Supplement Containing Additions to the 1925 Edition of a New History of Great Britain and Canada: Two Volumes in One (Classic Reprint) - Softcover

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Excerpt from Supplement Containing Additions to the 1925 Edition of a New History of Great Britain and Canada: Two Volumes in One

Whereas the town was apolitical unit, the merchant gild was essentially an economic Or business organization. It existed primarily to regulate the trade and industry of the town to which it belonged; though it also performed some of the duties of a friendly or benevolent society, in looking after sick or needy members, and in making funeral arrangements for those members who died. It comprised all-the traders and craftsmen within the town, whether they were weavers, tanners, smiths, dyers, tailors, saddlers, shoe makers, or What not; and it saw, through its officials, that trade was properly conducted. It saw to it that no one attempted to undersell anyone else; and on the other hand it made sure that no one attempted to corner the market in any commodity. It was an admirable feature of the Middle Ages that even the merchant gilds did their best to ensure that only a fair price should be charged for any given article, and that inferior goods should not be placed upon the market. In some towns the merchant gild became very powerful, and occasionally it Obtained complete con trol of the government of the town. It, is a striking fact that the municipal buildings of the City of London are to day known as the Guild Hall. In other cases, the merchant gild early sank into insignificance. In view of the fact that each town has a different history, it is very difficult to make any general statement with regard to the merchant gilds at all. All one can say is that they were an interesting de velopment, in the way of trade organization, among what was at that time a despised and neglected part of the people of England, the trading and industrial class.

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