He went on to say that he had been accused
of deliber- ately increasing the price of coal, but the intention of his Bill was not to sell British coal abroad at a loss, but to help it to compete successfully in the European market. That was not " subsidizing coal " in the ordinary meaning of the phrase. In Committee lie would welcome every constructive proposal for large-scale organization. It was untrue that he tolerated the uneconomic pit. He proposed to appoint a Committee on compulsory amalga- mation. It might be feasible to legislate on the Com- mittee's recommendations, but so far he had tried to rely entirely on voluntary amalgamations. He was convinced that the coalowners, sorely threatened as they were with rival fuels, were the last people to raise the price of coal deliberately. * * *
