Mr. J. H. Thomas, speaking at Hammersmith last Sunday said
that the condition of the country after the strike, whatever the result might be, was bound to be worse than it had been before. He could not disguise the fact that he had never approved of a general strike. Nevertheless, the miners should not have been asked to carry on negotiations under the threat of a lock-out. He regretted attempts to raise the constitutional issue as not only wrong, but dangerous.
" There is not a member of the General Council," he said, who would dare to say that his object was to supersede con- stitutional government. If the people who talk about ' a fight to a finish ' carry it out the country will not be worth having at the end of it. The workers do not bow the knee to anyone in their loyalty and love for their country. The responsibility is indeed a heavy one. But there will be a graver responsibility on whichever side refuses to recognize the moment when a sensible settlement can be arrived at."
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