17 JULY 1926, Page 1

The offers of the colliery owners generally include wages for

six months at the rates prevailing last April. But they are not wholly uniform, and so show a tendency of the owners to revert to " district " scales rather than a national rate. We should favour district settlements as natural and reasonable, but the Royal Commission did not, and it is a point which we should feel bound to surrender if all the parties concerned would agree to try to work the whole Report. That is the best chance for all of us. We have tried to emphasize in a leading article the urgent need of putting it into operation by any possible means.