Welsh Journals

England before reaching the butcher. The droving trade thus played a vital part in the economic activity of Britain, and the colourful, hardy lives of the drovers make the history of the droving trade a deeply human one. Mr. Bonser has presented us with a widely researched and fascinating account of this human story in all its various aspects: who the drovers were; the routes they took (in step-by-step detail) and the fairs they attended; the way they conducted their business and the contrast here between that of Welsh and Scottish drovers; the financial structure of the trade; the many hazards the drovers faced and the songs they sang on their journeys. The new information we are presented with of droving routes within England leading ultimately to Smithfield is particularly valuable, although some of the detail is more useful for the naturalist than the economic historian. All aspects are excellently illustrated by maps and plates. A few things mar what is essentially a good book. The author omits a basic source on the financing of the droving trade in the articles of Mr. R. O. Roberts. Reference to these would have given his study of this aspect greater penetration. The impact of the railway in ending the old system of periodic fairs is not adequately discussed: the traditional fairs declined, yes, but it would have been as well to indicate how these were replaced by the monthly fatstock auction markets. And throughout the enthusiasm the author has for his subject often leads him to an irritating discursiveness. Greater discipline in presenting impressive material would have produced an even better book. DAVID W. HOWELL Swansea MEN OF No PROPERTY: HISTORICAL STUDIES OF WELSH TRADE UNIONS. Edited by Goronwy Alun Hughes. Gwasg Gwenffrwd, 1971. Pp. 93. (Private circulation). The full story of the development of trade unionism in Wales has scarcely begun to be told. Hard though it is to believe, this collection of essays is the first of its kind ever undertaken. G. A. Hughes, the editor, reminds us in his introduction that, too often, Welsh history has been studied and taught as if it were part of English regional history. In fact, as Eric Hobsbawm has observed in a passage quoted by Hughes, Wales is 'entirely distinct from England, and cannot therefore be simply subsumed under English history or (as is more common) neglected'. Efforts to dispel this fog of error and neglect have been in progress for some time, and this book is a welcome addition. Inevitably, in a collection of this kind, quality and approach are uneven, ranging from long scholarly articles to startling brief essays. The contributors fall roughly into two categories: scholars, like V. L. Allen, Idris C. Bell, Eric Wyn Evans, E. J. Jones, Cyril Parry and L. J. Williams; and trade unionists, like Arthur Griffiths, James Griffiths, William Paynter, D. D. Evans, Oliver Jones and John Roose Williams.