News of the Week
HE amendment of the Trade Unions Bill is proceeding in the right direction. Partly through the voluntary etion of the Government in amending their own Bill, al partly through the inept conduct of the Opposition, he Bill is in a distinctly stronger position than at the ceond reading. It must be added that the Labour mpaign against the Bill throughout the country has alien rather flat. The truth -seems to be that the mass f trade unionists do not care about fighting in order to reserve the right of suffering over again the miseries last year. The Bill still needs a great deal of elucida- tion, and it is to be hoped that the Labour Party are at last convinced of the futility of substituting caterwauling for argument and of walking out of the House as a" digni- r(1' protest when that momentary act of dignity has to be succeeded by a meek and self-conscious return. abour. members, like other members, are 'elected to !ornament to perform certain duties, and it should be UliderstoOd that, in spite of experiments which range IOfl Lord -Balfour to the Swarajists, none of the pretty excuses for abandoning these duties can ever be valid.
