Railway
Strike.
advocated in the final reports. But, in Oct., Mr. Lloyd George emphatically repudiated this, and said that the nation, and not a fraction, must decide a political and economic question of this magnitude. As time went on it became increasingly evident that the nation's experience of Government control during war did not incline it to extend the system during peace. People were thoroughly sick of " bureaucracy."
The Government showed their good faith towards the Labour party by introducing and carrying through a bill restoring pre- war " trade practices," in spite of the growing evi- Kestora- dence that many of these practices were hindrances Trade' to l ^ at mcrease f output which the situation needed. Practices. There was a comparative lull in trade disputes dur- ing the summer, though discontent was rife among the police both in London and in Liverpool, and there was a cotton strike which was settled by an advance of 30% in wages and the concession of a 48-hour week. There were also sporadic strikes of miners in South Wales and in Yorkshire. The threat- ened London police strike took place on Aug. I, the object being to compel the Government to recognize the men's union. But it was a fiasco; those who came out were less than 900 out of a total of 20,000; and they were all dismissed. The labour situa- tion became acute in September. The Trade Union Congress which met at Glasgow on Sept. 8 was mainly concerned with " Direct Action," that is, the application of the industrial strike to secure political change. In spite of a spirited protest Action by Mr. Clynes, who adjured the Labour men to ad- here to constitutional methods, the Congress passed a resolution calling for the repeal of the Conscription Acts, and the immediate withdrawal of troops from Russia, and, failing com- pliance by the Government, for a special Congress " to decide what action shall be taken." This was almost immediately followed by a sudden and formidable railway strike. There had been negotiations for a standardization of wages for six months. Dissatisfied with Government concessions already amounting to 65,000,000 a year in the rail- way wage bill, and necessitating an advance of 50% in passenger rates and more in goods rates, a national strike was declared without warning on Sept. 26. Prompt and decisive measures to meet the threat to the nation were taken by Government. Volun- teers were called for and responded in great numbers. Drastic restrictions were placed on light and fuel. Hyde Park was used as a milk depot for London. The motor lorries, which were the product of the war, proved an enormous resource. After the first few days, the railway companies began to run trains in increasing numbers. An attempt was made to involve other unions, but their officials, as a rule, promoted conciliation, and on Oct. 5 an agreement was reached, by which the Govern- ment promised stabilization of wages at their existing level till Sept. 30 1920, instead of Dec. 31 1919 a concession more of form than of substance. The strike ended on Oct. 6, having only lasted 10 days. Another dispute, not so spectacular, but gravely affecting the whole engineering trade, an iron moulders' strike, was in progress throughout all the last quarter of the year, and was finally settled at the end of the following Jan. by the con- cession of a 55. increase in wages instead of the 155. demanded. Fortunately this dismal record of industrial conflict does not exhaust the story of 1919. First of all, after many vicissitudes and uncertainties, peace was made and signed at Ver- sailles on June 28. There were royal proclamations and public rejoicings. Parliament accepted the treaty at Mr. Lloyd George's hands with only a few expressions of dissatisfaction, and on July 19 there was a great victory march through London, ending up with a defile before the King, in front of Buckingham Palace, of the armed forces of the Empire and of those of the Allies. Sir David Beatty and Sir Douglas Haig led their men; Gen. Pershing commanded the Americans; and the Allied commander-in-chief, Marshal Foch, was himself present with his staff. The friends of the most novel portion of the Treaty of Versailles, the Covenant of the League of Nations, organized in the autumn a campaign in the country in its support, beginning with a meeting on Oct. 13 at the Mansion House,
The Peace.
presided over by the Lord Mayor, and addressed by Mr. As- quith, Lord Robert Cecil, and Mr. Clynes. One result of the peace was the termination in Oct. of the exceptional
methods of government improvised by Mr. Lloyd Cabinet . , . * Qovern-
George in order to win the war, and the reversion to a meat
Cabinet in the pre-war sense. It consisted of 20 mem- Restored. bers, being for the most part the holders of those offices which usually conferred Cabinet rank in pre-war days; but Mr. Barnes was a member, though without a portfolio; the Viceroy and Chief Secretary for Ireland were to alternate, whichever happened to be in London at the moment being summoned; and the new Minister of Transport, Sir Eric Geddes, was also included. The Cabinet Secretary and his staff were retained.
Besides the measures necessary for demobilization and for restoring the navy and army to a peace basis, ministers passed in this year several bills of great importance. Two new ministries were established, one of Health, into which ^'^ s the old Local Government Board was converted and to created. which were allotted various departments, relating to national health, from other offices; and one of Transport, which was to have control of railways, light railways, tram- ways, canals and inland navigation, roads, bridges, and traf- fic generally. Even electricity was included within its general scope; but a special Electricity Supply bill was passed, constitut- ing commissioners who were to control the supply of electricity for domestic and industrial purposes. It was said in debate that the task of the Transport Ministry would be one for a " superman "; and eventually docks and harbours were exempted from his direct control. Then a Housing bill was passed, compel- ling local authorities to provide housing plans; and a scheme was adopted empowering such authorities to issue 5 1 % local social bonds, free of income tax for holders of less than 500. Leglsla- A subsidy of not exceeding 15,000,000 was also pro- " oa ' vided by Government. There were bills also facilitating the acqui- sition of land for public purposes, and for the settlement of soldiers and sailors on the land. The emancipation of women, moreover, was practically completed by the passing of a bill providing that no person should be disqualified by sex from the exercise of any public function, or from being appointed to any civil or judicial office or post, or from entering or resuming any profession or vocation. Women were also made eligible as jurors, but the House of Lords still refused to admit women holders of peerages in their own right to sit or vote. At a by-election for Plymouth in Nov. Lady Astor was returned as member in place of her husband, who had succeeded to the peerage, and she was the first woman to sit and vote in the House of Commons. The last Government bill which deserves notice was a Profiteering bill, to endeavour to cope with the great inflation of prices. A central tribunal, presided over by Mr. McCurdy, was set up; and there were also local tribunals, with powers of fining and imprisoning those found guilty before them of undue profit -making.
The object and general tendency of this legislation were greatly to improve the health and social and industrial conditions of the masses of the people; to make, in Mr. Lloyd George's full-blooded phrase, " a land fit for heroes to live J** f in," but at the price of setting up costly new ministries, / 1919. and a considerable expenditure in rates and taxes. Mr. Chamberlain's budget was conceived on the same large lines. He estimated the expenditure at the gigantic sum of 1,434,- 910,000, and the revenue on the existing basis of taxation at 1,159,650,000. Therefore, though the war was over, he proposed to increase rather than diminish taxation, except that he reduced the excess profits duty a war tax par excellence from 80 1040%. But he greatly increased the taxes on spirits and on beer, and raised the death duties on large estates. The main feature of the budget was the establishment at last of imperial preference, by giving an abatement of a sixth on the duties levied on such imports as tea, coffee, cocoa, sugar, tobacco and motor spirit, and of a third on those levied on cinema films, clocks and watches, motor-cars and cycles. He calculated that, by the changes pro- posed in taxation, he would bring the revenue up to 1,201,100,- ooo. For the balance he looked to a Victory Loan, which was
