. That is the course which, as Mr. Baldwin announced
on Tuesday, the Government intend to follow. It is .true that they say nothing at present about the purchase of royalties and the legalization of the sale of coal by municipalities. These proposals, which are an essential part of the Report, are reserved for further study, but we hope that this does not signify that they are in danger. The Chancellor of the Exchequer may well be excused for unwillingness to find the money in the present deplorable state of the national finances, and the Government are right in saying that purchase would have no immediate effect upon wages ; nevertheless the private ownership of royalties has caused endless misunderstanding, suspicion and resentment. They do not appreciably affect the price of coal, as most miners imagine they do,. but it would be much better to remove them from the field of dispute.
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