THE RAILWAY CRISES.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 75, 21 December 1907, Page 12

THE RAILWAY CRISES.

• rTho'railway dispute has been settled. iTho diplomacy of- the; President of tho Board;o'f :Tradp;/h'as.;.horhe'--' good-. fruit, and"tho parties.-to ; .tho-quarrel ;.haye 'arrived' at. an '; .;As 'a./result,' sail danger of- a' irailwa'y;"strike - lias •; been avorteu. ■' Tho: ;c4urs6 : 'of,' ; evonts'..reflects , great" credit upon all'-concerhedy and "shows that they ap-' .'pro'aclicd-. their, .task"-with a'full sense of the. ;wiV'/'great /responsibilities resting upon jtllenu :-:ln:;thoifirst pjacp,. tho railway com-■ptriies'-''representatives, .- met Mr. Lloyd-! !Glcbrgo,' and.; communicated to him their ac-', ;crfptane'e;,;of ;/the;-':.'prpposals l which had been" ;undbr;;'discussipn>; -Jjatcr on'. tho executive o'f..'the . Am^ga'm*a'tc(l''Society met the PresiIdent/. of. tho'Board of .Trade, and heard from ;him /whi3.t .terms:.were/offered to them in ,tho 'interests of'peace/ "In order'.that; all pos-, ;siblb : delay';, might '.be- avoided, they v/oro ! !ena;bled;/to . retire' to';:.. a 'private. room and' cpnsideiv tho-'/details'.'at leisure. . After having- doiio: so their-' acceptanco was, communicated' to Mr. Lloyd-George, iwho thoroupon' 3eut. to' His Majesty 'the King, ■ who (as' stated - by. .Mr;-, Bel- at . tlio dinner of tho; Sphinx«. Club,, last,, evening) has throughouttaken .tlio. deojiest' interest, in the negotiations, -tho. glad .news that peace had been secured. /;, Ari; official .statement/of tho..terms of, the; agreement has been furnished to the Press.;- ;Briefly, it- consists of: —. ; -■ -.-A.v scheme jof .couciliation boards and ■•. arbii^ti(^ - '.fpr.,'-.t|iQ. 'Settlement of dis- ; i -OTtra" : as;to,wages of labour. ; ;; .The, members of suc.lv,boards to bo elected i rospebtively . by-tie'.companies and tho • men. -.. ./. .•' '; . ... ; ,Tho main- 'feature's"'of the scheme a'ro as /follow-:—■ v'.wrvnfir 2 ,

A Central Conciliation Board for each ; 'railway. company ( ' formed of representatives chosen; by each side.'. Soctionsil"Conciliation Boards'to ho '" gradOs l of;'employees 'tb 'ba ;inise ( ctiong..for. tho purpose. B«eleeted by them to V;thorS6ctionai;Boards. If ;'tho;;;Sectionai; Board fails to reach agreementj. thp quostion at' issue to .bo referred to 'tlio .Central Board. If tho Cciitral"Board:"'Jfails' • ; : tp' reach agreement,"'. arbitration.""'by)'; a single arbitrator to 'bb : fesorted : tb. The arbitrator to bo-chosen by I, both sides, and, failing that, by the" Speaker of the House of .. Commons :and;.tnD,;Master of the Rolls; Tho scheme, only to. bo terminated on . twelvo months' notice by either side. Interpretation of .tho- scheme to ho settled,'by-'tho-'Board 'of /Trado or tho . of,- tho' Rolls;' ' " Tlio'present;;scheme to hold good for six yoars. •>

--;it : --n'eed."'ScarceTy> bo said (says "The Standard '.!) ..that-, this "satisfactory tormina.tio'n. to. the gravest'trade dispute .of recent .times;-will ; : bo. received : lJy tho general puhlic •with satisfactioTi,'■ and"that they will not : 1630 sight of' tlio'.'"fact that great<«aorifices ,hay;q;bj;,en,.m?c]q;,l;y u t,ho repr'esentativfcs of . tho great- railway- companies. in order,' to furthertho - cause of peace'; "• Tha t theso gentlemen' .should: have; given tliis' striking oxampla -of generosity land- ;miqdqratio'n should not be. lost - upon thbso'-ivho seo-nothing in tho economic conditions Tof-tho''day but a relentless batuo ,(if.; class"- against;,' class, of Capital against "Labour.-, r'.'/lndewl.'v.th'o.. prinoiplo thiit every tcq^d%aMpOhO]ii^'be: shown to their em-'' • plpyees' has-'-alWays'/been laid down by trio lieads of-tho .'railway..companies; thoir ob-jee'tibn,-:'as';they wero 'careful to point out,' was to tho intervention of parties not (lirc-ctly ppnqqrned'invtho-'rqlationships between themsclves and tlioir 'raeii.','. * - r SUFFRAGIST ' DISTURBANCE. . Thcro./iyerc. lively-'suffragist disturbances when; Mr.-. L. V. -Ilarcourt, M.P., .First, Commissioner of Works, ' addressed "a meeting' at' nndor the. auspices of :the;;Batley/:Juiuor. Liberal Assopiatipn, of which; h,o:is;. president. „.-Mr. Harcour't 'was I Ru'nciman, M.P. . .-.•Mr'.'- Harcourtisaid. that tho ; permeation., of tho .' Tory'.party;.'with tho opinions of Mr.-' Chapiain'and Sir, Howard Vincent was proceeding, apace. ; Sp'far they had.only induced Mr,■;,Balfp,ur',to;.s;iy, '.'Preference" ; but if .lie .would, t somo. of his frieiids wlio Jiad aTready ; passed through tho painful' process I of conversion he., woultl hear .from them, that it '.was'oilly 'the"first 'step that counted, and ho thought, Mr/ Balfour would discover that preforenco : -an"d- j)roteet-ion wero - ns' alike, as two i>oas. At this point. tho. Suffragists, who had threatened, to attend in large numbers, com.monced; a'- series of ■ interruptions, • which ! for some tini_6;-kopt -the' audience in an uproar; WherilMr.'Harcou'rt could obtain a hearing, Ho said, the peoplo ,must realise the serious fact that/thero'-was;no! alternative to-Liberal Government oxcept'. ; a Protectionist Tory; paijty. „ The-interruptions were renewed, and cries,;ofi,','Throw; them out" were raised-by itho ,yaiidienci?v''M^^Haroonrt. said he hoped ;it 'would'-'iiqtjbo'-necossary to turn any, one !biit'j.Urifort'iiriateljv,'these ladios, lil:*o tho .'lfl)s¥pj«rcire v 'alMra'y^ > .'»ith them. . Several • Suf;fragigj?:;'.n9X''''s]>rang..up in various 'parts'of: the hall; and:piiiidomoniiim reigned for somo time." "Mr. Harcdurt' said lie sometimes wish'od;tHqso ladies;were angels; theii their visits would,bq , £ew l .and : faf.. between. (Laughter and uproar.)' • ■■'".• i ' In the.courso. of, some renewed disturbance ;Liout.-Col6nol Blaclcburn stopped to the front of tho platform and said that, as theso interruptions'wore caused by peoplo who had no right to be present, he hoped that tho people of Batloy'Would know how to'deal with them. This was received with loud clieors, and when the • noxt interruption occurred the police were called in, and a violent struggle ensued in tlio contro of tho room, in which men and women wero involved. Tho police joined in tho fray, and matters presented u very serious , appearance. Amidst onthusiastic cheers, mingled with hooting, several of the Snlfragists, including.'Miss Pankhurst and Mrs. Martol, and also a gentleman in clerical garb, were seized and bodily carried out of the building by the police. Great excitement prevailed, and it' was somo timo before Mr. Harcourt was ablo to resume his specch; '