ECHO OF BRITISH COAL STRIKE

Taranaki Daily News, 10 December 1926, Page 7

ECHO OF BRITISH COAL STRIKE

LABOUR PARTY CENSURE THE GOVERNMENT ■MEN FOOLED BY SLOGAN AND INCOMPETENT LEADERS’ LABOUR LEADERS' LACK OF COURAGE CRITICISED The Labour Party’s censure motion in the House of Commons in regard to the Government's handling of the coal strike, which was overwhelmingly defeated, drew a spirited reply from the British Prime Minister, Mr. Stanley Baldwin, who pointed out that the loyalty and fortitude of the men was a tragedy, in that it had been exploited by incompetent leaders,

Received Dee. 9, 5.5 p.m. London, Dec. 8. In the House of Commons, Mr. Ramsay MacDonald, Leader of the Opposition, moved a eenstire motion complaining of the Government’s disregard of the Royal Commission’s findings, the Ministry’s partiality to the owners, and the latter’s imposition of harsh terms, the only remedy for which consists in the nationalisation of the industry, Mr. MacDonald said that even one of the Conservative amendments to his mation failed to congratulate the Ministry on what it had done. He recalled that Chelmsford recently had changed a Conservative majority of 2000 into a minority of 1000, and it was in that form that the Opposition would like to test the motion, viz., at the ballot-box. Mr. Baldwin had alienated the confidence which in 1924 had brought the country to his feet, while the Ministry had failed to get anything advantageous out of the money spent on the Royal Commission on tire coal mining industry. The offensiveness of Mr. Evan Williams, chairman of the Mine-Owners’ Association, had. defied tire Cabinet, while the incompetence of Mr. Cook, the secretary of the Miners’ Federation, had baffled it. The Cabinet became a mere spectator, interfering only as the owners asked. * . The country had lost £500,000,000 while the owners were being given time to win. The miners had been taught that might is right, and extremism could be the only fruit of the Cabinet’s policy. It was the duty of the Government at onee to go to the country to receive the doom it had earned. Mr. Baldwin, in his reply tq Mr. MacDonald’s accusations when moving the vote of censure, said the first crucial blunder made by the miners’ leaders was the rejecting of Sir Herbert Samuel’s report. The men’s loyalty and fortitude was a tragedy, for it was exploited by incom-

I petent leadership. The Premier erifi- ; vised the Labour leaders’ laek of courage in not pointing this error out, knowing that the men were being fooled by a slogan. The Labour Party was on the horns of a dilemma. It must either throw in its lot with extremism or cut loose from it. . Extremism might win them a few industrial seats, but it would never win the country. Mr. Lloyd George blamed the Eight Hours Bill for prolonging the dispute, but he asked why Mr. MacDonald had not devoted a single sentence to the most important reference in his motion, namely, that of nationalisation. Mr. Lloyd George said he eould not vote for such a proposal. Mr. Churchill (Chancellor of the Exchequer) who was greeted with Labour hisses,, said that Mr. MacDonald had referred to Mr. Cook’s incompetence, but he (Mr. Churchill) was doubtful whether incompetence was an exhaustive description of Mr. Cook, He noticed, however, that Mr. MacDonald had allowed Mr. Cook to get as far as Moscow before he uttered a word. If Mr. Cook was incompetent, why should the Government be eensured ? Mr. Churchill ended by deprecating the association of the trade union movement with ordinary party polities. The motion was rejected by 339 votes to 13). MR. COOK AT MOSCOW. PREPARING- FOR NEXT STRIKE, Received Dee. 9, 7.30 p.m. London, Dec. 9. The Daily Telegraph’s Riga correspondent reports that after a four hours’ speech from Mr. A. J. Cook, the Trade Union Communist International in Moscow decided to start preparations for the next British eoal strike, and to establish an international fund for this purpose, without delay.