The Prime Minister on Monday. told the House of Commons
that the Yorkshire coalfield, the second largest in Britain, was in a very dangerous condition, owing to this dastardly act on the part of the miners' Union. He had, he said, ordered men from the Fleet to man the pumps so as to save the mines from destruc- tion. When the regular pump men returned, the sailors would be withdrawn. The miners' action threatened not only their own means of livelihood, but also the groat industries on which Yorkshire lives. The Prime Minister said that he had asked the Miners' Federation what it proposed to do in regard to pumping. Mr. Smith, the very unwise leader of the Yorkshire miners, declared on Tuesday that the Miners' Federation had no control over Yorkshire, and that the sending of the sailors to save the mines showed that the Government were simply "out to defend the employer." Such levity is deplorable. The strike has already led to the closing of iron and steel works in Sheffield, and the mills in the West Riding must soon stop for lack of fueL
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