Although anxiety exists regarding the possibility of a coal strike in Great Britain before Christmas, and although the Mineworkers' Federation last month voted emphatically for enid forcement of their wage claim by 0 strike, if necessary, the Government taling energetic reluctant to proceed to extreme ures. The ballot referred to above resulted in 400351 votes in favour of pressing the wage claim and only 20,215 against—a percentage majority of 99 per cent, The resolu Are you In favour of authorizing the executive -committee to. press Slaim for an advance of 24 n abltt for isa shift for youths. even intended, nor was ded og the final authority if progress could be iaade by negotiation. The miners intimated that they did not want a strike if it could possibly be avoided. A inember of the executive said:
We do not want it, nor do the men in the coalfields want It: but they fre' becoming. desperate, and unless something is done there 1s nothing but trike in front of Us.
It is {o be hoped that the conferences will be productive of the necessary proposals for avoiding such a calamity.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.