Source: Reports of the Criminal Cases tried in the Municipal Court of the City of Boston before Peter Oxenbridge Thacher (Boston: 1845)

October Term, 1840
Commonwealth v. John Hunt, Patrick Hayes, Daniel O’Neal, Supplier Woods, Michael O’Connor, Edward Farrington, John Odiorne, and others unknown.

Excerpts from Boston Journeymen Bootmakers' Society constitution:

Whereas, we, the journeyman bootmakers of Boston, believing it to be a duty incumbent on us to adopt some measures in connection with our brother craftsmen of other cities and towns, in order to maintain that rate of wages which is necessary to insure us the necessaries of life, and believing too, that concentration of feeling and action is indispensable in effecting our wishes, do adopt the following constitution, pledging ourselves to be governed by and to support it in all its bearings; provided always in so doing, we do not act in opposition to the laws of the commonwealth

. . .

Art. 8, Sec. 3, [The standing committee] shall notify all journeymen workmen in the city, not belonging to the society, and invite them to join the same, and for the neglect of duty pay a fine of fifty cents . . .

Art. 12, Sec. 2, The funds of this society may be appropriated to assist any journeyman belonging to the same, who may be ten days on a “strike;” . . .

Art. 13, It is declared “that any journeyman working in the city, who does not belong to this society, after being notified of the next society meeting, and not joining at that meeting, or at the one following, shall pay a fine of two dollars.” They are expected , in this way, to induce all journeymen, willingly or otherwise, to join this society. 649

Art. 14, Any member working for a society shop, and knowing a journeyman to be at work at the same, who is not a member of the society, shall immediately give notice to the other journeymen, who, on receiving such information, shall quit work for that shop; provided, said shop shall have a majority of society men on work; but if their number be less, they may continue until work can be obtained elsewhere . . .