As to the course of the strike, it is not
of much use to pro- phesy. It may be pointed out, however, that the Government have evidently come to the conclusion that though the men may have a week or a fortnight's holiday the strike cannot be allowed to continue. They no doubt consider themselves bound by some means or other to get the men back to work before the pinch comes. Having gone so far, and having for good or ill adopted certain principles of action, they probably now have no other choice, and we shall at any rate make no attempt to dissuade them. This is, we feel, one of the cases in which even a mistaken course con- sistently and firmly pursued is better than the half-hearted prosecution of some compromise or half-measure in which nobody really believes. " Now that you have started, go ahead and finish" is the order which has often got to be given in practical life, and it is probably the only order which the nation can give now to its rulers.
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