7 MAY 1921, Page 1

As regards the forces which are quietly working for peace,

there must be something in them, or Mr. J. H. Thomas would not have said on Wednesday that the strike would be over in a week. Mr. Hodges, moreover, still seems willing to treat, and has reproduced a former proposal that the Government instead of paying a lump sum as a temporary subsidy should guarantee wages until the Board of Trade index figure has fallen to 100 per cent. That might mean a subsidy over a very long period indeed. Another proposal is from Sir William Beveridge that the Government's offer should be accepted at once and that a permanent settlement should be referred to a specially created tribunal.