 Membership peaked at 86,214 in 1874, but by now, farmers were organising in opposition to the union, employing only non-union labour and agreeing to offer standard terms of 2 shillings for a 12-hour day.More than 10,000 union members found themselves out of work; the union paid unemployment benefit, but this was unsustainable, and it gave in during July.Despite the defeat, membership initially remained high, as workers were encouraged to secretly maintain union membership while working for anti-union farmers.