Prom Our Own Correspondent.
London, June 22.
There is no longer any question of the collapse of the strike. The call for a National strike which was issued by the leaders on Monday, when the mas refused to adopt the terms of settlement suggested by the Government, has proved a dismal failure. There was a partial response at Southampton and Plymouth and Bristol and also at Manchester; but the Manchester men returned to work when they found that their jobs were going to Liverpool, where the men had refused to strike; and their example has since been largely followed at the other ports.
Tt is now acknowledged even by the organs favourable to the men that the movement in the provinces has not succeeded, and that even as regards London the leaders are prepared to end the strike at once if they can get the smallest concession which will enable them in some measure to save their face.
"8 the Unions.
This result has entirely justified the masters in their attitude. They knew that they were prepared for a fight and the men were not; and they rightly felt that there was no need for them to make the concessions involved in an acceptance of the Government terms. At the same time the " Daily Mail," journal which is certainly not disposed to side with the men in labour disputes, offers a not inappropriate word of warning to the employers. "Tt is quite a mistake" it says "to suppose that the strike can be set-tied by methods of smashing.' On the contrary, if the impression gets abroad that the object of the masters is to destroy trade unionism, we are at the beginning of a greater strike than that now in propre It is probably true that a great national strike would fail in the end —that the employers would be able to stand out longer than the men; but in the meantime irreparable injury would be done to the industry and the prosperity of the country. The present strike failed to become national bee: on the question from the first. They felt, as the general public felt, that there was no justification for the strike and they resented being dragged into it without being
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.