6 NOVEMBER 1920, Page 2

The agreement was submitted to a ballot of the miners.

Only 648,549 men voted ; 338,045 favoured the acceptance of the terms and 346,504—mainly from Lancashire and South Wales— were opposed to them. The delegates of the Miners' Federation met on Wednesday and decided that, as there was not a two- thirds majority for the continuance of the strike, the men should return to work forthwith. It remains for the coal-owners and miners to face the very complex and difficult problem of reforming the obsolete scales of wages, but the industry should at least enjoy peace throughout the winter.