The National Board on Tuesday .proposed that the maximum ninety
hours in a fortnight should be worked, but that the eight-hour day should be shortened.. The miners, according to this plan, would at least recover their ideal of a regular six days working week. The proposal was inspired generally by the spread-over arrangements which have been adopted in, other coal fields. The South Wales owners, however, have refused to accept the suggestion of the National Board and propose as an alternative a seven and a half hour day for a certain period, with a reduction of one-sixteenth in the wages of the day-wage men. To this they add the stipulation that if no general settlement should be reached by January 14th the dispute should be referred to an independent tribunal. The owners not only refuse to be represented on the National Board," but are deaf to any suggestion which comes from it. They have an extremely strong case when they say, in the ancient formula, that it is impossible to take more out of an industry than there is in it, and that therefore they cannot pay the same wages for less work ; but we fancy that most people would prefer that this strong case should be laid before the National Board and not be made known only by manifestoes.
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