We regard such a prospect with the deepest dread. It
would be a negation of all the Prime Minister's noble hopes and avowals ; it would mean that peace in industry hich is the one hope for our country—had been indefinitely postponed. In saying this we must not be supposed for a moment to be exculpating the miners or to be pretending that after all that has passed they have earned handsome conditions. In our judgment the leadership of the miners has been atrocious. We can remember nothing worse and, indeed, nothing nearly so bad in the history of industrial disputes. We are, however, looking at the matter from the point of view of the whole nation and not from that of any one party to the quarrel. Fortunately, when we go to press on Thursday, there seems to be encouraging evidence that the miners' leaders are in a more reasonable state of mind and that they do not want to shut any door which they suspect may lead to peace. The aspect of the dispute was, indeed, considerably changed on Wednesday when the miners tentatively put forward proposals which betray a great anxiety for a quick peace. They are patently alarmed by the rising tide of the return to work. In the past three days the number of men at the pits has increased by nine thousand.
