Preston 1842

A melancholic memorial from 1992 stands outside the Preston Corn Exchange at the bottom of Lune Street, which now calls itself Preston 1842. Three civilians are about to be shot by four soldiers. The latter belonged to the 72nd Highlanders and the civilians were loom weavers who had been awarded a twenty-five percent paycut on account of economic recession. In August 1842, the Mayor, Samuel Horrocks, had literally read the Riot Act, for the weavers had been smashing windows and throwing stones in their frustration. Four were killed and at least three seriously injured.

When I inspected it, the local trades unions had laid flowers to remember the causalities. To this day, tension and potential conflict remains between employer and employee, rich and poor, active and inactive. The new Labour government will have its own priorities in this regard, but economic justice will always elude fallen humanity. Those who seek it often ignore the One whose very existence demands it. The New Testament’s admission of slave-master relationships, while stressing their temporal, earthly duration, reminds us of the need to be fair in our dealings with each other, for there is One to whom we shall all give account.