CONCILIATION AND FELLOWSHIP

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19504, 4 February 1926, Page 6

CONCILIATION AND FELLOWSHIP

Tn his Speech from the Throne at the opening of the British Parliament King George has appealed to all parties to “face the future in the spirit of conciliation and fellowship and to avoid action which will again postpone the return of good trade prosperity.” His Majesty pointed out. that in 1924 trade improved, but the movement was checked by the widespread depression in coal mining. This industry is again giving cause for anxiety at a time when a trade revival is expected, and coal mining is a key industry. If there is trouble over coal other industries are prejudiced! The result of the Coal Commission’s inquiry is to be announced shortly, and it is to be hoped that a solution of a difficult problem will be found. The railway industry is another cause of anxiety in the Old Country, for though the recently threatened strike was averted, it has been reported that the members trf the National Union of Railwaymen are by no means satisfied. There is so much unrest in the ranks of organised Labour in Britain that it is impossible for the whole nation to put forth its best efforts to bring about the sorely-needed trade revival.

An American view of British industry was given not long ago in a report issued by the National Association of Manufacturers of the United States. The conclusion of the American investigators is that trade union restrictions are hampering British industry and there is need for more co-operation between capital and labour. The doctrine that there is a necessary conflict of interests between labour and capital has done tremendous harm in Britain. The time certainly is opportune for the development of the spirit of conciliation and fellowship advocated in the King’s Speech.