difficulty which seems to weigh very lightly upon sonic people.
A • familiar demand is that there should be a secret ballot among the men before a strike can be legally declared. In theory the demand is excellent, for we all know that the wishes of the men are never adequately ascertained by trade union executives and in other cases are ignored. Sir Leslie Scott, however, in a speech which was not listened to with the attention it deserved, pointed out that there were reasons for doubting the possibility and the wisdom of introducing such a law. Who was to frame the question on which the ballot took plac6L-the trade union executive; the employers, or the Government ? Who was to conduct the ballot ? If it was to be on the lines of a Parliamentary election, what was to be the register, and who was to pay the bill ? In Sir LeslieScott's belief the majority of employers thought that a compulsory ballot would defeat its own ends. There- are many other difficulties which we might examine, but we billy Want tO- emphasize the need for great circumspection. If a blunder were committed the principal sufferer would be the Unionist Party.
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