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Sir Robert Home next proposed that the flat reduction for

May should be 3s. per shift, and that the subsequent reduction should depend upon economic conditions. The Government subsidy would in any case be limited to a definite amount, and tho more that was used in the earlier part of the transition period the less there would be in the later part. When we write on Thursday the miners remain at the point of agreeing to a flat reduction of 2s. per shift, so that " only a bob " divides the two sides. It is important to add• that the Government offer of a temporary subsidy—about £7,000,000—is on the understanding that there should be a durable settlement. -

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