Welsh Journals

Merioneth and Anglesey is given. Since the author himself insists that rioting was 'the release valve for social discontent, and not the first stirrings of revolution' (p. 193), it is perhaps a pity that he excludes many of the troubles 'caused by political and religious animosity' and racial hostility (in the industrial areas), though he mentions their occurrence. The latter appear to be related to industrial conflicts, since he suggests that almost all the Scotch Cattle who were apprehended were Welsh- speaking Welshmen (p. 106). His account of pre-industrial unrest confirms much of what has been written elsewhere about the 'moral economy' of the common people and their attempts to maintain or restore a just social order identified with tradition, especially at a time when 'the old paternalist legislation had ceased or was ceasing to be executed by both central and local authorities' (p. 204). In rural areas this seems to have been reinforced both by an unusual communal solidarity, such as was to make the task of suppressing the Rebecca riots so unusually difficult for the armed forces-especially in the 'continuous disaffection' of Cardiganshire-and by specifically Welsh ideas of customary law. Squatters-perhaps more common in a region where a rapidly growing population pressed upon vacant land- regarded themselves as justified by a custom supposedly derived from the laws of Hywel Dda. The treatment of squatter conflicts is particularly interesting, and deserves further comparative study. Unrest in the industrial area of south Wales was the more complex, and some of it-notably the Merthyr Riots-understandably puzzles Dr. Jones. Its consequences-the political radicalization of south Wales-are easier to identify than its nature and structure. Given the hostility to riots and unions of the Welsh leadership groups-÷e.g., the Baptists and the Calvinistic Methodists-and the anonymity of such terrorist movements as the Scotch Cattle, considerable obscurity remains. Whether more light can be thrown on this phase of the labour and radical movement in south Wales remains to be seen. Nevertheless, Dr. Jones has put all students of popular movements in his debt. They will read him with profit, even if they have no special interest in Wales. This is a most valuable piece of research. E. J. HOBSBAWM Birkbeck College, London DICTIONARY OF LABOUR BIOGRAPHY: VOLUME II. Edited by Joyce M. Bellamy and John Saville. Macmillan, 1974. Pp. 454. £ 20.00. FROM SERFDOM TO SOCIALISM. By James Keir Hardie, James Ramsay MacDonald and Philip Snowden, edited with an Introduction by Robert E. Dowse. Harvester Press, 1974. Pp. xxxiii, 330. £ 6.00. The appearance of the second substantial instalment of this unique and indispensable biographical guide will earn the heartfelt thanks of the growing legion of those concerned with Welsh and English labour history. As before, the entries maintain a remarkably high standard of accuracy.