Mr. Nicholls then left the chair, and he with Mr. Winfrey retired from the meeting. Mr. W. B. Harris occupied it for the rest of the business, but the meeting was too excited to transact much business and it ended in confusion. Thus ended the first chapter of the Union. I left the meeting greatly perplexed, wondering if the child I had brought into being was going to be killed in its infancy. I knew its life was in terrible danger, having passed through a similar experience in the years that were past. I had, however, great hopes for the future. I think that I ought not to close this stage of the Union's history without paying a tribute to those who were going out of the movement and who jointly with me had done their best to build up the Union to its present position. In the previous pages in giving the facts of the struggles we had to pass through in the early stages of the Union it might appear that I complain rather bitterly of my colleagues who had worked with me during the four years, but nothing of the kind is my intention. No body of men have worked with greater honesty or were prepared to make greater sacrifices in the cause of human progress. Neither the president, Mr. Nicholls, nor Mr. Winfrey nor Mr. H. A. Day ever took a penny piece for time, rail fare or out-of-pocket expenses, and on one occasion these three gentlemen paid for the delegates' lunch at one of the General Council meetings. No member of the committee ever charged more than 2s. per day and his rail fare, and for the first twelve months took only their rail fare. In fact, in March we had a balance at the bank of L1,569 0s. 10d. saved in less than four years, and, when it is remembered that the members only paid 2d. per week contribution or 8d. per month, it must be admitted that there is great credit due to those men who had given so much time and labour to build up a movement of this kind. Most of them were inexperienced so far as Trade Unionism was concerned. The only mistake they made was that they endeavoured to build a strong labourers' Union on strictly commercial lines, which was not humanly possible; but the mistake was a creditable one, and these pioneers of this movement will go down to history as having laid a foundation of one of the finest movements in the world's history. I can look back with my connection with these men in the early stages of this movement with the greatest pleasure. The work was hard but it was of the pleasantest kind, and although Sir Richard Winfrey, M.P., has since allied himself with a party that is anti-progressive, he has done some good work for the agricultural labourers. I am sorry we shall always have to remain in opposite camps, and I feel it my duty to appear on a platform in opposition to him, still he must be given credit for the good work he has done.