1901 - A protest against the war at Swinton, Lancashire.
....A curious scene was enacted at Swinton, near Manchester, yesterday. Mr. Mills, the local Inland Revenue officer, conducted a sale to cover the income-tax which Mr. William Bleakley, a local mill manager, had refused to pay, in order to manifest his disapproval of the South African campaign. The drawing-room suite having been knocked down to Mr West, a local Quaker, for five guineas, the sale ceased, this amount covering the tax and costs. A meeting followed, at which Mr. E. West and Mr. Bleakley gave addresses. Mr. Bleakley said the next generation would feel the effects of the South African war. A war to have prevented the Armenian atrocities would have been just, but the South African war was an unholy business throughout.
Sheffield Evening Telegraph, Tuesday 31st July 1901
....At Swinton, the local Inland Revenue officer conducted a sale to cover the income-tax which Mr. William Bleakley, mill manager, had refused to pay as a protest against the war. Over 1,000 people assembled, and a local Quaker having purchased a drawing-room suite for five guineas, the sale ceased. A resolution expressing sympathy with Mr. Bleakley and protesting against the war spirit was unanimously carried.
The Gloucester Citizen, Tuesday 31st July 1901
