ABSTRACT
In April 1834 a conference of trades was held in Glasgow, at which two delegates from London were present, and it was resolved to "correspond and co-operate" with the organization there. A United Trades Association was formed in September 1837, to assist the imprisoned leaders of the Cotton Spinners' trial; the Secretary was Alexander Campbell, whose long and somewhat mysterious career embraced nearly half a century of public life. In 1854 a delegate meeting of trades was held in support of a strike in Preston. In 1855 the Operative Masons were associated with the "Central Trade Union of Glasgow." In December 1861 the "Council of Trades Delegates" issued a manifesto favouring political action, and held a demonstration demanding Parliamentary Reform. In 1866-67 the Council took an active part in the renewed agitation for Parliamentary Reform.
