CRISIS OVER.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17122, 18 April 1921, Page 7

CRISIS OVER.

MINERS' REVERSE. . 9___ IMPORTERS WITHDRAW. AID. DEVELOPMENT. - ■ a>r C*bl»—Prt*s Association—Copyright.) , and N.Z. C»b.« AMKXuatWsJ LONDON, April 15. Jjie conference of the combined Laij«i movement was one of the ffiost j in Labour history. Labour by the Parliamentary oimr the National Executive tho Labour Party, the Parliamentary of the Trade Union ConJfgg, with a deputation from tho Triple Mmce and also the Independent Lajjjjbr Party. The meeting was held in ' tfie'jowning. The decision (to support day. long it -pas hoped that conference Aimed aii successful inby bringing tfie miners and together ' again. . Such » position was actually considered, but rejected on the grpund that tJieTrime Minister had earlier asserted tjlit the dispute vm political,, and an attempt to employ direct notion to enfMM 4 species of nationalisation. The appointed a Standing comin flitch events* The decision ITlflteCPreted in some quarters to fpreiftMAW p possible general strike by the tirade union movement, owners wrqto tq the Miners' Federation at midnight:—\Ve havo deat the eleventh hour, to extend a paww inyitfrtion to the miners' load- # town with us to ppe what can Mdcme improve the lot of tho lojver- ' mlp WfJi ' Central News Agency states tliat $»&»<??«( )S attributed tp the bad inir pKMtfW created Jiy the owners' sdmjsr uop(,,f|i9n address ma mpmners. There sjwy likelihood that the morning, resumption of the negotiations Mi tM Kw» pf Mr Bodges' statsmnt.

1 , .v ?TS7? ' declare stbj£P pit. ; transports^; gtrijje' qS.';.' ' ''C -»q#ws of J&p enJjlqeefs. 4tat99. %rti unifiW yoitfKlared theminew wrong; in refusing tanegotiate qn tip pif My Hodge'a s.HEgSSt»9-; ?"'. ".. '.'" Vi" * ■ vmfo* TJ)p,fiffir mti&ft that ?pcb a surrender -would be disastrous .to thp Swiae, WAutfoa <?ham-' % and ths ffijq flopl. pf wflJHjwiq executive did aot «ip!««%{;«pS #■ is xymmuri, that they MIjFM fegwamu |kl?.£odgstf pro--PSP'fito Miwrw|fe pn >jnm Mono, jAerrtpou Mr Hofe offered to resign. His catyepgqqa retygsl to apqept the redemos % statement m;gqrd!pg flis resgn^tiqn.

FATEfUL DECISION. 5 i; .'-'< l" ■'/ ,> .•;]WP3®S* OUTBURST. ■', -■ : ' fofceiwd AfniiJ[ Ifth, fi.s p.rq,) . *" :? WWDW, April J6 t K6tails 'of the oopferenoe which fed ; te> t|» abandonment of the strike show '.tflft. ja the worping, tolled the ftfeerg ts?tt th« 7 fhoiild Mr .JwfaoEftl. . tj»4er he,<fl%wt feel like wlHfla obt the The majority: of the executive- rf the trans--5 porters of [ the 8&W0 opinion. the attopgjy offtfed to redgq, bi}t hia ofitf, ' «M*d ieaapparters to--iwn«d .t»-their headquarters, and cofltjio conference alppe. The disvJsiinop there developed /into an acjiwrapglp fegfoTO. the fateful deWhen the result ' tfthovotewas annoppeefl in favour the of- the strike, an 5 £ nc^®f2f^®9 oe JJWMM f°r almost a <, an angry showfr "Traitors I . pafe in the liuohl" the . 4 tha transporters, or twoftjliyaymeq, who car-. 1 cancellation resolution rather , t>' As one* said: "Wei Are sick of : tfte v whole damned busij§pe«i.":z^;;. -j ' * f{i Mr ...Ajtevnined |regpS«iing l the\pffer to the k' ) iP,«se.o| Commons, and forced to apo« ~*V from his * s "; ittatttda jbrxhe, previous SJr 3 ' lodges tame out of Unity House look- , j very dejected.-A He w!ent to the ;;j rimers' headquarters and joined his i' jjUeagMji,. .Thongs notified. v,,*he i ffas House of Commons had no idea i 'Of the fiasco being enacted" elsewhere Uoyd •worgo, Mr Asqufth, 1 Mr J.;R, Clynes nad spoken. afterwards. ;Mp Cfeoke. jl South W u ftleß member the Miners, • "jsecutyre, sMd;;. "We hav® been h&- ; fe»yed .by Triple MUftnpe- We: ' with Wo fieht as are.": , Ripharda, asked for a frank '' Jpinion of tlfe raflwaymen and traqs,r|ertere, said: u Jt would be unprintMr Strait#; MoHhnmbeßand secrey Ijryr'declaieq.: .{I am about v i ' j,t. ; •.'■ ■■ A, s'Mr {jEodges lu(s;:decided>i.tof summon i#J -conference of all coalfields, repreforthwith. '~|MiThe feeling among the nuners is thi^t (®p, Hodfijes went oevond Jiis brief ui t leaking tne offer he'did. , strike continues. is generally predicted'that the •of the railwayoteirs and; • the miners ■ vfljul result lDh.tho breaking up of the i Alliance, and alao cause dissenjlgh r'in the <(: nulwaymen's altad transunions, several branches of • Ifilfast the of desertain of the miners, tfife _mii»en» .. wo : ojctensively fflmijg coal stacks. Over £20,000 Sph; has been taken.

CAUSE OF' THE CLEAVAGE.

REFUSAL TO REOPEN NEGOTIATIONS. {Received April 17th, 5.5 p.m.) LONDON, April 16. The first symptom of cleavage arose during the morning, when th» miners, instead of meeting Mr Lloyd George, as arranged, spent the time considering Mr Hodges's attitude, wihich they condemned. The "Daily News"- says that at 1 o'clock Messrs Cramp, Gosling, Williams, and Thomas, leaders of the Triple Alliance, -went to the miners' meeting, and earnestly pressed the exe-. cutjve to re-open negotiations for at feast a temporary settlement. As the executive steadfastly refuged, the Alliance leaders returnd to Unity House, and informed the conference proceeding there of the facts. The cancellation Of tljo strike was thereupon decided upon. It was not only the strike but the Triple Alliance which suffered disruption. The full effect of this event, and the reactions that must follow inside the Labour movement will not become known immediately. Other reports srtate that when • the delegates returned to Unity House from the miners' meeting, and reported the position, strong feeling was displayed. The meeting became stormy, and hastily concluded, with the decision to call off the strike.

Mr Moore, secretary to the Locomotive Engineers and Firemen's Association. gave the Triple Alliance attitude in tne following words: ''As the miners repudiated Mr Hodgea, it was felt that the Alliance could not support them." The next stage was the sending out of telegrams by Messrs Thomas and Cramp announcing that the strike had been cancelled, and ordering all to remain at work. Tfte news was variously received in different centres. It came as a thunderclap in South Wales, where the railwaymen and pitmen had completed final arrangements f?r a Btrike. These men were furiously angry. The local leaders with difficulty retrained them from calling indignation meeting? and condemning the London leaders.

Scotland is Quieter, but the miners are intensely embittered.

THE TRANSPORTERS' ACTION. QTJ-ICIM. ANNOUJICEMEIfT. (keceired April 17th, 5.5 p.m.) , liONDQN, April 18The executive of the Triple Alliance, after a lopg meeting to-day, jssued a .gtatamftpt that the joint conference of railwayman, transporters, and locomotive iiaen, haying liad to cancel the strike in consequence of . the cqnfusion confronting the conference yesterday; no reasonable hope remained r/f securing spontaneous upited aptipn by the three bodies, which is essential to give the miner# the help they sought, A. partial, hopelessly incomplete sympathy stoppage would hsve weakened the organisations without materially helping the mipera. IJiiti}. TJjuraJay nightthere ijnas evew hope of-a tremendous display of woriongTclaw solidity. Subsequent oiromnßtapces, wk icll y e ww°w dl y regret, destroyed tho ftrpi gtound mn which, the Triple Alliance stake call was bu&, leaving, jbo other alternative than (sftttMlWtiqw.

RECEPTION JN THE COMMONS. EXCITEMENT. ; (Received °A|>rU 17th, p-i».) ; < LONDON, April 16. decision of the Alliance paused a Benetton in the gouse of Ooipmojte. ■' The first jntimatiop thftt. the strike was pff.cfwne by telegrapi tq Mr Lloyd Gflorge. Mr J. B. Olynes was not aware, of the change, and was actually telling the House that the railwayman and transport erg coqld not desert their com- 5 rades, when Mr Lloyjl George rose and announced tho Alliance decision, amid unprecedented exoitement, emotion,' ond cheering. '' . Mr lijoyd George, speaking in the: Hopse pf Commons prttfr to. tho announcement that the strike had been <JecJare<J off, Raid he had just received a letter ffotn the Minon' Federation refusing a temporary settlement of tho wages question unleas national wages; ana » national pool were concededThere copld be po doubt what the issue would ho. The Government wa«. firmly of opinion that surrender on the ques? tiop of oontrol Vrould bo disastrous to the interests; of the country, -It was thoroughly realised by-the Government that tnis was hot a struggle in order tq challenge the owners' figures. My Ijloyd'George, when he learned thrf news officially from the executives of the railwaymen and transporters, replied as follows:- 1 —"I am gratified to learß that your anions do not propose to retort to iflserisjite methods'of attempting to cqmpel judgment on a question of wages by paralyifinjg the indus-, tries of the country, bringing suffering to millions of innocent people, while the Government » urging a saner method of negotiation between the mine-owners and the miners regarding the amount of tho disputed wages."

EFFECT OF ABANDONMENT.

DISRUPTION OF. ALXfAtfOE. (Received April 17th, JLS p.m.) LONDON, April 16. The strange trarisaotions on Friday, resulting in the abandonment of the general strike, are likely to rank as of historic importance in British labour, ending, at least temporarily, the solidarity of the formidable Triple Alliance. The "Daily Herald" says"Yesterday was the heaviest defeat that has ' befallen the Labour movement within the memory of man. It is useless trying to minuhise it. One misunderstanding or mistake such as Mr Hodges m&dg ' could 'not have stopped the strike and brought about the present disaster. Not onei, not a hundred, not a thousand sucn trivialities could have affected the issue if the whole movement had heen solid in organisation and understanding. That is where the fatal weakness lies. What we need is new machinery and a new spirit. The. old machinery failed in the hour of emergency. Ouc of this crash can come a bigger, better fight-on broader lines. Sectionalisia ia the weakness of the Labour movement, and must be discarded." The "Morning: Post" says recent events have undoubtedly impressed-tha publio mind that the time has come when tho powerful trade unions must lie taught that it in not their busineea to govern the country. A means innsß be found to restrain their operations within legitimate limits. The great trade unions have .combined to impose, a new tyranny on the cbnunnnity, anct usurp the functions of Parliament. ■ "The 'Kmeß" sava news, from the storm centres is _ awaited with a certain amount of apxiety. It is estimated that the Government's precautionary 'measures have cost the taxpayers fifty millipns sterling. The. Labour corres- - pendent of , "The Times" writes that the miners' allies' withdrawal of sup-1 port is recognised on ali hands as sig-1

nifviag the dissolution of ttio TVint« Alliance and the rebuffing of eraticm of extremists, who are left to shape for themselves 8 new policy to save the Miners' Union from The miners' continuance of the struggle' to the bitter end They expect a fcopeless defeat, but declare that they on] y be beaten bv starvation. Th e Government is not relaxing its efforts to settle the strike, and is meanwhile continuing the emergency arrangements and the conservation of food and coal The coal-owners are stall in London hoping for a resumption of negotiations.

MINERS TO CONFER. CONTINUANCE Op STRIKE. .(Received April 17th, 6,5 p . m v LONDON, April 16. The miners' executive has adjourned. The are proceeding to the various districts to confer with the local branches. They reassemble in London on Thursday. Mr Hodges that pending a full conference of miners' delegates on Thursday, work will not he resumed on the coalfields. RACE MEETINGS CANCELLED. (Received April 17th, 5.5 p.m.\ London, April 16. At the Government's request the Jockey Club has cancelled all racing under its rules till further notice