ept in Great Britain, France, and
Italy, such matters being left largely to the political or police
authorities. Strikes were unlawful in England until comparatively
recent times, but were always lawful in this country, and are so by
the modern French law, which is much similar to ours, as is the case
in Italy; but in Russia the leaders of a strike may be imprisoned.

[1] Quoted in Dane's Abridgment, published in 1800.

In no country do I find any specific legislation as to boycotts,
except the English statute already referred to, repealing the common
law of conspiracy, both civil and criminal, in industrial disputes.
Germany and Austria have blacklisting laws. The matter of riots, etc.,
is generally left to the criminal law to control. In no country other
than the United States do I find any prohibition against a man's
protecting his own property with private guards, armed or otherwise.

Arbitration laws in the British colonies are very generally aimed
at the prevention of strikes. Otherwise there seems to be less
legislation on the subject during the last ten years than might have
been expected. The Orange River Colony has severe laws concerning the
labor of the blacks, of a nature resembling our peonage laws in
the Southern States. Similar conditions seem to lead to similar
legislation throughout the modern world.

Legislation is now much desired here also to obviate the effect of
the Taff Vale case and that of the Danbury hatters which applies its
principals to interstate commerce; that is to say, which shall secure
the funds of a trades-union to its benevolent purposes, or even to its
use in industrial disputes, strikes, boycotts, etc., without making it
liable for the results of litigation. In these cases the moneys in the
treasury of a trades-union, although unincorporated, have been held
responsible for damages awarded in a suit brought against the union or
its members for conspiracy under the Sherman Act, or otherwise. It
is, however, difficult to see how such legislation with us could be
devised so as to be constitutional, for it would necessarily extend
only to a certain class of persons, and be framed to exempt them
alone from a certain definite legal liability. Nevertheless it has in
England been enacted.[1]

[Footnote 1: See above, p. 268: The Trade Disputes Act, 1906, sec. 4.]

CHAPTER XIII

MILITARY AND MOB LAW, AND THE RIGHT TO ARMS

We now come to a field of legislation related to the