On Monday evening in the House of Commons Mr- O'Grady,
the Labour member, moved a resolution to express the opinion of the House that it was expedient that repre- sentatives of the employers and men should meet with a view to the settlement of the dock strike. Mr. Asquith in a some- what cynical speech announced that The Government would leave the matter for the free decision of the House. He did not think that any active intervention on the part of the Government would at that time and under existing conditions be justifiable or expedient; but at the same time he con- sidered it was very desirable that a meeting between the parties should take place. - After some general observa- tions upon disputes between capital and labour, Mr. Asquith said that personally he intended to abstain from voting upon the resolution. Mr. Bonar Law, after com- plaining that the Prime Minister had given the House no lead, expressed his view that the intervention of Parliament in the dispute would serve no useful purpose, and moved an amendment to that effect. In the course of the debate which followed Mr. Ramsay MacDonald said that there was danger that if the strike continued trade unionism in the Port of London would disappear, a result which many of the employers would regret. Eventually Mr. Bonar Law's amendment was defeated by 45 votes and Mr. O'Grady's resolution carried by 66 (254-188).
Previous page
