It is only a section of the employers that need the warning of the "Mail". Most employers have no feeling against the unions qua unions. Indeed experience has taught them that it is easier to settle an industrial dispute with a strong union than with more or less isolated bodies of dissatis-
The truth is that what has mainly caused the dislocation of trade hae been the fact that all the lighter. men struck and as they are licensed, unlicensed men cannot lawfully be employed to do their Consequently in this ch of the work, on which practically all the rest depended, there were no "'strike-breakers" to fied workers.
The one essential, however, is that when an agreement has been arrived at with a union, its terms should be honourably adhered to.
The men's leaders have already offered some guarantees for this and they are ready to seize upon the proposal of the Trade Conciliation Board to hold an inquiry into this matter og a pretext for ending' the strike. If the victory which the masters appear to be on the point of achieving leads to the formulation of a scheme affording a real assurance that agreements will be adhered to it will be a great achievement; and in this hope many regard the outlook in the industrial world as brighter than it has been for a long time past.
The Vote of Censure.
As regards the vote of censure upon the Home Secretary which was moved by Mr. Austen Chamberlain on Wednesday, the general feeling is that while Mr. McKenna was rightly called to account for the very ill-advised terms in which he announced his refusal to afford police protection to the "strike-breakers" who had been brought to Pur-fleet in the Lady Jocelyn, there not much fault to be found with his action throughout the strike.
Much of the debate turned on the larger question of the general poli-ey of the Government in interfering in strikes. There is deal to be said for the contention that the effect of such intervention has been }to encourage the men to hold out in the hope that the Government will come to their assistance, and if the masters refuse concessions, bring compulsion to bear upon them in the shape of legislation. On th other hand those who make complaint are the very men who hi terly arraign the Government for neglecting their duty if they stand aside and let the combatants fight their quarrel out.
Mr. McKenna can at least justly claim that he has afforded full protection to all those who were engaged in food transport; and it is fact that there has been no cliff. culty whatever in getting full supplies of food st normal prices. Indeed he went further than this and defied his critics to instance a single ease in which men who were willing to work in any branch of the transport trade in the London police area—for the policing of which alone as Home ary he is res-protect.
'A way out of this difficulty is now proposed by the Port of London Authority, who apparently have power under the Act which brought them into existence to license qualified lighterman in prs tically unlimited numbers. The Watermon's Company at present have a practical monopoly in regard to the licensing of waterman and lightermen—a monopoly which has existed ever since 1514 and which was confirmed with certain changes by Act of Parliament in 1859. The members who hold licences—over 5,000 in number—are admittedly fine body and they earn exceedingly comfortable wages; but there are hundreds of others who are quite qualified to discharge the duties.
The evils of the monopoly have been pointed out from time to time for years past and in the case of this strike there can be no doubt that it has proved detrimental to the interests of the Port of London, foray to its destruction without a But the Company will certainly not
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.