NEWS OF THE WEEK.
THE coal strike still continues, and we should be guilty of undue optimism if we were to say that we see any immediate prospect-of a settlement. The conferences between
the miners and the owners which began on Tuesday have been continued throughout the week, but as far as the public are aware, and we fear that they know everything of good that is to be known, no result up till Thursday evening had been ac- Complished. At the same time, the negotiations have not yet broken down, and one is justified in saying that while the conferences sit there is always hope that a peaceful settle- ment may be reached. -The essential difficulty remains now as it was before—the schedule of rates for the minimum wage demanded by the men. Though it would not perhaps be fair to say the men refuse to discuss them, or rather to talk about them, they do refuse to do the only thing which would make suoh talk worth indulging in. They refuse, that is, to agree that an impartial nominee of the Government shall be associated with the discussion of the schedules, and that in the last resort the Government arbitrators shall decide what the rates are to be in cases where no other agreement can be reached. This was the original Government proposal, and this the owners, though no doubt unwillingly, have been induced to agree to throughout the Federated area, in Durham and Northumberland, and in North Wales. In all probability the Scottish and South Wales owners would not be able to resist the pressure that would be brought to bear upon them to agree to a national settlement should their standing out become the only obstacle.
