Striving for a world transformed by justice and peace - a TL from 1827
- Thread starter pipisme
- Start date
What was in effect the executive committee of Dignity met at the house of Mr and Mrs Pritchard in the afternoon of Sunday 16 March 1873. Those present were the same persons as at the previous meeting [see post #1222] less Benjamin Williams, but Matthew Kenny was there.
Angharad Griffiths told the meeting that Swansea Commonwealth Party and Swansea Commonwealth Women's Fellowship had each passed motions to make the repeal of sections 61 and 62 of the Offences Against the Persons Act 1861 party policy.
Angharad Griffiths told the meeting that Swansea Commonwealth Party and Swansea Commonwealth Women's Fellowship had each passed motions to make the repeal of sections 61 and 62 of the Offences Against the Persons Act 1861 party policy.
Then Angharad shared the news that she had received a letter from four men at an address in Paddington, in London, offering to take on the responsibility of being the head office of Dignity. The letter also proposed that the Swansea branch of Dignity would keep half of the money they had received in subscriptions and donations, and the other half would be sent to the head office. The meeting discussed the letter and agreed to the offer and proposal contained therein.
When Eithne was born Elizabeth Kelly, Maire's friend who was her midwife, or womb-woman in Celtic tradition, sprinkled three drops of water on the baby's head while saying the following words:
A small drop of water
To thy forehead, beloved,
Meet for Father, Son and Spirit,
The Triune of power.
A small drop of water
To encompass my beloved,
Meet for Father, Son and Spirit
The Triune of power.
A small drop of water
To fill thee with each grace
Meet for Father, Son and Spirit,
The Triune of power. [1]
This was called birth-baptism. The following Sunday Eithne was baptized at St. David's Priory Catholic Church in Swansea.
Maire's had five siblings living with her and Aneurin. In descending age order with their dates of birth they were:
Caitlin: 4 September 1857
Siobhan: 31 October 1859
Sean: 15 February 1862
Brid: 9 November 1863
Mairead: 11 August 1866.
[1] Taken from The Celtic Way of Prayer: The Recovery of the Religious Imagination by Esther de Waal, London: Canterbury Press, 2010.
A small drop of water
To thy forehead, beloved,
Meet for Father, Son and Spirit,
The Triune of power.
A small drop of water
To encompass my beloved,
Meet for Father, Son and Spirit
The Triune of power.
A small drop of water
To fill thee with each grace
Meet for Father, Son and Spirit,
The Triune of power. [1]
This was called birth-baptism. The following Sunday Eithne was baptized at St. David's Priory Catholic Church in Swansea.
Maire's had five siblings living with her and Aneurin. In descending age order with their dates of birth they were:
Caitlin: 4 September 1857
Siobhan: 31 October 1859
Sean: 15 February 1862
Brid: 9 November 1863
Mairead: 11 August 1866.
[1] Taken from The Celtic Way of Prayer: The Recovery of the Religious Imagination by Esther de Waal, London: Canterbury Press, 2010.
Maire's other brother, Padraig, born 29 May 1855, was training for the priesthood at a Catholic seminary in Liverpool. O'Brien was the surname of all Maire's siblings.
Caitlin was still working at a Co-op shop in Swansea. She and Stephen Kelly, the seventeen-year old son of Elizabeth Kelly,were courting. He worked at the White Rock Copperworks in Swansea. Elizabeth was the senior shop assistant at the shop and an unpaid midwife in the local community.
Caitlin was still working at a Co-op shop in Swansea. She and Stephen Kelly, the seventeen-year old son of Elizabeth Kelly,were courting. He worked at the White Rock Copperworks in Swansea. Elizabeth was the senior shop assistant at the shop and an unpaid midwife in the local community.
The Housing Act 1872 obliged borough councils and county councils to demolish slum housing which was not fit for human habitation, and rehouse the inhabitants in council houses.
The Overcrowded Dwellings Act 1872 stipulated the minimum number of bedrooms in families of different sizes. For a two or three person family it was one bedroom; for a four to six person family it was two bedrooms; for a seven to nine person family it was three bedrooms; for a ten to twelve person family it was four bedrooms; for more than twelve persons it was five bedrooms. If there were fewer bedrooms this was designated as overcrowding and borough and county councils were empowered, but not obliged, to offer council housing to families living in overcrowded housing.
These Acts reflected the priority of the Commonwealth Party government which the Prime Minister, George Cowell, at his speech at the Commonwealth Party conference in September 1871, said was to give every person a decent home to live in.
Because Aneurin and Maire Griffiths and their two young children and Maire's five siblings living with her, all lived in a three bedroom house which they rented privately, they were not rehoused by Swansea Borough Council. Aneurin and Maire, their son David and their daughter Eithne were in one bedroom; Caitlin and Siobhan shared another bedroom; while Brid, Mairead and Sean had the third bedroom.
The Overcrowded Dwellings Act 1872 stipulated the minimum number of bedrooms in families of different sizes. For a two or three person family it was one bedroom; for a four to six person family it was two bedrooms; for a seven to nine person family it was three bedrooms; for a ten to twelve person family it was four bedrooms; for more than twelve persons it was five bedrooms. If there were fewer bedrooms this was designated as overcrowding and borough and county councils were empowered, but not obliged, to offer council housing to families living in overcrowded housing.
These Acts reflected the priority of the Commonwealth Party government which the Prime Minister, George Cowell, at his speech at the Commonwealth Party conference in September 1871, said was to give every person a decent home to live in.
Because Aneurin and Maire Griffiths and their two young children and Maire's five siblings living with her, all lived in a three bedroom house which they rented privately, they were not rehoused by Swansea Borough Council. Aneurin and Maire, their son David and their daughter Eithne were in one bedroom; Caitlin and Siobhan shared another bedroom; while Brid, Mairead and Sean had the third bedroom.
Last edited:
In January 1872 A Compendium of Results in the United Kingdom General Election of 1871 by Arthur Waldegrave was published. This gave the numerical and percentage votes for each candidate in every constituency in the general election.
John Evelyn Denison resigned as Speaker of the House of Commons on 7 February 1872, having held the post since March 1857. [1] The Commons unanimously chose John Mowbray, Conservative MP for Oxford University as his successor.
Denison also resigned as Liberal MP for Nottinghamshire North. He had been returned unopposed as member for the constituency in every general election since August 1858. The by-election was held on 26 February. Most people expected the Conservative candidate to win, but the Commonwealth Party poured in resources in the hope of obtaining a good second place. The result was as follows:
Conservative Party candidate: 41.9%
Commonwealth Party candidate: 37.3%
Liberal Party candidate: 20.8%
---------------------------------
Conservative Party majority: 4.6%
---------------------------------
Conservative gain from Liberal.
[1] As in OTL.
John Evelyn Denison resigned as Speaker of the House of Commons on 7 February 1872, having held the post since March 1857. [1] The Commons unanimously chose John Mowbray, Conservative MP for Oxford University as his successor.
Denison also resigned as Liberal MP for Nottinghamshire North. He had been returned unopposed as member for the constituency in every general election since August 1858. The by-election was held on 26 February. Most people expected the Conservative candidate to win, but the Commonwealth Party poured in resources in the hope of obtaining a good second place. The result was as follows:
Conservative Party candidate: 41.9%
Commonwealth Party candidate: 37.3%
Liberal Party candidate: 20.8%
---------------------------------
Conservative Party majority: 4.6%
---------------------------------
Conservative gain from Liberal.
[1] As in OTL.
- The Registration of Electors Act 1872 changed the date on which registers came into force in the United Kingdom to 1 January each year, from 1 December in England and Wales, and I November in Ireland and Scotland. The qualifying date for the UK was changed to 1 October each year from 31 July for England and Wales and 20 July for Scotland and Ireland. However the qualifying period was reduced from twelve months to three months. Previously voters needed to be resident in the constituency for twelve months before the qualifying date. Now they needed to be resident in the constituency, or in the borough or county in which it was situated, for only three. The age of the electoral register was calculated from the qualifying date.
- The responsibility for compiling the registers was transferred from the Poor Law overseers to the clerks of the Borough and County councils. Registration officers were appointed for each constituency and were made responsible for arranging polling districts and polling places.
Last edited:
After four years of fluctuating fortunes for each side, but neither was able to secure a decisive victory, the Treaty of Brussels ended the European war between Austria-Hungary-North Italy, France, Poland, the Rhineland Republic and other German states and the UK on one side, and Prussia and other German states, Russia and Central Italy on the other. It was signed in March 1873 and restored the status-quo before the outbreak of the war.
Historians have designated the war in Europe as the Five Years War because it lasted for five years from March 1868 to March 1873.
In his statement to the House of Commons after the signing of the Treaty of Brussels, the prime minister, George Cowell, paid tribute to the British and Irish soldiers and sailors who gave their lives defending Poland and the Rhineland Republic from Russian and Prussian aggression and tyranny. The Treaty guaranteed the territorial integrity of Poland and the Rhineland. It was not a war which Britain wanted. We did not fight it to win territory or for military glory, but it was a just war to defend the independence of small nations.
In his statement to the House of Commons after the signing of the Treaty of Brussels, the prime minister, George Cowell, paid tribute to the British and Irish soldiers and sailors who gave their lives defending Poland and the Rhineland Republic from Russian and Prussian aggression and tyranny. The Treaty guaranteed the territorial integrity of Poland and the Rhineland. It was not a war which Britain wanted. We did not fight it to win territory or for military glory, but it was a just war to defend the independence of small nations.
Among the tens of thousands of British soldiers returning home from Poland in March 1873 were Michael Kelly [age 26] and Joseph Kelly [age 25], the eldest sons of Mrs Elizabeth Kelly, Maire Griffith's friend. They received a huge welcome from their family and friends.
In the November 1873 to August 1874 parliamentary session the following bills became law before the end of March 1874, having been rejected by the House of Lords in two sessions, but had passed through the Commons in three sessions:
Living Wage.
Mothers Allowance.
Representation of the People, which gave full adult suffrage in all parliamentary and local elections to all adults age 21 or over.
Rescue of Fallen Women, which repealed the Contagious Diseases Acts 1860 and 1863.
Napoleon III, Emperor of France, died on 9 January 1873. [1] He was succeeded by his only son, Napoleon the Prince Imperial, who took the title of Napoleon IV.
[1] This was as in OTL
In the November 1873 to August 1874 parliamentary session the following bills became law before the end of March 1874, having been rejected by the House of Lords in two sessions, but had passed through the Commons in three sessions:
Living Wage.
Mothers Allowance.
Representation of the People, which gave full adult suffrage in all parliamentary and local elections to all adults age 21 or over.
Rescue of Fallen Women, which repealed the Contagious Diseases Acts 1860 and 1863.
Napoleon III, Emperor of France, died on 9 January 1873. [1] He was succeeded by his only son, Napoleon the Prince Imperial, who took the title of Napoleon IV.
[1] This was as in OTL
Napoleon, the Prince Imperial, was about two months short of his seventeenth birthday when he became Emperor of France, and was a largely unknown quantity. The prospect that he might live for another fifty to sixty years filled many people with apprehension. There had been long reigning French monarchs such as Louis XIV and Louis XV.
In September 1872 Napoleon married Gisela Louise Marie, Archduchess Gisela of Austria. She was the second daughter and eldest surviving child of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria and Elisabeth of Bavaria. On 17 September 1873 Gisela gave birth to a daughter, which she and her husband named Therese.
In September 1872 Napoleon married Gisela Louise Marie, Archduchess Gisela of Austria. She was the second daughter and eldest surviving child of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria and Elisabeth of Bavaria. On 17 September 1873 Gisela gave birth to a daughter, which she and her husband named Therese.