The Daily News. MONDAY, MARCH 4, 1912. THE CRISIS IN BRITAIN.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 210, 4 March 1912, Page 4

The Daily News. MONDAY, MARCH 4, 1912. THE CRISIS IN BRITAIN.

The efforts of the British Premier to bring about a settlement in the coal trade dispute have failed. The men are firm in their demand for a minimum wage, and simply decline to meet the ; owners in further conference. The Government, according to Mr. Asquith's statement, concede the principle of a minimum wage, as do sixty-eight per cent, of the mine-owners. The miners' demand in itself is not unreasonable, when the dangerous and arduous work they are engaged in is considered. All colliers deserve to be treated well, but iu the Old Country shareholders' dividends and coal-owners' royalties are held to take precedence over the rights of the people who make these dividends and royalties possible. As the British Premier pointed out, the men are trying to achieve a minimum wage, not for the purpose of raising the wages of the coal-miners as a whole, as the bulk already get about, the minimum, but to assist about 20 to 25 per cent, -of their fellows who are unable to effectively care for themselves. Where the miners are evidently making a mistake is in not heeding the advice of the Premier to allow the Government time for further negotiation with the employers and a reasonable latitude in the consideration of the rates of pay for the different districts. The miners have been preparing for this struggle for a long time. Their organisation is probably in a more complete state than it has ever been, whilst , they have accumulated large funds. When the strike ballot was taken early jin January there was an overwhelming j majority in favor of resorting to the I last weapon, the strike. Thus, in Scotland, whose sons are noted for their caution as much as for their sagacity, 55,000 colliers voted for the strike and 15,000 against, whilst in South Wale* there ware 103,000 for and only 18,000 against. In England there was a four-to-one majority in its favor. It will le. seen from the cables that some districts have already conceded the minimum, but nothing short.of a general acceptance of the principle throughout Britain wiil satisfy the men. "A distinct minimum wage over the whole coalfields of the United Kingdom without exception"— that is their ultimatum. The owners believe that the granting of the minimum will lead to malingering on tLe part of a section of the miners. They have the remedy in their own hands—by getting rid of the malingerers. We do not, however, believe that there is

any foundation for the fear. The.minimum wage principle is recognised in nearly all trades and industries throughout the colonies, and we have yet to learn that it has produced a crop of malingerers. The British collier is probably the finest specimen of worker in Britain, as he is in any other country, for that matter. None but the bravest, tho strongest and the most industrious can stand the life for long, and to suggest, as some of the owners do, that he would malinger were the minimum wage in operation, is nothing short of a libel on his. fair name. It has been proved that iu some mining country it is impossible, owing to the faulty nature of the coal seams and the difficult character of the ground, to always earn a living wage. It is to help those engaged in such mines that the whole of the miners are now on strike. How serious the situation may become is seen whsn it is remembered that coal is practically the basis of all the great industries, and there never is an abundance of stocks on hand. Already, with the strike in force but a day or two, the lack of coal is hampering innumerable industries. Fifty steamers, it is stated, are already lying idle at Glasgow, whilst most of the ironworks are being compelled to close. The railway companies have only a limited supply of coal on hand,. and transport must be absolutely hung up if the strike lasts many weeks. An expert who made some enquiries in the centres of.industrial activity last month stated .that all the coal already on the surface would be exhausted within four weeks of the beginning of a national strike. The effects of a. prolongation of the strike are too dreadful to contemplate, Hundreds of thousands, nay millions, will be thrown out of work; industry will -be paralysed; the financial market dealt a J>lew from which it will take a long time to recover; and incalculable misery and suffering inflicted. It is evident from the latest intelligence to hand thAjt if given a little time and latitude: the Government will be able to obtain a satisfactory minimum wage for the miners, who unfortunately appear to be badly led and are talcing up a stand-and-deliver attitude. This, it is signifi-. cant to note, is having the effect of alienating the sympathy of even their own friends, without whose support and ,Jhat of the great bulk of the communnity they cannot hope to obtain more than a temporary advantage. Perhaps tbey will soon reach a more reasonable frame of mind and recognise that the achievement-of success lies in working with'the Government and not in flouting them and holding up the trade and industry of the nation, thus inflicting itreparable injury on. millions of people who have no voice, direct or indirect, in the dispute.