyan Methodist; he was also an abstainer and was called by the nickname ‘iron man’ as he had firm views on everything. His greatest contribution was setting up the British Miners Union in Newport in 1889
Substantial deficits appeared in 1904 and 1905 and only very small surpluses in 1903 and 1906. One reason for this was that the miners still refused to pay large union dues, the rate of contribution in South Wales being only half that levied by English organisations. This was to remain, as it had been in the past, a most serious problem which even Mabon was unable to solve.347
The Trade Union often failed to represent the miners as there was insufficient capital for going on the attack and campaigning on a large scale. On 9 November 1900 and on five occasions in Autumn 1901 the Executive Committee of the Miners’ Union announced general holidays in the coalfields. This was a way of reducing production or, as it was put colloquially, ‘stop days’. In the words of Mabon:
The ‘stop days’ were, in fact, intended as a warning to those difficult owners who had been ‘holding the market’ altogether or making contracts for three months only in the hope and belief that prices would give way.348
Mabon explained the purpose of those days in this verse:
To kill the ring that caused the slump, To throttle the thing – bring it down with a bump. 349
These special days cost the Trade Union dearly and meant a loss of sleep for Mabon. The employers saw that these days were illegal and that there was no industrial reason at all behind them. There was court action and the matter was handed over to the Law Lords in the House of Lords. Eventually the Trade Union was fined the enormous sum of £57,000 in damages. This was the beginning of a further attack on the Trade Union, subsequently leading, as we have seen, to the Taff Vale case. The Government also showed its opposition, placing a tax of a shilling per ton on coal exported from Britain. As south Wales exported so much, this was another blow to the industry. Mabon called for strike action, not something he often did. But the British miners refused to listen to him on this occasion.350 This moderate man was now being rated an extremist. Mabon believed that the timid miners were making a terrible mistake; they should have opposed the tax to the bitter end.351 He understood also that south Wales could not make a stand independently of everyone else. During the winter of 1904-5, Mabon travelled once again to the United States, this time as a representative of the mining trade union in the States. He was to attend the American Trade Unions Congress which was held in San Francisco.352 He made a great impression on his first visit in 1901-2. According to Judge Edwards of Scranton, no Welshman was ever welcomed more enthusiastically than Mabon.365 Huge crowds came to welcome him again the second 353time when he
347 E. W. Evans, Mabon, 69.
348 Ibid.
349 Ibid.
350 Ibid.
351 South Wales Daily News, 28 January 1903, 3
352 E. W. Evans, Mabon, 68
353 Ibid.
travelled in his carriage from Wilkes-Barre up to Carbondale. On his second visit, he managed to visit many towns where Welsh people were living on the way from New York to San Francisco. However, this time the local Trade Union was looking after him and they expected him to address their meetings. He spoke masterfully in the Conference, eloquently emphasising those principles which mattered to him as a Trade Unionist and founder of Trade Unionism among miners in the land of Wales. He was received by the Conference with deafening applause. The distant journey was of huge benefit to the mining industry in Britain.
On this occasion he spent three months in the United States. He arrived back in Cardiff at three o’clock on Saturday afternoon 3 February 1905 and reached his home in Rhondda by 6 p.m.354 At the station in Pentre a great crowd of miners and his friends came together to celebrate his return home but, a few days later, he lost his bardic friend Celynog.355 He told the crowd that he had had a better chance to get to know the situation of miners in the United States than on the previous visit. He was uncommonly pleased to read the news from Wales confirming the fervour of the religious awakening.356
Ex-miner Evan Roberts had travelled to East Glamorgan in November 1904 and was there until 21 February 1905.357 So Mabon had missed the greater part of his journey to the Cynon Valley, Carphilly, Taff Valley in Merthyr Vale and thence to Clydach Vale and Treorchy in the Rhondda to spread the message of salvation. But, at that time, he visited fifty villages and towns, winning at least 80,000 returnees in the two months in which he spent evangelising in Glamorganshire. Mabon was not present in the Chapel of his youth in Cwmafan on 21 February 1905 for the visit of Evan Roberts and his fellow evangelists.
Mabon was on good terms with the Reverend Dr D. M. Phillips of Tylorstown who was a bosom friend of Evan Roberts. He used all his energy and literary skill to write detailed reports of Evan Roberts’ meetings and, indeed, in April 1905 he was with the revivalist during his journey to Liverpool and Birkenhead.358 Dr D. M. Phillips placed Evan Roberts on the highest possible pedestal, incomparable with anyone else, even with Mabon. The Revd. John Morgan of Trecynon near Aberdare described the background thus:
The mines around us all meet up, presenting themselves to the Lord in ardent prayers for the leadership and influence of the Holy Spirit who has been almost exiled from us by swearing and blasphemy. Small children everywhere have been playing at revival meetings in the past months. They would be imitating the working-class and kicking the ball. The children are always ‘up to date’ and
354 On 7 February 1905, four days after returning from America, Edward Williams (1822-1905, ‘Celynog’) of Porth died: the man who gave, spoke and sang the appropriate hymn ‘in the deep waters and waves’ when waters flooded the Tynewydd mine. He was a loyal supporter of Mabon. See Tarian y Gweithiwr, 9 February 1905, 5
355 Ibid.
356 John Gwynfor Jones, Hanes Henaduriaeth Dwyrain Morgannwg 18762005 (Cardiff, 2006), 137.
357 Ibid.
358 D. Ben Rees, Hanes Rhyfeddol Cymry Lerpwl , 174-183
clearly demonstrate how the country is leaning. From day to day we hear of football teams breaking up and being recalled across the country, of billiard tables being abandoned and hopefully the profits of the taverns being lost. 359
The Rhondda Leader tells the same story at the beginning of February 1905:
The chapels are crowded on Sunday evening and some of the churches are contemplating extensions to their buildings. Business at the public houses has suffered greatly, and it is rumoured that some of the publicans have given notice to their servants to terminate their engagements and instead retiring from the business.360
Where did Mabon stand in all this? He was naturally in favour of the amazing vitality he saw in his own chapel and those in his constituency. He rejoiced that the temperance movement was growing and public houses closing and he believed that congregational hymn singing was becoming a force for good. He rejoiced in the fact that Evan Roberts was a young miner before going to college in Newcastle Emlyn, that he was converted at Blaenannerch near Cardigan at the end of September 1904. Mabon had not seen any similar religious revival though he was affected by some of the congregations who listened to him in America. It gave him great deal of happiness to realise that the majority of collieries in Wales started the working day with prayer. This was the case in the quarries in Arfon and Merioneth and in the tin-works. of Llanelli and elsewhere. Mabon welcomed the idea that the revival gave a prominent place to women and young people. In the opinion of the distinguished historian John Davies:
It could be interpreted as a revolt against theocracy, as an attempt to re-engage with the popular, uneducated, anticlerical enthusiasm which previously characterised the religion of Wales.361
For Jim Griffiths, the young miner who became Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, it was the Labour Party and the socialist movement which profited mostly from the religious revival. There were clear secular implications to the great excitement experienced by those in the revival, giving additional backbone to the ordinary people to be able to stand against the 1902 Education Act and helped the Liberals to sweep into victory in the 1906 General Election in Wales. The main religious denominations benefited in the wake of the Revival and around 100,000 returned to the chapel fold, many of them remaining ‘pillars of the Nonconformist cause’ for the rest of their lives. For at least fifty years most congregations in Wales had men and women who had been converted during the Revival.362
359 John Morgan, ‘Y Diwygiad yn Trecynon’ , Y Goleuad , 16 December 1904, 11; J. Gwynfor Jones, Hanes Henaduriaeth Dwyrain Morgannwg , 139-40.
360 Rhondda Leader, 4 Februrary , 1905, 3.
361 John Davies, Hanes Cymru (Harmondsworth, 1990), 486.
362 Ibid. ,487
The pressure of his work and the travel were responsible for another period of ill-health to Mabon in July 1905.363 As he was a widower, he depended on his family and was bed bound for a fortnight at the home of his daughter and son-in-law in Cardiff. He was looked after by two doctors and they believed that the strain of the colliery disasters had caused his illness. There were five of them in the period between 1901 and 1905. 81 people were lost in Senghennydd in 1901 and 16 in Mclaren No. 1 colliery in Monmouthshire on 2 June 1902. There were three more explosions in 1905. On 21 January, 11 were lost at Elba Pit in Glamorgan; on 10 March 33 in the Cambrian colliery in mid-Rhondda and,on 11 July 1905 119 died in the National colliery in Glamorganshire.364
Naturally, Mabon and all his fellow officers in the trade Union were in the midst of these tragedies. He and members of the Executive Committee would attend every inquest which would take some weeks listen to the evidence.365 Working as a miner was hard, dangerous work. On average, a thousand to fifteen hundred men were killed every year from 1880 until 1910. That corresponds on average to four miners losing their lives every day in the British coal mines. Mabon and the Lib-Lab MPs fought hard for the miners. They welcomed The Mines Prohibition of Child Labour Undergound Act at the millennium: this raised the age of boys starting in the pits to thirteen and James Griffiths and Aneurin Bevan benefited from its implementaton.366
In the summer of 1906, three of the most important mining trade unionists in Britain, namely Mabon from Wales, Robert Smillie from Scotland and Enoch Edwards from England, were invited to be members of the Royal Commission on Coal Mines. Baron Monkswell was appointed Chairmanwith Sir Lindsay Wood; Henry H. S. Cuningham from the Home Office; Frederick Lewis Davis of Ferndale, the Chairman of the South Wales Mediation Board; Thomas Ratcliffe Ellis and Dr John Scott Haldane FRS were also invited to be members of the commission. Their task was to study in detail issues to do with the miners, the diseases from which they suffered, the question of safety and the administration of coal industry legislation such as the Coal Mines Regulation Act (1896) which gave the right to the Secretary of State to introduce specific rules on questions of explosions, safety lamps and plans for new collieries.
The Commission met regularly for three years, listening to the evidence of 134 witnesses, 57 of them exminers, 35 colliery -owners and 8 on behalf of the National Association of Colliery Managers.367 With other members of the Commission, Mabon travelled to France and also to the coalfields in Germany to see the differences in the process of safety for miners at their daily work. When the deliberations of the Royal Commission came to an end, a substantial four volume report was published for the legislators and the government of the day. It was adequately pointed out that the supervision and the day to day work of safety officers and overseers were very inadequate.
363 ‘Gwaeledd Mabon’ (Mabon’s Illness), Y Cymro, 20 July 1905, 5.
364 R. Page Arnot, The Miners: Years of Struggle (London, second edition, 1954), 24
365 Ibid., 45
366 Ibid., 46
367 Ibid., 48
Thomas Richards of the South Wales Miners’ Union expressed himself strongly before the members. He emphasised that there was often more than one seam which created difficulties. In the view of the miners’ representative, the overseers should be looking carefully every day at every seam that was being worked in order to safeguard everyone working in the collieries. 368 The Royal Commission discovered that many more miners had accidents in British coal mines than in European countries and even those in the United States. The statistics frightened Mabon and his colleagues but he was aware also that more men and boys worked in coal mines in Britain than in France, Germany and Belgium. These were the numbers of miners in 1906.
The outcome of the Royal Commission was the passing of the Coal Mines Act, 1911 a progressive Liberal Party involvement in legislation. Britain was well ahead of other European countries and it is thought that this legislation is a tribute to miners’ leaders such as Mabon and Enoch Edwards and the Miners’ Federation of Great Britain. Here is the verdict of the historian R. Page Arnot, who chronicled the history of the miners:
The elaborate act was in itself a magnificent tribute to the work of the Miners’ Federation and to the unity of the miners who made it possible for the leaders to carry on in the country, and in the House of Commons the campaign that was responsible for bringing it into being. It was the reward of twenty years of mounting agitation.369
During these busy years Mabon regularly lectured on the subject in the chapels of the House of Commons. This was his most popular lecture, which would be always well applauded. Those listening to him would be one minute laughing and the next mining crying. The Cynon Valley was one of the valleys where they prized Mabon as an eloquent lecturer. Think of him lecturing twice in the same month in the Cynon Valley, the first time to a packed Welsh Independent Chapel called Siloh in Aberdar. Those attending paid to hear him and the profits would be given to clear the debt on the building of the chapel. There was a significant profit in a Mabon lecture for he had complete mastery over his topic and pleased his listeners enormously. At the end of the lecture, he was praised by two Nonconformist ministers. It is interesting to find that there were five other Nonconformist ministers present at the occasion.382
On 23 March 1906, Mabon travelled to Bethania Welsh Independent Chapel in Mountain Ash.370 The profit went towards the needs of a young man who had been in distress for
368 Ibid.
369 Ibid. 50 382 Ibid.
370 Tarian y Gweithiwr 15 March 1906, 3. Words of praise were spoken by the Reverend. L. J. Jones, Unitarian, minister of the Old Meeting House in Aberdare; John Morgan, minister of Bryn Seion, Trecynon; John Mills; and also present were the Reverends Sulgwyn Davies (minister of Siloh Chapel) J. D. Rees, Salem; John Richards, Bethel; W. S. Davies, Llwydcoed and J. Grawys Jones, Ebeneser.
some months. He was one of the young men of the chapel and the son of Mr. and Mrs. William Jones of Caegarw. David James (‘Gwyrosydd’), a miner in Nixon colliery in Mountain Ash and author of the popular hymn ‘Calon Lân’ was present in the audience.371 Gwyrosydd wrote a verse for Mabon at the end of his memorable performance. It is little wonder that the reporter for Tarian y Gweithiwr wrote about the evening: ‘Wales has one Mabon and our nation is proud of him.’372
Miners had responded more than once to his popularity and had organised more than one testimonial in honour of him.373 A financial fund and an executive committee were set up under the chairmanship of Alderman R. Lewis of Pontypridd to organise the testimonial. At Cardiff City Hall, there was a meeting at the beginning of August 1903 to present the testimonial. By that time the fund had reached the tremendous total of £2000 including donations from generous politicians who admired him. Greatly. They included people of all political parties, such as Sir Alfred Thomas, Lord Tredegar, S. T. Evans, MP., Clifford Cory and Sir J. E. Rees MP. Many of these contributed the sums of £250, and the majority of them £50 per head.
This was not at all surprising as Mabon was always ready to help and to lead and remember not only the leaders in the world of culture and Welshness but also those who were ready to contribute within the world of industry. One of these was Archibald Hood who promoted the coal trade in Rhondda and was linked to the Glamorgan Coal Company.
Mabon admired Archibald Hood as he had managed to secure him as an enthusiastic supporter of the work of Dan Isaac Davies and the Welsh Language Society. Like Mabon, Hood believed that Welsh and English should be taught in day schools. 374 Hood was recognised as a good employer and as a man who always wanted to have a good relationship in the colliery with his workers. His son W. H. Hood followed in his footsteps and was one of the main rescuers of miners at times of accidents and tragedies. It was good to see two sons following their father’s footsteps. A memorial was erected near the Miners’ Reading Room on the main road between Llwynypia and Tonypandy and it was unveiled at the beginning of July 1906. After the ceremony, Mabon led the large congregation in singing the funeral hymn written by David Charles of Carmarthen: ‘O fryniau Caersalem ceir gweled’ (‘From the Hills of Jerusalem can be seen…’) There were addresses too from Mafar Merrett the sculptor, Alderman R. Lewis and the two sons and, Yr Hen Ganfed was sung to close the proceedings. Carved on the memorial are the words:
371 D. Myrddin Lloyd, Daniel James (‘Gwyrosydd’: 1847-1920)’, Y Bywgraffiadur Cymreig hyd 1940, 396. Caneuon Gwyrosydd 885) and his second volume Caniadau Gwyrosydd (Caernarfon, 1892) were published. In the second volume is ‘Calon Lân’ his most famous piece, the popular hymn of the Revival (1904-5) and of rugby fields to this day. Aeron, Awen Gwyrosydd (Aberpennar, 1898) appeared in 1898.
372 Tarian y Gweithiwr, 24 March 1906, 4.
373 National Library of Wales. Manuscripts 1252D, Mabon Testimonial Fund Minute Book, see E. D. Lewis, The Rhondda Valleys, 173. ‘Mabon Testimonial’, Weekly Mail, 8 August 1903, 9.
374 Tarian y Gweithiwr, 5 July 1906, 5.
Archibald Hood, Coal owner
This memorial has been erected by his workers and friends as a sign of respect To his memory.375
During this decade, Mabon was particularly fortunate to have the support of Dai Watts Morgan. He came originally fromSkewen near Neath but his family moved to Wattstown in Rhondda when he was three. After some years as a miner he became a check weighman and then District miners’ agent. He was well known as a supporter of Mabon. He was popular as a speaker and the first of Mabon’s followers to take an interest in his role as a politician.
He would often mention him in meetings, reminding the miners that the sum of £200 collected for him in 1900 had been reserved towards his parliamentary campaign. It was not a payment to the Liberal party but for his concern towards the cause of labour. In 1902 after the sudden death of James Baker, Watts Morgan won the nomination to be Labour candidate and was returned to the Glamorganshire County Council unopposed. By this time, the First Rhondda Miners’ District were sufficiently mature to nominate miners to stand for the local council as well as the county councils.376 Watts Morgan was the driving force in this obvious emphasis on labour representation. He always emphasised that the miners, like everyone else in the community, needed to have a clear voice locally and particularly on the Labour stage and, from 1906 onwards, in the name of the Labour Party. He called for the creation of Labour committees in the constituency. The seed fell on stony ground for a time but at least lively committees were established in Porth and Ynyshir. Other labour supporting organisations came into being such as the Trades and Labour Councils. When Watts Morgan had to defend his county council seat against a Liberal, a local solicitor called William Thomas Davies, the candidate stressed that losing the seat to a Liberal in Rhondda would be a dreadful failure as far as the input of the Rhondda miners was concerned:
We ought to be able to have the support of two-third of the electorate in every ward that we have in the Rhondda Valley.377
He understood the situation but, like his great hero Mabon, Watts Morgan held onto his political principles as a staunch Liberal. Mabon was firmly opposed to the idea that the Trade Unions belonged to the Labour Party at all. His opposition was often evident in the press and in public meetings. Mabon did not advise any miner in south Wales to join the new Labour Party.378
At the annual meeting of the Merthyr and District Miners in July 1907, Mabon highly praised David Lloyd George: ‘our friend as a Welshman’ rather than the role of Keir
375 Ibid.
376 Chris Williams, Democratic Rhondda: Politics and Society, 1885-1951, 65.
377 Ibid.,66.
378 Mr Hartshorn speaks for the active labour members Evening Express 20 July 1906, 3.
Hardie. Nobody had done more than Lloyd George and, in the House of Commons he was an outstanding parliamentarian. Mabon saw no difference between Labour activists and those who belonged to the Independent Labour Party. At that moment a man in the middle of the large crowd shouted out to him: ‘So why don’t you join them?’ Mabon replied, ‘I have my reasons for that.’379 He should have given them then and there. That afternoon he mentioned the that the Miners’ Union were campaigning for fair wages, defending the safety and life of the miner and thirdly trying to reduce the miners’ working hours to eight. His final words were these: ‘Look after the Federation, and the Federation would look after you.’380 Mabon’s fear was to see the day when he would have to represent only the Labour Party, a party for which he did not have the empathy needed. And, even sadder at that time, it was clear that he and others of the Lib-Lab movement were losing their links with a swathe of miners who were now embracing socialism. Their stance was so different from his. The class war of Syndicalism, Marxism and nationalising the industry was completely foreign ideology to him.
He was comfortable with the capitalist system and with his place within the Welsh Parliamentary Party. William Abraham was not bothered about socialist ideology but there were two fiery members in his constituency, namely T. I. Mardy Jones and Noah Ablett who were ashamed of his stance. For them, it was important that the miners should build a bridge between themselves and the newborn Labour Party.
There was a fair degree of difference between Mabon and Watts Morgan on the one hand and the Independent Labour Party, for example, on the other. But the campaign amongst the miners to unite with the Labour Party was led, not by the leaders of the new Labour Party but by the Independent Labour Party. Four miners’ agents were enthusiastic about the campaign, namely James Winstone, Vernon Hartshorn, Charles Stanton and in Rhondda, T. I. Mardy Jones.381 He did not deceive anyone and here are his words:
The industrial conditions of our lives as workers are controlled by the laws made in Parliament by the very men who do not hesitate, as employers, to grind the last penny out of our tool. This is why Labour representation, if it is to be effective, must also be independent.382
The movement to oppose a marriage between the Miners’ Union and the Labour Party was led very effectively by both Mabon and Watts Morgan. Their opposition was based
379 Evening Express, 22 July 1907, 2.
380 Ibid
381 Thomas Isaac Mardy Jones (1879-1970) a miner who became an MP and a specialist on India and the coal industry. He was from Rhondda Fach, educated in Ferndale before entering the colliery as a miner at the age of twelve. His father and grandfather were killed in mining accidents and the responsibility for looking after the family of six fell upon him. He joined the Labour Party early in his life and became a parliamentary agent for the South Wales miners to assist politicians like Mabon and William Brace. He won the Pontypridd seat for Labour in a by-election in 1922 but because of conflict, he was dismissed by the local party at the end of 1930. That was the end of his parliamentary career – There is a worthwhile record of him in the online Biography prepared by Dr J. Graham Jones, Aberystwyth.
382 Chris Williams, Democratic Rhondda: Politics and Society, 1885-1951,
on their doubts about left-wing socialism and middle-class intellectuals, those who were behind the birth of the Labour Party. To these two trade unionists, the Labour propagandists were people who cared little about the interest and needs of the working class.383 Mabon’s wish, in the end, was to belong to a Labour Party which included only members of Trade Unions. He would happily dismiss members of the Independent Labour Party, the SDF (the Social Democratic Federation), the Fabians and the myriad of organisations promoting their different versions of socialism. He pleaded for a party truly of trade to support the working class. The ‘Yes’ campaign won the argument in Rhondda and South Wales but not throughout Britain; and even the leaders of the ‘Yes’ campaign had not laid down socialism as an essential philosophy of the New Labour Party.
However, within Rhondda, the campaign delighted the Independent Labour Party but not those who were in favour of the Lib-Labs. Some of the most well-known members of the Independent Labour Party such as Victor Grayson and Ramsay McDonald came in their turn to speak.384 By 1910, 233 meetings had been held in the Rhondda valleys in the name of the Independent Labour Party. Now the ILP was a movement which attracted progressive, peace-loving people and Mabon would have to keep his eye on them and foster as perfect a relationship with them as he had done for years with every left wing group within society. As Mabon depended totally on the miners and the Liberal Party from 1885 onwards the Welsh giant in 1908 realised that he no choice but to become an MP for the Labour Party when the British Miners’ Federation joined the party that had their interests at heart. So, in 1910, there began in Rhondda, the succession of Labour MPs which lasted until 2023 though it was closerun in the 1917 by-election.
Labour had achieved a huge amount of support in the Rhondda by 1910. Labour was gaining ground on Rhondda District Council and on the Glamorgan County Council. The Liberals were warned that their golden age was coming to an end but they were blind to the inevitable consequences. Their only option was to hold on tight; but Mabon in his pensive mood, saw the possibilities of Labour breaking through. This will be discussed in the next chapter.
383 Enoch Edwards felt the same and, after all, in 1906 he was the President of the Miners’ Federation of Great Britain when the issue of belonging to the Labour Party was under the microscope. He was not at all happy at being forced to stand in the Labour Party colours to keep his seat in Hanley. He was a Liberal and a Lib-Lab until his death in 1912. See Joyce Bellamy and John Saville, ‘Enoch Edwards (1852-1912)’ in Dictionary of Labour Biography, volume 1, 109-111.
384 C. L. Mowat, ‘Ramsay MacDonald and the Labour Party’ in Essays in Labour History, 1886-1923 (editors, Asa Briggs and John Saville) (London and Hamden, Connecticut, 1971; L. MacNeill Weir, The Tragedy of Ramsay MacDonald: A Political Biography (London, 1938)
CHAPTER 9
THE MEDIATOR IN THE TONYPANDY RIOTS
The First of July 1909 was a day to be long remembered when there came a dramatic change to the world of the miners of Britain. The Miners’ Eight Hour Act came into being. Mabon had given his all to the campaign for decent wages and working hours for the miners and the historian of the Rhondda Dr E. W. Lewis sum it up in these words:
These may be regarded as notable victories, and they were due, in no small degree, to Mabon’s resolution, personal influence and negotiating skills.385
But Mabon knew that he was now facing much fiercer campaigns, as his Liberal friend, Sir David Alfred Thomas, had turned his back on politics. He had done so because he was disappointed that the party leader Campbell-Bannerman had ignored him as a potential minister in the Cabinet. He decided to focus on the mid-Rhondda coal-mines. His ambition now was to make a fortune and this led him to establish the Cambrian Combine with £2m capital.386
He had ambitious plans outside Rhondda, in the United States and in the rest of Britain. There was frequent conflict between him and his old friend Mabon. Professor R.T. Jenkins says of Alfred Thomas:
He was a thoroughly Victorian individual. For him, life was a tournament offering profitable and glittering prizes to the adventurous man.387
Thomas succeeded as a capitalist despite losing his image as the miners’ hero. Now D. A. Thomas was seen in Rhondda as the primary enemy of the miners rather than a friendly owner.388 D. A. Thomas’s action in organising a number of mid-Rhondda mines to form
385 E. W. Lewis, Rhondda Valleys, 173.
386 R. T. Jenkins, ‘David Alfred Thomas (1865-1918)’ in Dictionary of Welsh Biography until 1940, 884-5.
387 Ibid., 885
388 ‘D(avid) Alfred Thomas (Deputy Sheriff of Rhondda, 1856-1918) in Gwyddoniadur Cymru yr Academi Gymraeg, 890.
the Cambrian Combine caused a great deal of grief to the miners, to Mabon and to the more militant leaders who were discussing the syndicalist philosophy.389
There were horrific tragedies in the Rhondda coalmines during 1905.390 Thirty one miners were lost in an explosion in the Cambrian colliery in Clydach Vale and there were even more lethal explosions in the National pit in the village of Wattstown in Rhondda Face in July 1905 when 119 men and boys in the prime of their lives were killed. Another factor which was a stumbling block for the leaders from the syndicalist camp was the Eight Hour Act which Mabon had rejoiced in seeing enacted after hard campaigning. The change from ten to eight hours meant a financial loss for the hard working miner. Naturally the miner would produce less coal and receive a lower wage and this was not at all comforting for the housewife nor for the worker.391 Additionally, D. Alfred Thomas decided to sack miners who were over sixty years of age; he also stopped giving the weekly sacks of coal to the miners and, worst of all, the agreements for the workers who laboured in ‘abnormal places’ as they were called. These agreements were suddenly disregarded. The workers were enraged with this disrespectful treatment and in October 1910 there was more conflict in the Cambrian Combine collieries.
This was the beginning of a historic strike, one of the most implacable episodes in the British coalfield during the twentieth century. Myriad essays have been written on the conflict and early historians of the miners recorded the facts with care.392 The conflict began on 1 November 1910 a few days after the miners’ strike in the Aberdare District. This strike which was called ‘The Slaves of the Lamp’ lasted from 20 October 1910 until 2 January 1911.406 Eleven thousand miners in the Aberdare District took part. The Cambrian strike which lasted from 1 November 1910 until 1 September 1911 was the strike which naturally attracted the attention of the press in London and Cardiff. The Aberdare strike, like the one at the time of the Tonypandy riots was illegal. The Aberdare miners’ agent was C. B. Stanton and he was very critical of the South Wales Miners’ Union leaders and therefore especially of Mabon. Stanton decided to resign from the Conciliation Board so that he could align himself with the strikers and the conflict.407 Stanton was in a close relationship with Tom Mann and Keir Hardie.393 Indeed, Mann influenced
Stanton with his syndicalist ideas as he did with many of the Rhondda Valley miners who were attracted to the ideology of syndicalism.
389 ‘Streiciau’r Glowyr’ (Miners’ Strikes’) (in) Gwyddoniadur Cymru yr Academi Gymraeg, 869-70. A valuable article.
390 E. D. Lewis, Rhondda Valleys, 174.
391 Ibid., 175.
392 See R. Page Arnott, The Miners, 59-77, Ness Edwards, History of the South Wales Miners’ Federation (London, 1938), 33-49; H. S. Jevons, The British Coal Trade (London, 1915), 533-41; David Evans, Labour Strife in the South Wales Coalfield, 1910-11 (Cardiff, 1911); E. D. Lewis, Rhondda Valleys, 171-179; Hywel Francis and David Smith, The Fed: A History of the South Wales Miners in the Twentieth Century (London, 1980, 13-20). 406 Martin Barclay, ‘The Slaves of the Lamp – The Aberdare Miners’ Strike, 1910’, Llafur, volume 2, no 3, Summer 1978, 24-42. 407 Ibid, 27-28.
393 Ibid, 26.
Stanton believed that the best way to communicate was to arrange open air meetings. These large open air meetings meetings became an effective weapon in his hands. Soon there were meetings held with at least ten thousand miners present. This meant an attendance of ninety per cent of the miners. At the end of October C. B. Stanton tried to extend the strike to the Rhymni Valley as well as inviting the Cambrian strikers to support them if possible.394
Mabon was aware of the great danger of enlarging the strike throughout the South Wales Coalfield.395 On 2 November the three leaders of the Federation, namely Mabon (the President), Tom Richards (the Secretary) and Alfred Onions (the Treasurer), published a manifesto to the lodges asking them to ignore the call to strike action as it would end in disaster. These were the closing words of the manifesto:
Having had no opportunity of discussing the merits of the grievances complained of by the Powell Duffryn workmen, we cannot at present offer any opinion on their action in stopping work. In the interests of the whole of the Federation, including the Powell Duffryn workmen, and especially the 12,000 Cambrian Combine workmen, the 3,000 Cwmtillery and Roseheyworth workmen, the Cicely and Gelli workmen, who are at present depended on our funds, and whom we are obliged to support, we are urging the members of this Federation to refuse to consider any proposition for a general stoppage which, if entered upon in such a sudden, unconstitutional manner, must end disastrously for all concerned.396
The prominent men of the Federation had spoken! Mabon’s clear voice was heard by his members in Rhondda, Monmouthshire and Aberdare: ‘Don’t go on strike!’ After all, Mabon on behalf of the miners and F. L. Davis of Ferndale on behalf of the employers had come to an agreement at the Reconciliation Board on 22 October 1910 to pay the miners the sum of two shillings and threepence per ton. This was immediately rejected by the Cambrian Combine miners. 397
By Sunday 6 November, the miners were feeling doubtful about the intention of the employers and that they would bring black-leg labour to take care of the coal ready to be produced. In the Glamorgan colliery in Llwynypia the following night,two dozen of the strikers ventured through the fence to the land around the colliery where there were a number of police on duty. It was a night of violence and they began beating each other in anger. The following day, the miners held a protest on Pandy Square and were again battered by the police truncheons. Both policemen and strikers were badly injured. That evening shops and windows of houses were broken, some of the more extreme strikers entered the houses and stole clothes and valuables. By now soldiers from England, namely
394 Ibid, 29.
395 Ibid, 28.
396 Ibid., 40-41. See the manifesto in The South Wales Daily News, 3 November 1910, 4. Mabon emphasised that the strike was unofficial: ‘In November 1910, 4. Mabon emphasised that the strike was unofficial: ‘In 397 E. D. Lewis, Rhondda Valleys, 176.
the Lancashire Fusiliers, 218th Hussars, West Riding Regiment had arrived so as to keep law and order.398 The soldiers were invited by the Home Secretary to travel to Tonypandy under the control of Sir Nevil MacReady.399 By this action in Rhondda Winston Churchill rendered himself unpopular until the present day. 400
Mabon, Keir Hardie and MPs who represented constituencies where miners were in the majority loudly protested. Hardie raised the matter in Parliament stressing all that had happened in context and making the point that the event did not warrant the action of the Home Secretary.
There was lawbreaking activity again after this in Tonypandy and Penygraig on 21 November 1910; then some months later in the mining villages of Clydach Vale and Blaenclydach until March 1911. A number of strikers were arrested and Will John, the Chairman of the Cambrian Strike Committee, was imprisoned after appearing before the judge at the Glamorgan County Court. Everyone who knew anything about the lawabiding Welsh Baptist Sunday School superintendent Will John knew how unfair the verdict had been.
The strike continued in its stride and there were endless discussions; leaflets were printed and the Cambrian Strike Manifesto was published on 16 June 1911 in the name of the strike leaders, Councillor William John, Noah Rees (Vice-Chair), James Ivins (Treasurer) and Councillor Mark Harcombe (Secretary).
In the meantime the leaders of the South Wales Miners’ and the Rhondda District No 1, under Mabon’s leadership, were discussing the dreadful situation with D. A. Thomas and other officers from the Combine Company. They reached agreement on a number of issues but the Committee refused to be in favour of strike throughout all the coalfields.
The leadership of the Cambrian miners was in the hands of four lodges with four powerful and clever men at the helm, namely Noah Rees, Tom Smith, Will Hopla and Mark Harcombe.401
398 Sir Nevil MacReady wrote a book including his experiences in the Rhondda. See Annals of an Active Life (London, 1924).
399 Vaughan Roderick put it all memorably: ‘It is true, for instance, that Winston Churchill, the Home Secretary at the time, had allowed the sending of soldiers to try to pacify the miners. But it is also true that the soldiers had behaved with much more restraint and civility than did the local police and those who had been called in from Bristol. However that may be, the ill feeling towards Churchill lasted for decades in the coalfield and that had a damaging effect on the hopes of both parties – an effect continuing until the present day. Vaughan Roderick, Pen ar y Bloc (ed. Ruth Thomas) (Talybont, 2017), 225.
400 Hansard, 28 November 1910.
401 Noah Rees was a check weighman in the Cambrian pit in Clydach Vale and was secretary of the Cambrian Lodge. He became vice-chair of the Cambrian Combine Strike Committee and was a student at Ruskin College on a scholarship from the Rhondda Miners Union. He was one of the founders of the Welsh Plebs League in 1909 and, in April 1911, was elected a Labour Party councillor on Rhondda District Council. ibid., 77-79. Tom Smith. He was a check weighman in the Naval pit in Penygraig and a member of the Executive Committee of the Fed. Will Hopla, brother of John Hopla, both prominent members of the Congregational Church in Tonypandy (Rhondda Leader, 4 July 1903, 4; 1 October 1905; 9 May 1914.) Mark
None of the four could agree with the stance of Mabon and his fellow trade union officials and they called for a strike throughout the whole British coalfield. The main concern was wages and not socialist ideology though that could not be ignored. The bogey for them was their primitive living conditions with so many members of the miners’ families suffering from the lack of medical care. There was a great deal of poverty in every street. Despite all Mabon’s charisma, in this strike he did not reflect the lives of the majority who had supported him since 1885 and had voted for him as recently as the General Elections of 1910.
Mabon’s proposals were totally rejected on 27 May 1911, in the South Wales Coalfield Conference. Support for the Rhondda strikers’ stance was unyielding. This was in many ways a moral victory for the Cambrian Combine Committee and also for the Unofficial Reform Committee organisation which came into existence early in the conflict.402 The URC was led by some of the most capable young leaders of the coalfield, each one of them living in Rhondda. The main leaders of the Unofficial Reform Committee were Noah Ablett, W. F. Hay and Noah Rees. All three were steeped in industrial trade unions and syndicalism.403 They were the produce of the Plebs League and the Central Labour College. In London. The URC met eleven times between 27 May 1911 and 17 December and W. H. Mainwaring was the competent Secretary.404 He hailed from Clydach Vale and worked in the Cambrian colliery where he was very active in the lodge.
Another conference was called by the Fed on 29 May 1911 to discuss Trade Union policies towards the Cambrian dispute. It was decided to call on the Miners’ Federation of Great Britain to consider a country-wide strike on the issue of a minimum wage 405
Harcombe (1875-1956). He was active in Labour Party life and his family were also active in Seion Welsh Presbyterian Chapel in Trealaw. He was one of the first two to receive the Freedom of Rhondda Borough in 1955.
402 David Egan, ‘The Unofficial Reform Committee and the Miners’ Next Step: Documents from the W. H. Mainwaring papers, with Introduction and Notes’, Llafur, volume 2, no 3, Summer 1978, 66.
403 Noah Ablett, (1883-1935). He was a check weighman in Mardy pit in Rhondda Fach and a member of the Executive Committee of the South Wales Miners Federation. He was a student at Ruskin College Oxford on a scholarship from the Rhondda District Miners, October 1908. Abblett was one of the founders of the Plebs League. He set up the South Wales Plebs League in 1909 and the Plebs League published his leaflet Easy Outline of Economic Science (Plebs publication, 1910). which was useful in their evening classes. He set up a branch of the British Advocates of Industrial Unionism in Porth. He also joined another council, the Industrial Syndicalist League set up by Tom Mann. He was appointed the Merthyr District miners’ agent in 1918. W. F. Hay was originally from London. He followed his trade as a painter in the house-building industry before moving to the Rhondda Valley. He found work in the Standard Colliery in Wattstown. He became a member of the Industrial Syndicalist League and contributed regular articles to the magazine Rhondda Socialist under the pen name Syndic. He was active with the Plebs League and the Central Labour College.
404 W. H. Mainwaring was an intellectual and taught Marxism to the two budding politicians Aneurin Bevan and Jim Griffiths in the Central Labour College in London between 1919 and 1921. He became miners’ agent in Rhondda Valley No. 1 District from 1924 to 1933 and MP for Rhondda East constituency from 1933 until his retirement in 1959. For Mainwaring see D. Ben Rees, Cofiant Jim Griffiths ,59, 61, 75, 108, 114, 148-9, 156.
405 At the annual conference of the Miners Federation of Great Britain in October 1910, the South Wales miners had raised the issue of working in difficult places. William Edwin Harvey, the leader of the Derbyshire coalfield miners described a situation which was an inspiration to Mabon to work for the cause . Harvey stated, ‘For years, this question has been dealt with in
The Conference was recalled on 12 June to make a final agreement and to inform the Miners Federation of Great Britain as follows: if they were not prepared to act the South Wales Miners Federation (SWMF) would go it alone. But at an MFGB conference on 14 June 1911 the SWMF proposal was rejected. What was offered on 15 May was agreed and thus they washed their hands of any financial responsibility for the strikers.406 So nothing came out of the whole discussion and the strikers, their leaders and the Unofficial Reform Committee were naturally disappointed. At least leaders of the calibre of Mabon in South Wales, were ready to consider a general strike.
By March 1911 the URC was confident enough to hold a conference in Cardiff as some of the prominent trade union members such as Vernon Hartshorn, George Barker and James Winstone attended occasional meetings.407 However they were not the main instigators of the Unofficial Reform Committee. By 29 May, the URC felt that they should present their own programme and from this there emerged one of the most important documents of the period, namely The Miners’ Next Step. It was a well organised affair so that a number of miners prepared the pamphlet and, by now, we are not sure who was responsible for it all. At one time it was believed that one of them was A. J. Cook who became leader to British miners in the National Strike in 1926.408 This is not the case at all; indeed his name does not appear in the manuscripts on record and kept in the National Library of Wales at Aberystwyth.409 It is probable that Noah Ablett and C. L. Gibbons were responsible for the preamble and W. F. Hay, Tom Smith and J. Rees were involved in preparing the
my county, dealt with somewhat successfully… Now there is not a colliery in my county, but what has a price list, and on that price list is a clause, that where men cannot get a day’s wage through difficulties, falls, inundation of water, and so forth, they shall be paid a day’s wage, that is the day’s wage on the price list plus percentage.’ See J. E. Williams, The Derbyshire Miners: A Study in Industrial and Social History. (London, 1962), 396.
406 The M.F.G.B had agreed at the Conference on 24-26 January 1911 to contribute the sum of £3000 per week to Rhondda miners. This was funded through a levy of threepence per member of the Miners Federation of Great Britain. ibid, 399.
407 This was James Winstone (1863-1921) Miners’ Agent for the East Monmouthshire Valleys and a member of the Executive Committee of the South Wales Miners Federation. He was a member of the ILP and in 1906 won a seat for Labour on Monmouthshire County Council. He failed to reach Westminster though he was a Labour candidate more than once. He paid tribute to his opponent Colonel Ellis Williams, the Tory candidate in Monmouthshire North as a sincere and dependable character. A good friend in public life. See Llais Llafur 24 January 1914, 1. Our next Labour politician who did a remarkable job as a Miners Agent is Vernon Hartshorn (1872-1931) Miners’ Agent for Maesteg District Miners’ Union. He was a prominent member of the ILP, twice knocking on doors in the constituency in 1910 before it opened up to him in 1918 when he was elected unopposed for the new constituency of Ogmore. He held the seat safely until his death. This is historian Dr Thomas Richards’ tribute to him, ‘Beneath the slowness and even-ness of style he had great strengths; there was no safer or more able contemporary Labour leader than he. See Tom Richards, ‘Vernon Hartshorn (1872-1931)’ in Y Bywgraffiadur Cymreig hyd 1940, 323. George Barker (1858-1936) was Miners’ Agent for the Monmouthshire West Valleys, one of the founders of the Plebs League in 1909 and a governor of Central Labour College. He was a JP in Abertillery.
408 Paul Davies, ‘The Making of A. J. Cook: His Development within the South Wales Labour Movement, 1900-1924’, Llafur, volume 2, no 3, Summer 1978, 43-63. R. Page Arnot was misled by Cook into believing that A. J. Cook was one of the authors of The Miners’ Next Step, but received a message from W. H. Mainwaring that the miners’ leader was ready to gild the past even when the facts were inaccurate. National Library of Wales, Papers of W. H. Mainwaring, letter from Page Arnot to Mainwaring, dated 3 March 1970. Indeed, in an article in the magazine TitBits, 15 September 1926, A. J. Cook says that he, together with Ablett, Mainwaring and May were the authors of The Miners’ Next Step.
409 Ibid
programme.410 Noah Rees and T. R. Davies were invited to take care of the composition as well as George Dolling and Llewellyn Thomas who lost his life in the colliery.411 At one time there was uncertainty about the role of J. L. Rees and Llewellyn Thomas but now they are thought to have been part of the team. The strange thing is that there is no mention of W. H. Mainwaring of all people, for he had a great deal of influence in the strike. Another socialist that prepared the pamphlet was Dick Dinsley from Porth. He knew that W. H. Mainwaring had helped Noah Rees in his effort. Clearly the Rhondda group of the Unofficial Reform Committee was responsible for drawing up the draft and we can be reasonably sure that Noah Ablett, W. F. Hay, Noah Rees and George Dolling were the principal authors.
What we have in the pamphlet is an unusual argument for the South Wales Miners’ Union to reorganise itself and to be more of an Industrial Union for all coalfield workers.412 It would be necessary to see Mabon side before there was any hope of reorganising the union. After all he was the architect of the trade union in the first instance. He bore so much responsibility for its formation and growth. Mabon could not stomach the pamphlet as it was essentially a criticism of him and others like Tom Richards. It was the voice of the well- read Marxist-minded miner and not the voice of the ordinary miner. The ordinary miner remained faithful to Mabon’s leadership whilst those miners who had come under the influence of the Plebs League had long wearied of it. The Marxist inspired miners saw that a leader like Mabon was too much in the hands of the employers, far too friendly with them and more likely to be a Presbyterian grandee, a gentleman to all and sundry and naturally a well-loved and influential MP. That was their view of Mabon, and the pamphlet was highly critical of the moderate leadership of William Abraham.413 The Miners’ Next Step wanted answers quickly on issues such as wages and working hours but, more contentiously, it went on to propose a new concept of a ‘scientific’ trade union. It was a vision of an industry ruled by a Trade Union where the employers were brought to nought.414
410 Charles L. Gibbons. He was a miner in the Mardy Colliery. After completing a course as a fireman in the pit he became heavily influenced by the Agent Noah Ablett. In September 1911 he won a scholarship from the South Wales Miners Union, to study at the Central Labour College in London. There are already references on Ablett and Hay. There are few details of Tom Smith but he was a miner, extremely influential as he was a member of the executive committee of the South Wales Miners’ Federation in 1911. We have a problem with John Rees as there were two with the same name, both active in the South Wales Plebs League. According to David Egan, the more likely is J. L. Rees of Bwllfa, Abecrave, Towy Valley. His name is seen as that of a member of the Unofficial Reform Committee. J. L. Rees was one of the founders of the South Wales Plebs League and worked with Nun Nicholas, a check weighman in the Diamond pit in the Tawe Valley and one of the Socialists often mentioned by the poet David James Jones known as Gwenallt. The other J. Rees is also one of the founders of the South Wales Plebs League and he was elected to represent Ogmore Vale and Westward on the executive committee of the League. See David Egan, ‘The Unofficial Reform Committee and the ‘Miners’ Next Step’, Llafur (labour) volume 2, no 3, Summer 1978, 79.
411 T. R. Davies was a miner from one of the Cambrian Combine pits, and from all the evidence, a member of the Strike Committee. He was a prominent member of the Independent Labour Party and a keen supporter of the Rhondda Socialist Society and the South Wales Plebs League. Llewellyn Thomas (1881-1913) was killed in No. 9 colliery in Tylorstown in March 1913.
412 See Hywel Francis and David Smith, The Fed and the Miner’s Next Step 10, 13-16, 186-7, 305, 419 a 444.
413 ‘The Miners’ Next Step’, Gwyddoniadur Cymru yr Academi Gymreig, 627-8.
414 Ibid., 628.
Such an idea was not acceptable to syndicalism. They did not want to be autonomous but what the strike and the pamphlet did was to give more confidence and indeed anger to the hearts of future leaders like A. J. Cook to take the reins in any industrial dispute. The climax was reached in the National Strike of 1926.
The strike came to an end in October 1911 without achieving its original aims.415 But it could be argued that the Tonypandy riots had been a signal to miners in every British coalfield not to be so naïve and indifferent to their working conditions. They had to fight for improvements in the coal mine and struggle continuously for a minimum wage (which was partially secured in 1912) and then for other improvements in the conditions of their dangerous and difficult work.416
The personal attack on Mabon as the ultimate Trade Union leader had come from various directions. As an individual socialist, Mark Harcombe expressed himself clearly. He came from the same village as Mabon, namely Cwmafan and was the son of Jehoida and Hannah Harcombe. He had been a miner since boyhood. He moved whilst young to Tonypandy and made his home in Trealaw, becoming an important figure in the Cambrian Strike. He became one of the most important Labour Party leaders in the Rhondda Valley from the twenties to the fifties. Here is his experience:
It is simply sickening to read of the half-hearted way the leaders are taking up the question of a minimum wage in abnormal places and if the worker is to come to his own, he must get rid of this present day ‘oligarchy’ manifested by his accredited leaders.417
Mabon nearly lost the presidency of the South Wales Federation against the socialist inspired George Barker and, soon afterwards, C. B. Stanton, an extremist trade unionist from Aberdare, won a place as the Welsh representative on the International Miners’ Committee.418 This was a particularly unfortunate choice on the part of the Federation when, on 23 January 1911, three of its main supporters , W. H. Morgan of Treherbert, Tom George of Ferndale and Tom Harries of Pont-y-Gwaith died in a train accident in Trehopcyn whilst on their way to the Executive Committee of the South Wales Miners’ Union in Cardiff.419 Mabon mourned the great losses and was dismayed that the three people elected in place of the three lost in the accident, were all opposed to his leadership. Their place was taken by three of his main opponents, Tom Smith, John Hopla and Noah Rees, soon joined by Noah Ablett. To crown it all, in 1912, three prominent members of the Independent Labour Party, George Barker, Vernon Hartshorn and C. B. Stanton
415 Ibid., Terfysg Tonypandy, 905.
416 Ibid.
417 David Smith, ‘Leaders and Led’ in Rhondda Past and Present (edited by K. S. Hopkins, Ferndale, 1974) 45.
418 C. B. Stanton could not approach Mabon in terms of popularity in the coalfield. In 1901 he dared to stand against him for the post of South Wales Federation president. Mabon received 108,550 votes and C. B. Stanton 10,150, This is definitive proof as to who was the hero.
419 E. D. Lewis, Rhondda Valleys, 176. A plaque in his memory can be seen in the Rhondda Borough Council Chamber in Pentre.
were elected to take the place of Mabon, Alfred Onions and Tom Richards, the President, Treasurer and Secretary of the Union as representatives from Wales on the Executive Committee of the Miners of Great Britain.420 However, despite these disappointments, Mabon was not bitter but continued to work and consider the situation in a creative manner. He indicated again his kindness to those who supported him through thick and thin. He felt a glow of happiness in March 1912 as he tried to establish a minimum wage despite Harcombe’s criticism. Mabon did not manage to get the sum he wanted for the minimum wage which was five shillings for adults and two shillings for boys. Capitalists were appointed in the areas whether there were Reconciliation Boards. It was they who were to fix the sum after listening to representatives of the owners and of the workers in a meeting called for that purpose. Mabon was in the forefront of the campaign emphasising the need for the employers and employees to come to a reasonable relationship with each other. The purpose was not to be enemies but to work together for the benefit of everyone in the mining industry which meant so much to him ever since his childhood in Cwmafan. The truth was that the act (The Coal Mines [Minimum Wage] Act) would not have come into force were it not for Lib-Lab and Labour MPs pressurising the Liberal Government. T. P. O’Connor, the Irish Party MP for Scotland Road in Liverpool could say, ‘The Labour Party has made a deeper impression on the House of Commons than it realises.’421
This was said a few years after Mabon and others joined the ranks of the Labour Party. Mabon knew that the residents of the Rhondda admired and respected him. Years before the Tonypandy riots, at the meeting of the Miners’ Federation of Great Britain in Swansea in 1906, he was called the ‘Grand Old Man of the Mining World in Parliament.’ It was Enoch Edwards MP and Chairman of the Trade Union who added, ‘he has become an historical figure’.422
His standing in Wales in these years from 1909 until 1912 was heroic. He was in contact with Winston Churchill, the President of the Board of Trade in 1909 because of the conflict in the Scottish coalfield. Churchill was threatening to force the Scottish miners to accept arbitration and he and Mabon discussed the issue.423 As he left the room in Whitehall, Mabon turned to Winston Churchill to say: ‘Mr Churchill, you cannot put six hundred thousand men in prison.’424
A smile came to the politician’s face. He agreed with him and loudly gratified Mabon in the name of the Miners’ Federation of Great Britain. Mabon had won the argument, putting his name to the agreement.
That period was an extremely busy time for the Rhondda MP, inviolved in a bitter strike, addressing Conferences, writing articles for Glamorgan newspapers and, it was clear that,
420 David Smith, ‘Leaders and Led’ in Rhondda Past and Present, 45.
421 Ibid., 45-6.
422 National Library of Wales. Archive of the Calvinistic Methodists 14,842 Bywyd a Gwasanaeth y ddiweddar William Abraham (Mabon) by the Reverend . David Davies, Pentre, Rhondda, 57.
423 Ibid., 58
424 Ibid.,61-2.
although he was on the brink of his three score years and ten, his mental faculties were flawless. Journalists were sent to interview him and portraits of him in words and pictures were often published. However, one of the loveliest events of this time was in February 1911 when he received a message from the Government of the Day, stating that William Abraham had been made a member of the Privy Council.
Mabon had refused the offer of a knighthood but accepted the title of Right Honourable as it gave honour to the South Wales miners. Mabon became the second Right Honourable chosen from amongst the Trade Unionists and it came to him when he was in the middle of his hardest battle ever. There was a great misunderstanding and surely misrepresentation on every side. Mabon was an emotional man and lost nights of sleep with the criticism and stupidity he experienced with the occasional madman threatening to kill him. Throughout, he remained wise, capable and courageous on the political and trade union platform and in discussions with his supporters as well as opponents. He said,
‘The hour hath come. Someone must die for the people.’425
He meant this, if it were to become necessary. He remained unyielding throughout and was quite prepared to stand against extremists like C. B. Stanton. There were few leaders like him in the history of Wales between 1880 and 1914. He had to suffer mockery and shame from miners for whom he was the official leader and he came through it all victorious, truly he was the Right Honourable William Abraham. Mediating and compromising was always his intention. But the Cambrian Strike was a discomfiting time, with constant wrangling and the need to be fair and considerate as well as wise in one of the never to be forgotten strikes in the history of industrial Wales.
425 Ibid.,62
CHAPTER 10
THE PARLIAMENTARY CAREER OF A LABOUR POLITICIAN
In 1885 and the following years, it was thought that Mabon was a suitable politician to represent Labour in Parliament. He was steeped in the Liberal ideology as a radical against wars and industrial strife; he was a firm believer in capitalism and a good successor to his mentor, Henry Richard, MP for Merthyr and Aberdare from 1868.426 When Mabon went to Westminster, his hero was still a member of the House of Commons. Mabon, like so many Liberal leaders in Wales was strongly opposed to the licensed trade. He would often quote this verse:
To prison goes the man or woman Who steal a goose from off a common, Then what should be the fate of those Who steal the common from the goose?427
As has been shown, Mabon remained a member of the LibLab until the miners officially joined the Labour Party in 1908. And it was not easy for him. Indeed, at a meeting in Porth before the 1906 General Election, Mabon expressed his frustration because the Labour Representation Committee was behaving dictatorially towards a number of members in the Lib-Lab ranks who were finding it hard to change parties. One of these was J. H. Wilson, a new friend of the sailors, who called for the LRC and the electors of Durham Central not to vote for him.428 The same thing happened in the life of Enoch Edwards, the President of the British Miners that is the MFGB in 1906 and MP for Hanley.429 This
426 For Henry Richard, see Dilyn Ffordd Tangnefedd: Canmlwyddiant Cymdeithas y Cymod (ed. D. Ben Rees) (Liverpool, 2015), 29-38, 94, 99, 116, 125, 142, 167, 180, 186-7, 211, 264 and 271; Gwyn Griffiths, Henry Richard: Heddychwr a Gwladgarwr Cardiff, 2013).
427 ‘Gwleidyddwr: Mabon fel Aelod Seneddol’ in Tarian y Gweithiwr , March 12, 1885, 3.
428 Anthony Mason and John Saville, ‘John Wilson (1837-1915)’ in Dictionary of Labour Biography, vol. 1 (1973), 348-30. He remained a LibLab and in 1909, together with Burt and Fenwick, refused to be under the supervision of the Labour Party at Westminster. He was elected Liberal MP for Houghton-le-Springs in 1885 and in 1890 Lib-Lab for County Durham Central until his death in 1915.
429 Joyce Bellamy and John Saville, ‘Enoch Edwards (1852-1912)’ in Dictionary of Labour Biography,
sort of behaviour was contrary to Mabon’s nature and convictions. He called the Labour Representation Committee a lifeless committee; indeed, the party was in the wilderness with nowhere to pitch its tent safely. One of the most hateful leaders in the South Wales Miners Federation was C. B. Stanton. He argued that Mabon should come out from the old discarded order and into the new Labour Representation Committee organisation. He said of Mabon:
Mabon was Mabon, but although he was powerful, he was not getting to prevail against the intelligence of the reading public of South Wales... If Mabon, William Brace and John Williams were going to hang on to the old system, they must be taught that they could not control the people of South Wales.430
Another critic of Mabon’s tardiness in making up his mind was the minister of the Unitarian Church in Bridgend, the Revd. D. G. Rees. He gave his address in Welsh in Porth and was highly critical. According to the report in the local paper, he spoke extremely strange words:
The men of South Wales must get leaders who would lead. If their leaders like the Jewish Mabon of old hankered for the flesh pots of Egypt, away with them. 431
One of the most well-known of the Leicester socialists, G. H. Bibbings, travelled all the way to Rhondda. In his prejudice and ignorance he set about attacking the valleys’ favourite man. Bibbings’ theme was that he had no humility:
The cry was, beside me, there is no other. I am Mabon and there is no-one like me.
This was not acceptable to Mabon’s supporters or true to his electorate but the bold visitor received the customary Rhondda acceptance rather than their applause.432 However, one must remember that there was conflict amongst the miners on the issue throughout the summer of 1906. At a meeting in Cilfynydd for the miners of the Pontypridd District, there were speeches from Enoch Morrell who wanted to unite with the LRC and from D. Watts Morgan, who was leading the opposition. In that meeting in July 1906, D. Watts Morgan reiterated Mabon’s response.433
In Tredegar, Alfred Onions placed the issue before the miners and came to the conclusion that the argument for joining the Labour Representation Committee as a body of workers was extremely weak. He argued it should be possible to change and adapt the mechanism of the LRC and improve it from inside. It would be impossible to do that critically from outside.434 The Merthyr miners were urged by their agent, John Williams, with T. I. Mardy
ibid., 109-111. He was not at all happy at having to stand as a Labour candidate for the Hanley seat ion the Stoke-onTrent area. He was a Lib-Lab until his death in 1912.
430 Rhondda Leader, 12 December 1905, 4.
431 Ibid., D. G. Rees, Unitarian minister and a hostile Socialist to the LibLab world of Mabon.
432 Ibid., G. H. Bibbings, one of the zealous workers of the Independent Labour Party in Leicester.
433 The Cardiff Times, 28 July 1906, 5.
434 Ibid.
Jones from Rhondda Fach and Tom Weale from Merthyr, all three of them from the Independent Labour Party, to join with the Labour Representation Committee.435
Mabon was pleased to address the miners and workers of Rhondda Fach in Mardy along with Alfred Onions. Onions was at his best in that meeting, fair and moderate, whilst it was clear that Mabon himself was starting to mellow. He said clearly that the forthcoming Labour representatives was the priority and should come first on the agenda but that he had also been extremely content for years within the Lib-Lab tradition.436
In Monmouthshire, the miners of that county met in Abertillery to listen to them both together with Keir Hardie. He naturally argued that they should belong, pressing them hard to join the LRC. William Brace was very wary and naturally keen to defer the choice.437 And, as we remember, that is what actually happened as far as the Welsh miners were concerned. However, in 1908, Mabon finally became a member of the Labour Party and stood in their colours as a Labour candidate in the 1910 General Elections.
In 1911, the Rhondda Labour Party was formed. It came into being on 31 October 1911.438 Mark Harcombe, secretary of the Cambrian Combine Strike Committee, was made President with T. C. Morris Vice-President439. It is interesting to note who were the most prominent Labour Party members in the constituency: they were individuals from the same background, beliefs and stance as Mabon. Take David Lewis (1874-1938) from Ferndale who started work in the colliery as a young lad in 1888 and was, with Mabon, one of the founders of the South Wales Miners’ Union. He played a prominent part in the Rhondda No. 1 District Miners Union branch of the Fed and, in 1917, was made District Secretary. He became a Justice of the Peace. Like Mabon, he was a chapel goer and was very active in Penuel Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Chapel in Ferndale.440
Another Labour stalwart of the same stance and attitude as Mabon was James Jones (18671938) of Ystrad. He was the first socialist to be elected to the Rhondda District Council and remained there until 1937. He came from Pembrokeshire in 1888 and it is hard to believe that he worked underground for 48 years until 1936 when he was 69. He was a deacon at the Bodringallt Welsh Independent Chapel and, like Mabon, was an eisteddfod-goer. He was known as a poet. He was the first member of the Rhondda miners to belong to the South Wales Miners’ Union.441
435 John Williams, MP for Gower regretted the deliberate attempt to belittle Mabon’s invaluable contribution. Mabon was not opposed to Labour but as the miners did not see their way to unite officially to support the Labour Party he did not dare to support labour without his mining friends. Mabon was quite ready to join their ranks once the miners he loved so much were ready to make that decision. Reverend John Williams wanted to accept the LRC in 1906. See Evening Express, 30 July 19063.
436 The Cardiff Times, 28 July 1906, 5.
437 Ibid.
438 David Smith, Leaders and Led (yn) Rhondda Past and Present, 47. 439 Ibid.
440 Ibid. 48.
441 Ibid
Another firm adherent of the Labour Party from the beginning in 1911 was Watkin Phillips (1889-1938). He was another pioneer in the world of Trade Unionism and Mabon depended heavilyon his advice as well as support. He came from Tredegar originally and worked in the Abergorky colliery where he was very active in the politics of the local lodge. He was the senior deacon of Ainon Welsh Baptist Chapel in Treorchy.442
Another of Mabon’s admirers who was active in 1911 was William John (1878-1955) who was born in Crockett near Swansea, the fourth of a family of fourteen children.443 Then in 1911 he was appointed miners’ agent. 444 He succeeded Mabon as the Labour MP. He made a lasting contribution as a Baptist and was President of the Welsh Baptist Union. 445
Mabon had good friends to represent his interests, defend him at local level and help him in his utterances. Each of those that I have named realised that the Miners’ Conferences in June and July had called for a new leader instead of Mabon. He was asked to resign and then the delegates would choose a new leader as well as an executive committee for the Fed. This did not happen; indeed, Mabon had more than enough supporters to keep him in his role as President. Dr Evans admits that:
The policy of industrial warfare had been rejected once again by the miners, but this was to be Mabon’s last triumph.446
This is not completely true though it looked so in 1911. Indeed, Mabon admitted that Noah Ablett, had told him that it was now time for him to eat the Welsh leek, that is to retire.447
This is what Ablett said to the Fed Executive Committee and Mabon once again realised that he had been truly attacked by a fellow official. It would be difficult for him to recover. He understood the situation. He acknowledged this in the South Wales Daily News:
Not only that, but my policy – the policy that I have lived for forty years to carry out, and also to serve to the utmost of my ability in the interests of my fellow workmenhave been respected unmistakably.448
He had to accept the inevitable. Between August 1911 and February 1912, he went to only six Miners’ Union Executive Committee Meetings and, realising that a General Strike
442 Ibid
443 John Saville, ‘William John (1878-1955)’ in Dictionary of Labour Biography, 195; D. Ben Rees, ‘William John (1878-1955)’ in Cymry Adnabyddus (Liverpool and Pontypridd, 1978), 107-8.
444 John Saville, ibid., 195. John was sentenced to a year’s imprisonment for his involvement in the Tonypandy riots. He and his fellow Trade Unionist John Hopla were released by the Home Secretary Reginald McKenna after eight months imprisonment. Whilst in prison he was appointed miners’ agent for Rhondda and Mabon played an important role in that appointment. He came out of prison and was welcomed into this new post.
445 Llawlyfr a Dyddiadur Undeb Bedyddwyr Cymru, 1956; Who was Who, 1951-1960, 587.
446 E. W. Evans, Mabon, 91.
447 These are Noah Ablett’s words to Mabon: ‘The time for fight has gone by and the time for eating the leek has arrived.’
448 South Wales Daily News, 10 October 1910.
could be on the horizon, he decided that he did not want to be re-elected.449 So, on 5 September 1912 in Cardiff, he presided over the Annual Conference of the Miners for the last time. He had been a leader for 35 years and expressed his debt for such an honour, acknowledging that he had done his best in all circumstances. He was applauded loudly and William Brace, his old enemy, was invited to succeed him. He was invited to keep in touch as an honorary officer of the Federation.
The train accident on 25 January 1911 was a hard blow for him as a leader. Three loyal Labour leaders to him were lost. Three others almost lost their lives in the accident that happened in Hopkinstown. These three were on the same train but in a different compartment. The three escaped death. Indeed, Mabon himself had intended to be on the train with his comrades but changed his plans and travelled the previous day; otherwise his life might have been in the balance. The loss to the young Labour Party and to Mabon and the Rhondda Valley was huge. Herbert Morgan who lost his life was considered one of the most promising young men within the Labour Party and the Miners’ Union. He was MP material. Although there appeared a number of radical leaders (even more radical than Morgan, Harries and George who were lost) in Rhondda, it was not easy to survive such a loss. Chris Williams suggests:
It is reasonable to suggest that, had Morgan, Harries and George survived, Labour might have been in a fraction of control on the Rhondda Urban District Council by 1912.450
Mabon was conscious that the whole future of the Labour Party in the constituency depended on the paid spokesmen who served the Miners’ Union. For the December 1910 General Election he arranged for a leaflet to be printed stressing the responsibility on the Union officers:
Firstly, every check weighman, members of the lodge executive committees within the Federation should support the Labour candidate. If that does not happen, they will not deserve the backing of their fellow miners and should be removed from office without delay.
Secondly, every Federation member who opposes the Labour candidate through keeping silent in their speech and their support and fails to vote in these circumstances is guilty of betraying the workers’ cause.451 Indeed, he is in his opinion a traitor.
The Labour vote was strongest in the upper reaches of both valleys. In Rhondda Fawr, Treherbert was the Labour stronghold and, in Rhondda Fach, Mardy was the socialist centre for at least forty years. From the time of the Tonypandy riots, mid-Rhondda, Trealaw, Tonypandy, Clydach Vale and Blaenclydach became supportive of the Labour
449 Chris Williams, Democratic Rhondda: Politics and Society, 1885-1951, 254.
450 Ibid., 93.
451 Rhondda Leader, 5 and 12 November 1910
party and very much dependable strongholds. In Treherbert in 1915, the village was represented by two Labour party members and only one Liberal and it was only a matter of time for Labour to become the dominant Party in the mining village. In the Mardy area, two of the four councillors were from the Labour Party. In mid Rhondda Fawr, seven of the nine representatives of the villages were Labour councillors. There was no Labour member representing Treorchy – that Welsh speaking town was held by the Lib-Labs and Liberals, and there was only one Labour representative out of four in the town of Porth at the bottom of the two valleys.
There were some notable individuals such as Thomas Thomas of Ystrad, one of the most well-known Welsh Independents in Rhondda, who would not let Labour get the better of him. He managed to prevent a Labour candidate beating him in the Rhondda Urban District Council elections in 1908, 1911 and 1914.
Another Welshman very similar in outlook to Tom Thomas was Ben Davies. The radical miner Tom Rees could not dislodge him and we read in the Rhondda Socialist paper in 1913 that he was a committed Labour man and a ‘Socialist of the first rank’. It was not possible for women in the early decades of the twentieth century to win an election under Labour colours. After all, they did not have the vote themselves. They were second class citizens and their fate was to keep quiet and, though they were welcome to work quietly for the political parties, there was considerable prejudice against confident women who wanted to stand for a Council seat. Elizabeth Davies, one of Mabon’s loyal friends, suffered from the fact that she was a woman. Her candidature for the Labour Party was however complicated as she was married to the County Councillor and fervent Liberal Elias Thomas Davies.452
But there were some magnetic personalities in the Labour camp to help Mabon in 1911, the outstanding Socialist being Mark Harcombe. He won a victory against the ViceChair of the Rhondda District Council, David Charles Evans, who kept a guest house and would have become Chairman in 1911-12 were it not for the miners from the Cambrian ensuring that Harcombe won the day.453
What the political left wanted in 1910 was to have a Labour candidate and not a Liberal in Labour-clothing like Mabon. But nothing happened, as many socialists believed that the 1910 General Election would be Mabon’s last. He was expected to retire after that, as he was very rarely present at the Executive Committee meetings of the South Wales Miners’ Federation and suffered bouts of ill-health in 1912 and through the spring of 1913.454 Indeed, it could be argued that Mabon had retired from Parliament as early as the year 1908. No longer being a Lib-Lab member of parliament broke his heart. He did not welcome the opportunity of being among members of parliament that espoused the labour programme. He was not the only politician from the mining constituencies in Wales
452 Chris Williams, ibid., 255.
453 Rhondda Socialist, 25 November 1911.
454 Chris Williams, ibid., 254.
and England who felt in this way. In 1908 he was appointed a member of the Standing Committee but did not attend one meeting at Westminster.
In 1911 he made his last speech in the House of Commons and in 1915 asked his last parliamentary question. 455
In 1913 he announced that he would be retiring at the next general election but, naturally, with the advent of the Great War, all talk of a parliamentary elections was postponed. By 1918 it was a different story as, in June of that year, the Representation of the People Act was passed. This gave the vote to every elector over twenty-one apart from conscientious objectors (a good number of the ILP were disenfranchised for five years). Female voters over thirty years of age were given the vote. Women younger than twenty-one were branded by many politicians as flappers, that is fickle women, and considered too immature to vote in general elections. The local paper, the Rhondda Leader praised Mabon for being in an unenviable position in the General Election of 1918. He would be returned to Parliament unopposed even after a dismal attendance record of attendance and voting in the House of Commons. He did not deserve this consideration. Despite his key role in the government of Britain David Lloyd George had to battle for his victory in the Caernarfon borough constituency. He was never once returned unopposed to the House of Commons. He did not have a large majority in any of the general elections. This is the tribute of the Rhondda Leader to their hero Mabon:
In the Rhondda, sentiment has wisely ruled to give the veteran ‘Mabon’ an unopposed return. He has had a great record of close identification with the progress of democracy. He has helped as few men have, to give the miners of Wales the power of self-expression, and we must not throw dirt into that fountain of which we have drunk. In politics, like all else, there must be gratitude.456
No politician was more lauded than the proud Welshman.
Wherever he travelled, to mid and north Wales and to the South Wales Coalfield, he would receive the same sort of welcome as Lloyd George did. There would be buntings, clapping of hands and musical instruments, which created a deafening applause. So it was wherever he was seen during the First World War. The Liberals were happy enough to accept Mabon as one of their own. The Rhondda Liberals (which included the majority of the Rhondda chapel goers) greatly admired him though he had rested on his political oars for years as an MP. They did not see this as a problem as he was always in contact with them in their pulpits, preaching fervently on the Lord’s Day. His preaching endeared him to them; they found it harder to support Dai Watts Morgan. He was no more a leftwing socialist than Mabon had been but he was the instigator of the Rhondda Labour and Liberal Association.
455 Parliamentary Debates, 1908-1920, Western Mail, 5 December 1918.
456 Rhondda Leader, 21 December 1918, Democratic Rhondda, 84
Remember too that there were very confident citizens in the Rhondda despite the fact that the majority of them had been working in factories and mills throughout the war years. A new constituency was created for graduates of the University of Wales in 1918. This was a move instigated by Lloyd George and others to place two votes in the hands of the graduates. Their first vote came because of where they lived and the other because they had graduated from one of the University of Wales colleges. Every borough in Wales was abolished except one, that is Caernarfon borough, where Mabon’s friend David Lloyd George was MP.457 In 1918, it was decided, for the first time, that each constituency should vote on the same day and that all candidates should pay a deposit of £150. If they did not get enough votes as a candidate they would automatically lose their deposit.
The 1918 General Election was held on 14 December, 34 days after the Armistice. Lloyd George did not give enough time for the political parties to prepare. It became an unfair election with only 57% of the electorate turning out to vote.458 This was the lowest percentage in any General Election of the twentieth century and many of those who should have voted, namely soldiers from the battlefield, were deprived of the privilege.
The coalition government under Lloyd George was a mixture of Liberals and Conservatives and also the National Democratic Party where people like C.B. Stanton stood against the Labour Party. The slogan was Lloyd George ‘the greatest Welshman ever’ according to Mabon and, in the opinion of the Welsh-speaking community, Mabon was up there with him. At least hot on his heels in the popularity stake. The Labour Party got ten members from Wales into the House of Commons in 1918 though they failed to win the mining seats they should have won, such as Pontypridd, Llanelli and Merthyr Tydfil. Rhondda was divided into two constituencies, East and West.459 The South Wales Miners’ Federation wanted both seats to be represented by miners and Mabon got their support. He kept his seat and became once more MP for Rhondda West (Rhondda Fawr) whilst his chief supporter Dai Watts Morgan represented Rhondda East (Rhondda Fach). Both were delighted that they had been returned to Parliament unopposed in the ‘Khaki’ election of 1918. 460
Instead of deploring the situation which deprived voters of their basic right to vote, the Liberals were in considerable trouble in Wales, their stronghold, in 1918 as their political machinery was of little practical use. Additionally, Watts Morgan and Mabon received Lloyd George’s blessing on being returned unopposed. The Conservatives had more candidates in the coalition and Lloyd George worked hard to ensure that there were plenty of supporters involved in the Liberal camp. He managed to convince Bonar Law, the Tory leader, to co-endorse candidates. Historians called this ‘the coupon.’ Mabon and Watts Morgan were amongst the candidates who accepted ‘the coupon’ and this meant that neither the Conservatives nor the Liberals could challenge them in the election. Unless a small party like the National Democratic Party stood, there was no hope of any
457 John Davies, Hanes Cymru, 503.
458 Ibid., 503-4.
459 Ibid., 504.
460 Beti Jones, Etholiadau Seneddol yng Nghymru, 1900-1975, 56.
opposition. It was necessary to wait another two years to establish the Communist Party and a number of Rhondda miners joined that party inspired by the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. Mabon and Watts Morgan spread the message that they were Labour candidates and not Lib-Lab. Another reason for Watts Morgan being a very acceptable candidate was his involvement in the army during the Great War. He received the DSO for gallantry for his bravery on the Western Front.461
In February 1920 Mabon announced his retirement from the world of politics on health grounds. His mantle immediately fell on William John, the Rhondda District miners’ agent. He was his successor by August of that year. This time his candidature was opposed by Gwilym Rowlands (the son of the manager of Naval Colliery); later he became Conservative MP for Flint. The chosen candidates clearly did not want to fight for the seat and that suited the ruling leaders of Labour in the two valleys. Rowlands fought energetically and called himself the Coalition Labour candidate, stressing that he supported the programme of the Trade Unions. Bonar Law and Lloyd George wrote to wish him well and various south Wales Liberals spoke with him on his platform. Rowlands tried to portray Will John, a prominent Baptist, as a left-wing extremist. This was a great pity as he was a middleof-the-road trade unionist who was interested in the language, religion and culture of Wales. John enjoyed poetry and, like Mabon, became a member of the Order of Bards in the National Eisteddfod. His Socialist beliefs sprang, not from Karl Marx’s Das Kapital but from the New Testament and his analysis of the Sermon on the Mount.462 John became a hero at the time of the Cambrian strike and, indeed, Mabon should have given him the opportunity for the 1918 General Election. Mabon did not give way to John the believer who contributed greatly to every aspect of life in the growing Moriah Welsh Baptist Chapel in Tonypandy. He welcomed having a Labour sympathiser as pastor and minister, the Reverend James Nicholas.463
Will John won the by-election as he received strong support from the Nonconformist chapels of every denomination as well as from the miners. 464 After all, Will John was devout in terms of loyalty. He was a deacon for over 40 years and served as a teacher and Sunday School supervisor for over 48 years and also as chapel secretary for a long period. Like Mabon, he preached in the pulpits in his constituency. He was elected President of the Welsh Baptist Union for 1935-6 and spoke in Welsh from the Chair in Swansea on ‘The Church’s Mission in the World’.
Though Will John did not frequent working class drinking clubs, he received the support of each one of them after visiting them as the Labour candidate. As a large proportion of the Labour movement were men and women over 30 who had the vote by 1920, they were
461 Joyce Bellamy, ‘David Watts Morgan (1867-1933)’ in Dictionary of Labour Biography, vol. 1, 246-7. He hated the Communists. In October 1928 he offered to resign his seat and fight in a by-election against Arthur Horner. Horner stood against him in the General Elections of 1929 and 1931 but Morgan beat him easily on both occasions.
462 D. Ben Rees, Cymry Adnabyddus, 108.
463 Ibid. The Revd. James Nicholas moved to be minister in the Welsh Baptist Church in Castle Street.
464 Beti Jones, Etholiadau Seneddol yng Nghymru, ibid, 57.
seen to be definitely in the camp of Will John. There was no similarity at all between the election in which Mabon had to stand in December 1910 and the 1922 by-election. Mabon had none of the Labour Party giants to support him. He opened his campaign in Noddfa Baptist Chapel, Treorchy with the minister Dr Morris (Rhosynnog) a veteran Liberal, supporting Mabon as the candidate of Labour. Mabon said that he had represented Labour since 1885 and was Labour by conviction; but he also believed in Welsh nationhood and in the progress and development of each community.
The theme of his opening meeting was the appropriateness of abolishing the House of Lords. This institution was an obstacle to democracy. The aim of that chamber was to exploit the common people. He said:
Every Labour representative and every Liberal and Radical citizen in the real world should be of the opinion that the feudal age is in fact and practice, coming to an end.465
He asked the question: ‘Who is to govern? The people or the noble Lords?’ He had the answer from his audience. Half the large crowd gathered in Noddfa Chapel shouted ‘The People’. Then he wound up his speech:
Stay with Labour, fight for Labour and win the day in the name of Labour.
The local paper felt that the Conservative candidate, Harold Lloyd, did his best but that there was no hope of him removing Mabon from his throne.466 Mabon was not without his critics in that election but he loved to quote George Barnes, the Scotsman and leader of the Labour Party for almost a year in 1910-11. This is what he said of Mabon:
What appealed to him most was the speech, delivered by the Honourable member for the Rhondda, who spoke as a Welshman and with all the fervour of a Welshman, and as one who has the honour of the country at heart, and he asked the Home Secretary to grant an inquiry to clear the people of that district from any idea of complicity in the acts of violence alleged to have been committed by them.467
Mabon stood in the 1910 election on the manifesto delivered by George Barnes who after all was the Labour Party leader in that election. In 1920 Will John received help in his campaign from Labour Party leaders including well known leaders such as Jimmy Thomas, J. R. Clynes and Frank Hodges.
The Rhondda miners’ leaders argued that a vote against the Labour Party and Will John was a vote against the existence of the Union. It could not have been clearer. Mabon expressed his support, asking for broad-minded people who believed in the progress of
465 Beti Jones, Etholiadau Seneddol yng Nghymru , ibid, 57.
466 Rhondda Leader, 8 1910, 3.
467 Rhondda Leader, 12 February 1910, 4.
humanity to join in the campaign. He appealed to his old friends in the Labour camp to be loyal to Will John as they were to him throughout his political career.
Clearly Mabon was purposely ignoring the amount of opposition he had had received back in 1885 but he felt that the second generation of politicians personified by Watts Morgan and Will John were sufficiently similar to him in their disposition and attitudes to gain the support needed. They had been nurtured by Welsh Nonconformity, moderate in their speech and careful of people’s feelings. The only difference by 1920 was that neither Will John nor Watts Morgan was forced to depend on the middle class as Mabon had to have done within the Rhondda Liberal-Labour Association. They received enough support from the miners and their wives as well as the local Labour Party, remembering that both constituencies were still a mining area. There were 34,203 voters in Rhondda West constituency and 23,994 of those, that is 70.02% of the electorate, turned out to vote. The results were:
Will John (Labour)
Gwilym Rowlands (Conservative)
Majority
14,035 (58.5%)
9,959 (41.5%)
4,076 (46)
Will John was not as successful at the hustings and the ballot box as Mabon but the byelection was the beginning of his career. He won easily and had a comfortable majority. Gwilym Rowlands stood once more against Will John in the 1922 General Election but the Labour candidate won with a larger majority of 7,011 votes on that occasion.
A number of the socialists were not at all happy with the way in which Mabon kept his seat without giving a good account of himself throughout the years of the Great War. One of his fiercest critics was David Evans (Dai Evans the Bomb as he was called) of Clydach Vale, a fiery member of the Independent Labour Party. He went so far as to say that the two elections in 1910 had been a mockery as Mabon had not been chosen democratically. The only ones who had a choice in his selection were the Miners’ Union in the Rhondda and then only the Executive Committee; and this to him was a flagrant misuse of the democratic vote.
To Dai Evans the Bomb, the 1910 election meetings were a complete farce. You had veteran Liberals in the chair for Mabon and not Labour pioneers. With few exceptions the main supporting speakers who came to address the electorate belonged to the Liberal Party camp. He referred to what these speakers from the Liberal Party said in these meetings. They would list all the achievements of the 1906-1910 Government; then they would start praising Mabon and complete their speech with a eulogy to their Messiah, Lloyd George. These are the words of David Evans:
Labour was not to be heard even on the ‘second fiddles’. It only came in today the paper. Many of Labour’s bitterest opponents were amongst the most prominent speakers – men who, before and since, have denounced Labour candidates at local
elections and have slandered us with their lying shrieks of ‘atheism’, ‘Free Love’, etc. These men should not have been aided in their hollow hypocrisy and their pious pretences to be friends of Labour.468
Dai the Bomb was quite right setting the complex situation before energetic socialists who greatly hoped to be rid of Mabon from his key post as an MP.
A socialist who was instrumental in the birth of the Labour Party in Rhondda was T. I. Mardy Jones. He travelled the whole area with missionary zeal to outline the new relationship to the lodges with the Independent Labour Party, then the LRC and also the Labour Party. He was an educator and an excellent organiser of Rhondda workers. Twenty people belonged to the constituency Executive Committee and they set about organising a local electoral structure without depending on the Liberals. But as there was no General Election on the horizon in 1912-13, these vital moves were not highlighted.
T. I. Mardy Jones was an optimistic intellectual but very few felt the same as he did by the beginning of the Great War. On 12 April 1918, the organisation was re-named the RBLP (Rhondda Borough Labour Party). Despite this, there was no need for much activity for the two Labour candidates in the 1918 election but a golden chance in the 1920 byelection. There were no miracles on that occasion either. Indeed, Will John complained to the Federation in 1920, there was no political system of any value in east or west Rhondda’.469 It could be said that it was after Mabon’s death on 14 May 1922 that Labour Party organisation came to be more significant and, indeed, essential and it seems the Miners’ Union was willing to be heavily involved in all the general elections of the twenties. By the end of the Great War, women were extremely active within the Labour Party. It was a long journey for them. The Conference of the Independent Labour Party of South Wales and the Socialist Federation was held at Swiss Hall, Queen Street, Cardiff on 26 December 1898 under the chairmanship of Tom Harrington of Newport. There were altogether six hours of discussion and detailed reports from Willie Wright the full-time Federation organiser on political work amongst the women.470
By the time of the 1918 General Election, there were numbers of ardent women, such as Elizabeth Andrews of Ton Pentre, involved with Labour. In 1918 she was appointed to organise women members of the Labour Party in Wales. Such women were to be found not only in the Rhondda. When a new Aberdare constituency was created in January 1918 and when 65 associations came together representing 23,340 people, the Chairperson, William Hamburn, declared that he personally was proud to welcome so many women to the gathering.471 That was the message that came from the lips of Edmund Stonelake of
468 David Evans, Rhondda Socialist, September and October 1911.
469 T. I. Mardy Jones (1879-1970). Educated in Ruskin College and served from 1909 till 1922 as the South Wales Miners’ Federation parliamentary agent. See John Graham Jones, MardyJones, Thomas Isaac (1879-1970) in Dictionary of Welsh Biography (London, 1953).
470 South Wales Daily News, 15 December 1920
471 Aberdare Leader, 19 January 1918, 2; A. V. John, ‘A Miner’s Struggle: Women’s protests in Welsh mining history’, Llafur vol. 4, no. 1, 72-90.
Aberdare.472 There were addresses that night by Noah Tromans, Mrs Matthews, Secretary of the Women’s Co-operative Circle and Mrs. F. Rose Davies, Secretary of the Aberdare Women’s Co-operative Circle. 473 Her contribution on the Glamorganshire County Council was a significant one in the inter war years, and there was more activity in politics on the horizon for women. Mabon’s successors and many a Labour politician depended heavily on the women’s activities, and this could be seen from its early stage. Women had been an important part of the mining collieries as well communities, particularly in the area around Nant y Glo in Monmouthshire as well as the Aberdare Valley. The Abernant pit near Aberdare employed women when the Labour Party was being formed.474(54). Those days were to come to an end due especially to the leadership of Mabon and his trade union .
472 Ibid., Edmund William Stonelake (1873- 1960) a key figure in establishing the Labour Party in the Merthyr Boroughs constituency. Had no time for C. B. Stanton. Served as Secretary of the Labour Party in the Aberdare constituency from 1929 to 1945. See David Leslie Davies, Edmund William Stonelake in Dictionary of Welsh Biography.
473 Mrs F. Rose (née Rees) Davies (1873-1958). A teacher and an ILP activist in the Aberdare constituency. Elected to the Glamorgan County Council in 1925, became an Alderman, and served as Chairman in 1949, first woman in its history. Worked with Keir Hardie and George M Ll. Davies, the Pacifist, and her husband Edward Davies was also, like her, an activist but never became a Councillor. They had five children. Information from Wikipedia.
474 Aberdare Leader, 5th September 1908, 3/
David Watts Morgan M.P.
Grave in Trealaw Cemetery
CHAPTER 11
MABON AT HIS VERY BEST
Attacks on Mabon’s policies in the years before the First World War were sufficient reason for him to decide to place his resignation from the post of Rhondda District Miners’ Agent before the Executive Committee. Another reason was the state of his health. But, in his retirement, he was not completely idle, as he was treasurer for the Miners’ Federation of Great Britain and the Miners’ International Federation) and was MP for Rhondda until 1920. But in the years from 1911 to 1922, his main interest was still the miners and the coal industry. Until the day he died, his priority was defending the miners, and he treasured the honour of being given a Doctorate in Law by the University of Wales in 1918 at a meeting of the University Court in Cardiff on 19 July.475 It was soon announced that Dr William Abraham or Dr Mabon would be visiting this place or that chapel or this lodge.
By this time, Mabon, though earning himself a modest salary, had become rather rich through investment, advertisements as well as thrift. He was a director of the London, Edinburgh and Glasgow Assurance Co Ltd. from 1889 until 1910.476 That year there was a merger with the Pearl company and Mabon received an honorary payment in relation to the amalgamation. During the first decades of the twentieth century he had two homes, one in Llanilltud Fawr and the other in Pentre, Rhondda. When his grand-daughter, Winnie Pugh, the only daughter of T. Pugh and Mrs. Pugh (Mabon’s daughter) who lived in the Pentre got married, Mabon arranged for her to have a wedding which would amaze his family and friends. He arranged for the wedding to be held on Thursday 18 May 1908 in St. Illtyd’s Church, Llanilltud Fawr, where he had a house. The groom was Rees Morgan, the founder of the ironmongery firm Rees Morgan and Co. which later became Rees Morgan, Abraham and Co. with branches in Cowbridge, Bridgend and Llanilltud. 477 Mabon had designed and built a grand house called Bryn Illtud on the road out of Llanmaes and near the railway station in Llanilltud. He still travelled a great deal and it was convenient for him to be able to travel to London from Cardiff. Her father and Mabon
475 E. W. Evans, Mabon: A Study in Trade Union Leadership, 95-6.
476 Ibid., 96.
477 ‘Llantwit Major Wedding’, The Glamorgan Gazette, June 19, 1908, 1
presented her at the wedding where the vicar, the Revd. Henry Morris officiated. The service was so unlike a chapel one and not a single hymn was sung. This was strange, for Mabon loved hymn singing.478 Mabon’s family were amongst the guests and the wedding breakfast was held at Bryn Illtud. Mabon arranged for the honeymoon to take place in London and the groom, Rees Morgan, gave a party for all the village children in the field behind the White Lion Hotel. Mabon was pleased that his grand-daughter and her husband were going to make their home at Cwrt-y-Mor in Boverton, in Llanilltud Fawr and so they could be close to each other, as he grew older.479
Mabon earned a salary as Vice-Chair of the Miners’ Permanent Provident Society. By 1920, Mabon received a pension of £250 a year from his trade Union. His work for the Fed and as an MP after 1910 gave him an opportunity to procure seven thousand shares in the London, Edinburgh and Glasgow Assurance Co Ltd and then five thousand shares at 24 shillings each in the Pearl Assurance Co. As these gave him interest of 6% a year he was found himself very well off. He also had an investment in a company involved in the tinplate industry in Llanelli. By this time, his face was nearly as well-known as some members of the Royal Family and even of Lloyd George. That is why he was employed to advertise tobacco and tomatoes in the daily and weekly press. He did well out of all these opportunities480 .
When this information became known, Mabon lost a certain amount of his popularity. Some of the socialists and syndicalists felt that no chapel goer, trade unionist and eisteddfod compère should amass as many worldly goods. But one has to remember that he had a gift for investment and that he worked hard and was responsible for four jobs. He was an MP (paid by the Rhondda Labour and Liberal Association); he was the Rhondda miners’ agent until 1912, President of the South Wales Miners and treasurer of the Miners’ Federation of Great Britain and the Miners’ International Federation. But most of the money came from his own investments and advertisements, from being director of an insurance company and from various investments, especially £400 in an industrial venture which grew during the First World War and which, by his death, gave him the enormous sum of £38,000 the equivalent of £854,807,27 in 2020. 481
When it is remembered that Thomas Ashton MP, another miners’ leader, only left the sum of £2400 when he died in 1927 and that William Brace’s estate was worth £14,899 in 1947, that we are amazed at the wealth of Mabon.497 One can add other examples such as Thomas Burt, one482 of the principal Lib-Lab members of parliament who left the
478 Ibid
479 Ibid.
480 E. W. Evans, Mabon, 96.
481 E. W. Evans and John Saville, ‘Mabon’, in Dictionary of Labour Biography, vol. 1, 2. The Guardian reporter explains he had joined an insurance company to please the miners. It was they who had proposed him in the first place as a member of the Board of Directors and, naturally, he was very influential in the committees. The Guardian says further, ‘Mabon’s holding was greatly enhanced in value and the same reasons which led to its directorate in his joining the Board of the larger concern.’ See The Guardian, 3 October, 1922, 9.
482 John Saville, ‘Thomas Ashton (1844-1927)’ in Dictionary of Labour Biography, vol. 1, 30-32. The reference to £2400 is on page 31; R. Page Arnot, Joyce Bellamy, John Saville, ‘William Brace
sum of £5,017 in 1922 (the same year as Mabon).483 When Enoch Edwards died in 1912, he left £3,192, while Charles Fenwick left an estate worth £2,774 in 1918.484 Not one of his former Lib-Lab colleagues could in any way compete with Mabon as far as wealth was concerned. Consider Hubert Jenkins who took the same approach as Mabon towards industrial strikes. He died at his home in Abertridwr near Caerphilly in 1943, and left the sum of £1765. In 1933, David Watts Morgan left only £203 in his will485 and Thomas Richards, another MP and a life-long Trade Unionist a similar amount. R. Page Arnot and Joyce Bellamy said of Thomas Richards:
He worked closely with Mabon, but at times he could be much tougher with the coal owners, although in the decade before 1914, he came under the increasing criticism from the younger militant elements among the South Wales miners who were identified with the Plebs League and the Central Labour College.486
When he died on 8 November 1931 in Cardiff, Thomas Richards (a hero in the eyes of Jim Griffiths) left the sum of £1,528 and consider what the Marxist intellectual Noah Ablett said about him: ‘We have lost the greatest man in the Federation, the greatest man in Wales.’487
Clearly Mabon was much keener to make money than his contemporaries in the Labour Party and particularly amongst his fellow officials in the Miners’ Federation. His Calvinism spurred him on to succeed in amassing capital and he left a rich legacy to those he loved. Late in the day, Mabon moved back from Llanilltud suburbia to the terraced houses of Pentre. The name of his home was Bryn y Bedw and there he was cared for by his daughter and her husband Tom Pugh. During the last two years of his life, he went to Nazareth Chapel when the weather was favourable and, according to the ministers, ‘enjoyed listening to a (well-constructed) sermon’. He kept his vision, his hearing and his agile mind to the end of his life and, though he was a heavyweight, he was still a sprightly walker. However, he had poor health in his last year and died peacefully at Bryn y Bedw on Sunday 14 May 1922 of a heart condition following a bout of pleurisy. He was a month short of being eighty years of age. His two daughters were left to mourn him, namely Mrs. Thomas Williams of Swansea and Mrs. Tom Pugh of Pentre, Rhondda and (1865-1947)’ in Dictionary of Labour Biography, vol. 1, 51-53. The reference to £14,899 is on page 53. H. F. Bing and John Saville, Thomas Burt (1837-1922), vol. 1, 59-63. The reference to the sum he left is on page 63.
483 Joyce Bellamy and John Saville, ‘Enoch Edwards (1852-1912)’ in Dictionary of Labour Biography, ibid., 109-111. The sum he left is to be seen on page 111; Anthony Mason and John Saville, ‘Charles Fenwick (1850-1918)’ in Dictionary of Labour Biography, ibid., 115-118. The value of his estate is on page 118.
484 John Saville, ‘Hubert Jenkins (1866-1943)’ in Dictionary of Labour Biography, ibid., 193-4. He was in complete agreement with Mabon: ‘He was always an advocate of settlement by conciliation and negotiation in preference to strikes, but he was not a ‘peace at any price’ trade unionist, 194. The sum he left is to be seen on the same page.
485 Joyce Bellamy, ‘David Watts Morgan (1867-1933)’, ibid., 246-7.
486 R. Page Arnot and Joyce Bellamy, ‘Thomas Richards (1859-1931)’ in ibid. 285-287. The first quotation is from page 285 and Ablett’s quotation is on page 287.
487 Hywel Teifi Edwards, ‘Arwr Glew Erwau’r Glo: Delwedd y Glowr’ in Llenyddiaeth y Gymraeg (Welsh Literature, 1850-1950), (Llandysul, 1994), 16.
his oldest brother David Abraham, an esteemed railway official in Cardiff. Mabon and his wife had eight children in the home at Pentre namely David, William, Mary, Margaret, Rachel, Thomas, and Henry John. The Revd. Towyn Jones, editor of Tarian y Gweithiwr said:’ by 1922 only three of the eight were to be seen at the funeral’. However he added that there was no one in his circles in south Wales to compare with him. The Revd. John Hughes of Bridgend (and previously Liverpool) who was taught by Mabon in the Sunday School admits, ‘His story stands for ever as a precious legacy for Wales and the sons of the Labour Movement.’
In the obituary to Mabon in the daily paper The Guardian, it was claimed that he was one of the most genuine and interesting leaders of British Trade Unionism. Then said the anonymous writer:
As a speaker he was racy of the soil. He was never much at home in English but in Welsh he was eloquent and vigorous.488
The interment was held four days later in Treorchy Cemetery in the family grave where his wife and son had been laid to rest. It was one of the largest funerals seen in South Wales and representatives came from all over Wales and Britain to pay their last respects. There were representatives of the Prime Minister, the South Wales Miners’ Federation, the Miners’ Federation of Great Britain, the Mines’ Department, Colliery Examiners’ Association, Master Hauliers’ Association, the political parties and nonconformist denominations. The collieries were all ‘silenced’ and the procession walked to the cemetery through the main street of Treorchy. Thousands and thousands of the families of the Rhondda stood in respect by the roadsides. It was a meaningful farewell to one who had dominated the life of the valleys since he moved to live at Pentre.
He would remind his constituents of the 1915 strike when 100,000 volunteers marched from Glamorgan to face the Kaiser. They did not have the acknowledgment they should have had but that was not the fault of their leader. He always tried his best. Mabon told the leaders of the European miners:
Above all, let us meet each other on common ground, essential to concord. Let us give and take.489
By the beginning of the twentieth century Mabon was one of the giants of Welsh Nonconformity. He was compared to Thomas Gee, Sir O. M. Edwards, Reverend Dr T. Charles Edwards, D. Lloyd George and Reverend Dr John Thomas (Liverpool). When he was invited to Windsor Castle, Queen Victoria said to him, sincerely: ‘I am glad to meet
488 The author Hywel Teifi Edwards mentions the words of the Revd. Richard Williams of Aberdare (a good friend of the literary giant Kate Roberts when she came to teach in the town) bewailing the fact that the miners were being denigrated by the middle class: ‘The Miners are the publicans and sinners of the age with everyone venting their spleen on them.’
See Richard Williams, ‘Hanner Canmlwydd y Darian’, Y Darian, 18 December 1924, 4 489 ‘Mr William Abraham (Mabon)’, The Guardian, 15 May1922, 9.
you, Mabon.’490 She did not utter such friendly words to most politicians but Mabon was amongst those privileged to be among the elite in her estimation.
Mabon was a pacifist all his working life until the beginning of the First World War but, because of his great friendship with Lloyd George, he was prepared to compromise his beliefs and support the ghastly war. Liberals and leaders of the Labour movement such as Mabon, were very ready to support the call to arms . Mabon’s voice was to be heard in the valleys he knew so well though not without anguish. Before the end of August 1914 he was willing to promote the War campaign even in the Rhondda Valleys. Mabon managed to persuade the miners to consider defending the way of life of small nations. Mabon saw forty thousand South Wales miners enlisting voluntarily in the armed forces. His chief supporter David Watts Morgan volunteered and he also managed to persuade hundreds of Rhondda miners to join with him. He was made lieutenant-colonel and was extremely popular with ordinary people. In the Merthyr and Aberdare constituency, Keir Hardie was mocked for his pacifism. Hardie literally broke his heart and died prematurely in the middle of his socialist mission and at the comparatively early age of 59.491 In the by-election in November 1915 after his death, there was devastating ‘war spirit’ in the constituency. There was no way for James Winstone the official Labour candidate to gain the upper hand over the militaristic rhetoric of C. B. Stanton. As an Independent Labour and War Supporter, Stanton won 10,286 votes whilst Winstone only received 6,080.
Mabon and Dai Watts Morgan were to be seen on platforms recruiting young miners. Mabon became the President and T. Isaac Mardy Jones the Secretary of the organisation called the Rhondda Parliamentary Recruiting Committee.492 According to the local weekly, this committee also took care of raising adequate money for the soldiers as well as preparing resources for their comfort.493 Another local paper observed of Mabon: ‘Possibly, his views are more imperialistic than some of his constituents.’494
But the fact is that Mabon, as a veteran politician, knew that he had to be on the winning side. He could not bear to be silent when he saw the miners being badly misused by the colliery owners in 1915. He had convinced so many of them to volunteer for full time service. Like others he was frustrated that large mining companies such as Powell Duffryn were allowed to make a handsome profit in the years of despair.495 In 1915 Lloyd George behaved ruthlessly under the authority of the Munitions of War Act. Under this legislation, striking became a criminal offence. Mabon himself could not bear strike action as he admitted:
490 National Library of Wales: Archives of the Calvinistic 4,842. Bywyd a Gwasaneth y diweddar William Abraham, ‘Mabon’ by David Davies of Pentre, Rhondda, 92.
491 Kenneth O. Morgan, Keir Hardie: Radical and Socialist (London 1975), 263-75.
492 D. Ben Rees, Cofiant James Griffiths, 63.
493 Rhondda Leader, 6 November 1915, 3.
494 Rhondda Fach Gazette, 16 April 1918, 4. 495 John Davies, Hanes Cymru, 496.
There are very few strikes within my experience which have resulted in gains, commensurate with the sacrifice entailed. 496
This was what he believed in but the attitude of the Coalition Government was a glaring and serious error. A goodly number of Mabon’s supporters were troubled and that is why he condemned the important politicians who had gone to excess. Even the Manchester Guardian the paper of C. P. Scott and the Liberals, who suggested blockading the coalfield in order to force the miners to return to work were out of order as far as he was concerned.497
The Tory leader Bonar Law who was a member of Asquith’s Coalition Government was furious, suggesting it would be better to shoot a hundred miners in order to control the strike rather than to lose thousands on the battle field as a natural consequence.498 At the miners’ conference it was decided to invite the Government to discuss the situation, and Lloyd George and two of his fellow ministers came to Cardiff to do so. The charismatic Welshman satisfied the miners’ wishes and there was an understanding that the colliery owners would be forced to honour the agreement made between the Government and the Fed.
Mabon’s South Wales Miners Union was victorious in the end. When one considered the whole of Britain, it was south Wales that had the most militant miners. These troublemakers were active throughout the Second World War. In January 1916 they had enough courage to vote for a strike if the compulsory military service bill came into existence. The Welsh Prime Minister Lloyd George was as much in favour of compulsory conscription as his fellow politician W. Llewellyn Williams, MP. The episode destroyed their friendship. The Bill became law. The Miners’ Federation of Great Britain refused to back the Bill or the message involved. There was unrest on the issue of the ‘closed shop’ which secured the Federation’s policy of speedy membership growth. This naturally meant more finance to the Union’s funds in south Wales.
Throughout the War the miners never compromised. They realised that the colliery owners were making enormous profits. The South Wales Miners’ Union, called for the right to study the companies’ accounts. This was refused and it led to another conflict in the coal field. The Coalition Government reacted in November 1916 by doing something that would have been unimaginable had Lloyd George not been around. The government took over management of the south Wales coal industry and, in February 1917, this was extended to the rest of the English and Scottish coalfields. This gave a spur to the debate about nationalising the coal mines. From 1892 onwards, there had been discussions in the
Conferences and amongst miners’ unions in favour of nationalisation.499 By 1912 Robert Smillie, the President of the Miners, was ready to consider preparing a draft bill to be discussed in Parliament. Thirteen Labour MPs took the opportunity to place the Bill before
496 E. W. Evans, Mabon, 97.
497 John Davies, ibid, 496.
498 Ibid, 496-7.
499 Ibid, 497.
the House on 9 July 1913.500 Mabon unfortunately was not amongst them and nothing came of the move other than it being handed over for the consideration of the Minister for Mines. One consequence of these discussions was an increase in the number of Trade Unionists amongst the miners. The Marxists among the miners’ leaders, in particular Noah Ablett from Merthyr, A. J. Cook from Porth, Arthur Horner from Maerdy and S. O. Davies from Tumble, could not be silent. They raised their voices unceasingly when they heard about the communist revolution in Russia in 1917. The anthracite miners in Ammanford even sang on the streets:
Workers of the Vale of Amman!
Echo Russia’s mighty thrust. 501
By 20 July 1917 the South Wales Miners’ Union had agreed to link up with the Labour movement in Germany in order to create unity and unanimity of views amongst the working classes across the world who had played such a prominent role in the background to the fighting, killing and destruction in continental Europe. The war had shaken the foundations of every community and the miners felt that there was a need to establish a network of councils on the lines that had taken place in Russia. But Mabon did not agree. Towards the end of his journey, he could not see any great value in any form of socialism that did not spring from the principles of Christianity. He viewed Communism or Bolshevism as a seven horned creature as pictured in the Book of Revelation in the New Testament. For Mabon, there was no place in the labour movement for class warfare or nationalisation.502 These discussions were a waste of time. He sincerely believed in sharing profit equally as John Stuart Mill argued. He completely supported the Miners’ Union and lived all his life for it. But it was an organisation to defend as far as they could the members and not one to attack the capitalists and create dissent. The weapon was not the sword but a shield to guard it. Dr E. W. Evans says:
In his eyes, every successful strike was a Pyrrhic victory. Each miner had not only certain rights, but also duties, both towards his family and towards the community as a whole. All would suffer hardship during a stoppage, and these considerations had to be carefully weighed before striking.503
Striking was a sad mistake and an insufferable burden for the brave mothers and their supportive wives. Mabon believed that there was a need for co-operation in the coal industry. He was prepared to embrace a position which had no meaning for the militant
500 R. Page Arnot, The Miners: One Union, one Industry: A History of the National Union of Mineworkers, 1939-46 (London, 1979, 105). ‘From the formation of the Miners’ Federation in November 1889, resolutions for taking the pits out of the hands of the coal-masters by measures of nationalisation had been frequently brought up at conferences or put forward to an annual meeting of the Trades Union Congress.’ The Scots were most in favour of nationalisation, especially Robert Smillie and J. Keir Hardie.
501 Ibid. 107.
502 D. Ben Rees, Cofiant Jim Griffiths, 64; T. E. Davies, ‘Y Gwir Anrhydeddus W. Abraham: Orig fach yn ei gwmni’, Y Cymro, 5 January 1912, 3.
503 E. W. Evans, Mabon, 99.
miners, particularly those that opposed the Sliding Scale. The forte of the Sliding Scale was that it prevented striking and gave a fair share of the profit to both sides from selling the coal. Often it gave the employers unfair profits through lessening wages for the miners when the price of coal fell.
But after 1912 Mabon lost his enormous popularity as he was one of the few leaders who saw both sides of the coin in the coal industry. Dr E. W. Evans spoke accurately:
To a generation that regarded industry as a battleground in the war between the classes, his entire outlook appeared out of date. 504
But there were clear weaknesses in Mabon’s standpoint on reconciliation between the employer and the employed. He took for granted that the employer was ready to compromise with the miner and he knew that that was not true most of the time. He grew to be a leader amongst people who supported the same way of life and philosophy as he did, namely the miners who had been steeped in the Nonconformist chapels. Those historians who have studied Mabon agree that that he was different from so many Trade Union leaders. He did his very best to adapt basic Christian principles, namely the fatherhood of God and brotherhood of mankind to the hard, difficult times of industrial unrest.
His policy was to settle every quarrel and dispute peacefully and to the benefit of both sides. The press used the phrase ‘Mabon’s Victory’ about some of the strikes but they did not use that word in any other circumstance. He felt at his best when the Conference was held completely through the medium of Welsh. In Welsh, Mabon was seen at his best. In his native language, he was a man of the Holy Scriptures and the power of prayer was his sustenance in frequent storms; and when he faced accidents which killed scores of miners, he would comfort and support the afflicted. It must be remembered that the majority of the new leaders who came into Mabon’s world between 1905 and 1922 had been steeped in the Gospel, if we think only of the rebels of the Tonypandy riots such as Noah Ablett, Will John, W. H. Mainwaring, A. J. Cook and John Hopla.
According to Y Cymro Mabon’s words to the miners in 1912 were:
The worker’s best friend is Jesus of Nazareth and in vain can one expect financial success by being unfaithful to the principles.505
Mabon was a man of the chapel all his life and could not comprehend Marxism. Seeing that philosophy gaining ground in Rhondda caused him great sadness. Dai Watts Morgan agreed with him and was ready to challenge it in Rhondda Fach as Maerdy was one of the centre points of the Communist Party during the twenties and thirties. Left-wing socialist ideas were circulating in the Rhondda from the middle of the last decade of the nineteenth century and were clearly inspirational to the syndicalism of people like A. J. Cook who was
504 Ibid
505 T. E. Davies, ‘Y Gwir Anrhydeddus W. Abraham’, ibid 3.
to some of his enemies by far the most dangerous of them all in the coalfield. Among those who would agree were Colonel Lindsay, the prejudiced Chief Constable of Glamorgan.506
Marxism gave a boost to the constant agitation and unrest after 1910 and inspired the Unofficial Reform Committee and the Rhondda Socialist Association. Mabon, along with Welsh Nonconformists, suffered in the amazing change which happened in his constituency. The influence on the miners of Mabon singing hymns and patriotic songs declined and the number of Welsh-speakers from the same chapel-going background as his also declined. Having said that, some still came (though often for a short period) like the young Huw T. Edwards who migrated from the Conwy Valley and who called midRhondda El Dorado. Edwards came to work as a miner. He realised the nature of the miners’ battle straight away. This is how he expressed it:
If men worked on the shifts from two o’clock on Monday until ten pm on a Friday, or from ten pm on a Monday evening until six am on a Saturday, they would be paid for six shifts even though they had worked only five; but if one shift was missed, then the workers would be paid for only four. 507
His El Dorado was shattered suddenly when the bitter conflict of the Cambrian strike broke out. As a young man on strike he was paid ‘the sum of five shillings a week, half that paid to grown up men.’ He experienced Mabon’s influence as a speaker:
A big meeting was called in Pen-y-Graig and Mabon was expected there to give a report of a meeting with the owners in London. Before Mabon arrived, Arthur Cook had spoken and suggested strongly that Mabon had shares in the Cambrian. Mabon arrived there with almost everyone against him. Before ten minutes were up almost everyone was on his side. Such was his skill as a speech-maker! 508
Mabon supported the stance of his religious denomination, the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists. Of all the Nonconformist denominations, they were the most ready to support antiLabour decisions. They had uncompromising ministers in their ranks such as the Reverend W. F. Phillips. It was recognised that the Revd. W. F. Phillips could excite the Nonconformists to frenzy with his sermon on ‘Choose Christ or Socialism!’509
Nonconformist ministers who were in favour of the Labour Movement, like the Revd. James Nicholas, Will John’s minister in Tonypandy, incurred his displeasure.510 Mabon
506 John Davies, Hanes Cymru, 497.
507 Huw T. Edwards, Tros y Tresi (Denbigh, 1956) 37.
508 Ibid., 41.
509 The Reverend W. F. Phillips was from Penmaenmawr and moved to Liverpool, joining the strong Princes Road Welsh Presbyterian Church Church during the ministry of the politically motivated minister Dr John Williams who became a great supporter of Lloyd George. W. F. Phillips’ main interest, like that of John Williams was the Liberal Party. See W. F. Phillips, ‘Y Perygl oddi wrth Sosialaeth yng Nghymru’, Y Genhinen, January 1912, 7-9.
510 Jim Griffiths makes an interesting and important statement that it was during Phillips’ era that the waning influence of nonconformity as a political force in the life of Wales began. ‘If only nonconformity had aligned itself with the new political forces which soon were to become
was a Calvinist and that philosophy supported him greatly in his outstanding work as a Trade Unionist and a LibLab Member of Parliament.
His obvious weakness was his unreadiness to adapt to the changes that were happening around him. He kept more or less to the same principles throughout his life but, by 1920, when he retired from public life, he was a figure worthy of pity, for his golden days were over. For over fifty years he had been able to charm everyone to accept his decisions and guidance. And yet it is important to emphasise what the history of the Welsh coalfield would have been without his presence and his leadership He was a founder member, a pioneer who established a relevant Trade Union to defend the miners. After all, the employers preferred dealing with him than with many of his colleagues. On the other hand, Mabon could have achieved more earlier in his career had the miners given him the support he fought for.
His final contribution was the 1919 Rhondda Miners’ Strike on the issue of wages, when 1300 were out of work for a month. Mabon worked hard on the issues involved and, through his skill, charm and particular efforts, the strike came to an end.511 This was a sign that Mabon, as the miners’ leaders in the United States used to say of him, was still a fine negotiator, a rare mediator.
allpowerful in the valleys, the subsequent history of both chapel and socialism might have been different. See James Griffiths, Pages from Memory (London, 1969), 19. 511 Chris Williams, Democratic Rhondda: Politics and Society, 1885-1951, 128.
CHAPTER 12
MABON THE CHAPEL-GOER AND THE PROUD MINER
From cradle to grave, Mabon was a chapel goer and was heavily influenced by the ethos of the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists. As he lost his father when he was a young boy, his mother took on the responsibility for the spiritual and material concerns of the whole family. His mother took him as a babe in arms to the services and he attended Sunday School from the age of three. As the Anglo-Welsh novelist Jack Jones noted in his unpublished essay on Mabon, it was the chapel which gave him the confidence to stand as an orator.512 He was expected to be there on a Sunday morning to say his verse with a group of other children in the Elders’ Pew and this helped him in his career as a leader who was often expected to make an impromptu address in the open air. By the time he was fourteen Mabon had been given responsibilities within the chapel, including conducting the chapel choir and, within a couple of years, also conducting the choir of the Welsh Independent Chapel, named The Rock. They had considerable success in local eisteddfodau. He became a Sunday School teacher and, in turn, Children’s Sunday School Supervisor.513 He married young at the age of nineteen to a woman of the same background and with the same interests, whose father was a local blacksmith in Cwmafan. After the home, the chapel was her priority and the only mistake her husband made was to be tempted to emigrate for work in Chile. He regretted this514 but mercifully returned to Wales and to a life more profitable to everyone, soon becoming a leader of miners in west Glamorganshire. Wherever he was in that area of Wales, he would make a valiant effort to locate a chapel and if there was not a Calvinistic Methodist Chapel located nearby he would seek out Nonconformist chapels of other denominations.515 He came to know the leaders of Welsh Baptist and Welsh Independent Chapels and was considered a supporter of every religious cause because of his musical talents and his oratory. Not surprisingly, he was attracted to preaching and was much sought after as a boy evangelist.516
512 National Library of Wales, No. 186 Papers of Jack Jones, Rhiwbina, Cardiff ‘The Mabon Story’.
513 Ibid.
514 Ibid. ‘Felt that he had deserted his faith by going to Chile’.
515 Ibid. Jack Jones says, ‘The Chapel was the great influence on him in his long life.’
516 Ibid. ‘A lay preacher in his teens’. Jack Jones speaks of him in Chile refusing to go with his fellow-workers to see a circus as it was being held on the Sabbath, which he called the Lord’s
Providence was kind to him when he decided to move to live and work in the Rhondda Fawr in 1874.517 In a statement located in the minutes of East Glamorgan Presbytery, there is a delightful piece of prose praise to the Rhondda Valley, which could have been written by Mabon, where every available Nonconformist and Anglican cause are recorded, all well built with the miners having made a valiant effort to cater for their kith and kin 518
The writer of the minutes realises that there is a close relationship between the coal industry and the building of chapels as I argued in the book Chapels in the Valley published in 1975.519 The Presbytery acknowledged that there was a very strong bond between the chapels and the collieries and this is what was said of the village of Pen-y-Graig in the Rhondda in the mid-seventies of the nineteenth century:
A large colliery has been sunk here and scores of houses have been built, the majority of them inhabited by Welsh people. The masters and officers of the colliery are Welshmen and are religious and faithful to the chapel community. They are also careful in choosing men to work at the colliery.520
It was the same story in both valleys. In Cwm-parc where the Calvinistic Methodist cause grew very quickly they made the same kind of attempt to prepare a spiritual home for the religiously minded Welsh. It was the establishment of new coal mines in Ystradfodwg which was primarily responsible for this. Mabon’s capitalist friend David Davies of Llandinam was more than ready to contribute financially towards the cost of building a Methodist chapel if it was located near one of his collieries. 521
Mabon and his family were members of Nazareth Welsh Calvinistic Chapel located in the village of Pentre, an active church similar to those built in the villages in the Rhondda Fawr valley. Soon after joining the chapel the newcomer Mabon was invited to be precentor. This meant that he would join the elders in the Set Fawr (special pew where the elders sat). There he would conduct the congregation in their singing of the songs of Zion. Even when Mabon moved to live in a nicer house in Llanilltud Fawr on the edge of the beautiful Vale of Glamorgan, he continued to go to Pentre Chapel for Sunday services and on weeknights to the Band of Hope. He remained as precentor until his death in
Day. The Calvinistic Methodists placed a great deal of emphasis on keeping the Sabbath since teh founcing of the Lord’s Day observance Society in 1831. The Lord’s Day Fellowship in Wales has had prominent Welsh Presbyterians as their officers since its inception as a society in 1937.
517 Ibid. They sang in Welsh in the Rhondda in 1874 ‘Mabon is our man’. Jack Jones says he was much more popular in Rhondda Fawr than in Rhondda Fach.
518 Part of the minutes of the Treorchy Monthly Meeting of the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists, 3 and 4 November 1873, in Y Goleuad 15 November 1873, 10.
519 D. Ben Rees, Chapels in the Valley: A Study in the Sociology of Welsh Nonconformity (Upton, 1975), 222 pp.
520 Y Drysorfa xxv, 1871 (Minutes of the Monthly Meeting at Pen-y-Graig, Rhondda Fawr 27 and 28 July), 71.
521 David Davies of Llandinam was an idol of the Calvinistic Methodists in Rhondda. He was, together with his son Edward, ‘the generous shoulder full of Christian spirit to help and nurture the chapels.’ See H. Williams, Davies the Ocean: Railway King and Coal Tycoon (Cardiff, 1991), 93-6.
1922.522 He was the individual chosen to be in charge of the Band of Hope, a temperance meeting catering for the children and the young people. He expected the children to attend Nazareth Chapel vestry regularly. The success of the Band of Hope depended on the person in charge of the activities. From my experience of attending the Band of Hope as a child in rural Cardiganshire there was always at hand a varied programme. My minister was a competent musician and so for some twenty minutes we would sing temperance hymns. Then he would spend another twenty minutes telling a parable of Jesus or a story from Welsh literature. This was very entertaining; then there would be a short address on the perils of alcohol: so it was in the Band of Hope that the future temperance leaders were all nurtured. This happened to a young lad, James Griffiths of Ammanford who attended Christian Temple Welsh Independent Chapel. He got to know Mabon and followed him as a strong temperance advocate among miners and politicians for the rest of his long life. But from our knowledge of Mabon, he had the gift of being able to communicate with children and young people for at least an hour, sometimes longer. Mabon’s rich tenor voice was a bonus to any age-group. When he sang in the National Eisteddfod in Brecon in 1889, Madam Patti, one of the most famous singers in the world, said to him: ‘You have a beautiful voice, Mabon.’ And his gentlemanly response was ‘So have you, Madam!’523
Mabon saw his role in life as a pastor of people, young and old; indeed he used the idiom and vocabulary of the chapel leaders everywher, even when he accepted the responsibility of being miners’ agent for Rhondda. This is what he said to a group of ministers:
The call came and I answered it positively as you preachers would say, and you see I have stayed in the same pastoral role always.524
That was the language of Calvinism. It it is the language of the Calvinist that mentions the call and the fact that he remained committed in that vocation. He steeped himself in popular sacred hymns. Everywhere he sang the songs of Wales and the songs of faith. On his way to Parliament, on the train from Cardiff to Paddington, his fellow-travellers would hear ‘Men of Harlech’ and ‘ Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer’ and when he travelled twice in the United States, on board the ship crossing the Atlantic Ocean he regularly sang ‘Fy nhad sydd wrth y llyw’ (It is my Father at the helm).525 and, amongst the chapelloving miners he would always sing David Charles’ hymn ‘O Fryniau Caersalem…’ (From the hills of Jerusalem…). When Mabon was the compère on the stage of the National Eisteddfod in Llanelli in 1895 the large unruly audience got out of control. Mabon, the huge figure, rose to his feet and sang with all his might the National Anthem Hen Wlad fy Nhadau (Land of My Fathers). He silenced twelve thousand adults. There was a silence like the grave in the large marquee and order was soon restored. One quick witted member of the audieice shouted to a preacher, known by his bardic name of Gurnos and a loyal
522 National Library of Wales, No. 186 Papers of Jack Jones, Rhiwbeina. According to Jack Jones, Mabon moved to Llanilltud Fawr in 1912.
523 Ibid.
524 Ibid.
525 Naional Library of Wales: Archive of the Calvinistic Methodists, 14, 842: Bywyd a Gwasanaeth y ddiweddar William Abraham (‘Mabon’) by the Reverend David Davies, Pentre, Rhondda. Winner at the Treorchy Eisteddfod 1926, 16.
friend of Mabon, who also happened to be on the Eisteddfod platform, ‘Whose choir was that, Gurnos?’ The Welsh Independent minister’s reply was immediate, ‘Mabon’s choir!’
Mabon had a long happy relationship with the National Eisteddfod of Wales and the smaller eisteddfodau, and at the end of his life, he persuaded the Eisteddfod Court to invite the leader of the British miners, Robert Smillie (Mabon’s friend since 1888) to be President for the Day at the Ammanford National Eisteddfod in 1922.526 By the time the Eisteddfod was held, Mabon was in his grave, but the south Wales miners were glad that one of the important leaders of the Miners’ Federation of Great Britain was attending the Festival of poetry and song as an invited guest.527
The male voice choirs meant a great deal to Mabon. These were the choirs with which he had a close bond, of which he had been the instigator and choirs which he supported when they were singing outside Wales. As Hywel Teifi Edwards said:
Choral singing was one of the main means of selfexpression for the Welsh from the sixties until the First World War. The choir was one of the cornerstones of popular culture which developed during that period and we can be confident that it was powerful – creating one of the most important flavours in the history of modern Wales.528
When Mabon was on his first journey to the United States in 1901, he was much in demand as a platform compère of eisteddfodau in that great country. One of the local papers The Scranton Republican called him ‘Mabon, the prince of Eisteddfod conductors’.545 On 28 November 1901 at the afternoon meeting of the Scranton Eisteddfod, the audience of Welsh Americans had gone totally silent and there was no competition on the proposed items. In the silence, Mabon called on the audience to sing a hymn to the tune ‘Caersalem’ (Jerusalem). That was all that was needed for them to move on to hear those reciting and then the tenors’ competition singing the song ‘Llewelyn’s Grave’. After that the main male voice choirs came to the platform to sing Dr Joseph Parry’s work ‘Pilgrims Chorus’.529 It was thrilling to hear Mabon introducing the choirs, the North End Glee Club led by Gwilym Morlais; the Anthracite Glee Party (anthracite miners under the leadership of William Davies) and thirdly the Oxford Glee Club. 530
In the evening, the popular compere was Mabon’s good friend Judge J. H. Edwards. One of the high points of the Eisteddfod was when, at the close of the Eisteddfod, the Judge
526 Robert Smillie was a staunch supporter of Jennie Lee at the beginning of her political career as an ILP candidate. She says of him: ‘As a schoolgirl, I had often listened enthralled to stories of the fearful odds pitted against Bob Smillie, Keir Hardie, my grandfather and others like them to build a Labour trade union, and co-operative movement.’ See, Jennie Lee, My Life with Nye (London, 1980), 66.
527 Ibid.
528 Hywel Teifi Edwards, Codi’r Hen Wlad yn ei Hôl (Llandysul, 1989), 90 545 The Scranton Republican, Pennsylvania, Nov. 29, 1901, 3.
529 Ibid.
530 Ibid.
called on Mabon to lead everyone in the singing of ‘Land of My Fathers’. Many of the Welsh exiles had tears running down their cheeks as they sang the hymn ‘Bydd myrdd o ryfeddodau’ (There will be a host of wonders).531 This was the robust singing which made him such a favourite amongst the Rhondda miners. In 1873 he was called upon to address a meeting held in Tonypandy in his native language. Having heard him, some of the miners who knew him as a Trade Unionist asked him to sing and he sang a song of his own composition,‘Y Glowr Du’ (The Black Miner’). The miners were completely astonished and, according to a Western Mail reporter:
Lips quivered and tears stood in the eyes of hundreds, and at the close, a mighty sigh passed up from the vast meeting. It was evident that ‘Mabon’ had touched the heart of the Rhondda.532
From then on, there was no end to the calls for him to come to preach, to lecture, to speak and to sing, to mediate and to give firm leadership. He was a dependable man but, in 1879, when south Wales was in a difficult economic situation in terms of trade, he felt personally a great deal of stress. He did not yield. He was above all a pure Calvinist on the same wavelength as his people in Loughor and the Rhondda. He cared passionately for his family, his wife, four sons and four daughters and, as the head of the family, had experienced a large number of tribulations. His wife and he lost some of their dear ones but in spite of their grief they continued to trust in the message of the Cross of Calvary and the Resurrection preached at Nazareth Chapel. For to him, the tabernacle of God is with men as the Eternal Word of God continuously inspires his disciples to sing for salvation and to experience resurrection of body and soul in the last days.
After reaching Parliament, he did not miss the opportunity to battle hard for the Nonconformist agenda. Selfgovernment for Wales was important to him and he argued for a Lloyd George-Tom Ellis version of it. He referred to the issues of landowners and tenant farmers and sympathised with the economic plight of the farm workers and their straitened circumstances.
The Welsh language meant everything to him. It was the language of the hearth, of the chapel and, most of the time, of his daily work. He could not agree with the ideology of Daniel O’Connell in Ireland. He (O’Connell) was quite prepared to see Irish, his national language, disappear altogether. It was vital to learn English. At the Aberdare National Eisteddfod in 1885 Mabon spoke in favour of setting up the Welsh Language Society. He was not prepared under any circumstances to compromise on the matter of the native language. At Miners’ Conferences and in committees, Mabon spoke in Welsh as well as English; he preached in Welsh on a Sunday and spoke Welsh to taunt the Tories at Westminster. It is appreciated that, as the main leader of miners during the Industrial Revolution, Mabon played a very prominent part in the continuation of the language in Wales. He took every opportunity to praise the language. The weakness of the Liberal
531 Ibid.
532 Western Mail, 20 December 1884, 4.
Party was that it chose people so different from Mabon as parliamentary candidates. Despite that, he was determined that he should be elected to Westminster, and he greatly regretted that the Young Wales movement was completely rejected by his fellow-members in south Wales, such as D. A. Thomas with whom he would have to cross swords fifteen years later on behalf of the Rhondda miners.
Mabon believed that Thursday16 January 1896 was one of the most important days in modern Welsh history. That was the historic moment when there was a golden opportunity to create a proactive powerful national movement. It was to be a relationship between the progressive middle class Liberals and the workers from the trade unions. But a golden opportunity was missed and Mabon was left in the wilderness. In the constituencies where Liberalism was strong, there was a strong element of the status quo. Time after time the Liberals would choose barristers and solicitors and wealthy men e from amongst the landlords to represent them. Mabon – a Welsh speaking Welshman, a man of the people and one who revelled in extolling the eisteddfod and chapel life – did not fit their expectations of what an MP should be. Welsh constituencies would choose candidates who were almost completely worthless. The press did not help either. In the Welsh language papers such as Y Faner there was an antiimperialist, anti-English emphasis but in the English language papers like the Western Mail, the emphasis was totally imperialistic, anti-Nonconformist.
Mabon inherited so much of the philosophy and attitude of Henry Richard, a minister of the gospel and son of a minister, such as self-government for Wales, universal suffrage, land reform and disestablishment of the Church of England in Wales. Mabon rejoiced on 31 March 1920 when the reign of Anglicanism as the official religion of Wales came to an end. It was a great triumph for Mabon – the climax of years of campaigning. From 1885 until 1920 he was an MP and this was the time when Mabon and others battled so energetically. For Mabon, the English Church in Wales was Yr Hen Estrones (The Old Foreign Woman) and he was still a member of the House when the Welsh Church Temporalities Act went through in 1919. After all, disestablishment was legislated for in 1914 but the Great War intervened to prevent the enactment for which Mabon had fought so hard on behalf of chapel goers. But what pleased Mabon most about the act was that Welsh bishops’ membership of the House of Lords came to an end. Were Mabon to have his way, the House of Lords would also disappear completely.533 He did not see his dream come true and that is unlikely to happen unless we have full self-government in Scotland and Wales.
Like the majority of chapel people, Mabon stayed faithful to the fundamentals of the Liberal Party and, very strangely, we do not hear from him any reference to some of the most important figures within the Labour movement in the years of its growth. Mabon would certainly have heard of and read much of the work in the Welsh language on socialism by R. J. Derfel of Manchester. Derfel spent years as a chapel goer, and even became an ordained minister with the Welsh Baptists in Manchester. In the end he left the 533 John Davies, Hanes Cymru, 515.
chapel as an institution because of its inability to welcome the gospel of socialism. Years later R. J. Derfel’s chief disciple was a Welsh Independent minister, T. E. Nicholas (Niclas y Glais) a colourful minister and poet who lauded the ordinary people.534 We do not see it recorded anywhere that Niclas y Glais was a friend of Mabon’s, though Niclas was active on behalf of the Independent Labour Party and in particular in the Gower election of the 1906 for the Labour Party itself. When he moved from Y Glais to rural Cardiganshire in 1914, he was honoured by the Gower Labour Party for his pioneering work.
The Reverend. R. Silyn Roberts, Tanygrisiau, Blaenau Ffestiniog was another pioneering socialist and minister, a multi-talented man and an outstanding educationalist. There is a special place for Silyn in the history of Wales as he made socialism acceptable to working class Liberals. According to his biographer David Thomas he was the link between the world of religious revival and the effectiveness of Noah Ablett.535 It is hard to understand why Mabon ignored Niclas y Glais and his mentor R. J. Derfel as well as the Presbyterian minister R. Silyn Roberts.
Certainly he was totally untouched by the New Theology, the theology preached by R. J. Campbell and his Welsh followers, such as the Baptist theologian, J. Gwili Jenkins, Niclas y Glais and T. Rhondda Williams. These and others like Silyn and David Thomas paved the way for the great change which took place from within Nonconformity towards Labour. Each of those that I have named came to Socialism via the medium of the Welsh language, chapel culture and the close relationship between nation, class and organised religion.
The 1904-5 revival was another important event about which we should like to know Mabon’s attitude. Unfortunately he was away in the USA when Evan Roberts had large meetings in the Rhondda Valleys in 1905.536 It was on 13 September 1904 that Roberts the young miner went to Newcastle Emlyn to prepare himself for the Presbyterian ministry in Mabon’s denomination and, during the same month, was overcome in Blaenannerch by a deep and revolutionary religious experience – one never experienced by Mabon either as a young man or in middle age. Evan Roberts called 29 September 1904 the most terrifying and wonderful day of his life.537
The revival spread to every village and colliery. Prayer meetings were held in the collieries at the beginning of the day. This was a custom cherished by Mabon. It was a practice, as has been mentioned previously, of the eighteen eighties. We agree with the historian who says:
534 T. E. Nicholas was surrounded by ministers of religion such as T. M. Roderick (Cwmgors) and W. D. Roderick (Rhiwfawr) who were enthusiasts for socialism in Carmarthenshire and Glamorganshire. These three and others were called ‘followers of Judas Iscariot’ by W. F. Phillips. See D. Ben Rees, Cofiant Jim Griffiths, 32. Llais Llafur ( Labour Voice ) which was published in Ystalyfera published R. J. Derfel’s articles on socialism. Ibid, 53.
535 David Thomas, Silyn (Liverpool, 1956,), 77.
536 D. Ben Rees, Evan Roberts (1878-1951) (in) Cymry Adnabyddus (Liverpool and Pontypridd, 1978), 212-213.
537 Ibid., 212.
It is not an irony that the 1904-5 Revival ushered in Labour’s dominance in Wales.538
Nonconformity was a huge network in fostering political awareness for the Welsh working class and the Revival did not hamper this.539 The Independent Labour Party had its input and in its wake came the Labour Party itself including the trade unions. This was well supported by individuals steeped in Fabianism, Syndicalism and different versions of socialism. The Labour Party was prepared for them all to become affiliated but not to take control. It was well-known trade unionists, people like Mabon, who were to fulfil the challenge of building the Labour Party to be a force in the land. They won the day.540 The Revival was responsible for imparting Christian knowledge in the pilgrimages of Silyn, David Thomas, Noah Ablett, T. E. Nicholas, Will John and A. J. Cook. However Mabon is not named amongst them as he adhered to his Liberal principles and was ready to debate publicly, even to the last minute, the choice of leaving the Lib-Lab Avalon for the uncertainty of MacDonald’s party. But bear in mind that Macdonald was the politician who said that Mabon had one of the keenest and most knowledgeable minds in the House of Commons. MacDonald was obviously exaggerating but yet there is some truth in his compliment.
However, Mabon had a challenging nature when that was necessary, a virtue frequently found in the attitudes of the Welsh chapels and their leaders.541 The chapels were, before the First World War, flourishing and the people of the chapels were the most reliable trade unionists as novelist Emyr Humphries claims:
The early strikes were led by chapel men, and the call for justice was based on the adaptation of Christian principles. It was still possible for the miners’ leaders and the management and even the owners to attend the same chapel.542
It would never be the case in the coalfields in Yorkshire, Kent or Lancashire though Durham was different. It was different also in Wales. And one must remember that the battle between Mabon and his Calvinism and foreign ideas like Syndicalism was a difficult struggle. We see Syndicalism constantly belittling Mabonism.543 Mabon was a godly and sincere leader, who liked agreement and good will and who was keen to come to an understanding in harmony and friendship with people of the same background as him. In the case of David Davies, Llandinam they belonged to the same religious stock and
538 Ibid.,
539 D. Ben Rees, ‘Methodistiaeth Galfinaidd Cymru a’r Gymdeithas’ (c.1914-1939) yn Hanes Methodistiaeth Galfinaidd Vol IV Yr Ugeinfed Ganrif, (Eds: John Gwynfor Jones and Marian Beech Hughes) (Caernarfon, 2017), 1-48.
540 E. D. Lewis, The Rhondda Valleys, 225.
541 When the South Wales Miners’ Federation affiliated to the Labour Party in 1908, it meant that Wales had five Labour members. Even William Abraham, the apostle of industrial peace and of the old Liberal nonconformist values, sat from that time onwards on the Labour benches. He did not relish it but he had no choice. Kenneth O. Morgan, ‘Welsh Politics: Cymru Fydd’ (in) Anatomy of Wales (editor: R. Brinley Jones), Peterston-super-Ely, 1972), 123.
542 Emyr Humphreys, The Taliesin Tradition: A Quest for the Welsh Identity (London, 1983), 196
543 Mabonism’, the creed of conciliation and class harmony, was out-of-date: it had perished at Taff Vale and Tonypandy. The Cambrian coal stoppage of 1910-11 brought a new generation of miners’ leaders to the fore, young Marxists like Noah Ablett’. See Kenneth O. Morgan, Anatomy of Wales, 123.
denomination. Both loved working together so they could improve the standard of living of the Welsh speaking chapel goers. It was to improve life of the valleys. This was a hard physical, spiritual, psychological tussle, yes a fight for the hearts and minds of the miners. The chapels were numerous. By the time Mabon came to live in the Rhondda there were 109 churches of his own denomination, the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists, in Glamorgan with the earliest built in 1812. It was a joy to Mabon to see such numerous chapels attracting large congregations. In nearby Treorchy seven chapels were built between 1867 and 1877 with a capacity to seat 4820 people. In the same decade in Ferndale in Rhondda Fach, five Nonconformist chapels were built that could seat 3,600 people. By 1914 there were 151 Nonconformist chapels in Rhondda District Council with seating capacity for a total of 85,105 souls. The Nonconformist chapel became very important and all this activity called for adventure, prayer, guidance, commitment, sacrifice and enthusiasm.544
These chapels were home from home to the Welsh immigrants from the Welsh heartland who, like Mabon, flocked for work and for spirituality to Rhondda. They were soon no strangers to each other and felt less homesickness after coming across a chapel where they felt at home. The hiraeth (longing) lessened. They became comfortable in their new surroundings. The chapels gave the mining community a social, cultural, sporting centre for families to be able to spend their leisure time enjoying the facilities at their service in the preaching meetings, hymn singing sessions, women’s meetings, missionary endeavours, various choirs, the creation of football and cricket clubs, temperance work and eisteddfodau. There was a full programme for children, young people and adults on a Sunday as well as Saturday and in the evenings at the end of a hard working day in the bowels of the earth.
The influence of the talented ministers on the new mining and industrial conurbations was immense. Every Nonconformist minister, as well as many priests with the Roman Catholic and Anglican traditions, was expected to have been trained in the universities and theological academies and colleges. Generation after generation of extremely knowledgeable scholars, theologians, poets, editors, all highly talented people, were dominating the community at large as well as the chapels and churches under their care. Some of these men came from the same background as Mabon and they in turn, with miners’ agents, were community leaders in the South Wales Coalfield from 1880 until 1918. These ministers and priests expressed themselves as effective communicators in 544 E. D. Lewis shows that the two Rhondda valleys owed a great deal to the Aberdare Valley. So many of the early educational and political leaders came from the Cynon Valley. A large number of these educationists were educated in Comins School Gadlys, Aberdare, such as Tom John, M.A., (President of the National Teachers’ Union, from Llwynypia) his brother, J. W. Jones (Ynys-hir); Thomas P. Price (Trealaw); J. W. Jones (Tonypandy); Llewelyn Jones (Ystrad); Henry Harries (Gelli); David Evans (Treorchy), John Evans (Hafod); H. R. Edwards (Bodringallt); Tom Jones (Clydach Vale). It is the same story as far as the chapels are concerned, Nazareth, Blaenllechau, a branch of Seion Chapel Cwmaman was the first chapel built in Rhondda Fach. Morgan Hopkin, precentor in Ferndale Wesleyan Methodist Church was the leader of Bryn Bach Chapel, Aberdare and the first organist, Thomas Bevan had been accompanist in Mountain Ash Chapel. The first weekly papers, The Merthyr Express, The Merthyr Star, Tarian y Gweithiwr and The Aberdare Leader were printed and published in Aberdare but widely circulated in the Rhondda Valleys. See E. D. Lewis, The Rhondda Valleys, 219
the pulpits on a Sunday but they were also expected to serve the whole community as newspaper reporters, teachers of adult education on philosophy, theology and literature and to be ready to encourage party politics, especially the Liberal Party. Many of them were keen to win new members; they were ready to evangelise and, though many were deaf to the invitation, they succeeded in laying down standards and creating moral standards that Mabon longed for, as well as concord and good relationships, though at times one came across denominational prejudice and a fierce debate between chapels and churches.545
The chapels performed a lasting service for the Welsh language at a time when nearly everything was being done through the medium of English. Mabon was grateful for his chapel upbringing, for his ability as a speaker and for his fluent robust Welsh. The Welsh language was heard at its best from the lips of the ministers. The language of the pulpit set a standard for speaking Welsh. English was the language of the law and the civic institutions as well as the language of education, business, most of politics and industry. One of the rare exceptions was the Miners’ Federation when men of the calibre of Mabon and Daronwy Isaac were in charge. These men loved to address the miners in Welsh out in the open air. On Mabon’s insistence the Welsh of the chapels was heard in the lodges and conferences.546 There was no-one like him in his love for the Welsh language, literature and culture in the world of Trade Unionism and Welsh politics.
The historian cannot over-emphasise the contribution of the chapels to Welsh culture. Almost every chapel had a Sunday School, a Band of Hope, an Ysgol Gân (a Music School), a Seiat (a weekly religious discussion meeting) and a prayer meeting as well as numerous friendly societies. The chapels made it their business to support Welsh culture and that is why a Literary Society and competitive meetings were held in every chapel, often in Anglican churches, and then an annual eisteddfod which was open to everyone. By doing this they were able to nurture talent in the world of music, politics, oratory and literature as well as handicraft, needlework and domestic science. Some of these eisteddfodau, such as that held in Treorchy from 1867 onwards, were called SemiNational Eisteddfodau. By 1870 there was the same sort of Eisteddfod in the mining village of Ferndale and also in Treherbert and competitors came from as far afield as Breconshire as well as Monmouthshire and West Glamorgan. That, in days without motor cars, was a tidy distance, around thirty to forty miles just, to compete in a musical event. Very special compères were needed on the stage of a Vestry or in the Sêt Fawr (Elders’ Pew) of a Chapel to announce the names of the competitors, introduce the adjudicators, welcome the winners and keep the proceedings in fine order. In these eisteddfodau in an age where there was no technology to amplify the voice, and particularly when men came into the marquee or hall sometimes under the influence of alcohol, the compère always
545 Royal Commission on Church of England and various Religious Bodies in Wales and Monmouthshire, 1910, volume xiv, 57
546 Mabon ensured that the agreements and rules were drawn up in both languages, and it is of interest that until 1914, the minutes of the Executive Committee of the Rhondda Miners’ Union were in both languages. Ceri W. Lewis, ‘The Welsh Language: Its Origins and Later History in the Rhondda’ (in) Rhondda Past and Present, 208.
needed the voice of Mabon. The Rhondda had two famous compères in the field of the eisteddfod, namely Mabon and Gwilym Glanffrwd. The adjudicators in the main were men who earned their living by training people in music competitions, so they always had qualifications in their subject. It was a high standard.547 Some of the premier poets in Wales came to adjudge in these successful eisteddfodau such as the Reverend William Williams (Caledfryn), Reverend Evan Rees ( Dyfed) and John Ceiriog Hughes (Ceiriog). They could cope with the world of recitation, prose and poetry. Musicians of the calibre of Sir Joseph Proudman, Professor David Jenkins and Professor David Evans were very willing to attend the National Eisteddfod and Singing Festival. They would grace the platform as leading experts of the musical world.548
But smaller eisteddfodau – Penny Readings as they were called – were always attractive to the miners and their children, and the local press made sure to name everyone who won a prize. Mabon would persuade 80% of those who attended the Band of Hope to particate in the singing and recitation competition as well as being members of the children’s choir of Pentre. There were plenty of children and adults under his encouragement ready to write essays and poetic verses; Mabon himself wrote several, but he did not come up to the standard of the best Rhondda poets such as the young miner from Treorchy Ben Bowen, who died prematurely from TB in 1904.549 They regarded him with affection and he was sent for a period to recuperate in the sun of South Africa but it did not save him. The eisteddfod was important throughout the Welsh chapels in all parts of the world and especially in the mining, quarrying and agricultural communities and it is little wonder that Mabon established an eisteddfod just for the miners.
As a gifted musician himself, Mabon encouraged the communal singing which between 1859 and 1920 brought thousands of ordinary people together in every community in Wales as well as among the exiles in England, Patagonia, USA and Australia. Mabon supported those, like himself, who had been gifted in the world of music. One of the valley’s able teachers, M. O. Jones of Treherbert was among the first that he supported.550 On the basis of the musical classes held in most chapels, Mabon supported the movement that took place in south Wales to establish a variety of them with the priority given to the male voice and mixed male and female choirs. Some of these choirs brought instant inspiration to the miners’ leader, especially the Côr Cymysg Treherbert (Treherbert Mixed Choir) under the baton of his friend M. O. Jones, Y Côr Mawr (The Big Choir) under the maestro Griffith Rhys
547 E. D. Lewis, ‘Population Changes and Social Life, 1860 to 1914; (in) Rhondda Past and Present, 121-2.
548 Ibid., 122.
549 One of the poets of the Rhondda was the young miner, Ben Bowen (1878-1903). Much of his creative work is to be found in the book Cofiant a Barddoniaeth Ben Bowen (The Biography and Poetry of Ben Bowen) edited by his brother David Bowen (Myfyr Hefin) and published after his death. There are other books such as Rhyddiaith Ben Bowen (The Prose of Ben Bowen) (1909); Blagur Awen (The Blossoming of the Muse) (1915); Ben Bowen yn Neheudir Affrica (Ben Bowen in South Africa) (1928) and Ben Bowen i’r Ifanc (Ben Bowen for Young People) (1928). See also J. Dyfnallt Owen, ‘Awen y Rhondda Gynt’ (The Muse of the Olden Days in the Rhondda) in the Proceedings of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion, 1945, 48-58
550 One of the leading musicians was M. O. Jones, Treherbert, whoorganised those Tonic Solfa classes that became so popular in the eighteen seventies. Upon these foundations were formed those remarkable choral organisations. See E. D Lewis, The Rhondda Valleys, 222.
Jones (Caradog) who moved to live from Aberdare to Treorchy; 551 the Royal Welsh Male Choir under the baton of William Thomas of Ystrad; the Rhondda Glee directed by Tom Stephens and the Cymmer Mixed Choral Society trained by Taliesin Hopkins.
Mabon supported each one of these. It meant so much to the conductors and each member of the choirs that Mabon had blessed and praised them. He also began to encourage more and more miners to concentrate on the world of the brass bands. He knew from childhood of the world of brass bands and of their contribution to the communities of the anthracite coalfield. As a lad, a young man, and later a miner’s agent he listened to their distinctive sound. The first Rhondda brass band was established by John Lewis in Pen-yr-englyn in 1808; but Mabon had an opportunity to encourage the Parc and Dare brass band in Treorchy, the Cory Workmen’s in Pentre, the community where he went to live as well as influence in a marvellous manner. There were other mining centres in the Rhondda valleys where he enriched the Welsh and English culture of the inhabitants of all age groups.552
The strength and continuation of the language was one of the priorities of the Welsh Nonconformist chapels and the subsequent decline of some of the chapels in Mabon’s lifetime together with migration from England to the collieries made him very concerned for the future. One has to mention too the anti-Welsh stance of the majority of teachers and the headmasters as well as the members of the school boards in south Wales, indeed throughout the whole of Wales. These middle-class teachers were in my research responsible for the decline of the Welsh language amongst the younger generation at the beginning of the twentieth century.553 The treachery of the teaching profession was seen all over Wales. Enlish was the only language of the colliery schools and even a leader of Mabon’s stature failed to overturn the situation even in those schools where his word was important to the governors, headmasters, teachers, parents and the community at large. But we should perhaps remember the continual refrain of the economist Dr. Brinley Thomas:
If Wales had remained completely agricultural like Ireland, the whole of her surplus rival population, which was Welsh to the core (400,000 people in the sixty years up to 1911) would have had to go to England or overseas. These people with their descendants would have been lost to the land of their birth for ever.554
551 Griffith Rhys Jones (Caradog: 1834-1897) in y Bywgraffiadur Cymreig hyd 1840, 437; Thomas Stephen (1856-1906), 867. For William Thomas and Tom Stephens, see E. D. Lewis, The Rhondda Valleys, 222, 552 E. D. Lewis, ibid, 222
553 The anxiety over immigration from the other side of Offa’s Dyke is expressed in the following doggerel:
Dylifa bechgyn ffolion
I’r cwm o hyd yn gyson, O Wlad yr Haf hwy ddont yn scryd Fel ynfyd haid o ladron. (Foolish youths flood into the valley continually They come shivering from Somerset, Like a mad swarm of thieves.)
Ceri Lewis heard this recited by his grandmother Mrs. Catherine Williams of Treorchy who died in September 1940 at the age of eighty. See Ceri Lewis, Rhondda Past and Present, 205-231, and also E. D. Lewis, The Rhondda Valleys, 237.
554 Brinley Thomas, ‘The Migration of Labour into the Glamorganshire Coalfield, 1861-1911’, Economica, X (1930).
That would have dealt a massive blow to the language. It was the chapel goers and families from Welsh-speaking areas who moved to Rhondda in the first huge major immigration that gave Mabon his abiding optimism. This was a distinct surprise to the authors of The Report of the Welsh Land Commission in 1896:
It might have been expected that in the Rhondda Valley, which is practically entirely given up to the coal industry, a cosmopolitan population might have been found. That is not the case; speaking broadly, the characteristics of Welsh life, its Nonconformist development, the habitual use of the Welsh language and prevalence of a Welsh type of character, are as marked as in the rural districts of Wales. 555
However, change was soon to be witnessed in the first decade of the twentieth century with the world-wide English language gradually winning the intellectual to regard it as the language of the community. Between 1901 and 1911 the number of those speaking English in Rhondda increased from 36,754 to 60,056 and those who spoke only Welsh decreased from 11,841 to 6,100. Bilingualism increased from 54,906 to 70,696.556 In 1903 the Reverend Richard Morgan of Tonyrefail expressed his sincere concern on this phenomenon in an address he gave to the East Glamorgan Welsh Presbytery:
We are troubled that the influx of the English language is such that it is forcing us to spend much of the time in (Sunday School) to teach the children to read and understand Welsh instead of sharing Biblical knowledge with them. As the language of our country and of our religion is not taught in everyday school we should be more careful to teach it in the home.557
But during Mabon’s time the Rhondda chapels continued to be quite flourishing despite the basic problem which Richard Morgan had identified. The chapel was obviously the main influence on the home life of Mabon, his neighbours and friends as well as his ancestors. Politics marked out religious Nonconformity. This was the subject of constant debate: ‘It was the exception to have a political liberal in Church nor a political conservative in the chapel.’558
Who were the chapel goers in Nazareth, in Pentre and Rhondda Valley chapel? Miners as solid working class were the core of every chapel congregation together with their extensive families. There were also among the middle classes ambitious traders and shopkeepers of every shape and size, ordinary workers on the railway and similar industries and usually gifted elders and charismatic ministers, sometimes more than one. The Reverend Evan Rees never took charge of a pastorate; he was an itinerant preacher all his adult life. Living
555 The Report of the Welsh Land Commission (1896), 176
556 E. D. Lewis, The Rhondda Valleys, 209.
557 . Report of the 1902 Monthly Meeting of Calvinistic Methodists in East Glamorgan (Tonypandy, 1903), 15.
558 D. Emrys Evans, Crefydd a Chymdeithas (Cardiff, 1933), 111.
in Cardiff he came regularly to the Rhondda chapels and was known by his bardic name of Dyfed. He was not the only free-lance popular preacher in the south Wales valleys. It was these visiting as well as local pastors who made the chapels a source of attraction in the communities. It was an institution that they were glad to be members of. The topic of everyday conversation centred so often around the chapel activities. It was a subject of admiration from the whole community. The political minister was always outspoken, of the stature of William Morris (Rhosynnog) and James Nicholas of Tonypandy. Both were at home in the pulpit and on the platform of the denominational courts and popular preaching meetings.559 Morris was a Liberal Party celebrity and James Nicholas a Labour Party supporter. Some of the major theological figures feared that the so-called political ministers would turn the chapels into political clubs for the Liberal Party. Dr Lewis Edwards of Bala College one of the outstanding theologians of the Victorian era spoke to that angelic preacher the Revd. Henry Rees of Liverpool pleading with him to remin the members of the General Assembly of the Calvinistic Methodist denomination and lesser courts such as the Presbyteries that godliness came before politics. He was afraid that party politics could destroy a denomination or at least create annoyance and turn faithful members to move or rebel.560
A political minister like Henry Richard, himself a Liberal MP for Merthyr, was concerned that political turmoil in the new era of the 1880s of the nineteenth century would harm chapel leaders and make them less religious.561 This was an important point made by the pacifist who so greatly influenced the young Mabon. It was evident that there was a tendency to place too much emphasis on politics as the chapels, as already mentioned, had in Mabon’s time become centres of culture and self-education within the Sunday School, the Chapel Choir and the Literary and Debating Society. But there was also a plentiful amount of healthy activities in the group meetings: Bible classes, prayer meetings, the semi-annual and annual preaching meetings as well as services (morning or evening) on a Sunday, not to mention the joyful song and the relationship in Pentre’s Nazareth Chapel between Mabon the precentor, the chapel choir and the organist. The standard of sacred song was of the highest standard from service to service. We must remember that the core of people who were, like Mabon, political in nature, was very small and he was not over over-political in comparison with the socialists who came to trespass on his space. At election times, the bulk of the congregation would always be voting and supporting Liberal candidates and as Mabon was returned often unopposed to Westminster there was little call on the chapel members of the Rhondda Valleys to go and vote for him. I believe that Sir Emrys Evans, the Principal of University College Bangor in the 1930s and the son of a minister in the Swansea Valley has defined the chapel members in one sentence:
Most of the saints were comfortable and conventional puritans and the most important things for them were keeping their souls, keeping the Sabbath and keeping their Christian doctrine. 562
559 Dr William Morris, FRCS, ‘Reminiscences of the Rhondda,’ Rhondda Leader, 19 July 1919. 560 D. Emrys Evans, Crefydd a Chymdeithas, 112.
561 Ibid.
562 Ibid., 114.
Mabon’s mother’s dream was that her son would become a minister of religion, but she never insisted on him listening to her wishes.563 However, the people of Cwmafan on the other hand expected to see him amongst the prince of preachers. In the 1860s there was a special charm for many a young miner such as Mabon in accepting a call as a preacher of the Gospel. Many dreamed of standing in the pulpit before a large congregation, expressing their thoughts on God and man with no-one daring to disagree publicly. This was not so in the life of a schoolmaster or of the miners’ agent nor the agent of any other trade union. If the person was endowed with the talent to speak powerfully then he had the privilege of setting sail, giving out his thoughts on the spiritual and material world, on the world of God and the Kingdom of Heaven and producing an emotional revival atmosphere. Very often, some of the deacons and elders were highly conservative in their Calvinism and the congregation were steeped in Liberalism since the 1832 Reform Act.564 We must remember Mabon was raised amongst these people and he would emphasise that he would convey their godly wisdom and a courageous spirit in life as much as those who led the flocks of God, always safeguarding the heritage in the mining world that had been passed on to him. Mabon did not lose his loyalty to his forefathers and attending chapel was the high-point of his working week. This was ‘heaven on earth’, to all gathered together to praise the Creator God. Then the minister in his sermon would usually proclaim the good news of his Saviour Jesus Christ. Mabon was an excellent ambassador for the values of chapel life in his fascinating career amongst the miners (and those were the salt of the earth to him), within the Parliament of Great Britain where he became one of the colourful members of the House and on the Sundays in the pulpits of every denomination in Wales.
563 Some were envious of Mabon’s long commitment as a lay preacher. An anonymous letter under the pen-name of Distan appeared in the denominational weekly newspaper Y Goleuad in February 1897 asking whether Mabon had passed the Welsh Calvinistic Methodist denomination’s examinations for lay preachers so as to be able to preach in Calvinistic Methodist pulpits. If so, where and in which year? The Elder and miners’s leader David Morgan had heard that Mabon did not have the right to be a lay preacher. The denominational authorities ignored the letter as Mabon was highly regarded as a man, trade union leader and a persuasive preacher. See Y Goleuad, 10 February 1897, 4.
564 See R. Tudur Jones, Hanes Annibynwyr Cymru (1966), D. Densil Morgan, Christmas Evans a’r Ymneilltuaeth Newydd , (1991), D. Ben Rees, Pregethu a Phregethwyr (( Denbigh 1996); D. Ben Rees ‘Hwyl’ (in) The New Companion to the Literature of Wales (editor, Meic Stephens) (Cardiff, 1998), 339-340.
Distributing food to the miners’ children
Miners at work
CHAPTER 13
MABON’S GREATNESS TO HIS CONTEMPORARIES AND TO US
This chapter was written in May 2022 on the centenary of Mabon’s death and it can be seen clearly how time and circumstances have completely transformed the situation. When Mabon died, the King and most of the British establishment figures sent letters of condolence to his daughters and families. Today his name is rarely uttered in our times as the mining industry, in which Mabon was so prominent, has disappeared from the land of Wales. Thousands and thousands came to listen to him in his day when he was addressing the miners. He had popular successors, such as A. J. Cook and Lewis Jones but they were in the left wing camp.565 However they were able to sustain the interest of the miners as well as he could. Arthur Horner mentioned how miners, maybe 80,000 of them, would wait in the rain for long periods until A. J. Cook appeared. He said :
People would stand in the rain waiting for him, and I came to the conclusion after some of these great meetings, sitting there with him while he was talking: “He’s not talking to these people. he’s talking for these people – he’s their voice. And the other factors he lacked didn’t matter – he was the voice of the miners – the depressed miners. I think he was a very great man.566
Some of the Trade Unionists in other organisations did not believe that he was a great hero, but the miners did. That was true of Mabon as well. The words ‘he was a very great man’ would have been the words of his contemporaries and they have the last word, after all.
There were plenty of reasons, as we have shown, why Mabon was unique and such an acceptable leader for such a long period. This has been explained time after time. Though
565 For A. J. Cook, see Paul Davies, ‘The Making of A. J. Cook: His Development within the South Wales Labour Movement, 1900-1924’, Llafur, Vol. 2, No. 3, Summer 1978, 43-63. For Lewis Jones (1897-1939) author of the novels Cwmardy (1937) and We Live (1939), see The New Companion to the Literature of Wales (editor, Meic Stephens) (Cardiff, 1998), 392-393.
566 Dai Smith, ‘Leaders and Led’, in Rhondda Past and Present, 55. Arthur Horner quotation is on pp. 54-5.
William Brace was disrespectful of him, Mabon, as a good practising Christian, forgave him.567 As far as possible, the leader’s main concern was to keep a close and friendly relationship with other miners’ leaders. They could work together in perfect harmony with the delightful Reverend John Williams, Labour MP for Gower, William Brace and other leading members of the trade union in the nineties, such as: Gwilym Isaac of New Tredegar; Abel Jacob of Ferndale; W. Bowden, Mountain Ash; Peter Garden, Merthyr Vale and John Morgan, Maerdy. Each one of them thought highly of Mabon.568
Mabon was never a trade union dictator. He gave his fellow leaders the opportunity to lead the Union. He was elected by the council of the Association of Cambrian Miners to represent them on the South Wales and Monmouthshire Committee of the Sliding Scale. He resigned from the Executive Committee in 1892 in order to give the miners the opportunity to pronounce their verdict in a ballot as to whether the Miners’ Federation of Great Britain or the Sliding Scale was their preference as far defending their rights and benefits as workers in the collieries. A hundred thousand miners voted, with the vast majority of them backing Mabon and the Sliding Scale, rather than the powerful trade union.569
The impression is often given that Mabon was not in favour of having one trade union for south Wales but rather he was in favour of the small district unions. This is not at all true. He urged the miners to vote in favour of creating a strong union and also to affiliate with the Miners’ Federation of Great Britain. He addressed a large meeting of Rhondda miners on the issue at the end of September 1898. 570
He worked hard for the St John’s Ambulance Society often speaking in Welsh on its behalf to persuade the miners to go to classes to learn the best way to care for others who were suffering in the community, in the home or in the colliery. He argued strongly for establishing hospitals for the miners and his suggestion was taken up throughout the coalfields. When it was first discussed in a public meeting held at Salem Baptist Chapel in Porth, the matter was left in his hands and those of the Cymmer doctors, Dr. N. H. Davies and J. Williams of Cilleley.571
Before leaving Salem, it was suggested that an Executive Committee be established and, within a few minutes, the following names were nominated, most of them as it happened colliery managers, namely Dr H. N. Davies, John Williams, W. Davies, Coedcae; Thomas Griffiths, Cymmer; E. Madoc, Coedcae; M. Williams, Ynyshir and Thomas Matthews.
It was he who volunteered to represent the miners and to be their convenor and, through his commitment as the miners’ agent the Rhondda saw immediately a new dawn. It took
567 Brace was famous for his quarrels. He disagreed with a number of militant miners led by George Baker. See R. Page Arnot, Joyce Bellamy, John Saville, ‘William Brace (1865-1947)’ (in) Dictionary of Labour Biography, vol. 1, 53.
568 Tarian y Gweithiwr, 10 August 1893, 5.
569 Y Celt (The Celt), August 12, 1892, 2.
570 Y Genedl Gymreig, 27 September 1898, 7.
571 Western Mail, 22 February 1883, 4.
place at the beginning of 1883. 572 Mabon showed his moral strength in wanting to stand for the Rhondda constituency despite having twice failed to win the Liberal nomination. He had no option but to stand as he claimed as a Lib-Lab. One of his principal supporters was William Evans of Treorchy (later Pentre) who volunteered to be his election agent. From that moment on, Evans was christened ‘Little Mabon’ by the miners.573 Mabon knew that he had the support of many of the miners who belonged to the trade Union miners and a smattering of chapel goers. When he won the election in 1885, he arranged a celebration in Calvary Baptist Chapel, Clydach Vale, so as to thank his supporters. He told a packed chapel that he knew that he was on the path of victory, when he heard small Rhondda children running along the streets shouting to each other ‘Mabon for ever’!
Having reached Westminster, he took his oath on 25 January 1886 and, from then onwards until his retirement in 1920, gave of his best, especially in discussing legislation regulating the coalfields and in his successful campaigns to improve the lives of his beloved miners. He was a member of three commissions. The Conservative Government appointed him a member of the 1892 Labour Commission and a Minority Report was published. He, together with J. Mawdsley (who represented the Cotton Spinners), Michael Austin, MP (Labour, Ireland) and Tom Mann (The Association of Engineers), were responsible for that report. Sidney Webb, one of the cleverest figures in the Labour Movement commended that report and he was not a man who was generous with his words, unless they were deserved.574
As a parliamentarian, Mabon showed a great deal of humility on more than one occasion. He was invited by the Prime Minister, W. E. Gladstone, to be a deputy secretary in the Home Office. He refused, saying that Thomas Burt, another miners’ leader, was more deserving of the office.575 But early in his political career, he had a presentation from W. E. Gladstone’s wife. On a particular night, 17 March 1886, at the Whitehall Gardens home of Stuart Rendel, MP, Mabon and others were invited to celebrate.576 Stuart Rendel’s home was a splendid house, once inhabited by Sir Robert Peel. Almost every MP representing a Welsh constituency came together for the dinner and, after the splendid dinner, Mabon was honoured with a present from Mrs. Gladstone, namely a crafter badge in the shape of a daffodil. Mrs. Rendel placed the daffodil in Mabon’s coat, thanking the Prime Minister’s wife for her kindness.577 Within minutes, there was a message carried by a butler from W.
572 Ibid.
573 Peter Stead, ‘Working-Class Leadership in South Wales, 1900-1920,’ Cylchgrawn Hanes Cymru , vol. 6, no. 3, 1973, 344
574 Sidney Webb was the person responsible for the famous clause in the Labour Party constitution: ‘To secure for the producers by hand or by brain the full fruits of their industry, and the most equitable distribution thereof that may be possible, upon the basis of the common ownership of the means of production and the best obtainable system of popular administration and control of each industry and service’. See Donald Sassoon, One Hundred Years of Socialism: The West European Left in the Twentieth Century (London, 1997), 16.
575 H. F. Bing and John Saville, Thomas Burt (1837-1922) (in) Dictionary of Labour Biography, vol. 1, 59-63. Burt’s life was an example of the Lib-Lab relationship which was so important to the miners’ leaders. See also A. Watson, A Great Labour Leader: being a life of the Right Honourable Thomas Burt (London, 1908)
576 Baner ac Amserau Cymru (Banner and Times of Wales), 24 March 1886, 6.
577 Ibid
E. Gladstone asking the famous Welshman to sing a few songs in Welsh and suggesting that he completed his musical songs with the national anthem, Hen Wlad fy Nhadau.
The Prime Minister and his wife left having heard the star of the Welsh nation at the height of his musical prowess.578 Lord Roseberry, when he was Prime Minister, tried to attract him to a new post that he was going to create in the South Wales Coalfield on a salary of two thousand pounds per year. Mabon declined the attractive offer, as he wanted to serve the Rhondda Welsh and Wales as a nation. In 1909 he refused a knighthood and the following year refused to be appointed a Home Office Adviser on coal-related issues. But, at the end of that year, on 24 December, he was invited by the new Prime Minister, H. H. Asquith, to be a member of the Privy Council, an honour which he appreciated and accepted].
He travelled to Buckingham Palace on Saturday 4 February 1911 to take his oath as a privy counsellor. His name, together with those of Henry Richard, Osborne Morgan, T. E. Ellis, William Jones, Lord Aberdare and David Lloyd George, remains as those who discussed the needs of Wales. He was one of the first politicians to debate in earnest Welsh causes in Parliament. He and Henry Richard were the only two who spoke Welsh in Parliament before the appearance of Gwynfor Evans in 1966. He and Lloyd George became close friends, both two of the foremost outstanding Welsh politicians of their era. At the end of his life, Mabon wrote on their close friendship:
I had the privilege of helping him in the first election – an ever memorable election. To all who know him, he is very dear. He is a lump of genius, and it would be impossible to keep him out of sight. He had strong ambition and unyielding determination… I have not the least doubt that George is a man sent from God as truly as John. When the mist clears, the country will realise its debt to him.579
That is Mabon’s genuine tribute to the wizard from Dwyfor. He could always work better with David Lloyd George than with Keir Hardie and this was in many ways very understandable. For most of the Victorian era, Wales was in the hands of the Liberals, a Liberal nation and particularly during Mabon’s early years in Cwmafan. The Liberal Party came of age during the nineteenth century and Mabon was to be seen amongst them, despite being a Lib-Lab from the outset of his career.580 In the 1906 election, the Liberals won twenty-eight seats. Whilst Mabon was amongst four Lib-Lab members, Hardie had the Reverend John Williams as his colleague, while the Conservative Party was wiped out. As Dr R. Merfyn Jones says:
To all appearances it was as if the Liberals expressed the view of the whole of Wales; it could unite one of the ambitious northern Radicals, like David Lloyd George with
578 Ibid.
579 National Library of Wales. Papers of Sir J. Herbert Lewis, (newspaper cutting).
580 R. Merfyn Jones, Cymru 2000: Hanes Cymru yr Ugeinfed Ganrif Wales 2000 (The History of Wales in the Twentieth Century) (Cardiff, 1999), 153.
important South Wales figures such as the trade unionist William Abraham and the coal-master and capitalist D. A. Thomas.581
The party received strong support from the Nonconformists and workers, shop owners and cottagers flocked to vote for it. And these supporters were not disappointed by the Liberal Government which was elected in 1906 and twice again in 2010. That Government was amongst the most progressive and radical in British history, introducing old age pensions, national insurance and (following the 1912 strike) a minimum wage for miners as well as fighting a constitutional battle with the House of Lords.
We can see where Mabon’s heart lay. Even when he had a Labour label, he backed Lloyd George. By then, Mabon was as much of an icon as Lloyd George amongst Welsh expatriates in the United States. William D. Jones, an authority on the American Welsh, showed how Mabon with his firm stance on reconciliation in the coal industry had won over a high proportion of the Welsh folk in the American coalfields.582
As we have seen, in 1901-2 he spent three months travelling through the states of Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York, lecturing, acting as compère in the eisteddfodau, preaching and delivering brilliantly crafted addresses. Furthermore he received a princely welcome, particularly in the valleys of Wyoming and Lackawanna, where there were so many Welsh people in exile. In the view of the Welsh press in the New World, Mabon was the perfect Welshman. It was hard for them to decide which of the two politicians, Mabon or Lloyd George was the greater. Here is a quotation from an article from Desert News, Salt Lake City, entitled ‘A Collier in the Commons’:
The miners glory him as a great man after their own heart, and to them, he is a plain Welshman, while his fellow law makers know him as the Welsh bard and a man of many entertainments. He is said to be the only man who got the best of Lord Alverstone when he was in the House defending the appointment in Wales of a judge who could not speak Welsh. ‘You say it does not matter, said Mabon rising in his seat. ‘Well, then suppose for instance, we are in a court house at Ynysmaengwyn and in response to the question, I say in my native tongue, “Cymmer dwy fuwch ar gwastad clawdd” what would the judge say?’583
One of the most renowned Welsh Americans, Judge H. M. Edwards of Scranton, said that no Welsh person from Wales had ever received such a welcome as Mabon.584 Whilst Mabon was in Scranton he stayed at the judge’s luxurious home. In 1901 he and his son travelled over five thousand miles in the States. He greatly enjoyed the experience and the
581 Ibid.
582 William D. Jones, Wales in America: Scranton and the Welsh, 1860-1920 (Cardiff and Scranton), 222.
583 Desert News, Salt Lake City, Mai 18, 1901, 18.
584 For Judge H. M. Edwards, Scranton, see William D. Jones, Wales in America, 2; 25-6; 38; 69; 879; 95-7; 101-2; 113; 116; 118; 120-1; 125; 130-1; 144; 162; 169; 180; 185; 189; 203; 216; 225, 243.
Welsh press in America did not let anyone forget that the greatest Welshman of his time had come to visit them.
Mabon had another opportunity to return in 1905, this time to the equivalent of the Trade Union Congress that was to be held in in San Francisco. He had been nominated by the British Union of Miners and stood in an election against James Wignall. He had 1,134,000 votes and James Wignall 387,000 but, as Mabon had received the invitation from the American Welsh, he let Wignall have the honour of visiting the labour movement in the United States of America.585
However, at the end of the nineties, Mabon became firm friends with John Mitchell, a hugely interesting miners’ leader in the United States and one of the principal trade unionists in that great country.586 In the period between 1899 and 1904, John Mitchell visited British miners, staying in Mabon’s home in the Rhondda. Here are John Mitchell’s words:
I have never met a Labour leader who was held in higher esteem than Mabon. It is remarkable to observe how the people are devoted to him. They look upon him as the father of the miners, and it is easy to observe the affection in which he is held. They all seem to know Mabon wherever he goes. I was his guest at his home in Pentre, Glamorganshire, and his home life ideals are most lofty. He is passionately attached to his family, and he is a fond father and excellent husband.587
Mabon took the visitor from America to a number of miners’ homes where they both received a warm welcome and kindness. Mitchell remarked that they were devout religious people who had endless admiration for their Member of Parliament and Trade Union leader. He was amazed that the meeting to discuss mining matters took place usually in the Nonconformist chapel buildings and not in working men’s clubs or welfare halls.588
John Mitchell was not the only one totally won over by the Welshman’s personality and energy. George Watkins (the President of the Central Labour Union) called him ‘one of the most divinely inspired Labour leaders in the world.’ When Mabon returned for the second time, he was led and introduced by none other than the famous John Mitchell and the welcome was again incredible, with unsparing applause wherever Mabon was seen at miners’ meetings or among the Welsh in exile. From the moment the Welshman arrived
585 National Library of Wales, Archive of the Calvinistic Methodists 14,842: Bywyd a Gwasanaeth y diweddar William Abraham (‘Mabon’) by the Revd. David Davies, Pentre, Rhondda, 40. 586 There is a picture of John Mitchell in the scholarly biography Melvyn Dubofsky and Warren Van Tine, John L. Lewis: A Biography (New York), 33-36; 95; 132; 218; 291. Mitchell’s successor John Llewelyn Lewis was a Welshman in background and language with family roots in Pontarddulais. Reading this biography, 619 pages long, gives an excellent background to the United States Miners’ Union and the important part played by John MitcheIl and John Llewelyn Lewis.
587 ‘Mitchell talked of Wales’, The Wilkes-Barre News, 6 November 1904, 13. 588 Ibid.
in New York, there was no moment to spare as the coal industry Trade Unionists wanted to give him the opportunity to address one meeting after the other.
Mitchell and Mabon had become by then very close friends. They were similar to each other in many ways. Both began work in the pit at the age of ten and both became hugely popular and strong leaders of their comrades. Both had a day named in their honour: in Wales it was Mabon’s Day and in the coalfields of the USA the Mitchell Day. Mabon Day, to the disappointment of the miners in Wales, only lasted a decade; the employers were determined to get rid of Mabon’s Day as they were losing money. Mabon had for decades much more influence over the employers in Wales than Mitchell had in the American coalfields. This was understandable as, in the early period, the Welsh speaking coal owners came from the same chapel and Welsh cultural background as Mabon did. That slowly disappeared as the years went by Mitchell was amazed at the manner in which Mabon could win the support of a large audience and the deafening applause he received from the Pennsylvania miners in towns such as Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. This is what Mitchell says about Mabon:
Another thing which impressed me was Mabon’s greatness. He is the Abraham Lincoln of the old world, labouring man, and his greatness is not confined to his own country.589
He remembers the reception in Wilkes-Barre in November 1904:
He filled the hearts of his Welsh hearers with delight by giving part of his speech in Welsh, and at the end of his address, Judge Edwards prevailed upon him to lead the Welshmen in the audience in the rendition of the National Anthem of Wales. 590
He made many new friends in the States and met a host of governors, senators and important civic figures. But he took great comfort from meeting ordinary miners who spoke Welsh and worked diligentl in the coalfields of Illinois, Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania. He preached his usual sermon to the miners, always calling on them to be peacemakers and always moderate in their demands for a better way of life. That was the only way to achieve their goal, rather than using unsuitable language and involving themselves in violent deeds. Throwing stones at the police and the civic authorities was degrading for solid ethically motivated miners. In Denver, Colorado, he was very pleased to met with a miner he knew as Dai Cruglas from his home village of Cwmafan. He said of him, ‘He and I were hauliers together in Pwll-yr-Engine in Cwmafan.’591
Mabon became unwell in Denver, Colorado where he met once more with miners who had been his early friends back in Wales. Their presence and fellowship soon helped him to recover from his fatigue and stomach pain. He had travelled from Denver to Milwaukee
589 The Scranton Truth, November 1, 1904, 8; The Times-Tribune, Scranton, November 1, 1904, 8. 590 Wilkes-Barre Semi-Weekly Record, November 4, 1907, 7
591 National Library of Wales, Archive of the Calvinistic Methodists. David Davies’ essay on Mabon, 42
but he was glad that he had been given time to converse with the poet Gwilym Eryri as well as the musician Professor Dan Prothero.
He described in detail the beautiful scenery that characterised the United States of America, in particular the hills and mountains of Tennessee and the Sierra Nevada. He lectured consistently, reminding his listeners in Colorado and elsewhere that he had in all conscience a heavy debt to the Labour Movement. After all he could not forget his boyhood experience of being a haulier in the pit which was physically demanding work. He preached with his Welsh hwyl592 on many occasions and it seems that his favourite sermon was based on St. John’s Gospel, Chapter thirteen, verses 34 and 35. John Mitchell had arranged for Mabon to be introduced him to President Theodore Roosevelt. Mitchell and Roosevelt were after all close friends. Mabon and the President chatted about the contemporary world and its problems, as well as opportunities. As Alistair Cooke said of Roosevelt:
He was the first influential man of his time to see clearly that the United States was no longer a rural nation, but an industrial giant run to amok, whose keepers were not in the Congress of the White House, but in Pittsburg and Cleveland, and the West Room of Morgan’s in New York City.612
Mabon’s journeys to the new world were extremely important for the Welsh nation. No one else had such prestige. He was the first to place Wales as a country that meant something to American trade unionists, politicians and journalists. He had been more successful that anyone had dreamt of and as a result, he intended to write a book on his travels but, unfortunately, he did not do so, to the great loss of his contemporaries and ourselves. However, before he returned home the different state newspapers published details of his amazing journey and that he had been given the opportunity to have a meeting with the President. He is the only Welsh trade unionist and politician, to my knowledge, who spoke for nearly an hour to the head of the most influential twentieth century country. It is astonishing that in addition to the important subjects discussed with Theodore Roosevelt in the White House Mabon also discussed poetry! Mabon told him. ‘A man must have eyes to see, a heart to feel and he must have language to express himself.’593
Roosevelt was delighted with his pronouncements. But although had Mabon said loud and clear in all his meetings that America was a special and unique country, he realised in his heart of hearts, that it was not without its failings. He was quite disappointed, on his second visit, when he was with John Mitchell, at the way immigrant workers, particularly the coloured person as well as the ethnic minorities were so often treated. He spoke of soldiers having the right to carry off strikers in the state of Colorado into the desert and then to use violence against them. Many of these miners were shot in their legs, while
592 ‘Characteristic musical intonation or sing-song cadence formerly much in vogue in the perorations of the Welsh pulpit. ‘ Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru 612 Alister Cooke’s America (London BBC, 1973), 299
593 National Library of Wales, Archive of the Calvinistic Methodists. David Davies’s essay on Mabon, 45.
others were kneecapped. He saw that the anthracite miners had not reached the wages of other coal miners in states such as Illinois and Indiana where there was smooth, light coal.594 He paid tribute to the powerful United American Mineworkers for improving the wages of so many miners in the three years that he had taken an interest in them, from 1901 to 1904.615 He expressed himself well and on 5 March 1905 was given this heading in The Tribune, which was circulated in Scranton: ‘No country is like America, says William A.’
There was constant mention on him as a notable lay preacher in the American press. Years before he visited the country there was often a reference to Mabon because of his contribution as a politician and a preacher. Before Christmas 1896 the Wilkes-Barre Weekly Times spoke of the phenomenon across the Atlantic in the land of Wales. There was no-one in the powerful American Miners’ Union to compare with this giant of a leader:
At any rate, the ‘Revd’ Mabon, MP has been a frequent occupant of Welsh pulpits during the last few months and is evidently bent upon doing a little towards improving the spiritual, as well as the material, welfare of the Rhondda people. 595
In his unpublished biography Mabon’s minister, the Revd. David Davies (known in Welsh as Bugail y Bryniau, which can be translated as ‘The Shepherd of the Hills’, said he was not a ‘great preacher’. That is puzzling but Davies justified his opinion, maintaining that it was because he possessed the ‘style of the public platform rather than the talent of a powerful preacher.’596 On one occasion he was preaching in Llandrindod Wells in mid Wales and there were in the services on that day, three of the greatest preachers of their time. All three were on their annual holiday in the spa town. They were Professor P. T. Forsyth, a very popular theologian, the Reverend Dr G. Campbell Morgan of London and the Reverend Thomas Charles Williams of Menai Bridge in Anglesey. They all came to hear him and all three gave him sincere tributes. Mabon was extremely faithful to the pulpits of the Vale of Glamorgan, Rhondda and the valleys of south Wales. According to his minister, David Davies, he would journey around Wales so much that he was sometimes uncertain whether he had preached the same sermon on his last appearance at that church.597 The core of his theology was Christian Socialism in the Nonconformist tradition: the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man. He preached memorable sermons based on the Lord’s Prayer and the Sermon on the Mount. This is his viewpoint:
Socialism strives for the renewal of people firstly through improving their material conditions and circumstances whilst Christianity strives for renewal through firstly improving the individual character morally and spiritually.619
In his youth, he came under the spell of two ministers in Cwmafan. The first was the minister of Zion Chapel, the Reverend. Edward Roberts. He was a Welsh Independent
594 Ibid.
595 Wilkes-Barre Weekly Times, 19 December 1896, 3.
596 National Library of Wales, Archive of the Calvinistic Methodists. David Davies’s essay, 47 597 Ibid.
who kept a grocer’s shop in the village. He was a man Mabon admired for his kindness to the poor and many from the local Irish ghetto would take advantage of his kindness by abandoning their payment for months on end and praising him as lovable ‘Father Roberts’.598
The second man of the cloth was his own Calvinistic Methodist minister at the Tabernacle, the Reverend Thomas Edwards who was a colourful character with a great deal interest in the politics of his day. 621 When Mabon’s mother wanted her son to be a preacher, the minister argued that the path of a politician would give him a much better chance of doing good than being a minister of religion, who would always be at everyone beck and call. Thomas Edwards won the day.599
Mabon heard a huge amount about Edward Matthews, the charismatic Glamorgan born preacher. Matthews was recognised as a giant of the pulpit in Wales, was faithful to his denomination and promoted the cause of the Calvinistic Methodists at a time of industrial turmoil and enormous population growth. He began his career as a minister in Hirwaun in 1830. He then became minister of Penuel Chapel in Pontypridd before moving to Cardiff and then the delightful village of Ewenni in the Vale of Glamorgan. Matthews, like Mabon, was very fond of preaching in the splendid chapels in the upper parts of the Rhondda Valley, such as Jerusalem in Ton Pentre, Bethlehem and Gosen in Treorchy and in Cwm-parc and Llwynypia. In an 1880 article, the anonymous author spoke of Edward Matthews of Ewenny’s experience in Rhondda:
He had sometimes heard dark mutterings about the Rhondda Valley and its inhabitants were described as fighters and drunkards but … Whatever the Rhondda Valley had been, the influence of the Gospel had, by then, greatly improved it. 600
And that was the wish of all Calvinists who greatly admired Edward Matthews, as Mabon did in his childhood. Mabon, a ‘Grand Old Man’ as he was called in his old age, continued to long for the Nonconformist agenda to become a reality in Wales. He played a major part in the battle for the disestablishment of the Church of England in Wales and was an idol to his fellow Methodists for his campaigning. He supported education and was kind to needy children in the name of the miners and the chapel goers. His plea was always:
‘The people and only the people are to govern.’
598 D. M. Evans (‘Cymro’) Dathliadau Jiwbilî Tabernacl, Cwmafan / Tabernacle, Cwmafan Jubilee Celebrations (Cardiff, 1924), 10-11. Tabernacle Chapel, Cwmafan nurtured many giants of the pulpit such as the Reverends John Bamford, Idris Roberts and John Hughes of Bridgend (and previously Liverpool).
599 Mabon worked together in the Band of Hope with the literature loving Welshman Thomas Davies (Trithyd). Ibid, 11.
600 There is a great deal of information on Edward Matthews in John Gwynfor Jones, Her y Ffydd: Ddoe Heddiw ac Yfory – Hanes Henaduriaeth Dwyrain Morgannwg, 1876-2005 (The Challenge of Faith: Yesterday and Today – History of the East Glamorgan Presbytery) (Cardiff, 2006), 26; 31; 59-60; 69-70; 101; 169.
He was a man of the poor and neglected and a steadfast spokesperson for the working class. Sir Henry Jones, the well-known philosopher, spoke of Mabon as a man full of goodness, who was kind towards the poor, the old, the infirm; someone who was firm on the issues of land, the miners’ wages, health, education and peace – all priorities for him.601 According to his minister, he was a politician who enabled people to live well; the good of the majority was always in his thoughts. He won over the Welsh effortlessly, particularly those living and working in the Rhondda as well as Welsh people in exile in American communities. When the Revd. J. F. Davies, the Welsh Independents’ minister in Portland USA, came on a visit to the Rhondda, he described Mabon as ‘Boanerges’, one of the sons of thunder, a biblical reference to the brothers James and John in the New Testament.602 Indeed, Ramsay MacDonald, one of the main architects of the Labour Party, went so far as to say of him that he was ‘one of the most able men in Westminster.’603
This was the belief in Rhondda and in Scranton, in Cwmafan and Aberdare. An article by an anonymous author appeared in one of the Welsh weeklies of North America discussing the long lasting Penrhyn strike (1900 to 1903) and how, by 1908, that strike was responsible for the obvious decline in the quarrying industry.604 The author suggested that a Reconciliation Board like that seen in the South Wales Coalfield would have been of benefit in settling the bitter conflict sooner. In volume 23 of the Druid, January 1908 an editorial makes the same point, that mediation is vital in conflict between worker and employer and that a strike means huge loss for everyone involved.605 The Druid refrains from criticising David Lloyd George for failing to settle the Penrhyn strike. It compared the situation in Bethesda in Arfon and what Mabon had achieved in the coalfield:
Mabon, the successful leader of the organised hosts of South Wales, is the great Apostle of Peace and Conciliation, and what a different and happier picture is presented in the thickly populated vales of Glamorgan, where a board of conciliation has been at work for years! Wages are higher than ever, and have, in fact, reached the maximum limit, advance after advance being conceded by the employers with comparative cheerfulness. Mabon teaches us that a strike must be absolutely the last resort when everything else had failed, and he also preaches that there should be no such thing as ‘foul’.606
The Druid would regularly publicise Mabon’s virtues for the benefit of their readers. For the rest of the Welsh exiled in the United States, Mabon was an Apostle of Peace and
601 ‘Methodistiaeth yng Nghymoedd y Rhondda’, Y Goleuad (The Iluminator) 4 September 1880, 67.
602 National Library of Wales, Archive of the Calvinistic Methodists. David Davies’s essay, 47. 603 Ibid, 77. Ramsay MacDonald was regarded as a charismatic Socialists. He was looked upon as ‘one of the gods’. See Christopher Howard, Expectations born to death: Local Labour Party expansion in the 1920s (in) Jay Wright (editor) The Working-Class in British History: Essays in Honour of Henry Pelling, (Cambridge, 1983), 73, 273; also Egor Wertheimer, Portrait of a Labour Party (London and New York), 1929, 174.
604 There are details of the Penrhyn Strike 1900-1903 in R. Merfyn Jones, The North Wales Quarrymen, 1874-1922 (Cardiff, 1982), 210-66.
605 Druid, 23 January 1908
606 Ibid, William D. Jones, Wales in America, 222-3
Reconciliation in the world of industry and politics. He was one of the great heroes of Wales at the beginning of the twentieth century. Indeed, he embodied those virtues that Welsh people longed to have. After all, his spoken Welsh was polished; he preached the Gospel regularly; stood as a complete abstainer from alcohol; acted as a precentor in his chapel and a renowned soloist; he was interested in the eisteddfod and was a poet and writer as well as a sincere friend to the despised. As William D. Jones said:
Mabon was the arch-exponent of the necessity for capital and labour to work together. It was a gospel he took with him to the United States in 1904-5, when, as a delegate of the Trade Union Congress, he spent most of his time advocating conciliation as a means of avoiding disputes in American industry. 607
The Welsh press in America was proud of him as a mediator in the field of industry but also as a proud, passionate Welshman, and when he was honoured with membership of the Privy Council, he was lauded as an individual who fulfilled all the hopes of the Welshman, wherever he was called. He was a praiseworthy example and putting ‘The Honourable ‘before his name did not tell the whole story by a long chalk. The Druid argued that Mabon’s name would endure as long as the Welsh nation existed:
(The) name of Mabon will live when that of the Rt. Hon. William Abraham is forgotten.608
One has to agree with William D. Jones that praising Mabon was essential for the Welsh world of the Victorian and Edwardian eras so that he could promote the image of Wales at its best.609 Quite a few of the Welsh in exile failed to understand the attitude of the miners in the Tonypandy strike towards the outstanding trade union leader. Indeed, the lively paper the Druid saw the Cambrian Combine Strike in terms of greedy and ambitious miners. Here is the editorial for 17 November 1910:
It is feared that the present trouble has been precipitated largely by men who are all anxious to depose the leaders so that they may secure their positions and salaries. That selfish, personal ambition should bring about such suffering and sorrow to thousands is most deplorable.
Clearly the editors of these papers lived too far from the battlefield to be able to understand all the factors at play but at least the Druid and Y Drych (published in Utica) did a great deal to create an image of Mabon’s greatness within the life of the Welsh. After all, when he was travelling in America, Mabon was the leader of 150,000 miners. From 1880 until 1910 the South Wales Coalfield was under the rule of two men, Sir William Thomas Lewis working on behalf of the employers and William Abraham Mabon’) working on behalf of the miners. No other British coalfield was in the same position as in South Wales according
607 Druid, 12 January 1910. For Mabon’s appointment see E. W. Evans, Mabon, 95 608 ‘But above all it was his active labours on behalf of conciliation which earned him tributes that were second only to those showered on Lloyd George.’ See W. D. Jones, Wales in America, 225. 609 Drych, 29 December 1910.
to the owner Sir Alfred Thomas. Sir Alfred Thomas called him a world-wide inspiration ‘for his was a household name throughout the industrial world.’610 This is what Thomas Burt said in apology for his absence from a Presentation Meeting for Mabon in Cardiff City Hall:
I am sorry that I cannot show by bodily presence my appreciation of Mabon at the presentation ceremony tomorrow. He is to me as steel, and better than gold. I hope you will have, as I know you will have, a thoroughly successful meeting.
Yours truly,
Thomas Burt 611
Thomas Richards, another miners’ leader thought that it was high time for the city of Cardiff to give him the freedom of the city. Rhondda Borough should have done the same.635 Unfortunately, this did not happen. They preferred to honour soldiers and slave owners like Sir Thomas Picton, who died at the Battle of Waterloo, rather than to honour one of the greatest of the Welsh nation.612 In the estimation of Archibald Hood, employer and pit owner, Mabon followed his Saviour through every storm and strike and costly conflict:
He had conscientiously tried to follow the example of the Man of Galilee, who came to serve and not to be served; and it is with pride that he saw those whom he tried to serve had not allowed his service to go unrewarded, though the reward was a far greater value than his humble services had ever merited. 613
Nobody could say more about Mabon’s greatness for his contemporaries and for us than what was said by Archibald Hood.
610 Cardiff Times, 1 April 1905, 5
611 Ibid
612 In early June (10-13) 2020, there is a great deal of condemnation of Sir Thomas Picton because of protests in Cardiff in relation to police conduct towards black men in America.
613 Cardiff Times, 1 April 1905, 5.
CHAPTER 14
MABON AND THE NEW LABOUR MOVEMENT
What strikes us in discussing Mabon’s unusually interesting career is that he lost the golden opportunity of being the undisputed Labour Party leader in Wales, particularly as he had won the Rhondda seat for Labour as far back as 1885. However, he never felt the call to lead Labour; he needed the Liberal Party as well, so he became a Lib-Lab. That was important in his opinion but neither he nor his fellow-leaders were able to act without the burning option of the new mood for socialism amongst the most militant miners.
Miners were the backbone of the Labour movement in south Wales, but their leaders, like Mabon, dragged their feet for a long time. This was true throughout the English coalfields as the miners there had voted against the appropriateness of allowing the Miners’ Federation of Great Britain to register when the Labour Representation Committee was set up in 1900. Clearly a group of south Wales miners were unhappy with that conservatism and wanted to raise the issue again in Cardiff in March 1901.614
The Independent Labour Party was the catalyst under the utterances of J. W. Wood who was appointed a peripatetic lecturer in the South Wales Coalfield. Robert Davies of Treharris was one of his main colleagues and he could present the socialist message in the Welsh language.615 J. W. Wood reminded a meeting in Pontypridd in 1896 that he had come to Wales to persuade the miners to change their minds and turn their backs on Liberalism and welcome the gospel of socialism He also called on them to challenge Mabon and his cronies on the wages paid to the miners for their hard work. 616 Were the Taff Vale miners happy with their wages of eighteen to twenty-five shillings per week, when the colliery owners were amassing huge wealth and getting rich on the profit? He referred to the example of J. Keir Hardie in Parliament as a genuine Labour representative.617 He was asked a number of questions, particularly by David Morgan, a miners’ agent among others. In his response, J. W. Wood said that he did not believe that the Tories were better people than Liberals. He believed that the Liberals were so neglectful and indifferent and
614 North Wales Express, 18 January 1901, 3.
615 South Wales Daily News, 17 August 1896, 6.
616 Ibid.
617 Ibid.
non-committal that he hardly ever mentioned them on any public platform.618 This did not go down well with the audience as they remained true to the Liberal Party. And that was Mabon’s priority. We have seen how difficult it was for him to move from Lib-Lab to be just a Labour MP even in in 1909. After all, his cup was overflowing in 1906 and again in 1916; the party to which he was so loyal had won the day and had a programme in parliament which would please his electors. And yet Mabon failed to see the excellent opportunity for him, as a Welsh-speaker, within the Labour Party. In 1891, 900,000 people spoke Welsh and almost a million by the time of the 1911 census. What is astonishing is how warm the response of the early socialists was to the existence of Mabon’s first language. For the SDF Party leader, Marxist H. M. Hyndman, the Labour movement should have made much more use of the Welsh language as it was an advantage to a movement which was challenging the establishment, the state in its power and all the authority it had at its service.619 This was music to Mabon’s ears as he used the language at every available opportunity.
In the Rhondda, when it came to a matter of standing for the miners, there was always an important, integral place for Welsh. Welsh was heard in the meetings held in the Aberystwyth Cafe in Tonypandy on a Sunday afternoon, when the Marxists came together to discuss industrial relations and to prepare the forthcoming pamphlet The Miners’ Next Step. The Rhondda Socialist newspaper argued that there was a need for a Welsh language column, not only for the continuation of the language but for the purposes of communication. Could Mabon not have organised one of his colleagues to be responsible for that column?620 Through the medium of Welsh there would be the chance to extend observations and ideas to people who welcomed Welsh political discourse, especially to those who were monoglot Welsh. David Evans of Blaenclydach wrote about this and the journalist E. Morgan Humphreys argued in the Socialist Review that socialism needed to be Welshified, remembering at the same time: ‘the stupidity of sending monoglot English speakers to do propaganda work among Welsh-speaking people.621
It was during this period that the labour press introduced a useful Welsh language page of articles and news. There was plenty of Welsh material in Llais Llafur. Hardie supported the Merthyr Pioneer and the Reverend T. E. Nicholas (Niclas y Glais) was invited by him to be editor of the Welsh language page. By 1912, the Dinesydd Cymraeg was being printed in Caernarfon. This was a completely Welsh language weekly paper. It was set up by printers who were on strike and appeared during the same year as the Daily Herald which was another platform for Labour.622 By then, there was an interesting core of Welsh men and women working together for the benefit of Labour and of the Welsh people But it was in retrospect an Indian Summer and the golden opportunity was soon lost.
618 Ibid.
619 H. M. Hyndman, Further Reminiscences (London, 1912), 447; Horace B. Davies, Nationalism and Socialism (New York), 1967.
620 David Evans (Blaenclydach) Rhondda Socialist, 19 August 1911. E. Morgan Humphreys, Socialist Review, October 1909.
621 E. Morgan Humphreys, Socialist Review, October 1909.
622 Cyril Parry, Radical Tradition in Welsh Politics: Study of Liberal and Labour Politics in Gwynedd 1900-20, (Hull,1970), t29-32.
This can be analysed in the attitude the politician Clem Edwards MP, who called himself a Liberal and Nationalist and was often an anti-socialist. This was very similar to the approach of Mabon. Clem Edwards decided to arrange a public meeting mostly in Welsh in Aberavon in 1911. He had a good turnout but, amongst the listeners there was a full row of anti-Welsh people who had no sympathy with the Welsh language or culture and when they heard Edwards speaking in Welsh they shouted ‘English please’. When the politician referred to the necessity for Welsh people to keep the language alive, he was interrupted by a confident heckler with these words: ‘Bread and cheese we want, not language.’623
The heckler showed on the one hand their utter folly but on the other hand the real need for work and wages for the comfort and stability of a family. And thus began a movement which still exists, the anti-Welsh brigade, and which has been seen in every generation since the publication of the report on the state of education in Wales. in 1847. Undoubtedly much of what the commissioners said about the low standard of education at that time was true, but for three monoglot Englishmen and members of the Anglican Church to blame the Welsh language and Nonconformity for the deficiency caused such a furoré that it has been termed Brad y Llyfrau Gleision (Treachery of the Blue Books) ever since.
In an editorial in the Merthyr Pioneer, it was argued that the unpleasant meeting in Aberavon spelt doom for the Welsh language within the Labour movement. It seemed that one had any chance of avoiding its erosion or indeed its ultimate disappearance. It says further:
The only way in which these things can be tested in open competition with the world and if in that trial the language dies and Welsh goes under, they ought to go.624
That attitude was quite common amongst Welsh Nonconformists who loved and used the language. That was the view of Samuel Roberts (SR 1800-1880) of Llanbrynmair, a radical visionary, pacifist, editor and a reformer and Mabon’s denomination, the Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Church, was completely divided on the issue of language.
Many of the famous leaders supported the establishment of English language chapels in Anglicised areas, even sometimes in the heartland of Wales, This was the only Nonconformist denomination which had originated in Wales. There was debate on the whole issue in the General Assembly held in Aberystwyth in 1866 and Mabon had followed that debate with great interest.
There was a troublesome battle ahead over issue of the English Cause, as Mabon remembers on the pages of Y Faner and Y Goleuad. Both papers were posted to his home. The bickering lasted for years and reached its climax at the North Wales Association
623 Picton Davies, Atgofion Dyn Papur Newydd (Memories of a Newspaper Man) (Liverpool, 1962), 129-132 for the background.
624 Merthyr Pioneer, 30 November 1911.
meetings of the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists in Llanidloes in June 1881. There Reverent Robert Ambrose Jones, better known as Emrys ap Iwan, was asked by Reverend Dr Owen Thomas of Liverpool (grandfather of Saunders Lewis) what he believed in as a candidate for the ministry. There is a full report of the questions and answers that took place in Llanidloes in the biography of Emrys ap Iwan compiled by a journalist, Gwynn Jones. In that report we understand why the debate on which language should be used to preach gospel lasted so long.625
Mabon tended to portray socialism as a practical version of Christianity and to present it as an important aspect of morality. A number of Christians who supported Labour experienced a great deal of hatred from chapel circles. Keir Hardie experienced this more than once as Dylan Morris says, ‘Indeed, there were several references libelling Hardie from the safety of pulpits.’626
The most eloquent minister from the Liberal camp was the Reverend W. F. Phillips, a Presbyterian minister whom Mabon came to know within the Liberal Party.627 He was not tempted to criticise him for his hateful articles in the press, his addresses on behalf of the Anti-Socialist Union and the Young Liberals Congress. Mabon and D.A. Thomas knew that W. F. Phillips was an extremely dangerous orator with his fierce tongue always quoting Labour-supporting ministers such as the Revd. R. Silyn Roberts and the Revd. D. D. Walters,628 known as Gwallter Ddu, who in rural Llechryd and Newcastle Emlyn translated Robert Blatchford’s book Merrie England into Welsh under the title Cymru Lawen Merrie Wales.
W. F. Phillips always argued that Christianity and Socialism were completely incompatible. For him, Socialism was a material and crazed belief, as it wanted to dethrone the King, extinguish the nuclear family, lessen individual freedom, exile God from society and ensure that Jesus Christ would have no chance to leave his message of salvation to the world. Very few people held these views even among the Liberals. There is no doubt that as a minister of the Gospel, W. F. Phillips, should have behaved in a much less prejudiced and capricious manner. In 1911 one of the local Glamorgan papers spoke of a Ferndale miner who was trying to persuade his fellow-miners to come with him to chapel. They could not accept as the local Nonconformist minister was regularly denigrating Keir Hardie from his pulpit.629
625 T. Gwynn Jones, Cofiant Emrys ap Iwan n (Denbigh, 1911).
626 Dylan Morris’s excellent article, ‘Sosialaeth i’r Cymry’, Llafur , vol.4, no. 2, 55; Vernon Hartshorn, Labour Leader, 27 October 1911.
627 W. F Phillips, ‘Cymru a Sosialaeth’ in Y Genhinen , vol. 29, January 20-21; see also ‘Sosialaeth a Christnogaeth’, April 1911, 83-87; then ‘Peryglon oddi wrth Sosialaeth yng Nghymru’, Y Genhinen, January 1912, 0009. There is a valuable study of W. F. Phillips (1877-1920) in Robert Pope, Building Jerusalem: Nonconformity, Labour and the Social Question in Wales, 1906-1939 (Cardiff, 1998), 62-65.
628 D. D. Walters (Gwallter Ddu) was a minister to the poet Eluned Phillips in her early years in Llechryd, Cardiganshire. For D. D. Walters see Robert Pope, Building Jerusalem, 28, 35, 69, 1278; 171.
629 Merthyr Pioneer, 7 October 1911, 4.
A number of middle-of-the-road ministers, mainly supporters of Mabon, lost their patience with the Labour Movement over their moral support for the First World War. They even acknowledged that the working class had turned their backs on the chapels:
The working class in Wales, as in England, does not bother much about religion. Their temples are taverns and their high points football and horse-racing.630
Mabon himself would be ready to second those observations as he was a fervent abstainer from alcohol and kept away from football games and horse-racing. That world to him belonged to the Tories. And the fact was that Mabon had been brought up true poverty, but by the First World War had become an affluent middle-class chapel goer. The argument of the ILP and other socialists around him in Rhondda was that Liberalism, with its middle-class leadership, could not represent the welfare of the miners. The Liberals well understood this and that is why, in many constituencies they refused to give their blessing to candidates from the trade unions or from the Labour movement. The only exception was the icon himself, Mabon – the hero who insisted on winning the seat of the Rhondda. There in the terraced houses they took to him and gave him complete support. 631
The First World War was a disappointment to many of the early Socialists especially when they saw the pacifist, of all people, recruiting miners and other workers s to the battlefields of France and Belgium. By then, Mabon was a folk-idol. After all, they knew he had sacrificed so many opportunities so that he could remain in the Rhondda. In 1895 Lord Rosebery tried his hardest to persuade him to take up a post as an industrial mediator in Australia for the enormous salary of two thousand pounds. The Government and everyone else kept discussing this tempting offer for weeks. The papers, especially the Western Mail, wrote articles on his dilemma, In the end he was highly praised:
He is such a noble fellow, and has not an enemy even among the Tories or the masters, Liberal and Labour though he is.632
The truth was that, because of his attractive personality and his likeable and winning nature, south Wales could not consider public life without his presence.
Mabon is such an immense personality that were it deprived of his good fellowship, Wales would not be Wales. He is one of our Welsh landmarks, and one would miss him as one would miss Snowden or Plymlimmon should another Barum come and swing them across the Atlantic.633
The Western Mail editorial argued that there was too much Welsh nationalism in his veins for him to leave the valleys and the miners who depended on him for their living. He
630 Dylan Morris, ‘Sosialaeth i’r Cymry’, Llafur (Labour), 55 631 R. Merfyn Jones, Cymru 2000: Hanes Cymru yr Ugeinfed Ganrif / Wales 2000, 153.
632 Western Mail, May 31, 1895, 1.
633 Ibid.
had reached the peak of his fame by the beginning of the twentieth century. His home in Pentre, Rhondda, was described as ‘his mansion’. They knew of his parliamentary agenda defending the miners’ welfare and then carrying out the priorities of Welsh Nonconformity in terms of self-government and the disestablishment of the Anglican Church in Wales. Who would keep order as a compère in the National Eisteddfod without him? Who would raise the roof at the end of the day in singing Hen Wlad fy Nhadau?
He was praised for not being bigoted, as were so many of the Trade Unionists around him. He stood apart from everyone as a Colossus embracing the ordinary folk and greeting their employers in a friendly manner. He was not at any time a bully but a beloved brother:
The distance between Mabon and David Morgan is as great as that between Sir W. T. Lewis and Mr Benjamin Tillett.634
At the end of an extensive article, a hopeful plea is heard:
But Mabon will not go. His bread and his cheese are sure, and his seat is safe.635
That was certain. He did not have enemies, only opponents. Like Cledwyn Hughes, the Labour MP for Anglesey between 1951 and 1979, Mabon always managed to achieve crossparty support. He managed to find finance towards supporting him as a politician even from the Tories as well as the Liberals and his own trade union. One of his critics within the union for many years was William Brace but he raised the issue of how the Rhondda Lib-Lab Executive Committee received donations towards Mabon’s expenses at Westminster from two of the foremost Tories in the whole of Wales, namely, Colonel Morgan, a Tory landowner and his brother Lord Tredegar. Both sent five hundred pounds each whilst Alderman F. L. Davies of Ferndale, his opponent in the 1885 election, sent the sum of £250 and D. A. Thomas, another Liberal MP could only afford five guineas.636 The Tory agent for the Rhondda constituency, R. J. Richards, made sure that the Conservatives did not oppose him in general elections. He spent his time establishing drinking clubs who could pay for his salary and any other expenses needed for the campaign.
So Mabon was in an ideal situation as an extremely popular MP. He always realised that he needed to woo the ruling elders of the chapels. In the everyday day life of coalmining in the Rhondda, the elders’ pews of the chapels were usually filled with what was called ‘shopkeepers’. Shopocracy was the word to describe it. They were called Mr. and sometimes Sir by the zealous members. They were highly influential and, if he had any sense, the minister of the chapel would work with them rather than provoke them. Though Mabon moved for some time to a more attractive area than Pentre, he never lost contact
634 Ibid
635 Ibid.
636 Tarian y Gweithiw, 23 March 1893, 3
with his headquarters. An article in Y Genhinen contended that it was not the pulpit which was opposed to the Labour movement but the middle-class leaders in the Elders’ Pew.637 Most of these would be staunch Liberals and a smattering of Tories and Mabon, the astute politician, kept them contented so that he had their support at an election. It was said in translation in Y Genhinen:
The main work of the Elders’ Pew is counting money and making sure no preacher ascends into the pulpit if he is a friend of poor folk.638
The outcome of this was to deprive the chapels often of bright young people and to leave many a congregation with a large representation of young girls, women and children.639
One of the preachers to whom the pulpits were closed was the Reverend John Morgan Jones of Merthyr Tydfil.640 Not only was the pulpit secretary of the chapels suspicious of him but the whole government of the day during the First World War had a security officer to keep an eye on his activities. There was a directive from Whitehall to keep a watchful eye on the pacifist and staunch socialist at the time of the First World War but ‘J.M.’ as he was called succeeded in turning some of the warmongers into pacifists like himself.641 When Keir Hardie died of a broken heart in 1915, permission was asked for a memorial meeting to be held for the socialist in Hope Presbyterian Chapel, Merthyr Tydfil and ‘J.M.’ agreed. There was fierce opposition and suspicion amongst a great number of the respectable members and they left Hope Chapel as a protest. For a while, the Presbyterian minister was unemployed and depended on goodwill gifts and the chapel collection box, but one of the Independent Labour Party youths began to frequent the services out of respect for the socialist minister.642 John Morgan Jones and Mabon were on good terms and, in 1910, he published a booklet called Religion and Socialism. The contents were delivered, in masterly fashion, on a Saturday evening at Hope Chapel services.
Another Nonconformist minister who collaborated a great deal with Mabon, inviting him to give lectures in Aberdare and district, was the Reverend Cynog Williams, the minister of Heol-y-Felin Welsh Baptist Church in Trecynon. He could not cope with the new theology of R. J. Campbell, especially after he heard him deliver a lecture in the Market Hall in Aberdare. In the opinion of Williams the minister of City Temple, London placed Socialism before the Kingdom of God. To Cynog Williams that was incompatible with Christian belief.643
However, two years later, he invited G. H. Bibbings of the Independent Labour Party all the way from Leicester to lecture on the Special Nature of Christ – this time at his own
637 Y Genhinen, vol. 28, 1910, 258-261.
638 Ibid.
639 Ibid., 260.
640 There is a revealing essay by his nephew M. R. Mainwaring in John Morgan Jones (1861-1935).
Herio’r Byd (ed. D. Ben Rees) (Liverpool and Llanddewi Brefi, 1980), 61-69.
641 Ibid., 64.
642 Ibid., 65.
643 Aberdare Leader, 17 August 1907, 7.
chapel in Trecynon. This was a positive lecture which raised the name of Christ above all other names. Williams praised the ILP itinerant evangelist.644
However, there was often definite conflict in the Nonconformist circles. T. Walter Williams of Trecynon, a well-known barrister, was criticised for his support of the Labour Party. Some of the Trecynon chapel goers (though not Cynog Williams) said he should refrain from belonging to any political party and particularly the Labour Party.645
It was hard for Mabon the icon to identify himself with a party which was so constantly criticised by his own close personal friends, Despite this, it was clear that the most able, sincere Labour men and women were raising awareness in society. For years local authorities had had a policy of refusing to employ married women teachers. This policy was adopted in the first decade of the twentieth century but discerning socialists like Councillor David Evans of Manordeilo who was an ardent Labour supporter, a friend of Mabon and member of Carmarthenshire County Council argued against this reactionary policy. He was an old headteacher, speaking on a subject about which he was after all an expert, but his wise advice was not listened to as early as 1909.646
The Labour Party was ready to protest. In Cardiff in 1909 they protested, as the Chief Justice of Cardiff had sent a man to prison for six weeks for having stolen a penny.647 It was a scandal. Mabon worked for the cause of the Suffragettes in Wales as he realised that there was no full democracy unless everyone over eighteen had the right to vote. He knew well that the Labour Party had high hopes that when women were enfranchised in the wake of the 1918 Acts they would support Labour. For Mabon was most concerned when he heard that the Suffragettes were not welcomed in Borth or Aberystwyth in 1909. They even had to travel to Merionethshire to campaign in the seaside towns of Harlech and Barmouth.
As Mabon appreciated, Labour had to struggle hard to be heard in Liberal Wales. It was felt that a Labour Church should be established but only was one set up, and that was in Mountain Ash. Another weakness which dismayed Mabon was that the personal life of some Socialists was often lacking integrity, bringing the movement into disrepute. It was also felt that Labour public meetings were insufficiently religious in nature (they needed to sing hymns at least), though that was not the case in the Rhondda when Mabon in charge. 648
Mabon realised that the Labour Party had come into existence from the bitter miners’ strike, a strike in which he played such a prominent part in 1898. It was at this time that the social and industrial life of the worker was fully revealed in the fateful battle in the history of the Miners’ Union. The gap between the Liberals in authority and the rest of the
644 ‘Uniqueness of Christ’, Aberdare Leader, 27 March 1907, 6.
645 Aberdare Leader, 5 September 1908, 3.
646 Aberdare Leader, 21 August, 1909, 3.
647 Ibid
648 Aberdare Leader, 2 May 1906, 12.
population was to be seen clearly. Some amongst the politicians, like Mabon, were very privileged. This is the Western Mail’s message about him:
Some men are born with a silver spoon in their mouths, and Mabon is one of them. All through his life, his career has been a series of upward steps.649
This was so true. He was made a Justice of the Peace, a Miners’ Agent, President of the South Wales Miners and an MP. Others of his comrades were only county and district councillors and members of the Board of Guardians. But there was also a failure to arrange the genesis of a welfare state before Lloyd George, who had a realistic vision, assumed power. He cared for the old and those in adversity. The plea was made for more politicians of the calibre of Mabon to represent the working class. Councillor E. Chappell spoke of the deficiency as early as 1900:
The men who now were in Parliament did not do their duty by the labour party.650
He had in mind those who called themselves Lib-Lab in Westminster, which included Mabon. In the mining valleys of Wales at this time, these words were spoken:
... that in future, the workers would elect only bona fide Labour representatives on all governing bodies.651
One could say that this was the beginning of a new process with which even Mabon would have to come to terms with. This was a time when noble and principled men were seen to support the new movement and some of them, like Mabon, were in a quandary as to whether to dare to take up the new responsibilities in a movement which was sure to succeed sooner or later.652
A new generation had come to emulate the giants of the Victorian era and Mabon kept away from many of them and their socialist activities, to the great loss of the labour movement. It was they who were primarily responsible for introducing Keir Hardie to the coal mining valleys and, in the first decade of the twentieth century, they formed the core of his support in Aberdare and Merthyr.
Another very evident element in the development of the Labour Party was the presence and activity of teachers who had been brought up like Mabon in mining households. They were sympathetic to those who were suffering and wanted to campaign on a regular basis for better conditions for the children in the schools and for society at large. The Trade and Labour Councils in each area served as a sounding board for Labour to perfect the administration of the Labour Representation Committee that came into existence in 1900.
649 Western Mail, 31 May 1895, 1.
650 Western Mail, 25 September 1900, 5.
651 John Davies (Aberaman), ‘The Labour Party in Aberdare’, The Aberdare Leader, 9 January 1904, 2.
652 Ibid.
Good work was carried out and too often forgotten by the lodges and branches of the Independent Labour Party. These were energetic workers in various occupations but, in a constituency like the Rhondda, they came from the mining community.
The local press was very helpful, not hostile it must be admitted, but mostly giving accurate and unbiased reports of meetings for the benefit of the Labour movement. Thus some of the prejudice towards Socialism and Socialists was removed, though not totally.
The voice of labour was clearer than hitherto. The voices were those of Mabon and T. Daronwy Isaac and Isaac Evens but now workers and middle-class teachers were expressing pro-Labour opinions. as well as demanding that their labour concerns should be heard.
In the Rhondda and Aberdare constituencies, it was ensured that the ordinary people were represented by ordinary people if at all possible. This was an example of energetic workers in various occupations coming together to support and admire each other for their perseverance and labour of love, regarding each other as brothers and sisters. Efforts were made to improve transport, to reform and desire better improvements by the District and County councils. The opportunity was seized to reveal bad practice, to condemn ignorance and to support the Trade Unions in unity and joy and to work together so that the Labour movement would evolve and bring success to Labour in the days to come. This was the golden opportunity for the Lib-Labs to unite with the new Labour Party when it was established in 1906. Mabon was prominent in politics in Wales and throughout Britain and, in my opinion, he should have taken the lead in developing the strategy of the Labour Party rather than let his personal fear of venturing forth and his uncertainty about his place within the Labour Party get the better of him. Mabon was after all a Labour MP, as far as most people were concerned, but he himself was more of a Liberal; yet although it did not prevent him from assuming his rightful place in the emerging Labour Party it prevented him taking the leadership from the hands of Keir Hardie. After all, in 1906, Trade Unionists were the backbone of the Labour Party as they were in the Labour Representation Committee from 1900 until 1906.
His political partners were Thomas Burt and Charles Fenwick.653 The Labour Representation Committee had agreed on his candidacy and the fact that he would, as he did, represent the workers; but in his own mind, he represented every stratum of society. Mabon made his mark in Parliament because he was such an eloquent speaker and extremely knowledgeable on matters relating to the coal industry. Like Thomas Burt, Mabon was on each of three Royal Commissions, but both suffered from the lack of cooperation with the Independent Labour Party and, unlike Mabon, Thomas Burt refused to register with the Labour Party. And so the oldest Lib-Lab MP in terms of service did not desire to be the leader of the new party in Britain or in Wales any more than did
653 H. F. Bing and John Saville, ‘Thomas Burt (1837-1922)’ (in) Dictionary of Labour Biography, vol. 1, 61.
Enoch Edwards, President of the British Miners’ Federation in 1906.654 Those years, from 1906 until 1912 were years of tension for Edwards and the 1911 strike placed a great deal of pressure on him. He was not at all happy about standing for Labour in the Hanley seat where there was a strong Welsh community served by flourishing Welsh chapels. So he could not have been expected to lead Labour in the House of Commons any more than Lib-Lab MP Charles Fenwick MP. He worshipped W. E. Gladstone and this held him655 back from Hardie. Moreover, he was a particularly independent person. He did not support the Independent Labour Party at all nor the young Labour Party. Like Burt, he refused to belong or agree with the constitution of the Labour Party. Both of them stood as independent Liberals in the 1910 elections rather than in Lib-Lab colours. 656
When we turn to Wales, there was no-one of the stature of Mabon apart from William Brace and he was too prickly, quarrelling with his own shadow. Hugh Hughes, one of the North Wales miners’ leaders, based in the Coed Talon pit in Flintshire, who stood for the Labour Party in the Wrexham constituency in 1918, lacked leadership qualities.657 Herbert Jenkins, who worked together with Mabon in Rhondda before settling in Caerphilly and becoming a miners’ agent in 1905.658 Jenkins always agreed with Mabon. In religion he was a fervent Baptist and was also a member of the South Wales Miners‘ Federation’s Executive Committee. Jenkins did not have the gifts to lead the Labour Party in Wales though he gave many years as a representative on the Glamorganshire County Council from 1907 until his retirement in 1932.659 We have already been introduced to Mabon’s successor in Rhondda – William John. They were very like each other: both conciliatory in nature and experience. In Parliament William John never became particularly evident in debates in the House of Commons. He could not have been expected to lead the party which he loved.660
Benjamin Pickard661 died in 1904 before there was any question of him becoming a Labour leader. Like Mabon, he was a fervent Nonconformist but not an MP of great stature. As John Saville said:
Pickard was not a success as an MP; it was the Miners’ Union that was at the centre of his interests.662
A few months before his death Pickard said:
654 Joyce Bellamy and John Saville, ‘Enoch Edwards’ (1852-1912)’ (in) Dictionary of Labour Biography, 110.
655 Anthony Mason and John Saville, ‘Charles Fenwick (1850-1918) ‘(in) Dictionary of Labour Biography, 116.
656 Ibid., 117
657 Joyce Bellamy, ‘Hugh Hughes (1878-1932)’ in Dictionary of Labour Biography, vol. 1, 191-2.
658 John Saville, ‘Hubert Jenkins (1866-1943)’, Dictionary of Labour Biography, vol. 1, 193-194.
659 Ibid., 194.
660 John Saville, ‘William John (1878-1955)’ (in) Dictionary of Labour Biography, vol. 1, 195.
661 James Ramsay MacDonald, ‘Benjamin Pickcard (1842-1904)’ (in) Dictionary of National Biography Vol. 3, 1912.
662 Ibid.
I have to confess to you, I love the Federation of Miners more than any man I know.663
Mabon could have spoken those words at the end of his life in 1922. That could be his epitaph and it would be a true one. The fact is that Mabon thought much more of his Presidency as Miners’ Leader than of being an MP. His priority was for the miners and to serve them as well as he could. For him it was a privilege to represent the miners as energetically as possible. It is little wonder that in 1910 the SDF magazine Justice criticised forty of the Lib-Lab MPs:
These forty men of our class in the House might well be called the ‘Unready’.664
The author thought that the leader of the Labour Party George Barnes deserved better treatment from the Lib -Lab MPs than he received. 665 But the man who should have been leading the Labour Party in Parliament was not George Barnes but Mabon. However he had neither the strength nor the ambition by then to fulfil that task, though he did have the necessary resources. After all, he had proved himself as a leader throughout the decades but now was in the difficult years of old age. After a life of campaigning, defending and guiding a trade union he did not have the stamina of leading a new political party. It was more than he could cope with.
Mabon had cared for the miners and ensured that their wages were always comparable to those in the coalfields of England and Scotland. The period of trade-unionism which promoted compromise came to an end by 1912. The influence of generation after generation of similar strong leaders like Thomas Burt, Enoch Edwards, Thomas Ashton, Ben Pickard, Sam Woods, James Haslam and Mabon waned. Vernon Hartshorn spoke of his contribution in 1920 thus: ‘It was a unique work, and it had been done magnificently.’666
When the final call came, his passing was mourned, in Britain from the King to the Prime Minister to the ordinary people. They all expressed the wound of losing such a unique man who had done a good day’s work for his people. King George V sent a sincere note of sympathy to Mabon’s daughter Mrs. Pugh of Brynbedw, Pentre stating:
The King is grieved to hear of the death of Mr Abraham. Both King Edward and her Majesty knew your father personally, and valued the great services he rendered to his countrymen in his public and in his private life. The King sympathises with you all in your great sorrow. 667
663 Quoted in the Aberdare Leader, 20 August 1910, 18.
664 Ibid.
665 South Wales Daily News, 6 March 1920, 4.
666 ‘Sorrow at Death of Mabon’, The Cambrian Daily Leader, May 15, 1922, 1. 667 Ibid
The letter was written by his private secretary and Mrs. Pugh and the family sent warm thanks to the King for his kind and gracious words of sympathy in the great loss.668 The Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, wrote to Thomas Richards MP and Secretary of the Federation:
The Welsh miners have lost a true and trusted leader, who did yeoman service for their cause for half a century as their first direct representative in the House of Commons.669
Lloyd George felt a great debt to Mabon, indeed, an enormous debt, as he embodied his principles as a pacifist and mediator in the coal industry. The Welsh speaking Evan Williams on behalf of the coal owners wrote a tribute, calling Mabon one of the ‘most prominent people in the field of Labour’. 670 He believed that Mabon always aimed to do the best for his fellow-workers. There was the same sentiment in the condolences of Enoch Morrell of Merthyr, Vice-President of the Federation who carried on Mabon’s work but without the same flair and expertise. By the twenties, the coalfield was a Labour stronghold and it was slowly gaining ground in north Wales because of all the proselytising by the pioneering Socialists. Two of the most exciting triumphs were in Anglesey with Brigadier Owen Thomas in 1918 and 1922 and in Caernarvonshire in 1922 when the quarrymen’s leader R. T. Jones won the constituency for Labour.671 The door was opened a little but they had to wait till 1945, 1950 and 1951 for the golden period of Labour history in north Wales.
Thousands gathered to pay their last respects to Mabon in Treorchy. Mabon left his favourite trade union together with his much-loved chapel and the family who had been so caring of him. One historian said of the Trade Union contribution after Mabon’s departure:
Only the miners’ union battled to remember, to re-create and use the history of the working class in South Wales for the good of the whole Labour movement – but this meant focussing on the experiences and circumstances of the miners themselves as would be expected.672
Another historian speaks of the role of the chapels; they were, as Mabon hoped, the ‘official centre’ of every Rhondda community:
By the 1920’s, it was still perfectly natural for all community activities, religious and
668 Ibid
669 Ibid.
670 Evan Willliams owned the Morlais pit near Llangennech and was Chair of the Monmouthshire and South Wales Coal Owners’ Association. After Mabon’s time there was a considerable amount of conflict in the Morlais pit. See Hywel Francis and David Smith, The Fed: A History of the South Wales Miners in the Twentieth Century (London).
671 R. Merfyn Jones, Cymru 2000, 99 and 159.
672 Robert Griffith, Streic! Streic! Streic! (Strike! Strike! Strike!) (Cardiff, 1986), 92.
secular, to take place in the chapel and political awareness might often have been aroused in the Sunday School discussion or a public meeting.673
That is the opinion of Dr Hywel Francis, son of Dai Francis, who was a worthy successor to Mabon within the South Wales Miners’ Union. Another trade unionist Huw T Edwards remembers his influence in the Rhondda:
In those days (Mabon’s days) and in the depression years, the people of the Rhondda Valley were the kindest people I ever saw. They were people who had learnt to be self-reliant and mutually dependent. The best society of which I was ever privileged to be a member. The best fighters in the world for their rights; there was no place in this community for sneaks or cowards.674
Reading the paean of Huw T Edwards to Rhondda, one can understand why Mabon refused every invitation to move away from the two valleys. There he was loved until his death and his name remains an important one in the interesting history of Rhondda Fawr and Rhondda Fach. Indeed, he personified the Rhondda at its best.
673 Hywel Francis, ‘Language, Culture and Learning: The Experience of the Valley Community’, Llafur, vol. 6, no. 3, 1994, 89.
674 Huw T. Edwards, Tros y Tresi (No Restraint) (Dinbych, 1956).
APPENDIX 1– POETS PRAISING MABON
Nid Digon Dysg 675
Diwylliant nis diwalla – ddyn Pa ddawn, pa ddysg a’i gwareda? I ddenu dyn yn ddyn da, Crefydd yw’r gallu cryfa.
RHJ
Mabon 676
Gŵr heddychlon ei ddoniau – yw Mabon, Am wiwbwyll mae’n orau, Teyrn glowyr pybyr eu pau, A noddwr eu rhinweddau.
Mabon 677
Dyn o sail a dawnus ŵr – yw Mabon, Ym mhob urdd bonheddwr, Deil reddf, frawdol Rhyddfrydwr, Glew ŵr teg i lowyr twr.
D. Cynlais Jones
Mabon, A.S. 678
Hwn sy’n addurn fel seneddwr – i’n gwlad, Ffyddlon glew ddyngarwr, Mae ardeb gwyneb y gwr Yn ddelw o wreiddiolwr.
Ednant, Llandderfel, Corwen
675 Dewi Aur, ‘Mabon’, Yr Ymwelydd Misol, cyf. viii, rhif vii, Mehefin 1910. 676 Dewi Aur, ‘Mabon’, The Cardiff Times, 23 Ebrill, 1910, 3. 677 D. Cynlais Jones, ‘Mabon’, The Cardiff Times, 22 Ionawr, 1887, 7. 678 Ednant, ‘Hwn sy’n addurn fel seneddwr,’ Baner ac Amserau Cymru, 17 September 1887, 6.
Mabon yn Aberpennar679
Hir oes a pharch i’n Mabon
Sydd Gymro ben a chalon;
Ei ddawn i ni sydd wledd heb os Ac hefyd ‘sauce’ i’r Saeson. Gwyrosydd
Etholiadau 1910680Mabon
annwyl, eich dyfodol
Fyddo eto’n fwy ddisgleiriol, Bywyd hirfaith a bendithiol, Elw mawr i’r dosbarth gweithiol, Byw yn hen a marw’n dduwiol,
A’r nef yn wobr yn dragwyddol
Yw dymuniad eich brawd gwladol.
Ioan Bach, Llansamlet
Mawlgerdd i Mabon, 1885681
O ddyffryn dinodedd cyfododd i’r lan
Hyd grisiau enwogrwydd trwy noddi y gwan;
Tra’r dyfroedd yn gorwedd ar wely yr aig,
O! safwn o’i blaid fel y graig.
I lwyfan San Stephan, prif sedd Prydain Fawr
Y gwrol gadfridog ddyrchafwn yn awr;
O eigion ein calon cydfloeddiwn ‘Hwre’!
Pwy geir yn ein mysg fel efe?
Gwilym Glan Afan,
Mabon682
Pob glöwr trwy Walia wen
Parchwch Mabon wr, Yr hwn trwy sirioldeb heb ei ail Sydd i chwi heddyw’n dwr.
Di-enw
These poems have not been translated as it is difficult to translate verse wrtten in the strict metres into English. The first four are englynion. The englyn is a traditional form which
679 David Jones, (Gwyrosydd) 1847-1920) yn ‘Mabon yn Aberpennar’, Tarian y Gweithiwr, September 1910, 4.
680 Gwyrosydd, Tarian y Gweithiwr, 24 March 1906, 4.
681 Gwilym Glan Afan, Pontrhydyfen, Tarian y Gweithiwr, 19 Nobember 1885, 6.
682 Tarian y Gweithiwr, 3 August 1895, 5.
requires a specific number of syllables in each line, using rhyme and stress according to rule and a repetition of consonants in exactly the same order in each line. The form is used in English by some well-known Welsh poets such as William Thomas Edwards (Gwilym Deudraeth) of Liverpool and Dic Jones of Aberporth in south Ceredigion.
APPENDIX 2
A jewel of a valuable biography of one of the most prominent leaders of the Trade unions in Wales.
Dr J. Graham Jones’ Welsh language review of D. Ben Rees’s, Cofiant Mabon: Eilun Cenedl y Cymry a’r Glowyr / A Biography of Mabon: Idol of the Welsh Nation and the Miners. Cyhoeddiadau Modern Cymraeg / Modern Welsh Publications. £15 (soft back) appeared in the Welsh language monthly paper Y Cymro ( Welshman) .
Dr Jones for this book has prepared an English translation
Although William Abraham, or Mabon (1842-1922 – to use his popular bardic name which was used particularly on National Eisteddfod platforms – had a central role in the industrial and political life of the south Wales valleys for many years, the last time a comprehensive biography of him was published was the standard work of E.W. Evans, a wellknown expert on the South Wales coalfield and trade unionism there at the time: in English and in 1959.
We must therefore give an enthusiastic welcome to a new, much more extensive book by Dr D. Ben Rees, a scholar who, over the last few years, has written authoritative, highly respected biographies of several politicians important in Wales and including Jim Griffiths, Cledwyn Hughes, Aneurin Bevan and Gwilym Prys Davies, each one of them personally known to the author.
However the key contribution of Mabon (a man who died before Ben Rees was even born) took place of course in a much earlier period than that of these other distinguished politicians. It is particularly appropriate that the author wrote this biography exactly a hundred years after the death of his idol during a period when Mabon had become rather forgotten amongst the Welsh. Mabon was at his peak mainly during the years between 1880 and 1910. After that of course, David Lloyd George was the main political idol of our nation for very many years between 1890 and 1922.As is clear from the full and detailed bibliography the author did exceptionally detailed research into original material for this comprehensive biography.
In the early chapters we have the opportunity to read edifying, revealing details about Mabon’s upbringing in Cwmavon near Port Talbot with his widowed mother, who was an
especially important figure in his early life, finding it extremely hard to make ends meet for many years. Owing to the dire poverty in his home, the son had no option but to go to work as one of the pit’s doorkeepers when he was aged only ten. Working conditions in the pits were exceptionally hard during that early period and, very early in his career, Mabon developed the gift and the desire to stand up for some of his workmates who, in his opinion, were being mistreated by the particularly selfish, unyielding and insensitive managers. Because of his contribution in this area there was no way in which he could continue in a job within the local collieries.
In 1861 he married Sarah, the daughter of a Cwmavon blacksmith and they had no fewer than six children. She died prematurely in 1900. From the time he was a small boy, Mabon had been a devout Calvinistic Methodist with a very fine tenor voice. As early as 1857 he was chosen to be precentor in the Calvinistic Methodist Tabernacle Chapel. And in chapter 12 of the book, we get a chance to read about Mabon’s contribution as a lifelong zealous chapelgoer and someone who was also a faithful supporter of both national and local eisteddfodau. With his strong body and far-reaching voice, he became well-known as an effective compére in eisteddfods as well as the National Eisteddfod of Wales at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century. This was the time when great crowds flocked to the eisteddfodau. As he was endowed with a clear tenor voice he often sang to the audiences to their great pleasure.
To advance his career, Mabon went to Chile in South America but that foolish venture failed. He returned home and secured a post in Waunarlwydd colliery. He played an important part in establishing the Amalgamated Association of Miners union and soon gained a full-time post as a union official in the Loughor District before moving to live in 1877 to the Rhondda. He won enormous respect locally particularly amongst the local miners because of his ability to settle conflict or dissent without resorting to strike action. This he did through what was called the ‘Sliding Scale’ and this extended from the 1885 conflict until the famous Tonypandy strike in 1910-12 (see chapter 9). He was the miners’ chairman on the ‘Joint Sliding Scale Association ‘ from 1875 until its end in 1903. In order to curtail production and stabilise wages the miners did not work on the first Monday of the month from 1892 until 1898. This day was called ‘Mabon’s Day’.
And in the new Rhondda constituency, William Abraham was elected to Parliament on 3 December 1885. He continued to represent the Rhondda constituency for 35 years, adopting the political label ‘Lib-Lab’ initially and then in 1908 joining the Labour Party. Mabon was the first member of the working class to represent a Welsh constituency in Parliament. He won world-wide status and sailed in 1901 and again in 1905 to the United States where he received an immense welcome from the miners and the Welsh exiles of the. USA. It seemed that royalty had arrived and exceptionally warm sincere care was extended to him by American Welsh leaders and the mining and Trade Union barons. The invitation he received to join the Privy Council in 1911 was a sign of how well-respected he was in the British establishment.
And in the early period of the Great War, Mabon, a man who had been an ardent pacifist throughout the years, became overnight a warmonger to please Lloyd George, the nation’s idol at the time. He was responsible for sending no fewer than 40,000 miners to fight on the field of battle, a total higher than even the Reverend Dr. John Williams of Brynsiencyn. managed to send from North Wales And during the war years, William Abraham became a particularly wealthy man. When he died in May 1922, he left the sum of £38,000 in his will (about half a million pounds today) – to the great astonishment of a great number of his friends and followers. Today he is primarily remembered for his enormous contribution as leader of the trade union movement than as a prominent, high-profile politician.
The Square in Maerdy
Jimmy Wilde – friend of Mabon
BIBLIOGRAPHY
THE ENTRIES BELOW ARE LOCATED IN THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF WALES IN ABERYSTWYTH AND OTHER ARCHIVES.
Archive of the Calvinistic Methodists: 14,842
Archive of the Calvinistic Methodists: 8159-8160
Papers of Lord Gwilym Prys-Davies, Box 1-3
Papers of David Lloyd George, Prime Minister 1916-1922
Papers (Davies) Llandinam, 86, 87-110; 125, 159, 176, 205-207; 210, 216, 260, 274-276; 284, 286, 256-257
Papers of Huw T. Edwards
Papers of Jack Jones, Rhiwbeina, Cardiff
Papers of M. O. Jones, Treherbert. Essay on the Development of the Coal Industry in Rhondda (1895), 4387 D
Papers of J. Herbert Lewis, a Liberal politician Llwynypia Papers. Records of the Glamorgan Pit, Llwynypia, 1861-64
Papers of Mabon. Book of his Testimony (1905) 1252 D
Papers of John Morris (Lord Morris of Aberavon)
Papers of the Reverend W. Rhys Nicholas, Porthcawl
Papers of Samuel Roberts,Llanbryn-mair
Papers of D. A. Thomas, a Liberal MP Papers of the Labour Party in Wales Papers of Rose Davies, Aberdare D/DXIK Glamorganshire Records Office, Cardiff
MANUSCRIPTS AND BOOKLETS OF WILLIAM ABRAHAM (Mabon) IN THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF WALES
Abraham, W., ‘Landlordiaeth’ (Landlordism) in Y Traethodydd, vol. xlii, 38
Abraham, W., Mabon on the Eight Hours Question: being a speech delivered to a conference of the South Wales and Monmouthshire Colliery Workmen’s Federation at Merthyr, 18 November, 1890
David Davies, Bywyd a Gwasanaeth y ddiweddar William Abraham (‘Mabon’) (The Life and Work of the Late William Abraham(‘Mabon’).
Archive of the Calvinistic Methodists William Abraham, Political Education and the Education of the Working Classes (Cardiff, 1883)
National Library of Wales Ms. 969, Abraham, W (Mabon), Llantwit Major, letter to Daniel Davies, 5/10/08
D. M. Richards Collection
Dalziel, W. G., Records of the Several Coal Owners’ Associations in Monmouthshire and South Wales,
1864-1895 (Circulated to the Coal Owners’ Association members only).
Evans, D. M., (‘Cymro’) Dathliadau Jiwbilî Tabernacl, Cwmafan (Jubilee Celebrations of Tabernacle, Cwmafan) (Cardiff, 1924)
Mabon, ‘On the Sliding Scale’, The Red Dragon 1, 1883, 466-9
Mabon and D. A. Thomas, Evening Express, 11 December 1897, 2.
Kenneth O Morgan, ‘Review of Mabon: A study in Trade Union Leadership,’ Morgannwg (Glamorgan) volume iv, 1960, 75-7
B. Pickard, T. Ashton, The Miners’ Federation of Great Britain (Rules, etc) (London, 1903)
Meic Stephens, (ed) ‘William Abraham’ (Mabon, 1842-1922) (in) The New Companion to the Literature of Wales (Cardiff, 1998) 3-4
PERIODICALS
Cymru (Wales), 1897, 1902-4, 1918
Economics, X, 1930
Great Western Railway Magazine, August 1922, ‘The Taff Vale Railway’.
Llais Llafur (Labour Voice) (1900-1915)
Merthyr Pioneer (1911-1918)
Plebs No 1, ‘The Relationship of Ruskin College to the Labour Movement’, Noah Ablett
The Industrial Syndicalist, No. 8 (1911) ‘W. F. Hay and Noah Ablett, ‘A Minimum Wage for Miners: what it means and how to get it?’
The Methodist Times, November 1910. ‘In the Heart of the Welsh Coalfield’, W. J. Britton
The Ocean and National Colliery Magazine, vols 1-viii
The Red Dragon, vol v to vol x (1884-1888)
The Rhondda Socialist, 1909-1911
The South Wales Coal Annals, 1903-1922
The Welsh Outlook, 1915-1928
The Wesleyan Methodist Magazine, February 1912, ‘The Rhonda’, W. J. Britton
Wales, 1913 ‘Industrialism in South Wales’, William Brace
Y Cerddor (The Musician), July 1897, September and November, 1908. ‘M. O. Jones’; January and February 1898, ‘Caradog’; October 1909 and April 1915, ‘Eos Dâr’; August and October 1920, ‘Alaw Rhondda’ (Rhondda Tune)
Y Diwygiwr (The Reformer), 1857, 1895 a 1896
Y Drysorfa (The Treasury) ‘Mabon a’r Capel’ (Mabon and the Chapel,) December 1949
Y Geninen (The Leek), April 1894, Rhondda Valley, 19111913. Essays by T. E. Nicholas and W. F. Phillips; July 1915, ‘Cwm Rhondda a’r Ffeiriad Coch’ / ‘The Rhondda Valley and the Red Fairs’, Canon William Lewis; April 1907, July 1918, ‘Rhamant y Rhondda’ (The Romance of Rhondda’) Tom Jones, October 1922, ‘Mabon’.
Y Goleuad (The Iluminator), 1900-1912
Y Traethodydd (The Essayist), 1900-1920
Y Tyst (The Witness)
THE PRESS
Answers, 17 November 1923
Baner ac Amserau Cymru (Banner and Times of Wales) (1875-1922)
Daily Telegraph
Evening Express and Evening Mail, 1910 Labour Voice 14 April 1914, Reynold’s News, 8 December 1946
New York Herald
Tarian y Gweithiwr (The Worker’s Shield) (18751922) Essential
The Aberdare Times (1861-1910)
The Aberdare Leader (1875-1922)
The Cambrian (1860-1910)
The Cardiff Times (1890-1915)
The Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian (1870 onwards)
The Glamorgan Free Press (1891-1910)
The Glamorgan Times (1900-1915)
The Porth Gazette (1914-1922)
The South Wales Daily News (1875-1918)
The Times (1900-1920)
The Western Mail (1875-1922)
Y Cymro (The Welshman) (1890-1906)
THE LIFE AND WORK OF MABON
Anonymous, ‘William Abraham (Mabon)’, The International Magazine, 1, 1885
Davies, D., ‘Mabon a’r Capel’ (Mabon and the Chapel), Y Drysorfa (The Treasury), December 1949
Davies, D., ‘Mabon eto’ (Mabon Again), Y Traethodydd (The Essayist), January 1949
Davies, T. E., ‘Y Gwir Anrhydeddus W. Abraham:
Orig fechan yn ei gwmni’ (The Right Honourable W. Abraham: A Short Time in his Company), Y Cymro (The Welshman), January 1921
Evans, E. W., Mabon (William Abraham, 1842-1922) A Study in Trade Union Leadership (Cardiff, 1959)
Evans, Eric Wyn, ‘Mabon and Trade Unionism
in the South Wales Coalfield’ (in) Men of No Property: Historical Studies of Welsh Trade Unions (ed.) Goronwy Alan Hughes, (Mold, 1971), 51-58
Evans, E. W. and John Saville, ‘William Abraham (18421922)’, Dictionary of Labour Biography, volume 1 (Basingstoke, 1972), 1-4
Jones, Jones ‘The Life Story of Mabon’, Great Thoughts: A weekly paper for people who think, 22 June 1918
Jones, J., ‘The Story of the Rhondda: Mabon, Greatest of the Valleys’ Leaders’, Reynold’s News, 8 December 1946
Jones, T. R., ‘The Life and History of W. Abraham, MP, The Ocean and National Magazine, 14, 1936 Morris-Jones, Huw, ‘William Abraham (Mabon,
1842-1922)’ Bywgraffiadur Cymreig hyd 1940 (Dictionary of Welsh Biography until 1940) (London,1953), 1
Rees, D. Ben, ‘Arweinydd y Glowyr’ (The Miners’ Leader’) Y Goleuad (The Illuminator), 6 April 1960, 4-5
Smillie, Robert, ‘Stories about Mabon’ Answers, 17 November 1923
Thomas, B. B., ‘Mabon’, Y Traethodydd (The Essayist), October 1948
Tracey, H. T., ‘William Abraham’ The Dictionary of National Biography, 1922 (London, 1922)
Williams, L. J., ‘The First Welsh Labour MP’, Morgannwg (Glamorgan), 6 (1962), 78-94
Williams, Thomas (Brynfab) ‘Mabon’, Y Geninen (The Leek), October 1922
A SELECTION OF WRITINGS ABOUT MABON
‘Amodau Undebaeth (The Conditions of TradeUnionism)’, Tarian y Gweithiwr (The Worker’s Shield), 25 June 1903, 1 ‘Araith Mabon’ (Mabon’s Speech)’, Tarian y Gweithiwr (The Worker’s Shield), 16 May, 1901, 2
B. A. Griffiths, ‘Mabon yng Nghwmafan’ (Mabon in Cwmafan)’ Tarian y Gweithiwr (The Worker’s Shield), 26 November 1885, 3
D. Williams (Paleinws) Garnfach ‘Mabon ym Mardy’ (Mabon in Mardy)’, Tarian y Gweithiwr / The Worker’s Shield, 25 June 1885, 3
Dewi Williams, ‘Mabon ym Mardy (Mabon in Mardy)’ Tarian y Gweithiwr (The Worker’s Shield), 2 July 1885, 3 ‘Gwir yn erbyn y byd: Mabon a’i elynion, (The Truth Versus the World: Mabon and his opponents)’ Tarian y Gweithiwr (The Worker’s Shield), 25 September 1885, 3
Lewys Afan, ‘Mabon fel Aelod Seneddol (Mabon as an MP)’ Tarian y Gweithiwr (The Worker’s Shield), 24 December 1885, 3
‘Mabon ar Delerau Da (Mabon on Good Terms)’, Tarian y Gweithiwr (The Worker’s Shield), 10 August 1893, 5
‘Mabon y Darlithydd (Mabon the Lecturer)’, Tarian y Gweithiwr (The Worker’s Shield), 15 March 1906, 3
‘Mabon yn Ferndale (Mabon in Ferndale)’ Tarian y Gweithiwr (The Worker’s Shield), 19 November
1885, 4
‘Mabon yn Fuddugoliaethus (Mabon Triumphant)’, Y Celt (The Celt), August 12 1892, 2
‘Mabon yn Pregethu (Mabon Preaching)’, Y Goleuad (The Illuminator), 10 February 1897, 4
‘Mabon ym Machynlleth (Mabon in Machynlleth)’, Caernarvon and Denbigh Herald, 11 December 1891, 6
‘Mabon ym Meirion (Mabon in Merioneth), Tarian y Gweithiwr (The Worker’s Shield), July 22, 1886, 3
‘Mabon ym Methesda (Mabon in Bethesda)’, Y Celt (The Celt), 29 August 1903, 3
‘Mabon ym Mhorthcawl (Mabon in Porthcawl)’, Tarian y Gweithiwr (The Worker’s Shield), 19 August 1886, 5
‘Mabon yn Rhymni (Mabon in Rhymni)’, Tarian y Gweithiwr (The Worker’s Shield), 7 October 1886, 4
‘Mabon yr Ymgyrchydd (Mabon the Campaigner), Tarian y Gweithiwr (The Worker’s Shield), 15 July, 1886, 1
‘Poblogrwydd Mabon ym 1914 (Mabon’s Popularity in 1914)’, Labour Voice 14 April 1914, 1
‘Portread o Mabon (Portrait of Mabon)’, Y Genedl Gymreig (The Welsh Nation), 11 May 1892, 8
‘Tysteb i Mabon (A Testimonial to Mabon)’, Tarian y Gweithiwr (The Worker’s Shield), 28 August, 1894, 4
THESES
Crowley, D. W. The Origins of the Revolt of the British Labour Movement from Liberalism (1875-1906)
Ph.D. thesis London University, 1952.
Davies, Hywel John, Mabon at Westminster: The Parliamentary Career of William Abraham, MP, 1885-1920. M.A. thesis, University College of Wales, Cardiff, 1990.
Gwyther, C. E, Methodism and Syndicalism in the Rhondda Valley, 1906-1926. Ph.D. thesis University of Sheffield, 1967
Howys, Siân, Bywyd a gwaith T. E. Nicholas (The Life and Work of T.E. Nicholas). M.A. thesis University College of Wales 1985.
John, Ken, Anti-Parliamentary Passage: South Wales and the internationalism of Sam Mainwaring (1841-1907). Ph.D. thesis University of Greenwich, 2001.
Lang, Mark S, The Labour Party, the Trade Unions and Devolution in Wales. Ph.D. thesis Cardiff University.
Newman, Lowri, A Distinctive Brand of Politics: Women in the South Wales Labour Party, 19181939. M. Phil thesis, Glamorgan University 2003.
Parry, Ted, The Pathology of Centralism: The Labour Party and Wales to 1957. Aberystwyth, 2005. Ph.D. thesis University of Wales Aberystwyth 2005
Smith, David, The Rebuilding of the South Wales Miners’ Federation, 1927-1939: a trade Union and Society. Ph.D. thesis, University of Wales (Cardiff)1976.
Williams, Christopher Mark, Democratic Rhondda: Politics and Society, 1885-1951. Ph.D. thesis University of Wales 1991.
Williams, Emyr Wyn, The Politics of Welsh Home Rule, 18861929: A Sociological Analysis. Ph.D. thesis University of Wales, Aberystwyth 1986. See pp. 111-115 and 121-4 for the battle between David Lloyd George and D. A. Thomas.
INDEX
Aberaman, Aberdare 68, 98
Aberavon 175
Abercwmboi, Aberdare 18, 93
Aberdare 4, 16, 33, 38, 39, 54, 56, 58, 82, 93, 99, 113, 114, 119, 122, 133, 134, 139, 149, 170, 179, 181, 182
Aberdare, Lord 35–6, 39–40, 48, 163
Aberdare Women’s Co-operative Circle 134
Abergorci 34
Abergorky 75, 79, 125
Abergwynfi Baptist Chapel 69
Abergynolwyn 52
Abernant pit, Aberdare 134
Abertillery 89, 124
Abertridwr 99, 137
Aberystwyth 51, 57, 117, 175, 180
Aberystwyth Cafe, Tonypandy 174
Ablett, Noah 75, 90–91, 92, 97, 110, 116, 117, 118, 119, 125, 137, 141, 142, 151, 152
Abraham, David 138
Abraham, Mary 1, 4, 138
Abraham, Sarah (neé Williams) 8, 98–9, 191
Abraham, Thomas 1
Abraham, William, 'Mabon': overview of career and general introduction, 7-18; early life, education and the key role of the chapel, Sunday school, the eisteddfod, the Band of Hope, and his early basic reading matter 19-32; early posts and activities, and role within the nonconformist chapels and local branches of the trades unions, his growing family life, 35-61; service and activities as the local miners' agent for the Rhondda, 63-87; success in the General Election for 1885 as the Lib-Lab MP for the Rhondda constituency, and the election campaign and its outcome, 89-114; role as politician and trades union leader, the General Election of July 1886, and subsequent activities in the House of Commons, conferences, delegations, and Royal Commissions, legislation enacted, local and industrial activities in the Rhondda, the setting up of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain, Rhondda strikes, 115-53; activities as a trades union leader and in the public, political and nonconformist life of the Rhondda before the turn of the century, 154-74; the Labour Representation Committee set up in 1900 and political life thereafter until 1910, 174-209; Mabon's personal and family life, industrial and mining activities, pit accidents, visits to the USA in 1902 and 1904-05, the religious revival of 1905 led by Evan Roberts, 21039; Mabon and the 1910 Tonypandy Riots and strike, 1910-11, and their aftermath,
240-58; Mabon's role as an MP and trades union official, 18851920, 259-86; Mabon as a defender of the mining communities, his family and personal life and his declining health and death in May 1922, subsequent tributes and obituaries, and reviews of his life and achievements, 289-305; Mabon as a nonconformist and public figure, 306; Mabon from the perspective of 2022, 339-62; Mabon, Lib-Labism, the Labour movement and the Independent Labour Party, 363-89.
Africa 101
Ainon Welsh Baptist Chapel, Treorchy 125
Ajax, Howell 46
Alaw Buallt 23
Albert Medal 28, 29
Alverstone, Lord 164
Amalgamated Association of Miners (AAM) 13, 15, 21–2, 37, 191
Amddiffynnydd 57
American Miners’ Union 168
American Trade Unions Congress 103
Ammanford 18, 141, 147, 148
Amman valley 141
Andrews, Elizabeth 133
Anglesey 4, 168, 178, 185
Anglican Church/Anglicans 5, 146, 150, 153, 154, 175, 178
Anti-Socialist League/Union 89, 176
ap Gwilym 37, 38 ap Iwan, Emrys 176
Arfon 55, 105, 170
Arnot, R. Page 97, 107, 137
Ashton, Thomas 136, 184
Asquith, H. H. 140, 163
Association for House Coal Colliers 42
Austin, Michael 162
Australia 155, 177
Baker, James 100, 109 Bala 52, 55
Bala College 158
Band of Hope 2, 5–6, 9, 12, 59, 146–7, 154, 155
Baner ac Amserau Cymru 56, 57, 63, 101, 162, 187
Bangor 158
Baptist denomination 1, 4, 13, 24, 43, 47, 68, 73, 74, 92, 115, 125, 130, 151, 183, see also named Chapels
Barker, George 100, 117, 119
Barmouth 180
Barnes, George 131, 184
Barnsley 32
Beasley, Ammon 82–4
Bedwas 98
Beith, William 28
Bell, Richard 82
Bellamy, Joyce 137
Betws church , Bridgend 46
Bethania Chapel, Cwmafan 5
Bethania Welsh Independent Chapel, Mountain Ash 107
Bethania Wesleyan Methodist Chapel 3
Bethel chapel, Gowerton 13
Bethesda 74, 84, 170
Bethlehem Presbyterian Church of Wales, Treorchy 98
Bevan, Aneurin 106, 116, 190
Beynon, D., Maesteg 98, 100
Bibbings, G. H. 123, 179
Biddulph, John 6, 8
Birkenhead 104
Blaenannerch near Cardigan 105, 151
Blaenau Ffestiniog 151
Blaenau Gwent 65
Blaenclydach 92, 115, 126, 174
Blaengwawr, Aberdare 39
Blatchford, Robert 176
Blue Books 175
Board of Guardians 71, 96, 181
Bodringallt Welsh Independent Chapel 124
Boer War 81
Bolshevik Revolution 130
Borth near Aberystwyth 180
Boverton 136
Bowden, W., Mountain Ash 161
Bowen, Ben 155
Brace, William 83, 86, 87, 89, 92, 94, 95, 96, 97, 123, 124, 126, 161, 178, 183
Brad y Llyfrau Gleision (Treachery of the Blue Books) 175
Brand, Carl 80
Bridgend 46, 123, 135, 138
Bright, John 47
Brithweunydd pit 24, 27
British Miners’ Federation 63, 67, 77, 83, 111, 183
British Union of Miners 165
British Union of Mineworkers 71
Broadhurst, Henry 37, 39, 44
Brotherhood Chapel, Mountain Ash 93 Bruce, Henry Austin, Lord Aberdare 35–6, 39–40, 48, 163
Brynaman 102
Brynaman band 102
Brynbedw, Pentre 184
Buckingham Palace 163
Builth Wells 70
Burke, Dr 99
Burns, John 88
Burt, Thomas 37–8, 44–5, 82, 83, 102, 136, 162, 172, 182–4
Bute Merthyr colliery 72–3
Bwllfa colliery, Aberdare 99
By-election, Merthyr, 1915 295
Caercynydd colliery, Waunarlwydd 12, 13, 14
Caernarfon 79, 128, 129, 174
Caernarfonshire 69, 84
Caerphilly 99, 137, 183
Caersalem Welsh Baptist Chapel 68
Caledfryn 155
Calvary Baptist Chapel, Clydach Vale 162
Calvinistic Methodism/Methodists 1, 3, 4, 12, 17–18, 20, 41, 50, 55, 57, 58, 74, 79, 87, 89, 143, 145–6, 153, 158, 169, 175–6, 191, see also named Chapels
Cambrian colliery/combine 74, 106, 112–18, 127
Cambrian Miners' Association (CMA) (Undeb Glowyr y Rhondda) 24, 30, 69, 71, 76
Cambrian strike 113–16, 119, 121, 124, 130, 143, 171
Cambrian Strike Committee 115
Cambrian Strike Manifesto 115
Campbell, R. J., Rev. 88, 93, 151, 179
Campbell-Bannerman, Henry, Sir 87, 112
Campbell Morgan, G., Dr 168
Cape Breton 102
Caradog 156
Carbondale 104
Cardiff 4, 17, 25, 28, 30, 47, 63, 68, 72, 79, 82, 104, 106, 108, 113, 117, 119, 126, 133, 137, 138, 140, 147, 157, 169, 172, 173, 180
Cardiff City Hall 108, 172
Cardiff Times 48
Cardigan 47, 51, 105
Cardiganshire 51, 99, 149, 151
Carlyle, Thomas 5
Carmarthenshire 18, 51, 64, 67
Carmarthenshire County Council 1
Casawr Gormes 57
Ceiriog 155
Celynog 104
Central Labour College 116, 137
Central Labour Union 165
Chamberlain, Joseph 43, 47, 51
Chapels in the Valley (1975) 39, 146
Chappell, Edgar, Councillor 181
Charles, David, Carmarthen 108, 147
Chile 10–11, 31, 145, 191
Christian Temple Welsh Independent Chapel 147
Churchill, Winston 115, 120
Cicely 114
Cilcennin 99
Cilfynydd 123
Cilfynydd Common 29
Cilleley 161
Clement, James, Gilfach Goch 30
Cleveland 167
Clydach Vale 25, 98, 104, 113, 115, 116, 126, 132, 162
Clynes, J. R. 131
Coal Mines Act, 1911 107
Coal Mines [Minimum Wage] Act 120
Coal Mines Regulation Act, 1896 106
Coed Talon pit, Flintshire 183
Coffin, Walter 24
Collinson, William 83
Colorado 166–7
Communist Party 130, 142 conscription 140
Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act, 1875 83
Conwy Valley 143
Cook, A. J. 93, 117, 119, 141, 142–3, 152, 160
Cooke, Alistair 167
Co-operative Movement 81
Cory brothers 25, 72, 73
Cory, Clifford J. 72, 108
Cory Workmen’s Hall, Pentre 156
Council of Free Churches 87
County Councils Act, 1888 71
Cule, Aneurin 46
Cuningham, Henry H. S. 106
Cwmafan 1–8, 9–12, 15, 26, 43, 55, 59, 98, 104, 119, 120, 145, 159, 163, 166, 168, 170
Cwmardy 92
Cwmbran 102
Cwmbran Coal Company 25
Cwmbwrla 11, 12, 22
Cwmllynfell 102
Cwmparc 24, 47, 73, 74
Cwmtillery 114
Cwmtwrch 15, 102
Cwrt-y-Mor, Boverton 136
Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg 56
Cymmer 24, 28, 98, 161, 164
Cymmer colliery 26
Cymmer Mixed Choral Society 156
Cymmrodorion 56, 75
Cymru Fydd 56, 69
Cynon Valley 4, 21, 22, 29, 104, 107
Cynon Valley Miners 33, 94
Dafis, Rees 41
Dai Cruglas 166
Dai o’r Nant 38, 54, 64
Daily Herald 174
Daniel, Evan 11
Das Kapital 130
Davies, Ben 64, 127
Davies, Ben, Pentre 100
Davies, Ben, Ton Pentre 98
Davies, Ben, Rev. Dr, Treorchy 74 Davies, Ben, Rev., Ystalyfera 13
Davies, Ben, Rhondda 100
Davies, Dan Isaac 56, 108
Davies, David, Llandinam 16, 24, 25, 39, 72, 146, 152
Davies, David, MP for Cardigan 47
Davies, David, Ocean Colleries, Rhondda 17
Davies, David, Rev. 168
Davies, Edward, Ocean Coal Company 38–9, 40, 47
Davies, Elias Henry 75
Davies, Elias Thomas 75
Davies, Elizabeth 127
Davies, Enoch, Treherbert 75
Davies, Evan of Primrose Hill, Heolfach, Rhondda 44
Davies, Fred L., Alderman, Ferndale 41, 45 , 178
Davies, F. Rose, Councillor, Aberdare 134
Davies, Gibbon 18
Davies, Henry 160-61
Davies, Henry Naunton, Dr 73
Davies, J., Dowlais 98
Davies, J. F., Rev., Portland 170
Davies, John 66, 105 Davies, Naunton 73
Davies, N. H., Dr, Cymmer 161 Davies, Robert, Treharris 173
Davies, S. O. 18, 93, 97, 141 Davies, Thomas 7, 18
Davies, Thomas, Rev., Bethlehem, Treorchy 74, 98 Davies, Tom/Thomas, ‘Windsor’, Ton Pentre 25, 46
Davies, T. R. 118
Davies, W., Coedcae 161
Davies, William 99, 148
Davies, William, Rev. 13
Davies, William Thomas 73, 109 Davis, David, Blaengwawr, Aberdare 39 Davis, Frederick L./Lewis, Ferndale 40–49, 72, 106 Davis, Lewis 38–40, 42
Denbigh Borough 87 Denver, Colorado 166 Derfel, R. J. 87, 150–151 Desert News 164
Dinas Male Voice Choir 23 Dinesydd Cymraeg 174
Dinsley, Dick, Porth 118 disestablishment of the Church in Wales 51, 63, 71, 150, 169, 178
Dockers' strike 63
Dodd, Abraham 28 Dolgellau 52, 57
Dolling, George 118 Druid 170–171
Durham 33, 62, 122, 152
Düsseldorf 102
East Glamorgan 1, 14, 40, 48, 94, 104
East Glamorgan Presbytery 146, 157
Edinburgh 54, 62
Ednant of Llandderfel 63
Education Act, 1902 105 Edward, Prince of Wales 16 Edward VII 99
Edwards, Clem, MP 175
Edwards, Enoch 37, 54, 106, 107, 120, 122, 137, 183, 184
Edwards, H. M., Judge, Scranton 103, 164, 166
Edwards, Huw T. 6, 143, 186 Edwards, Hywel Teifi 58, 148
Edwards, John Salisbury, Rev., Treorchy 46, 72
Edwards, Lewis, Dr, Bala College 158
Edwards, Ness 62, 113
Edwards, O. M., Sir 138
Edwards, T. Charles, Rev. Dr 138
Edwards, Thomas, Rev., Tabernacle 3, 169
Eight Hours Bill, 1894 55
Eisteddfod movement 7
El Dorado 10, 143 Elba Pit 106
Elder Dempster company of Liverpool 106
Elias, John, Rev. 4
Ellis, Thomas Edward 51, 55 Ellis, Thomas Ratcliffe 106
Employers’ Liability Act, 1880 34
Eryri, Gwilym 350
Evans, A. Clement 86
Evans, Beriah Gwynfe 167
Evans, Christmas, Rev. 4
Evans, David, Blaenclydach 174
Evans, David, 'Dai Evans the Bomb', Clydach Vale 132
Evans, David, Manordeilo near Llandeilo 180
Evans, David, Professor 155
Evans, Emrys, Professor, Sir, Principal of University College Bangor 2, 3, 158
Evans, E., Rev., Newtown 52
Evans, E. W., Dr 14, 15, 16, 20, 22, 31, 32, 35, 61, 63, 66, 67, 102, 141, 142, 190
Evans, Gwynfor 163
Evans, Isaac 38, 48, 68
Edwards, J. H., Judge 148
Evans, John, Rev., 'Eglwysbach' 45
Evans, J. T., Rev., Bodringallt 74
Evans, S . T. 48, 68, 86, 108
Evans, Tom, Penygraig 86, 98
Evans, William ('Mabon Bach', ‘Little Mabon’), Treorchy, later Pentre 25, 68, 76, 95, 162
Evans, William, Rev., Tonyrefail 4
Executive Committee of the South Wales Miners’ Federation 89, 97, 125, 127, 183
Executive Committee of the South Wales Miners’ Uniion 14, 62, 79, 91, 97, 103, 106, 119, 125, 132 Ewenny 4, 169
Fabians/Fabianism 78, 80, 111, 152
Fenwick, Charles 82, 83, 137, 182, 183
Ferndale 38, 39, 40, 42, 45, 46, 47, 51, 64, 74, 106, 114, 119, 124, 153, 154, 161, 176, 178 Fernhill Workers’ Institute 75 Forsyth, P. T., Professor 168 Francis, Dai 186 Francis, Hywel, Dr 186 Francis, Thomas, Orchwy Valley 11 Free Labour Association 82
Garden, Peter, Merthyr Vale 161
Garw district 48, 97
Gee, Thomas 138
General Election, 1885 49
General Election, 1886 51
General Election, 1900 79–80
General Election, 1906 86, 88–9, 95, 105, 122
General Election, January 1910 92, 93, 95, 116, 124
General Election, December 1910 93, 95, 116, 124, 126, 127
General Election, 1918 128, 129, 130, 133
General Election, 1922 132
George, David Lloyd 55, 57, 69, 91, 95, 97, 109, 110, 128–30, 132, 138, 139–40, 149, 163–4, 170, 181, 185, 190, 192
George, T. 100 George, Tom, Ferndale 119 George V 184 Germany 56, 102, 106, 107, 141 Gibbons, C. L. 117 Gilfach Goch 30 Gill, Dr 86
Gladstone, Catherine 55, 162 Gladstone, Herbert 91
Gladstone, W. E. 34–7, 41–2, 51–3, 55, 162–3, 183
Glamorgan Coal Company 24, 108 Glamorgan colliery, Llwynypia 93, 114 Glamorgan County Court 115 Glamorgan Gazette 94
Glamorganshire County Council 71, 75, 109, 134, 183 Glanffrwd, Gwilym 155 Gorsedd of Bards 58 Gosen chapel, Treorchy 169 Gower 8, 48, 86, 87, 151, 161 Gowerton 12, 13 Grayson, Victor 111 Griffiths, B. A. 43 Griffiths, G., Rev., Rhymni 53 Griffiths, James 73, 106, 147 Griffiths, Jim 105, 137, 190 Griffiths, Rhys Samuel 73 Griffiths, Thomas, Cymer 161 Guardian, The 138 Gwallter Ddu 176
Gwauncaegurwen Silver Band 102
Gwladgarwr 52
Hafod colliery 25
Haldane, John Scott, Dr 106
Halliday, Thomas 12–13, 16–17, 20, 21
Hamburn, William 133
Hanbury-Tracy, F. S. A. 70Hanley 122, 183
Harcombe, Hannah 119
Harcombe, Jehoida 119
Harcombe, Mark, Councillor 115, 119–20, 124, 127
Hardie, J. Keir 75, 78, 80, 82, 84–5, 94, 110, 113, 115, 124, 139, 163, 173, 174, 176, 179, 181–3
Harlech 147, 180
Harries, Tom, Pont-y-gwaith 119, 126
Harris, Howell 74
Harris Navigational Colliery 28
Harris, William 99
Hartshorn, Vernon 15, 89–90, 94, 97, 110, 117, 119, 184
Haslam, James 184
hauliers' strike, 1893 60, 64–6, 69
Hawarden 55
Hay, W. F. 90, 116, 117, 118
Hen Wlad fy Nhadau 55, 147, 163, 178
Heolfach 44, 47
Heol-y-Felin Welsh Baptist Church, Trecynon 179
Hirwaun 4, 169
Hodges, Frank 15, 97, 131
Hood, Archibald 108–9, 172
Hood, W. H. 108
Hope Presbyterian Chapel, Merthyr Tydfil 179
Hopkins, Taliesin 156
Hopkinstown 79, 126
Hopla, John 93, 96, 119, 142
Horner, Arthur 160
House of Lords 52, 82–3, 103, 131, 150, 164
Howell , John William, Ynyshir 28
Howells, John 14
Howells, Tom 98–9
Hughes, Cledwyn 178, 190
Hughes, David 29, 61
Hughes, Hugh, Coed Talon pit, Flintshire 183
Hughes, John Ceiriog, 'Ceiriog' 5, 155
Hughes, John, Rev., Liverpool and Bridgend 5, 138
Hughes, Robert 79–80
Humphreys, Emyr 20, 152
Hussey, Vivian, Sir 39–40, 48
Hyndman, H. M. 76, 92, 174
Illinois 166, 168
Independent denomination 1, 3, 4, 6, 18, 27, 31, 46, 47, 57, 74, 75, 93, 107, 124, 127, 145, 147–8, 151, 168, 170
Independent Labour Party (ILP) 76, 78, 80, 81, 85, 87–9, 91, 94–6, 110–11, 119, 124, 128, 132–3, 139, 151–2, 173, 177, 179, 180, 182–3
Indiana 166, 168
Intermediate Education Bill, 1888 55
International Miners’ Congress/Committee 102, 119
Iowa 31, 101
Isaac, Gwilym, New Tredegar 161
Isaac, T. Daronwy 41, 64, 72, 154, 182 Islwyn 11
Ivins, James 115
Jacob, Abel, Ferndale 161
James, David, Gwyrosydd 108 James, John 11
James, Lewis, Llanfarian 57
James, T. 100
Jeffreys, T. Twynog 53
Jenkins, David 26, 27, 28, 29
Jenkins, David, Professor 155 Jenkins, Herbert 183 Jenkins, Hubert 137
Jenkins, J. Gwili, Rev. 151 Jenkins, R. T., Professor 112 Jenkins, T. Pascoe 46 Jenkins, William 72–3 Jerusalem, Ton Pentre 74, 169
Jerusalem Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Chapel, Bethesda 84
Jevons, H. S. 59
John, Tom 47, 86 John, William, MP 6, 115, 125, 130, 183
Jones, Alfred Lewis, Sir 101
Jones, Brynmor 48, 68
Jones, Cynddylan, Rev., Cardiff 43
Jones, Daniel Richard, Fernhill colliery 75
Jones, David, Rev., Porthcawl 26
Jones, Edgar Rees 94
Jones, Evan, Rev., Gurnos 46
Jones, Griffith Rhys, Caradog 156
Jones, Henry, Sir 170
Jones, J. 100
Jones, Jack 145
Jones, James, Ystrad 124
Jones, J. H., Rev., Pentre 74
Jones, J. S., Treorchy 98
Jones, Lewis 92
Jones, Lewis, MP 160
Jones, M. H., Rev. Dr, Ton Pentre 74
Jones, Mordecai 25
Jones, M. O., Treherbert 23, 155–6
Jones, Pan, Dr 57
Jones, R. B., Rev., Porth 74
Jones, R. Merfyn, Dr 163
Jones, Robert Ambrose 176
Jones, R. T. 185
Jones, T., Clydach Vale 98
Jones, T. Gwynn 176
Jones, Thomas, Senghennydd 99
Jones, T. I. Mardy 110, 133, 139 Jones, Towyn, Rev. 138
Jones, William, Caegarw 108
Jones, William D. 164, 171 Jones, William, MP 163
Jones, William Thomas 75
Joseph, Thomas 24
Justice 184
Kent 152
Kenyon, G. T., Hon. 87
Labour Commission, 1892 162 Labour Leader 78
Labour Movement 45, 54, 56, 69, 71, 82, 96, 130, 138, 139, 141, 143, 150, 162, 165, 167, 173–86
Labour Party 43, 75, 76, 80, 84–5, 87–8, 90, 92, 95–7, 105, 109–11, 119, 120, 122, 124–7, 129, 131–4, 137, 151–2, 158, 170, 173, 174, 180–184, 191
Labour Representation Committee (LRC) 80, 81–4, 87, 90, 122–4, 133, 173, 181–2
Labour Unions Act, 1871 83
Lackawanna 164
Lancashire 13, 14, 83, 152
Lancashire Fusiliers, 218th Hussars, West Riding Regiment 115
Lancashire Textile Workers 84
Law, Bonar 129–30, 140
Lawrence, David 46
Leeds 33
Levi, Thomas, Rev. 10
Lewis, Arthur 68
Lewis, Ebenezer 24
Lewis, E. D., Dr 74
Lewis, Gomer, Rev., Swansea 86
Lewis, Gwrhyd, Cwmparc 74
Lewis, John 156
Lewis Merthyr pit 25
Lewis, R., Alderman, Pontypridd 98, 108
Lewis, Richard 47
Lewis, Saunders 176
Lewis, William (Lewys Afan) 48
Lewis, William Thomas, Lord Merthyr of Senghennydd 17, 25, 171
Lewys Afan 1, 47, 48
Libanus Calvinistic Methodist Chapel, Tylorstown 45
Lib-Labs 37, 38, 48, 49, 50, 55, 68, 69, 71, 76, 78, 83, 85–92, 94–5, 97, 106, 110–11, 120, 122, 124, 127, 130, 136–7, 152, 162–3, 173, 174, 178, 181, 183, 184, 191
Life From the Dead 26
Lincoln, Abraham 166
Lindsay, Colonel, Chief Constable 46, 47, 143
Liverpool 4, 5, 28, 101, 104, 120, 138, 158, 176, 189
Llais Llafur 87, 174
Llanbradach 99
Llanbrynmair 2, 31, 175
Llandrindod Wells 168
Llanedi 51
Llanelli 6, 10, 14, 21, 22, 37, 38, 51, 52, 105, 129, 136, 147
Llanfabon 1, 5
Llanfarian 57
Llanilltud Fawr 86, 135, 136, 146
Llanmaes 135
Llantrisant 82
Llechryd 176
Lloyd, Harold 93, 131
Llwynog o'r Graig 18
Llwynypia 24, 25, 30, 39, 46, 75, 93, 108, 114, 169
Llwynypia Baptist Chapel 46
Llyfni 48
Llywelyn, Thomas, Pentre 52
London, Edinburgh and Glasgow Assurance Co Ltd 135, 136
Loughor 14–16, 20–22, 149, 191
MacDonald, Ramsay 84, 91, 152, 170
MacReady, Nevil, Sir 115
Madoc, E., Coedcae 161
Maerdy 25, 141, 142, 161, 192 Maesteg 68, 89, 98, 101
Mainwaring, Sam 76
Mainwaring, W. H. 92, 116, 118, 142
Manchester 33, 54, 87, 150
Manchester Guardian 140 Mann, Tom 54, 76, 113, 162 Manning, J. 100
Manordeilo near Llandeilo 180
Mardy 41, 75, 76, 78, 124, 126–7
Margam 1
Marx, Karl 130
Marxism 76, 90, 92, 110, 118, 137, 141, 142–3, 174
Matthews, Edward, Rev. 4, 169
Matthews, Mrs 134
Matthews, Thomas 161
Mawdsley, J., 162
Mclaren colliery 106
Menai Bridge 168
Meredith, E., Merthyr Vale 98
Merionethshire 51–2, 69, 180
Merrett, Mafar 108
Merthyr and Aberdare constituency 82, 122, 139
Merthyr and District Miners 109 Merthyr Pioneer 174, 175
Merthyr Tydfil 63, 129, 179
Merthyr Vale 98, 104, 161
Meyrick and Davies of Cardiff 68
Mid Glamorgan 90, 94
Miles, Lewis, Bedwas 98
Mill, John Stuart 5, 141
Milwaukee 166
Miners’ Federation of Great Britain (MFGB) 62–3, 65, 67, 77, 83, 102, 107, 116–17, 120, 122, 135, 136, 138, 140, 148, 161, 173
Miners’ International Federation 135, 136
Miners’ National Union 12–13
Miners Next Step, The 117, 118, 174
Miners’ Permanent Provident Society 34, 136 miners' strike, 1898 77, 180
Mines Prohibition of Child Labour Underground Act 106
Mines Regulation Act, 1911 54
Mines Regulation Bill 54
Mitchell Day 166
Mitchell, John 165–7
Monkswell, Baron 106
Monmouthshire 4, 8, 11, 36, 53, 61, 63, 65, 66, 68, 78, 86, 88, 89, 106, 114, 124, 134, 154, 161
Montague , Irving 28
Montgomery 51, 70
Morgan and Rhys, solicitors, Pontypridd 68
Morgan, Charles 73
Morgan, Colonel 178
Morgan, David (Dai o’r Nant) 38, 54, 64
Morgan, David, miners’ agent 33, 173
Morgan, Herbert 126
Morgan Humphreys, E. 174
Morgan, John 46, 161
Morgan, John, Rev., Trecynon, Aberdare 104
Morgan Jones, John, Rev., Merthyr Tydfil 179
Morgan, Lewis 13–14
Morgan, Osborne 163
Morgan, Rees 135–6
Morgan, Richard, Rev., Tonyrefail 157
Morgan, Tom, Cymmer 98
Morgan, Walter, solicitor, Pontypridd 38–9
Morgan, Walter/W. H., Treherbert 46, 47, 119
Morgan, William 47, 72
Morgan, William Pritchard 82
Moriah Welsh Baptist Chapel, Tonypandy 130
Morien 44, 47
Morlais, Gwilym 148
Morpeth 38
Morrel, Enoch 100, 123, 185
Morris, Dylan 176
Morris, Henry, Rev., 136 Morris, Morgan Charles, Rev., Pentre 47
Morris, M. C., Pentre 74
Morris, T. C. 124
Morris, William, Rev. Dr (‘Rhosynog’), Treorchy 38, 47, 72, 74, 131, 158
Mountain Ash 43, 93, 107, 108, 161, 180
Mumbles 98
Munitions of War Act 139
My Adventures as a Labour Leader (1926) 97
Nantmelyn colliery, Aberdare 99
Nant y Glo 134
National Association of Colliery Managers 106
National colliery, Glamorganshire 106
National Democratic Party 129
National Eisteddfod, Aberdare (1885) 56, 149
National Eisteddfod, Ammanford (1922) 81, 148
National Eisteddfod, Brecon (1889) 147
National Eisteddfod, Llanelli, 1895, 147
National Eisteddfod of Wales 28, 148, 191
National Strike, 1926 117, 119
National Union of Mineworkers 32, 33, 71
National Union of Schoolmasters and Schoolmistresses of England and Wales 86
Naval Colliery Company 25
Nazareth Calvinistic Methodist Chapel, Pentre 59, 98–9, 137, 146–7, 149, 157, 158
Neath 38, 109
Neighbour, George, Rev. 93
Newcastle Emlyn 105, 151, 176
Newport 62, 63, 133
New Tredegar 161
New York 101, 104, 164, 166, 167
New York Herald 28
Nicholas, James, Rev., 130, 143, 158
Nicholas, T. E., Rev. (Niclas y Glais) 151, 152, 174
Nixon colliery, Mountain Ash 108
Noddfa Welsh Baptist Chapel, Treorchy 47, 72, 73, 75, 131
Northumberland 33
Northumberland and Durham Miners’ Permanent Relief Society 33
Northumbria 32
Nova Scotia 102
Ocean Coal Company 38
O’Connor, Daniel, Ireland 149
O'Connor, T. P. 120
Oddfellows 33
Ogmore 4, 48, 64
Ohio 101, 164, 166
Onions, Alfred, Tredegar 98, 100, 114, 120, 123
Orchwy Valley 11 Osborne case 92 Owen, Isambard 56
Pandy 39
Pandy Square 114
Parc and Dare brass band, Treorchy 156
Parliamentary Reform Act, 1884 36
Parry, John, Rev., Chester 4
Parry, Joseph, Dr 28–9, 148
Patagonia 155
Patti, Adelina, Madam 58
Pearl Assurance Co. 136
Peel, Robert, Sir 162
Penderyn 82
Pennsylvania 31, 101, 164, 166
Penny Readings 326
Penrhyn Quarry 84
Penrhyn strike 170
Penrhys Mountain 47
Pentre 22, 23, 24, 25, 46, 47, 50, 52, 59, 74, 75, 98, 100, 104, 135, 137, 138, 146, 155, 156, 157, 158, 162, 165, 178, 184
Pentre Town Hall 25
Penuel Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Chapel, Ferndale 4, 53, 74, 124, 169
Penuel Welsh Baptist Chapel 3
Penygraig 63, 86, 98, 115
Penygraig and Tonypandy coal mines 25
Pen-yr-englyn 156
Phillips, D. M., Rev. Dr, Tylorstown 104
Phillips, Watkin 125
Phillips, W. F. 143, 176
Phillips, W. P., Rev. 143
Pickard, Ben/Benjamin 82, 83, 102, 183-4
Picton, Thomas, Sir 172
Pittsburg 167
Plebs League 95, 116, 118, 137
Political Economy and the Education of the Working Classes (1883) 35
Pontarddulais 27
Pontrhydyfen 188
Pontypridd 4, 29, 38, 68, 75, 79, 98, 108, 123, 129, 169, 173
Pontypridd Board of Guardians 71
Poor Law 36, 77
Porth 24, 26, 74, 79, 98, 101, 109, 118, 122, 123, 127, 141, 161
Porthcawl 26, 52
Portland 170
Port Talbot 1, 47, 101, 190
Powell Duffryn Company 62, 114, 139
Powell, Moses 26, 29
Pride, Isaac 28
Privy Council 35, 121, 163, 171
Probert, Lewis, Dr, Pentre 74
Prothero, Dan, Professor 167
Proudman, Joseph, Sir 155
Pugh, Mrs, Brynbedw, Pentre 135, 184–5
Pugh, Winnie 135
Pwll-yr-Engine 166
Quelch, Henry 92
Randell, David, MP 48
Reconciliation Board 114, 120, 170
Reed, R. Edward, Sir, MP 47, 51
Rees, David/D.G., Rev., Llanelli 6, 10, 38, 123
Rees, Ebenezer 87
Rees, Evan, Rev., 'Dyfed' 58, 155, 157
Rees, Henry, Rev., Liverpool 158
Rees, J. 117
Rees, J. E., Sir, MP 108
Rees, J. L. 118
Rees Morgan, Abraham and Co. 135
Rees, Noah 90, 92, 115, 116, 118, 119
Rees, P. D., Aberaman 68, 98
Rees, Tom 127
Reform Act, 1832 159
Religion and Socialism (1910) 179 religious revival, 1904–1905 74, 88, 95, 105, 151
Rendel, Mrs 162
Rendel, Stuart 162
Representation of the People Act, 1918 128
Rhondda Borough 172
Rhondda Borough Labour Party (RBLP) 133
Rhondda Cymmrodorion Society 75
Rhondda District Council 75, 96, 111, 124, 127, 153
Rhondda District Miners’ Union 34, 101, 124, 132
Rhondda East 129
Rhondda Fach 24, 25, 30, 38, 40, 44, 45, 124, 126, 129, 142, 153, 186
Rhondda Fawr 13, 22, 24, 30, 46, 126, 127, 129, 146, 186
Rhondda Glee 156
Rhondda Leader 92, 105, 128
Rhondda Liberal Society 40
Rhondda Liberal-Labour Association (RLLA) 51, 72, 128, 132, 136
Rhondda Lib-Lab Executive Committee 178
Rhondda Liberals Association 38
Rhondda Miners’ Association 42
Rhondda Miners’ Strike, 1919 144
Rhondda No. 1 79, 115, 124
Rhondda No. 2 79
Rhondda Parliamentary Recruiting Committee 139
Rhondda Socialist 92, 127, 174
Rhondda Socialist Association 143
Rhondda Steam Coal Miners’ Association (RSCMH) 35
Rhondda Urban District Council 71, 126, 127
Rhondda West 129, 132
Rhos chapel, Mountain Ash 43
Rhymni 53, 56, 114
Richard, Evan, Rev., Tonypandy 74
Richard, Henry 35, 47, 122, 150, 158, 163
Richards, Evan, Rev. 47
Richards, R. J. 178
Richards, Teifion, Rev. 86
Richards, Thomas, MP 86, 100, 107, 137, 172, 185
Richards, Tom, MP 68, 92, 93, 94, 97, 98, 114, 118, 120
Roberts, Edward, Rev., Zion, Cwmafan 3–4, 168–9
Roberts, Evan 104–5, 151
Roberts, Gomer M., Rev. Dr 4
Roberts, R. Silyn 87, 151, 176
Roberts, Samuel, Llanbrynmair 2, 31, 175
Rock chapel, Cwmafan 3, 6
Roosevelt, Theodore, President 167
Rosebery, Lord 177
Roseheyworth 114
Rowlands, Bowen 51
Rowlands, Gwilym 130, 132
Royal Commission on Coal Mines 106
Royal Commission on Labour, 1891 54
Royal Commission on Mines, 1906 54
Royal Commission on Mining Royalties, 1889 54
Royal Welsh Male Choir 156
Ruskin College, Oxford 95, 97
Russia 141
St Illtyd’s Anglican Church, Llanilltud Fawr 135
St John’s Ambulance Society 161
Salem Welsh Baptist Chapel, Porth 68, 161
Salisbury, Lord 41
Salt Lake City 164
Samuel, John 75
San Francisco 102, 103, 1-4, 165
Saunders, David, Rev. 4
Saville, John 183
Scott, C. P. 140
Scott, Leslie, Sir 99
Scottish Workers’ Representation Committee 81
Scranton 103, 148, 164, 166, 168, 170
Scranton Republican 148
Seion chapel, Cwmafan 3
Seion chapel, Waunarlwydd 13
Senghennydd 99–100, 106
Shaftesbury, Lord 29
Sierra Nevada 167
Siloh chapel, Aberdare 107
Skewen 109
Sliding Scale 17, 20, 22, 30, 32, 54, 62–9, 71–2, 77–8, 102, 142, 161, 191
Smillie, Robert 54, 81, 106, 140, 148
Smith, Tom 117, 119
Social Democratic Federation (SDF) 76, 78, 80, 111, 174, 184
Socialist Review 174
Society of Rhondda Miners 42
Society of the Colliery Workmen 67
South Africa 81, 82, 155
South Glamorgan 48, 86, 89
South Wales and Monmouthshire Workmen’s Federation 61
South Wales Coalfield Conference, 1911 116
South Wales Daily News 18, 35, 43, 44, 48, 57, 87, 90, 125
South Wales Mediation Board 106
South Wales Miners Federation (SWMF), ‘the Fed’ 67, 77–8, 97, 117, 123, 127, 129, 138
South Wales Miners’ Union 59, 78, 79, 85, 93, 97, 102, 107, 113, 118, 119, 124, 140–141, 186
South Wales Steam Collieries Association 13
Stannaries Act, 1887 54
Stanton, Charles Butt/C. B. 113–14, 119, 121, 123, 129, 139
Stead, Peter 50, 88, 94, 95
Stenner, Tom 26
Stephens, Tom 156
Stepney, Arthur 51
Stonelake, Edmund 133
Sunday School 2, 4–6, 9, 27, 75, 88, 115, 130, 138, 145, 154, 157, 158, 185
Swansea 4, 5, 11, 12, 13, 28, 38, 58, 63, 67, 86, 94, 102, 120, 125, 130, 137, 158
Syndicalism 90, 95, 110, 113, 116, 119, 142, 152
Tabernacle chapel, Cwmafan 2–3, 5–6, 10–11, 53, 55, 74, 169, 191
Taff Vale 173
Taff Vale railway company case, 1906 82–4, 103
Talbot, C. R. M. 29
Tanygrisiau, Blaenau Ffestiniog 151
Tarian y Gweithiwr 18, 19, 20, 35, 41, 43, 44, 57, 64, 68, 108, 138
Tennessee 167
Tennyson, Alfred 5
Thomas, Abel, QC, MP 67
Thomas, Abraham 1, 86
Thomas, Alfred 38, 48, 82
Thomas, Alfred, Sir, MP 108, 172
Thomas, Brinley, Dr 156
Thomas, Daniel 27, 28
Thomas, David 87, 151, 152
Thomas, David Alfred/D. A., Sir 82, 94, 112–13, 115, 150, 164, 176, 178
Thomas, Evan 100
Thomas, Gwilym 28
Thomas, James 25, 28
Thomas, Jimmy 131
Thomas, John, Everton 28
Thomas, John, Rev. Dr, Liverpool 138
Thomas, Llewellyn 118
Thomas, Owen, Brigadier General, Sir 185
Thomas, Owen, Rev. Dr, Liverpool 176
Thomas, Robert 53
Thomas, Samuel 25
Thomas, T. 100
Thomas, Thomas/Tom, Ystrad 127
Thomas, William Evans, Dr 73
Thomas, William, Monmouthshire 11
Thomas, William, Ystrad 156
Thomas, W. P. 72–3, 75
Three Hundred 38, 42, 44
Tillett, Ben 202, 372
Ton Pentre 24, 25, 46, 47, 74, 75, 98, 133, 169
Tonypandy 25, 38, 72, 74, 76, 93, 108, 115, 119, 126, 130, 143, 149, 158, 174
Tonypandy riots 113, 119–20, 126, 142
Tonyrefail 5, 157
Trealaw 72, 119, 126, 134
Trecynon, Aberdare 104, 179–80
Tredegar 20, 21, 98, 123, 125
Tredegar, Lord 108, 178
Trehafod 79
Treharris 28, 173
Treherbert 23, 24, 38, 63, 73, 75, 98, 119, 126, 127, 154, 155
Treherbert County School 86
Trehopcyn 119
Treorchy 13, 38, 45, 46, 47, 72, 73, 74, 75, 98, 104, 125, 131, 138, 153, 154, 155, 156, 162, 169, 185 Tribune, The 168
Troedyrhiw, Merthyr Tydfil 24
True Ivorites 33
Trysorfa'r Plant 10
Tumble 141
Twrchfab (Son of Twrch) 64
Tylorstown 45, 47, 104Tynewydd 24, 26–8, 47
Tynewydd colliery 26, 28
Union of Welsh Baptists see Welsh Baptist Union
United American Mineworkers 168
Universal Colliery, Senghenydd 99
University of Wales 135 University of Wales constituency 129
Unofficial Reform Committee 116–18, 143
Upward, Allen 68
USA/United States 2, 6, 11, 28, 31, 35, 100–104, 107, 112, 144, 147–8, 151, 155, 164–6, 170–171, 191
Utica 100, 171
Valparaiso 10
Victoria, Queen 28, 138 Virginia 31
Walters, Captain, Truro 11
Walters, D. D., Gwallter Ddu 176
Walters, J., Nantyglo 98
Watcyn Wyn 13
Waterloo, Battle of 172 Watkins, Ben, Rev., Ferndale 74 Watkins, George 164
Watts Morgan, David/Dai/D. 93, 98, 100, 109, 123, 128–30, 132, 137, 139, 142, 178
Wattstown 25, 109, 113
Waunarlwydd, Swansea 13–14, 22, 191
Weale, Tom, Merthyr 124
Webb, Sidney 54, 162
Welsh Baptist Union/Baptist Union of Wales/Union of Welsh Baptists 48, 73, 125, 130, 145
Welsh Church Temporalities Act, 1919 150
Welsh Land Commission, 1896 157
Welsh Language Society 56, 108, 149
Wesleyan Methodists 3, 20, 45
Western Mail 28, 35, 37, 39, 43, 48, 58, 149, 150, 177, 181
Westminster 47, 53, 82, 84, 95, 96, 122, 128, 149, 150, 158, 162, 170, 178, 181
Wignall, James 165
Wilkes-Barre 104, 166
Wilkes-Barre Weekly Times 168 William, Dafydd, Llandeilo Fach 69
Williams, Arthur 51 Williams, Chris, Professor 76, 126 Williams, Cynog, Rev. 179–80
Williams, David 8, 47 Williams, Dewi, Ynyshir 41 Williams, D. J., Fishguard 64 Williams, Evan, Pontarddulais 185
Williams, Francis 83, 85
Williams, Gwilym, Judge 68
Williams, Ignatius, Chief Justice 46
Williams, J., Cilleley 161 Williams, Jenkin 57
Williams, John Ceulanydd, Rev. 68 Williams, John, Dr, Brynsiencyn 192
Williams, John, Rev., MP 92, 100, 123, 161, 163
Williams, M., Ynyshir 161
Williams, Marchant, barrister, London 38–9
Williams, Thomas Charles, Rev., Menai Bridge 168 Williams, Thomas, Mrs 137 Williams, T. Rhondda 151
Williams, T. Walter, Trecynon 180
Williams, W. Hezekiah, Rev., Ystalyfera (Watcyn Wyn) 13
Williams, William Gwrtydd 72
Williams, William, Rev., Caledfryn 155
Williams, William, Rev., Y Wern 4
Williams, W. Llewellyn, MP 140 Williamstown 51
Willis, Alfred 89
Wilson, Ben, Rev. 93
Wilson, J. H. 122
Wilson, John 82
Wilson, Stitt, Rev. 93 Windsor Castle 138 Winstone, James 88, 93, 100, 102, 110, 117, 139
Wood, J. W. 173
Wood, Lindsay, Sir 106 Woods, Sam 184
Workers Educational Association (WEA) 95 Wrexham 33, 183
Wright, Willie 133
Wyndham-Quin, Conservative MP 86 Wyoming 164
Y Babell chapel 12
Y Celt 70
Y Cymro 142, 190
Y Diwygiwr 6
Y Drych 101, 171
Y Dydd 52, 57
Y Faner 18, 56, 57, 150, 175
Y Genhinen 179
Y Gelli 25
Y Goleuad 175
Y Gweithiwr Cymreig 57
Y Gwladgarwr 18
Y Tyst 18, 57
Y Werin a’i Theyrnas 87
Ynyshir 24, 28, 41, 59, 109, 161
Ynyshir pits 25
Ynysmaengwyn 164 Yorkshire 32, 152
Young Liberals Congress 176
Yr Hen Goediwr (The Old Woodman) 64–5
Ystrad 38, 47, 72, 124, 127, 156
Ystrad Literary and Debating Society 35
Ystradfechan House 73
Ystradyfodwg 146
Ystradfodwg District Council (YUDC) 71
Zion Chapel, Cwmafan 168