A LAST EFFORT.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 103, 5 May 1926, Page 7

A LAST EFFORT.

J PARTIES' HOPES DASHED. NEGOTIATIONS FAIL. GREAT ANXIOUS CROWDS. PRIME MINISTER AND LABOUR LONDON, May 4. j After the failure of a last despairing ! effort for peace, based on a faint glimmer of hope which was revealed in the course of a debate in the House of Cony mons, a great general strike began at midnight. A hint was given in the House byMr. J. H. Thomas, Labour member for Derby, that the general strike notices might be withdrawn if the coalmine owners also withdrew their notices reTarding the new terms of employment. This, was followed by reMr. J. H. Thomas newed conferences. After two and a-half hours the Press was notified that the conferences had failed, and that the general strike was on. This was confirmed when the delegates to the Trades Union Congress left Westminster at midnight. It is understood the Government intimated that it stood firm for an unreserved withdrawal of the general strike notices. A crowd of 5000 people thronged the vicinity of the House of Commons while the conferences were in progress. First "The Red Flag" was sung by one group, then "God Save the King" was sung by a far mightier chorus. Trades union lodge meetings were held throughout, the country.. At these meetings the fateful decision was taken by workmen who were sorely perplexed between loyalty to their unions and loyalty to their employers, also by concern for their own and their families' future. The strike in various industries became effective in a most orderly and deliberate manner. The employees of the railway and omnibus services, who had begun work before midnight, took their trains and buses to the depots and booked off at the appointed hour. In the printing and other trades affected the workers quietly obeyed orders and ceased work at midnight. The workers at the Woolwich arsenal have struck under advice from their unions. NOTHING BUT STRIKE. There is nothing but the strike to talk about' now in village or city, in factory or office, or in the home. The Government's dramatic acceptance of the general strike challenge caught the Trades Union Congress completely unawares, says the Labour correspondent of the "Sketch." It was the last tiling they had expected. The secretary of the Congress, in an interview, said: "It was a bombshell: We were assembled in a room n Downing Street discussing a formula to present to Mr. Baldwin as a basis for negotiations. We bad left Mr. Baldwin in a most friendly spirit. "Later on the Prime Minister recalled mc and handed mc a letter which I did not open until I read it to my colleagues. When they heard it they were thunderstruck. Ft was an ultimatum. "We hurried back to ask Mr. Baldwin for an explanation. To our ameze ment, we found the room empty. Mr. Baldwin and the Cabinet had disappeared." The council of the Congress and the leaders of the miners dispersed at midnight singing "The Red Flag." TRADES UNION CONGRESS. The unions which are affiliated to the Congress are discussing the question of extending the strike to North Ireland. The Trades Union Congress stated that the council, with the miners' executive and the Parliamentary Labour party, had considered the report dealing with, the peace efforts of the Industrial Committee on Saturday and Sunday. This served to emphasise the grave responsibility the Government had incurred by its unwarranted action in destroying the promising work on which the committee had been engaged when thn Government's ultimatum was received. As a result of to-day's deliberations the council said it was'satisfied a basis for a settlement could be reached if the nefotiations were resumed. The sreneral secretary' of the Miners' Federation, Jfr. A. J. Cook, in an interview, said:'"The Government has sided with the mine-owners in interpreting the report of the Coal Commission to mean an immediate reduction in wages. But peace is only possible if the status auo is preserved for the miners while the infhistrv is being reconstructed." The' Leader of the Labour party, Mr. ■Ramsay Mac Donald, speakincr at the Kinsrswav Hall after the debate in the House of Commons, said: "We are still prepared to negotiate. The Government has twice 'runnr down the curtain.' but I am prepared to go on to the fourth and fifth time, or more, until peace is attained." The Labour paper, the "Daily Herald." says: "If the workers of Britain ever allow another Conservative Government tn come into power they will prove themselves to he cursed with the minds of serfs and wi+li Hie snirit of slipen." IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. Mr. Baldwin declared that the occasion was one of the gravest on which the House had ever met. He reviewed the difficulties in the coal industry. These, he said, were largely d;ie to its own extraordinary machinery for the adjust? ment of wages. That machinery required a radical overhauling, which would be one of the first things that must be tackled when the atmosphere was more calm. The owners and the miners must find, or have found for them, some way of managing- their own business independently of Government intervention, just like other great industries. • The Prime Minister went on to say that he had continued the negotiations to ' the last minute. Under the threat o? a general strike the situation had changed materially on Sunday. 'Certain overt acts in anticipation of a general strike, involving interference with the freedom of the Press, had occurred on Sunday. They had made the continuance of the negotiations impossible. The Government found itself challenged with an alternative Government.

Mr. Baldwin said he did not believe there had been a thorough consultation with the rank and file before this despotic power was put in the hands of a small executive in London. This was a [gross travesty of every democratic ' principle. ' VOICE OF LABOUR. Mr. J. H." Thomas, Labour member for Derby, said whatever the result of the strike might be anybody but a blind idiot could see that the economic facts of the coal position would remain. He did not believe two per cent of the population would support a revolution, but the people involved in the strike might be • driven into circumstances which might have all the effects of a revolution with entirely different objects. This was no revolution, but a plain economic industrial dispute. Parliament could force an honourable settlement. He would make a contribution to it whenever the opportunity offered. The Liberal leader, Mr. Lloyd George, begged the Government to make one more effort of peace. He said the numbers of the Trades Union Congress who had ordered the strike were as little revolutionary as anyone in the House. The Government could continue the negotiations without the loss of its rights or position. He proposed that the miners be asked to open negotiations to discuss wages, but not to pledge themselves to a reduction in advance. In the event of a resumption of negotiations the House would agree to a limited continuation of the subsidy. The Leader of the Labour party, Mr. Ramsay Mac Donald, solemnly asked members in the hour of trial to raise themselves to the situation, the development and end of which none could visualise. If the miners were going to accept a reduction in wages and a programme of reconstruction, they must see the programme, of reconstruction first. He said he respected the Constitution as much as the Conservatives did, and whatever their differences they ought not to enter into a dispute with hot heads, but with a determination to do justice. THE CHANCEUbQR SPEAKS. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Winston Churchill, said he gladly recognised that the negotiators for the Trades Union Congress had striven to ward off this shocking disaster to national life. The Government had also striven for peace by words and deeds. All appeals for more time meant a continuation of the subsidy. The Government would only agree to that if there was a real chance of a settlement. The miners had practically not budged an inch since July. He did not believe a continuation of the subsidy for a fortnight would clear up the position. The Government must shoulder its responsibility even, if it became necessary later to take steps which, if they were mentioned at present, might seem drastic. The Trades Union Congress only had to withdraw its challenge of a general strike and the Government would immediately have resumed with the utmost patience its laborious task of the past few weeks?. Prior to the adjournment Sir Robert Home, Conservative member for Hill head, Glasgow, said the miners had made no move on the question of wages. The Government had been prepared to continue the subsidy and give a chance for further negotiations if the miners accepted that portion of the report dealing with a reduction in wages. Mr. J. H. Thomas interjected: "The council of the Trades Union Congress told Mr. , Baldwin-it would take the responsibility of doing so in order to reach a settlement, including everything in the report." Immediately after the debate Mr. Baldwin met individual trades unionists. The miners' executive also held special meetings. Tha main speeches in the House htul been listened to'in an almost unbroken silence. There was a complete absence of an uncompromising spirit on any side. Clearly the 'House was anxious for a last-minute accommodation and was indisposed to abandon hope. The strike has spread to the newspaper cfiices of London and the provinces. The issue of all papers has now ceased, the strikers having cut off the power. THE NIT-.TSPAPERS. Beyond a solitary edition of one paper no evening newspapers appeared yesterday, and none will be printed to-day throughout the country. All the morning newspapers appeared yesterday except the 'Daily Mail" and the '-Daily Mirror," but they were greatly reduced in size. The early editions were distributed throughout the country by train before midnight, and later editions, reduced in size, were circulated among the suburbs by motor vehicles. Fleet Street, usually a hive of industry during the evening, lias at present a desolate appearance, with the exception of hundreds of empty newspaper vans. The strange quiet in the street was emphasised by the absence of the familier calls of newsboys. The "Star" was the only evening newspaper published yesterday, and , .even the "Star ,, failed to appear later, as the machine minders objected to the editor printing the Government's request for volunteers. The "Evening Standard" issued its first edition yesterday, after which the machine minders and stereotypers demanded the withdrawal from subsequent editions of a news item dealing with recruiting scenes in Hyde Park. Fifty thousand copies of the "Daily Mail" were printed in Manchester containing the leading article, to which the men objected, and they were sold in London streets. The. Broadcasting Company is functioning for the issue of official communications which the Government may decide to broadcast. The Government has announced that it is considering the important question of supplying public news in newspaper form. In the meantime there is to be broadcasting of news five times a day at fixed hours. news 3— wire:less. . Xews penetrated to the most remote homesteads by wireless, on which the Government is relying for the dissemination of its announcements, but according to the "Daily Express" the members of the Electrical Engineering Union will hamper if not effectively prevent broadcasting by oscillation. The "Daily Mail" has issued the following statement: "We are not printing' because the men would not give an undertaking not to interfere with our editorial contents." The "Daily Chronicle," anticipating that there will be no further issue of the paper for the present says: "Our. last message is to re-echo Mr. Lloyd George's appeal to 'the Government no£ to be too mindful, of its dignity and to resume the peace negotiations at the earliest opportunity." The "Daily Express" says: "The nation will preserve itself. The danger 18 that this challenge will end''fa a

victory for the Government so crushing as to create the possibility of reactionary influences seeking to exploit it. That would tend to create extreme conditions quite as dangerous ad any threat from the Left." The "Morning Post" states: "The strike cannot succeed because it is no longer an industrial strike but an attack against the nation. Whatever were the merits of the original dispute they have been submerged in an infinitely greater issue, which is whether the Trades Unions Committee or constitutional government is to be supreme. If the unions win constitutional government goes." The National Union of Eailwaymen yesterday issued a circular to all its branches.instructing them that if a stoppage was not averted no trains of any kind must be worked. A special plea was made to members to maintain order and not to heed subversive elements. Every railway company, Including those controlling the tubes, appealed to their staffs to realise their duty to the public, %vhich transcended their admirable loyalty to the miners' cause. Those who were willing to practise a wider and greater loyalty to the public would always be, assured of their positions. The Government . broadcasted by wireless an urgent appeal to linotypers, machinists and stereotypers to return I to work. I It- promises them protection and safeguards in the future. ; The country to-day faces the realities I of the situation. There will be no trains, no road or air transport, no newspaper?, and no power for works or factories. Everything will be at a standstill. Doubtless Londoners, as they have done before, will reach their business premises somehow, but there will be little business to do. Under the strike regime London presents an amazing scene. The roads are crowded with countless thousands of cars, cycles and horse vehicles, an occasional pirate bus, arid myriads of pedestrians. The latter are sometimes marching in lines of four abreast. KEEP SMILING. Good humour prevails everywhere. The greatest anxiety prevailed yesterday all over the country. Everywhere people were discussing the possible effects of a general strike upon their own affairs. Most of the London railway stations presented an appearance reminiscent of a bank holiday. The main line trains arrived packed and the service had to be doubled on some routes. Xearly everyone carried luggage and was hurriedly bound for home before .the train service stopped. Services from the* Continent were also • crowded. There was a great rush from France. All over' London, when the publichouses closed between 10 and 11 o'clock, groups of workers lingered.on the pavements arguing about the rights and wrongs of the # case. Every street corner had its small crowd until nearly midnight. The railway companies claim that they will be able to run some sort of service. The big business firms will utilise their own delivery vans to take their employees to work. There has been a great rush to buy bicycles, campbeds and oil stores. The Government received information yesterday • that the railwaymen and transport, workers- were determined not to allow any traffic by road or rail to-day. There was a noticeable air of expectancy all over London yesterday. The obvious seriousness of the greatest industrial - crisis in the nation's history was felt by all. Even the streets Underwent a change, principally owing to the closing of Hyde Park, and vehicles were hanked up in great masses in the chief centres. Crowds of people waited outside every po=t office and eagerly scanned the official notices of restricted services. NO HOARDING. The Government has warned the public against hoarding fpodstufTs. Drastic new regulations have been issued, which empower the Government to commandeer food, forage" and fuel. They also confer powers to arrest any person, or to take any measures that may be essential to public safety or the life of the community. All the milk supplies have been commandeered. Five hundred lorries arc to collect 300,000 gallons for London's daily needs. Recruiting stations for civilian volunteers have "been opened throughout the country. The enlistments at WliiteI hall alone number 400 an hour. I Pickets arc guarding all the London railway stations which have been closed. The Government has arranged to distribute food by aoronlane if necessary. ! Two battalions of infantry landed at kLive.rpool from 'Plymouth. They marched through the city replete with steel helmets, rifles and equipment. Xumerous infantry movements are in progress. Lorries loaded with equipment and headed by armoured cars [ passed throusrh Fleet Street to-rlay and| marched toward the East End from the i Wellington Barracks. The War Office has given permission to reserve officers to volunteer for service under local authorities on condition that their potential military liability shall have priority over other liabilities. The naval movements include the arrival of the battleships Ramillies and Barhani on the Mersey. The council of th* Organisation for j the' Maintenance of Supplies has handed over the whole of its organisation to the Government. Six thousand men and women enrolled in the volunteer service to-day. The police have issued appeals for special constables, especially those who I possess motor cars and motor cycles. J A WORD FRO?/t GERMANY. i A message from Berlin says the Ger- ' man Miners' Federation has issued a manifesto adhering to the Brussels agreement. It recommends the miners I I not to work overtime. I A dispatch from Amsterdam says the' Transport Workers' Federation at Rotterdam has exhorted its members not to assist in loading coal for Britain and not to work vessele which enter the port for the purpose of bunkering vessels which arc normally bunkered in Britain. Reports from Tokyo state that the Japanese transport workers have cabled to the British transport workers urgine them to fight to the last. . Leading Labour organisations in Japan are discussing the question of supporting the British strikers. A Xew York message says: According to statements made by shipping pany officials and representatives" of the British seamen a dislocation of what promises to be a record season for the trans-Atlantic shipping service may result if the general strike in England extends through May. Estimates of the number of tourists who intend to go to Europe for the summer are as high as 500,000. Up to a

late hour to-day there had been n< cancellations of bookings on the' Aqui tania, which is due to sail for Englanc to-morrow night. : There are 837 seamen and stewards on board the Aquitania : arid all ar< members of the British Transport Wor kers' Union. They said they woulc take the ship to England regardless o: the strike, but that upon reaching Eng land they might be compelled to wali off - . ' The strike is expected to have littl( effect upon United States shipping lines There were sharp declines in the prices of stocks on Wall Street yesterdaj of from two to seven points. There was a general weakening in prices of foreign bonds and a lower level of values in commodities, including cotton, grains and sugar. EFFECT IN AMERICA. These were the principal financial effects in New York of the British.strike situation. . Host of the markets -were steady, early in the day, but when Mr. Baldwin's statement, describing the situation as the greatest crisis England had faced for centuries, was received a state of unsettlement developed and selling was general. At the close of the day a more hopeful sentiment was in evidence. This was based on expectations that an early settlement would be reached. Bankers state that the effect of the British disturbance •would naturally be to slow down operations in the financial centres of the world at least until a fairly accurate idea of the outcome is available. The opinion is generally expressed that the situation is so menacing- that it cannot last, and that the British public will force a settlement shortly. EFFECT ON STOCKS. INTEREST IN AMERICA. (Received 9 a.m.) NEW YORK, May 4. The depressing influence of the British strike on the local securities market was intensified on Tuesday, when a wave of selling orders swept over the stock market, causing an initial decline of from one to three points in scores of leading railway and industrial stocks. Foreign exchanges were also affected, the demand for sterling losing a quarter cent. French and Belgian francs sold at the lowest for the year. The securities market successfully withstood the first selling shock. The earlier decline being followed by a sharp rally, which carried many issues from one to three points above Monday's quotations.— (A. and N.Z.)