396 lines
19 KiB
Plaintext
396 lines
19 KiB
Plaintext
EDINBURGH'S OTHER TATTOO
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by Ellis D. Hayes
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COUNCILLORS were unable to nod off at the year's first meeting of
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Lothian Region on February 1. The walls of their plush chamber,
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like the square outside, reverberated to the rhythms of massed
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drums, beating out rebellion, paradiddling protest, rapping out a
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tattoo of rage at the violent eviction of the Council-owned
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Edinburgh Unemployed Workers Centre last December, during which
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23 unemployed activists were arrested and charged.
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As the drumming reached a crescendo the councillors could hardly
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hear themselves lie.
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The blood-stirring primal rhythms were laid on by the Sativa
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Drummers and the Women's Drumming Collective, a must at any good
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demo. Both outfits were involved in the occupation of the
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Centre.
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Scores of angry protesters accompanied the beat with whistles and
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yells of "Give us back our Centre !"
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For 6 months the Broughton Street Centre had been occupied, as
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both a protest against the corrupt actions of Lothian Region and
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their lackeys and as a display of determination to keep the
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self-managed and unfunded community space open. A stone's throw
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from the centre of Edinburgh, which is now Europe's fourth
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business capital, unemployed and homeless activists barricaded
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themselves in and continued to run a cheap cafe, offer benefits
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advice, operate a crche, and maintain a wide variety of groups
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and workshops, while the Labour Council seethed with anger.
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Their eviction notice had been torn to confetti.
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(For the full story of the fight for the Centre and its history
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see the last issue of Scottish Anarchist)
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GET BACK TO THE GUTTERS, YOU SCUM
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At dawn on December 1st the sleeping occupation nightshift was
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yanked from its slumbers by the sounds of the Centre's back doors
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being smashed in. The Emergency Phone Tree was activated before
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the nightshift was flung out by the invading bailiffs and pigs.
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Within half an hour Centre activists and supporters were tackling
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the police. A sympathetic Herald journalist takes up the story :
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"Police and sheriff officers acting on the instructions of
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Labour-controlled Lothian Regional Council smashed their way
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into an unemployed workers' centre which was being used as a
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soup kitchen and shelter for the homeless.
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The dawn action involved the ejection of four of the
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activists, who have been occupying the former school building
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in Broughton Street, Edinburgh, since last June when the
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council terminated their lease.
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They have used the building 24 hours a day since then, as a
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cheap, vegetarian cafe during the day, a meeting place for
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community and political groups, and by night many of those who
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kept the occupation going were homeless people who would
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otherwise have been on the streets.
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One of those present when sheriff officers and police arrived
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yesterday was a homeless man, who gave his name as Graham.
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"They came in about 7.30," he said. "They couldn't get in
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through the front door but at the same time they were breaking
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in at the back. They caught us on the hop.
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"There were only four of us here. One guy spoke and there
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were two others in plain clothes plus several police."
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Campaigns against the poll tax, Criminal Justice Bill, and VAT
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on fuel were operated from the building, causing resentment
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among regional councillors....
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Ironically, one of the users of the building was the Beltane
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Fire Society, which will be involved in the council-sponsored
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Hogmanay celebrations. Other users included a women's
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drumming workshop, members of which gathered around the
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building yesterday to beat out their protest.
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"The Centre has so much support that the only way they could
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evict us was to bring in the police," said one of the
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organising committee, Mr Michael Stevenson....
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A police spokesman said they always back sheriff officers if
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they were advised that a disturbance is likely.
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Councillor Keith Geddes, the leader of the ruling Labour group
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on Lothian Regional Council, dismissed criticism that a Labour
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authority should not be acting in this way.
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He said: "We took a decision some time ago to terminate the
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lease. Since then, they have continued to occupy the premises
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and we felt it was time to restore the premises to council
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use."
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He rebuffed the suggestion that it was wrong for a Labour
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authority to shut down a building which provided cheap food
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for the poor and shelter for the homeless.
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Calling the occupiers "unrepresentative", he said:
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"Superficially, it might well appear ironic but, in the long
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term, we believe we will use the building far more
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effectively.""
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23 protesters were arrested and charged for taking part in the
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6-hour struggle against 70 police officers, and hauled off to St.
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Leonard's police cells. The Labour Council had hoped for a swift
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and easy dawn eviction. They must have been disappointed.
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NOR IRON BARS A CAGE
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In the stuffy soundproofed single cells of St. Leonard's the
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struggle continued. The stainless-steel cludgies proved to be
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excellent drums and the rhythm of resistance rang around the
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copshop, made more effective by a 'scream-in' in the women's
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wing, while the big-gutted turnkeys fretted and yelled threats of
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dire retribution.
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By 1am all the arrested demonstrators had been released.
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Coincidentally, the blacksmith's van which had turned up to lock
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the Centre Collective out was discovered near the police station
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with its windows done in.
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The Crown Office dropped the charges against all but three of
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those arrested. Ten days after the eviction hundreds rallied
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outside the locked-up Centre to protest its closure while the
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drums rapped out their tattoo. And on February 1st they were
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back outside the Council chambers, deafening the toadying
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wretches within.
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As the demo broke up and drifted away some folk were heard to ask
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"Who was the wee guy with the old-fashioned drum?" Others
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said that they'd seen no such person, that it must've been a
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ghost.
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Indeed it was. Your reporter, who knows something of such arcane
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matters, can now inform that it was no less than the rebellious
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spirit of Bowed Joseph Smith, back from the grave with his drum,
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to haunt the Council.
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BOWED JOSEPH'S DRUM
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Around the year 1760 the Edinburgh Town Council and its
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well-heeled allies found themselves faced with a formidable
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opponent in the shape of Joseph Smith who was a frequent, if
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unwelcome, visitor to the Council Chamber. This was described by
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a contemporary as 'a low-roofed room, very dark and very dirty,
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with some small dens off it for clerks. Within this Pandemonium
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sat the Council, omnipotent, corrupt, impenetrable. Nothing was
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beyond its grasp, no variety of opinion disturbed its unanimity.'
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Some things never change.
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Joseph Smith was a cobbler who lived in the Cowgate, an area of
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squalid tenemented poverty in the shadow of the Castle Rock.
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Deformed from birth - hence the 'bowed' - Joseph was possessed of
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'great muscular strength in the arms' and an equal strength of
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character in the face of oppression which led to his becoming
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Auld Reekie's foremost and best-respected grassroots organiser.
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Chambers, in his Traditions of Edinburgh, says that after Joseph
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'had figured for a few years as an active partisan of the people,
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his name waxed of such account with them that it is said that he
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could, in the course of an hour, collect a crowd of not fewer
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than 10,000 persons.....' To rally a spontaneous demo Joseph
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Smith 'employed a drum...and, never, surely, had the fiery cross
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of the Highland chief such an effect upon the warlike devotion of
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his clan as Bowed Joseph's drum had upon the spirit of the
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Edinburgh rabble.'
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Rabble? At the time the city's entire population was less than
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80,000 and considering that the beat of Bowed Joseph's drum could
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muster 10,000 in an hour, that's quite a rabble. Robert Chambers
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was a respectable businessman whose brother later became Lord
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Provost so his bias is understandable. But even he admits that
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Joseph Smith 'was never known to act in a bad cause, or in any
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way to go against the principles of natural justice... it was
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apparent that almost everything he did was for the sake of what
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he designated fair-play. Fair play indeed was his constant
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object, whether in insulting the constituted authorities, sacking
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the granary of a monopolist, or besieging the Town Council in
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their Chamber.'
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OMNIPOTENT, CORRUPT, IMPENETRABLE....
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When word of council corruption or decisions adversely affecting
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the poor folk of Edinburgh leaked out it wasn't long before Bowed
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Joseph's drum could be heard beating out its tattoo of resistance
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beneath the town's towering 'lands' and up and down its fetid
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closes, while the townsfolk rallied to its call and besieged the
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Council chamber.
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Bowed Joseph and a delegation would be invited in to the chamber
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for consultations. 'With one hand stuck carelessly into his
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side, and another slapped resolutely down upon the table - with a
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majestic toss of the head... he would stand before the anxious
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and feeble council pleading the just cause of his compeers, and
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suggesting the best means of assuaging their just fury. He was
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generally dispatched with a promise of amendment and a hogshead
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of good ale...' The ale was shared around. Direct action gets
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the goods.
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But Joseph was no ego-tripping, careerist politician riding on
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the backs of the people. When the demo was over, and the cause
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won, Joseph would return to his Cowgate cobbling. He never
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sought any office or financial gain. He was a focus, a
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rallying-point of popular protest, nothing more. Nor did he need
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a crowd with him to make a point. When the High Court made a
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notoriously unjust decision, Bowed Joseph stopped the Lord Chief
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Justice's sedan-chair in the street and demanded of him,
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Scotland's highest judge, that he explain the justice of his
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decision. Later, when the House of Lords reversed the court's
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decision, Joseph dressed 15 scarecrows in rags and wigs,
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'representing the judicial attire', one dummy for each of the
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Scottish Law Lords, and paraded them around the High Street on
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the backs of asses. There's an idea!
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Nor was it only Establishment figures who earned Bowed Joseph's
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scorn. When the Guild of Shoemakers (which Joseph, as a
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shoe-repairer wasn't able to join) held their annual parade,
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Joseph met them at the city gates. Wearing a tin crown and
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carrying a wooden ruler like a mace, he stooped before the
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elitist guildsmen and apologised profusely for being only a mere
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cobbler. The onlookers loved it. The proto-trades unionists
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were deflated.
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But there were more serious issues to contend with.
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CLASS WAR IN THE CLOSES
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The news filtered down to Joseph's dank den in the Cowgate. 'A
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poor man in the Pleasance, having been a little deficient in his
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rent, and in the country on business,' writes Chambers, returned
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to find that 'his landlord had seized and rouped (poinded) his
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household furniture, turning out the family to the street. On
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the poor man's return, finding the house desolate, and his family
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in misery, he went to a neighbouring stable and hanged himself.
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Bowed Joseph did not long remain ignorant of the case; and as
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soon as it was generally known in the city, he shouldered on his
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drum, and after beating it through the streets for half an hour,
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found himself followed by several thousand persons, inflamed with
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resentment at the landlord's cruelty.' The city guard, popularly
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known as the Town Rats, never interfered. They 'peeped forth
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like cautious snails on hearing his drum' then 'drew in their
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horns... and shut their door as he approached.'
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The irate crowd rallied in a local park and decided on revenge.
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They marched to the landlord's house. He had already fled so
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they removed every article from the premises, heaped it up in a
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pile, and set fire to it 'while the crowd rent the air with their
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acclamations. Some money and banknotes perished in the blaze -
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besides an eight-day clock which, sensible to the last, calmly
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struck ten as it was consigned to the flames.' It is noteworthy
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that none of these poverty-stricken townsfolk thought of keeping
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the money, the clock or anything else for themselves.
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On another occasion, during a food-scarcity, the Edinburgh slum
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dwellers, with Joseph and his drum to the fore, had forced all
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the meal-dealers to sell their stocks at a low price, or have
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their shops closed down. 'One of them, whose place of business
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was in the Grassmarket, agreed to sell his meal at the fixed
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price, for the good of the poor, as he said, and he did so under
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the superintendence of Joseph, who stationed a party at the
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shop-door to preserve the peace and good order, till the whole
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stock was disposed of...' The crowd gave three cheers then
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dispersed with their much-needed foodstuffs.
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Next day the merchant boasted to his friends that he had used
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dodgy weights and short-measured the folk of a quarter of what
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they had paid for. His boastful words leaked back to the hungry
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townsfolk. Bowed Joseph set about 'collecting a party of his
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troops, beset the meal dealer before he was awake and compelled
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him to pay back a fourth of the price of every peck of meal sold;
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then giving their victim a hearty drubbing, they sacked his shop,
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and quietly dispersed as before.' Justice was done.
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THE END OF BOWED JOSEPH
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For twenty years the poor of Edinburgh used Joseph's drum as a
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rallying call to fight back against oppression and corruption in
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the Council Chambers. Landlords, monopolists and councillors
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shuddered at his name. The police could do nothing in the face
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of such massive popular resistance. Neither could the
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magistrates who 'patronised him rather from fear than respect.'
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It is a shining example of people power.
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In 1780, while returning from the Leith Races, an annual gala
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beside the sea and a holiday for the Edinburgh folk, Bowed
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Joseph, drunk as a Lord, fell from the top of a coach and died.
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The powers-that-be exacted a subtle revenge. Joseph's twisted
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skeleton was displayed in the city's medical museum.
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Bowed Joseph never exploited his popularity, never ran for office
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or took money. He never sold out. If the Auld Reekie
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establishment thought that Joseph's death would mean an end to
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popular resistance, then they were in for a shock. Four years
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after his death there were massive food riots in the city.
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Joseph had been only a rallier, but an exceptionally good one.
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There have been many like him, men and women, who have
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disappeared into the mists of time, as Joseph would have had not
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Robert Chambers written of him. 'History' is the lie of rulers,
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kings and emperors and their lackeys. The full chronicle of
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popular resistance in Edinburgh remains to be told, from the tale
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of the Blue Blanket right up to modern-day accounts of the 70's
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council-rent strikes, the 80's occupations of council chambers
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during the DHSS strike which successfully forced the Council to
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issue food vouchers, to the demos and occupations against the
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Labour Council's passive acceptance of the Poll Tax - right up to
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the 6 month occupation of the Unemployed Workers Centre and its
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smashing by Labour-run Lothian Regional Council.
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That fight isn't over yet.
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THE BEGGAR'S BIBLE
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As February's drumbeats boomed around that den of thieves called
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the Council Chamber, councillor Brian 'Killer' Cavanagh announced
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that the council had donated z2,000 towards the cost of a booklet
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called A Guide to Surviving on the Streets of Edinburgh.
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Cavanagh, the Labour chair of the social work committee and one
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of those most responsible for the smashing of the Centre, had
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reached the pinnacle of cynical hypocrisy. z2,000 towards
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telling people how to live on the streets? Bastard. The police
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recently admitted that the eviction of the Centre, which was
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unfunded and self-supporting, cost Lothian taxpayers z5,300. A
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recent request to the Region from the New Town, Broughton and
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Pilrig Community Council, who had supported the Centre, asking
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how much it had cost to guard the evicted centre day and night
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with a private security firm, was answered with 'this will be the
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subject of a future report'. Bastards. These politicians are
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the real beggars, morally, ethically and socially.
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Four months after the violent eviction, the once-thriving Centre
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building remains locked and bolted, degenerating into graffittied
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dilapidation, a symbol of politicians' determination to deny
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ordinary people a space to autonomously organise outside Party
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and Trade Union control.
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The Council may have taken back the building - for now - but they
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have been forced to spend a small fortune to stop it being
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re-occupied, and have been unable to make good their promises
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that it will be used for council-approved community uses. The
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Centre collective's appeals for solidarity from other voluntary
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organisations have been widely reported in the press. The Herald
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and Post wrote:
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'The Centre spokesman said....
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"Basically the Regional council is either going to have to
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keep the Broughton Street building locked and guarded...or
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rent it back to the community."...
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"We are appealing to all charities and voluntary organisations
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that might be approached to use the building to refuse. If
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they accepted they would be co-operating with the Region in
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closing down the centre."
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And he warned that if any group did try and use the building,
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campaigners would take "peaceful direct action" to stop them.'
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The eviction hasn't stopped the everyday resistance practised by
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the Centre activists. Subversion continues from an unlikely
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temporary home in the basement of a church hall. Advice and
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solidarity on benefits hassles and poll/council tax arrears,
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leafleting dole offices, benefit gigs including an extravaganza
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for International Women's Day, regular minibus excursions to the
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direct action against the M77 in Glasgow, alternative literature
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distribution - all are contributing to a continuing culture of
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resistance. So enraged are the authorities that the iron fist
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hasn't crushed the Centre that the police have waged a campaign
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of intimidation against the church where the Centre is based,
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threatening dire consequences if the Centre is not removed from
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the church premises.
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Now the Centre collective plans a new initiative. The hunt is on
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for a cheap shopfront which can be rented and provide space for
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an info-shop, small cafe, meetings, and a general gathering point
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for the dispossessed.
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THE BEAT OF THE DRUM
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We look forward to the coming day when the beat of the drum will
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summon in half an hour 10,000 of those who are currently
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telly-hypnotised and mortgage-ridden onto the streets to fight
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for a better life, free from politicians and all of capitalism's
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stagemanagers. Better, of course, if it were 100,000. Better
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still, a million, or more. Bowed Joseph lives.
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***********************
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The Centre hopes to move to new premises this May or June. In
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the meantime make contact through the permanent postal address :
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The Centre, c/o Peace and Justice Centre, St. Johns, Princes St.,
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Edinburgh (mail only), or ring 0131 557 0427.
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*************************
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