COAL COMMISSION

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 26 March 1926, Page 5

COAL COMMISSION

GOVERNMENT’S OFFER. REPORT TO BE ACCEPTED. IF OWNERS AND MINERS AGREE. V BY CABLE—PRESS ASSOCIATION—COPYRIGHT. LONDON, March 24. The conference at Downing Street between the Prime Minister (Mr Stanley Baldwin) and the representatives of the owners and miners on thq Coal Commission’s report lasted just over two hours.

Mr Baldwin explained that the conclusions of the' commission did not accord entirely with the views of the Government, which was opposed to some of the recommendations. Nevertheless, in face of the commission’s unanimous report and for the sake of a general settle meat, the Government was prepared to undertake measures to give effect to the recommendations, provided the owners and the miners agreed to carry on the industry on the basis of those recommendations. Mr Baldwin emphasised that the subsidy must be ended on April 30, but_if the owners and miners reached an agreement by May 1. the Government would consider temporary assistance for the worst districts. He appealed to both parties to consider the position of the Government and to consult their friends before in any way committing themselves. Mr A. J. Cook, secretary of the Miners’ Federation, disclosed that the mftiers had made preparations to ensure a complete stoppage of coal supplies in the event of the miners having to strike owing to 11011-settlement of the crisis bv May 1. No- coal would enter the country from Germany or America, and none would be handled in Britain unless the Government’s decision was satisfactory to the miners.

Mr Baldwin’s plain and direct offer took both the owners and miners by surprise, but neither have disclosed their views on the offer. The owners and miners met separately this morning and jointly in the afternoon. In the meantime the, commission’s report is being, studied by the miners’ lodges throughout the country in view of the conference of delegates shortly. There is a tendency in the coalfields to concentrate upon the proposed wage reductions, although these do not affect the lowest paid men. Ignoring the faot that the report embodies concessions for which the miners have been agitating for years, Air Cook in a speech last night said the men would starve before they would accept any reductions. “We have already done our bit,” he said. The Daily Herald says" 1 that any sacrifice would bring'hundreds of thousands of families down to the starvation line. It remains to be seen whether a. solution has .been found in earmarking Mr Baldwin’s provisional offer of temporary assistance for tbe relief of the workers thus affected. On the other side, ther e are indications of opposition to the conferring of power on municipal .authorities to trade in coal, to compulsory profit-sharing, State .purchase, royalties, and other recommendations requiring legislative sanction.

Newspaper publicists generally are silent, honing that the parties concerned will reach an agreement, which, if effected, will be the biggest trade settlement on record.