The situation on the Irish railways has greatly improved since
our last issue. The bad advice given by the Executive of the Amalgamated Society has not been followed ; there has been no general strike ; the companies have remained firm and have been able to extend their reduced service with the assistance of Royal Engineers brought over from Alder- shot; better protection has been afforded for loyal workers; the goods traffic is being gradually restored; and the strikers are beginning to come back. The Lord-Lieutenant, who has returned to Ireland, has been engaged in an effort to promote a pacific settlement of the strike, but so far without success. In this context it is asserted by the Times correspondent in Dublin that the efforts of the Castle officials and, in par- ticular, the Under-Secretary, Sir James Dougherty, to induce the timber merchants to recognize the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union, and to meet its leader, Mr. Larkin, is nothing short of a public scandal in view of Mr. Larkin's record and the direct incitements to outrage published by him in his paper, The Irish Worker. On Thursday it seemed as if the strikers would all return on the company's terms, but negotiations broke down on the question of reinstatement.
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