Issue Between National Wage Pool and Acceptance of Owners' Offers and Government Subsidy: Two-thirds Majority to Decide London, June 10.
The miners delegate conference which met to-day has decided that ballot will be taken on the owners' proposals on the 15th instant.
The conference was attended by 200, delegates, representing 958,000 members, and the decision to take a ballot was reached on a card vote.
My. Herbert Smith, - the Yorkshire miners' leader, who presided, made it clear that acceptance of the owners' proposals would involve the abandonment of the demand for a national pool.
The ballot papers, which are to be returned by the 17th instant, will not contain any recommendation, but will include the question whether the men are prepared to drop the demand for a national pool. The Executive has decided that a two-thirds majority will be required to continue the stoppage of work.
The proceedings of the conference were animated. South Wales and Scotland were opposed to a ballot, but withdrew their opposition after the districts had been consulted. Only Durham and two other small districts voted against taking a ballot. A motion to advise the miners to reject the terms was overwhelmingly defeated, only Durham and Lancashire supporting the proposal.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.