31 JANUARY 1931, Page 1

Nobody can foresee how long the High Court would take

to reach a decision. And the promised injunctions would be of little use. The Court could not possibly- lend itself to whatever might be the interpretation of the , strike by the Government of the day ; it would have to consider the matter strictly on the evidence pro- duced, and an immense amount of evidence might be necessary. In the meantime the strike could not be stopped, nor could anybody be proceeded against who might eventually be proved to have most flagrantly violated the law. The Trade Disputes Bill is, in short, a Bill to allow ruin to run its course till it may be too late, and for reducing to a shadow the penalties which can be inflicted on those who have conspired together to paralyse the country. An affirmation of legality is in effect reached by way of a negation. This would be an infamous thing to put upon the Statute Book, even though it is true that nobody dreams at present of a strike having forits "primary object" the coercion of the Government. * *