Mr. Baldwin stated that he had even asked the miners
in what form they would wish to have a fresh subsidy. Would they like to have it paid quickly so as to prevent all necessity for an im- mediate reduction in wages, or would they like it to be paid gradually so that though wages could be reduced at once there would be a reserve for contingencies. The only reason why. he had eliminated from his proposals the purchase of royalties and the legalization of municipal selling—both recommended in the CommiSsion's Report— was that these things required time to be put into effect, and he was anxious to get the mines working again at the first possible moment. He had no intention of eliminating 'these points permanently. He stood by the Report and wanted to put it into operation as a whole. We are very glad to have those assurances. It was ' freely said when Mr. Baldwin produced his latest proposals that he wanted to emasculate the Report. Any such intention is now disproved, as we thought it would be.
