At the moment of, our, going to press, though a
general strike has been declared, resulting in a partial interruption of passenger traffic and a paralysis of trade in certain districts, with grave possibilities of a food famine, the situation is far from •.hopeless. For reasons which we give elsewhere we cannot bring ourselves to believe in the success of a general strike. The Government have handled the crisis so far with firmness and tact, and it is too soon to apportion the blame for the extraordinary mis- understanding over the terms of the Royal Commission. The only signal instance of weakness has been the acceptance by the Post Office of the astounding permit from Mr. Tillett on behalf of the Strike Committee authorizing the Post Office contractors to handle fodder and petrol. A facsimile of this document is printed in the Morning .Post of Friday under the appropriate heading, " The Negation of Government."
