On Thursday, December 10th, Mr. Churchill made a statement on
the coal industry and confessed that the subsidy had been unexpectedly expensive. There had been two terribly bad months—June and August-- which had been only partly atoned for by July, which was an artificially good month. Since then the mining industry had been better. but this, paradoxically, did not help the Exchequer, which had to pay to a larger number of men a subsidy calculated on the bad months. At present we were regaining our markets but were doing so by selling coal at a loss. According to a 1Vhite Paper published last week the subsidy required up to the end of April will probably be about V21,000,000. We always held that the subsidy could not be avoided, and we are gratified to see that at least one good result is an improvement in the state of feeling among Labour men. Mr. Hartshorn in the debate frankly confessed his desire for a friendly settlement in May. Mr. Warne, another Labour member, appealed for a spirit of accom- modation on both sides. Yet another Labour speaker, Mr. Walsh, said that he thought " the worst was over." These are good signs.
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