=New Unions. Women’s Trades Union Association.=--Between 1888 and 1890 a number of new unions, including the Amalgamated Laundresses with several branches, Matchbox-makers of Shoreditch and Bow, Box-makers and Confectioners, were formed in London. Of these some were formed under the auspices of the new association mentioned above, the Women’s Trades Union Association. This society aims at promoting unions whose funds shall be devoted solely to trade purposes, contributions for sick and out-of-work benefits being either optional or non-existent. In the opinion of those who formed the new society the starvation wages paid to women in many trades render it difficult, if not impossible, to secure subscriptions upon a scale high enough to allow for sick benefits, and they consider it best therefore to devote attention entirely to strengthening the workers’ position in their respective trades. There is something to be said for this view of the question, and it is possible that, following the lines of the “new unionism,” women’s societies may come into existence which would hardly have been formed upon any other method. Some belonging to the older organisation, as, for instance, the Matchbox-makers’ Union, have already adopted a purely trade basis for combination. The majority however give sick and out-of-work benefits, and in many districts the “club” aspect of a union is that which appeals most strongly to women unexperienced in combination. The question is one with which men’s unions are much occupied at present, and its final solution cannot be foretold as yet.