London, Nov. 20.
Meetings of the railwaymen have been held in connexion with the report er go on strike. everywhere the men are in favour' of a strike, often despite the advice of the men's leaders.
For instance, the Secretary of the Engine Drivers' Society is impressing upon the meetings their moral obligation to accept the Commission's report.
The Council of the North-Eastern Railway Federation, at a meeting held at Newcastle yesterday, decided by 56 votes to 20 that the men of the North-Eastern Railway, whose Unions already enjoy the right of negotiation with the masters, shall not participate in the ballot.
But a mass meeting of the men reversed this decision and decided in favour of these men striking in sympathy with their comrades.—
Nov. 21.
In the ballot of the railwaymen taken at Taft Vale, ninety per cent. were in favour of a strike.
At a mass meeting of general railwaymen held at Newcastle last London, Nov. 22.
Mr. J. Ramsay Macdonald (Lab: Leicester) opened the debate in the House of Commons on the report lof the Railway Commission. He moved a resolution regretting the refusal of the railway directors to meet the men and calling upon the Government to arrange such conference. He warned the House of the urgency of the matter and of the necessity of avoiding a crisis in December, when intervention by the Government would mean taking sides with the directors.
MR, ASQUITH'S STATEMENT, Mr. Asquith emphatically declared that the companies were entitled to assume that the men would accept the Commission's findings. The Government would not accept the resolution unless the reflexion on the companies was omitted. He thought, however, that once any suggestion of censure was eliminate ed and the men had taken the report as the basis of fature relations with the companies, the latter would be well-advised to confer with the men under the Chsirmanship of the Board of Trade. The best means of carrying out the report in that sense only, would be for the Government to invite the companies to a conference.
The Premier praised the companies' loyalty to their agreements declared that their liberality in easing the wages of employees showed a patriotic spirit redounding to their credit.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.