Every one who supposed that the Prime Minister's promises had
disposed of the grievances of the police most have been disappointed by the news that the police are again threatening to strike. Their real demand is that their Union should be recognized, though they also complain that some of the pledges given after the recent strike have not been fulfilled. The privilege recently granted to the police of approaching the Government through their representatives does not satisfy the men. They want nothing less than recognition of their Union. For our part, we think the Government would be very unwise to recognize the Union in the sense in which Trade Unions are generally recognized. The police are a quasi-military force, and ought to accept the conditions inherent in such a service. They ought to be handsomely treated, well paid, and well pensioned, as snob work 8.9 theirs deserves; but if their Union were recognized they could never be relied upon, as in the past, to perform their quasi-military duties. We should soon hear that because some policeman had been dismissed in Manchester, or Liverpool, or Birmingham, the whole of the London police were to be called out in sympathy.
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