Negotiations were at once reopened, and late on Saturday night
an agreement was arrived at and signed by the repre. sentatives of the companies and the men. All the men who went out are to be reinstated at the earliest possible moment, and no one is to be subject to proceedings for breach of contract or otherwise penalized. The Conciliation Boards are to meet at once for the settlement of the question at present in dispute, and the Special Commission to be appointed by the Government is forthwith to investigate the working of the conciliation scheme. Two important points in connexion with the settlement, though not embodied in its terms, are (1) the pledge of the signatories to abide by the findings of the Commission ; (2) the assurance of the Government that the companies shall beat liberty to make good any increased outlay on wages by raising their rates. The settlement thus arrived at in- volved a notable concession by the companies, who consented to confer directly with the joint executives of the unions. On the other hand the men's representatives agreed to the Cabinet's offer for a special inquiry which they had rejected two days before. We note that on the question of " misunderstanding " the Chief Liberal Whip peremptorily dismisses the "legend" that Mr. Asquith was responsible.
