The final effort to produce an agreement between the em
ployers and the fishermen of Grimsby has failed, and there is every probability that the business will be transferred to other ports. The real, difficulty appears to be mutual dis- trust, aggravated on the employers' side by the recent riots, and on the men's side by reports that Norwegians are to be brought in to supersede them, but the nominal difficulty is arbitration. The men regard this as a sort of panacea, chiefly, we believe, because it saves their pride, while the masters think that it takes the power of bargaining out of their hands. We confess that, except when there has been a previous contract to be interpreted, we do not see the justice of this appeal to an informal Court. John offers 10s. for something Tom possesses. Tom says, 'No, I must have 12s.' How can a third party intervene and say that Ils, will suit the bargainers best? Suppose that system were tried in the shops of London for a year, how many would close ? The workman is selling his property, his labour, and if the employer does not like the price, he has only to go without the article. Arbitration is becoming a " blessed " word, like Mesopotamia, and is used to give a kindly effect to proposals for taking away men's freedom to make bargains. The men now in some trades fancy that it tells for them, but in reality it deprives both contestants of their freedom.
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