held strongly together in their Gilds, and did not yet, as in later times (and as formerly the patricians), rival each other in weakening competition. The State also had changed, and no longer consisted, as before, of an organisation of many smaller states. As, after the sixteenth century, the State became in all countries continually more centralised by its kinds, it was not possible for the journeymen to act with the same facility as the craftsmen had acted in former times in the towns. Moreover, owing to the men’s isolated method of working, they had not yet acquired the same feeling of solidarity, or the same consciousness of the power of masses, as our factory hands since have. And as to the State abolishing the Craft-Gilds, Kings used the bourgeoisie as a support; first, as Henry VII. in England, against the nobility; and then, because they needed them for pecuniary reasons.... The causes of the overthrow of the Craft-Gilds arose in the bourgeoisie itself. These causes were, the rise of large capital, and its investment in manufacture. The 2nd and 3rd Philip and Mary already indicates the commencement. After stating that ‘the rich clothiers do oppress the weavers, some by setting up and keeping in their houses divers looms, and maintaining them by journeymen and other persons unskilful; some by engrossing of looms into their hands, and letting them out at such unreasonable rents as the poor artificers are not able to maintain themselves by, and much less their wives and families; some again by giving less wages for the workmanship of cloth than in times past, whereby they are forced utterly to forsake their occupations, etc.; it is enacted that no clothier, living out of a city, burgh, or market-town, shall keep more than two looms, nor more than two apprentices,’ etc. In short, the Act endeavours to protect the small masters against the competition of the rich capitalists. But neither this Act nor all the other attempts of the corporations could restrain the process of development, which, especially in consequence of a series of technical discoveries, threw manufacture altogether into the hands of the large capitalists. Handicrafts, and the corporations together with them, lost continually in importance, and only made themselves hated and despised in their endeavour to arrest the natural progress of event.” Let us sum up the origin and development of the Guild. 1. We have the family united for the protection of all its members, standing by each other, liable for each other. 2. Next we have the association of neighbours together, of many families, to form guilds of religion and brotherly love and mutual protection. 3. The crafts are found uniting for trade purposes, regulating the production, jealously watching the standards of work, fixing hours of work and prices, excluding foreigners, and importing raw material. These trade unions had no powers other than those obtained by common agreement.