Coal Reorganisation—the Last Phase The Coal Commission has been steadily
preparing the way for the carrying out of the last stage of the Coal Mines Act, which must be reached in the form of compulsory, if not voluntary, amalgamations in 5940, and has now sent out a memorandum to all colliery-owners setting forth an " outline plan." Large powers have been put in the hands of the industry for price-fixing and making selling arrangements, and in return for the monopolistic powers conferred on them the owners are required to make production efficient by the merging of small concerns into large, well-organised units. But amalgamation by consent is far better than compul- sion ; and this the Commission recognises. Indeed in anti- cipation of what must soon come important mergers have already been effected in many districts. But the conclusive stage, which will bring in the unwilling as well as the willing owners, has to be faced. The Commission puts forward a detailed scheme of amalgamations for each dis- trict, and invites the owners to consider it. At last we are in sight of a far-reaching and long-overdue reorganisation of an industry whose management has too often dese:ied the reproaches of the workers.
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