BRITISH LABOUR CRISIS.

Hokitika Guardian, 18 April 1921, Page 2

BRITISH LABOUR CRISIS.

CABLE NEWS.

AUSTRALIAN AND N.Z. CABLE ASSOCIATION. FORCING A COMPROMISE. u LONDON, April 15. Mr Lloyd George, Mr Chamberlain, Sir R. Horne and the mine owners waited at the Board of Trade office for 45 minutes to meet the miners, but the Miners’ Executive did not appear. They held a meeting, however, at Unity House, and it is rumoured that they disagreed regarding Mr Hodges’s proposal for, negotiations on wages alone. Thereupon Mr Hodges offered to resign, but his colleagues refused to accept his resignation.

COMPROMISE FAVOURED. LONDON, April 15. The Secretary of the Locomotive Engineers’ Union states that some other unions considered the miners would be wrong ill refusing to negotiate on the lines of Mr Hodges’s suggestion to deal with wages for a temporary settlement. WAGE POOL PROPOSED. LONDON, April 15. In the House of Commons the Prime Minister announced that the miners had decided that temporary settlement would only be possible by the concession of a national wage pool. The Government, he said, were convinced that such would be surrender, and would be disastrous to the nation, NO STRIKE ON FRIDAY. LONDON, April 15. The railwaymen, transporters, and miners’ strike arranged to start to-day (Friday) was declared off. HODGES IN DEFENCE. LONDON, April 16. Mr Hodges denied the statement regarding his resignation that lie offered it to the Miners’ Federation. A FIZZLE OUT, GENERAL STRIKE OFF. LONDON, April 15. The Triple Alliance lias declared the general strike off. FRIDAY’S HISTORIC CHANGES. LONDON, April 16. Friday saw some strange transactions, which resulted in the abandonment of the Triple Alliance general strike. Tliqse events are likely to rank as of historic importance in the annals of British Labour. Thu decision ends, at least temporarily, the solidarity ot the formidable Triple Alliance of Labour. The first symptoms of a cleavage arose during Friday morning. Then the miners, instead of meeting Mr Lloyd George, as had been arranged, spent the time in considering Mr Hodges’s attitude in offering to bargain about wages. This attitude they condemned. The “Daily News” states: At one o’clock Messrs Cramp, Gosling, Williams and Thomas, the leaders of the Triple Alliance, went to the miners’ meeting. They earnestly pressed the Miners’ Executive to re-open negotiations for at least a temporary settlement. This the Miners’ Executive refused to do. The Alliance leaders then returned to Unity House (Die Triple Alliance headquarters), and informed the conference that was proceeding there of the facts of the miners’ meeting. The cancellation of the strike was thereupon decided upon by the Alliance. The “News” says: Not only is it the strike, but the Triple Alliance that lias suffered disruption. The full effect of this event and the reactions that must follow from ft inside the Labour movement will not become known immediately. THE BREAK-UP. AMID A STORM. LONDON, April 16. Other reports state that when the delegates returned to Unity House from the miners’ meeting, and reported the position, there was strong feeling displayed. The meeting became stormy. It then hastily concluded, with a decision to call off the strike.

Mr Moore, (Secretary to. the Locomotive Engineers and Firemen’s Association) gave the Triple Alliance attitude in the following words: “As the miners have repudiated Mr Hodges, it was felt that the Triple Alliance could not support them.”

HODGES CROSS-QUESTIONED. LONDON, April 16 The Miners’ Secretary, Mr Hodges, has been severely cross-examined regarding his offer to the Members of the House of Commons. He has been forced to apologise for apparently thus receding from his attitude of the previous night. Mr Hodges came out of Unity House leaking very dejected. He then went to the miners’ headquarters and joined his colleagues. Then Mr Thomas notified some waiting journalists that the strike was off.

Meantime, the House of Commons had no idea of the fiasco that was being enacted elsewhere, until Mr Lloyd George, Mr Asquith and Mr Clvnes had spoken.

LLOYD GEORGE’S SATISFACTION LONDON, April 16

1 Mr Lloyd George learned the news officially. When the Executive of the Railwaymen and the Transporters wrote to him, lie replied:—“l am gratified to learn your unions do not : propose to resort to insensate methods ’ of attempting to compel judgment on j the question of wages by paralysing the industries of the country, bringing suffering to millions of innocent people, while the Government was urging a saner method of negotiations between the mine owners and the miners regarding the amount of disputed wages.”