RAD098

Excerpts from Aberdeen City Council meetings relating...

These excerpts from December 1925 to October 1926, show Aberdeen City Council's reaction to the General Strike.

RAD112

Excerpts from Municipal Affairs Aberdeen, 1833-1946

The first of these two excerpts gives the date on which Isabella Burgess became the first woman in Aberdeen to be elected a Town Councillor.

RAD159

The Clarion, Election Supplement

The Clarion was a weekly Socialist paper which ran between 1891 and 1931, covering the whole of Britain. The first page of this Election Supplement is specific to the forthcoming Aberdeen By-Election held in 1907. The paper is backing the Socialist candidate, Fred Bramley, who was to come third in the...

RAD164

The Most Important Thing in the World

Originally delivered as a Socialist lecture, James Leatham's article looks forward to the establishment of a Co-operative Commonwealth. In a Co-operative Commonwealth, local bodies administer their own local services; railways, canals and mines are nationalized - run by the state, and the post office...

RAD169

Should Women Have the Parliamentary Vote?

In this article, James Leatham considers why women should not have the vote. Socialists were not in agreement with women's suffrage.

RAD170

The Gateway Strathspey

James Scott Skinner (1843 - 1927) and James Leatham (1865 - 1945) were friendly and collaborated on more than one occasion. Skinner composed this dance tune as an advertisement for LEatham's periodical, The Gateway. He published The Gateway from 1912 until his death in 1945.

RAD171

The Only Way with the Land being the Socialist Way

In this pamphlet, Leatham argues that land should not be owned by individuals - wealthy capitalists. Instead, it should be under collective ownership and used for the good of all.

RAD173

Letter from C M Grieve to James Leatham

This letter to Leatham is from Christopher Murray Grieve, better known as the writer Hugh McDermaid, who at this time was a Scottish Nationalist. The letter reads: Postponed sending p.o. [postal order] with intention of visiting you - but alas! Too often when I do that things get "snowed under". In...

RAD174

Letter from J. Ramsay MacDonald to James Leatham

Letter from Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald to James Leatham. Leatham and MacDonald had a long correspondence, mainly about political matters. Ramsay writes to thank Leatham for his support of the National Insurance Bill in a leader he wrote for the Worker. Mr Snowden was not a popular member of the...

RAD175

'Back on to our Socialism', An Open Letter to the Right...

In this open letter to his friend, Ramsay MacDonald, which he published in Gateway, Leatham points out that the government has not delivered the socialist promises made in 1918. As Leatham states at the end of the letter, ‘What we want is to stop the State being used for the benefit of a small number...

RAD176

Letter from J. Ramsay MacDonald to James Leatham

In this letter, J. Ramsay MacDonald tries to reassure James Leatham that in spite of what he [Leatham] might think, MacDonald and his colleagues do consider themselves to be members of the Labour party.

RAD177

Letter from J. Ramsay MacDonald to James Leatham

J. Ramsay MacDonald praises the Gateway. In common with many other correspondents, MacDonald points out that although he does not often agree with everything that Leatham publishes, he still admires the quality of it. He also suggests that Leatham should accept the provostship that the town of Turriff...

RAD178

James Leatham - obituary from the Turriff Advertiser

The obituary describes Leatham as ‘prophet, publicist, pioneer and printer’ and points out that he had a ‘practical outlook’.

RAD179

Photos

Two images of James Leatham. In the second, Provost Leatham is first on the left, beside his wife.

RAD180

Votes for Women: For and Against

The case for votes for women is put by a woman. She points out that women want the vote for the same reasons as men did. It is ridiculous that a female landowner cannot vote whilst her male servant can. Women pay rates and income tax but do not have equal status with men. Leatham disagrees with each...