30 POLITICAL ECONOMY 



God, or rights existing through duties imposed by the law of God, 

 may be styled Divine. Rights conferred by positive law, or rights 

 existing through duties imposed by positive law, may be styled 

 emphatically legal. Or it may be said of rights conferred by posi- 

 tive law, that they are sanctioned or protected legally. The rights, 

 proper or improper, which are conferred by positive morality, may 

 be styled moral. Or it may be said of rights conferred by positive 

 morality, that they are sanctioned or protected morally. 



No one will contend that Divine law enforces the duty of 

 permitting or aiding trade-unions. Positive law may or may 

 not, as it pleases Parliament. The whole question then as 

 to the right of combination depends on the question whether 

 there is a positive moral law imposing the duty of allowing 

 or sanctioning trade-unions. Positive morality is unfortu- 

 nately less well defined than Divine and positive law. We, 

 for our part, cannot admit that any positive morality sanctions 

 such combinations if they are injurious to the country, but will 

 freely grant that so far as they are beneficent to the community 

 they have a sanction. What we wish workmen would under- 

 stand is, that they have no rights other than are sanctioned by 

 Divine law, the law of their country, and positive morality; 

 and that whether a supposed right lias or has not the sanction 

 of positive morality is a fair matter for argument, not to be 

 settled by doggedly repeating a set phrase that every man has a 

 right to vote, or a right to combine, or a right to be comfortable, 

 etc. etc., but to be proved by showing that the exercise of this 

 right benefits the community. Especially this right to combine 

 is no clear matter, and always has been and ought to be con- 

 ferred with great caution by positive law. For instance, almost 

 every man has a right to walk up and down in the streets of 

 London, but it would be intolerable that any 500 men should 

 be allowed to combine, and all walk one way, blocking up the 

 street ; when the right to combine is granted, as to Volunteers, 

 the right of walking about in any direction they please is re- 

 stricted. Any one may go into Trafalgar Square ; but a right 

 to combine, even to hold a meeting, is quite another matter. 

 And one may carry on a trade, but if several people combine 

 to carry on trade, the right to combine, whether as partners, 

 as a joint-stock or limited liability company, is conferred with 



