The offer mentioned in the above was a ten per cent. off underground men and seven and a half per cent. off surface men as a final settlement, or seven and a half per cent. off underground wages and six per cent. off surface wages, and any further claim referred to open arbitration. The circular was submitted to a Council, and refused, but Mr Crawford was instructed to offer open arbitration on the whole question. This was done by telegram:
To T. W. Bunning, Coal Trade Hall, Newcastle.
Open arbitration having for many years been resorted to by your Association and ours in the settlement of wages questions, our members again wish to have recourse to it in the settlement of your present demand for a further reduction of wages.
On the same day a reply was received:
W. Crawford, 16 North Road, Durham.
The following resolution was passed by a full meeting of the Employers' Association before the receipt of your telegram and has since been unanimously confirmed—At a meeting of this body held to-day arrangements were made for giving notice to expire on April 5th to all men whose wages have been hitherto regulated by the Durham Miners' sliding scale, that from that date underground wages will be reduced fifteen and surface wages ten per cent.
It will be seen the offer of the owners confines it to the miners, as they alone were in the scale. This modification of demand and threat of notice was sent out in a circular on the 17th of March. They reviewed the whole situation both at home and in other counties. At home, within the previous six days, four collieries had received notice for depression of trade. In South Wales heavy reductions had taken place. In Scotland nearly the whole of the notices had been served for further reductions, while wages were as low as 2s. 6d. per day. In other parts of the country a similar state of things existed. In stating these matters there was no attempt to terrify. It was a simple statement of facts. It would require the pen of a master to place before them a true picture of "all the comparative and positive destitution to be found in the houses of thousands of men at the present time. With this dreadfully adverse condition of things is it possible to go into a struggle with a body of men, strong in their own cause, determined to fight, and who have every possible advantage on their side? To do so can only end in results the most damaging to our organisation and ruinous to ourselves and families. True valour is not shown in reckless and heedless action, but by waiting until a foe can be met on at least equal terms." It was no use offering arbitration, for the owners had persistently refused that. They urged the whole matter should be left in the hands of somebody chosen by themselves to make the best settlement they could. The voting at the Council was taken on the two questions: the Committee's suggestion or arbitration. The result was 118 for the former and 155 for the latter—being a majority of 37 for open arbitration on the whole question.
It will be obvious that the tendency of the owners' offer only being made to the miners would be to disintegrate. It would not be right to say such was the intention, yet that was assuredly the bias. The justification lies in this, the miners were the only parties to the scale at its formation. None of the other sections were parties to it, and therefore the negotiations only applied to them. The terms of the requests were very embracive: they are "underground wages" and "surface wages." This is certain, that no division took place. The action, right or wrong, was as solid as could be expected.
The voting on the questions, Committee suggestion or arbitration, did not give a satisfactory decision, and a second ballot was taken on the questions: "Strike" or "Owners' terms," with a result that the workmen refused the terms. The strike was entered upon, the notices terminating on 5th April. Some of the managers threatened to withhold the wages until the houses were vacant, and it was feared that this might provoke disturbance. Notice was sent out by the Committee, in which the action of such managers was condemned as "not only an illegal, but also an inhuman act." "But whatever course they may adopt, either in this or any other matter, be very careful not to be guilty of any breach of the law. Let nothing induce you to pursue a course which at all times is to be deplored, but which just now would be aggravated into the most heinous of crimes." As a result the conduct during the strike was most commendable, the only persons suffering being the Committee and Federation Board.
There were certain collieries to whom notice was not given, and the Committee felt it necessary to ask whether these should continue working or give in their notices. The returns of the voting were 224 for stopping the whole of the collieries and only 7 for working on. They were, therefore, ordered to give in their notices, and instructions were sent out as to the mode of procedure. That vote was taken on April 22nd, but on the 30th at a special Council meeting it was qualified by the following resolution:—
"This meeting deems it highly necessary that all those firms ought to be allowed to work their pits who will agree to arbitration as a settlement of their difficulties, or who will agree to a continuation of present prices without being affected by any county change."
An offer was made to the enginemen, which their representative brought before the Federation Board. At the meeting on April 21st they were advised "to only take such a reduction as the sliding scale would have warranted them in asking, had it been operative downwards as well as upwards. Should this be refused by the owners, this board would further recommend the enginemen, mechanics and cokemen who are yet employed to give in their notices and thus legally terminate their agreement."