The owners, for their part, made a mistake, we think,
in not placing before the miners' Executive a brief state- , ment explaining exactly what they suggested on the subject of wages. The Prime Minister had announced that an arrangement about wages between the owners and the men was a necessary preliminary to the collabora- tion of the Government in giving legislative form to the Report. As there was not an hour to lose wisdom surely required that the two sides should as quickly as pOssible have something definite before them on which- they could come to grips. Such a proposal might not have been acceptable ; the point is that it would have been a . starting point for practical negotiations. As it is, time has been wasted. If there should be any further delay the Government will do well to intervene actively even without the desiderated preliminary agreement between masters and men.
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