The Scheme of Mr. Sidney Webb.

6. By this scheme it is proposed to put an end to the private ownership and working of coal by vesting the coal and the collieries in the State and paying compensation to the owners by means of an issue of Government Stock.

7. The scheme proposes that the State should buy out all persons interested, whether as lessees or workers of coal or as lessors or royalty owners, and this was practically repeated in the evidence given by Mr. Sidney Webb, who treats the fair selling value based on pre-war income of the properties as the price to be paid by the State to the expropriated

owners.

The Bill of the Miners' Federation.

8. This Bill, like the scheme of Mr. Sidney Webb, proposes to put an end to the private ownership and working of coal, but there are essential differences between the two schemes, which may shortly be described as follows:

The Bill proposes :—

(a) To expropriate the owner not only of the coal mines but also of other mines.

(b) To confiscate without compensation all mining royalties and wayleaves and only pay to lessees or owners of collieries a limited amount of compensation.

(c) Instead of vesting the mines in the State, to vest them in a special body to be created and to be called the Mining Council, consisting of a President appointed by Your Majesty and twenty members, of whom one half are to be appointed by Your Majesty and the other half by the Miners' Federation.

(d) To transfer to the Mining Council all powers of the Secretary of State under the Acts for the regulation of Coal Mines.

(e) To give the Mining Council at its option power to take over and carry on iron, steel, and other works carried on in connexion with coal mining.

(f) To postpone indefinitely the exercise of this last-mentioned option, and, meanwhile, either to prevent the carrying on of these works absolutely or to permit them to be carried on upon such terms as may be prescribed by the Council, and ultimately, at the discretion of the Council, to take over the works at their then value.

(g) To authorise the Mining Council to carry on the business of ship. owners and to prevent any increase in the rates now charged for the conveyance of coal by railway.

The Mining Association Scheme.

9. This scheme is based upon the principle that private enterprise must be maintained and that nationalisation of the coal industry would be prejudicial to the economic welfare of the country.

10. The authors contend that want of knowledge with respect to

prices, costs, and profits, and the absence of machinery conferring upon the workers opportunities for obtaining information and influencing the conditions under which they work have been to a great extent the cause of the existing discontent.

11. The authors propose that, in future, fluctuations of the wages of the workers in each mining district, over and above the minimum rates, should, instead of being regulated solely as in the past by selling prices, be regulated by reference also to costs and profits in that district.

For this purpose, average prices, costs, and profits in each district are to be jointly ascertained, so that the workers may be able in future to discuss questions of wages with a complete knowledge of the results of the industry in that district.

12. The authors propose that by means of joint committees of employers and workers full opportunity should be given to the workers in each district and at each colliery to make suggestions with respect to the methods and conditions of their work, without impairing the authority of the owner, agent, or manager of the mine, upon whom the law imposes responsibility for their control, management, and direction of the mine.

THE COAL INDUSTRY.

13. Neither past experience of State enterprise nor any evidence submitted to the Commission gives any reasonable ground for belief that the coal industry could or would be as efficiently conducted by the State in the future as by private enterprise in the past.

14. It is of the essence of success in industry that those who conduct it should not hesitate to take responsibility and incur commercial risks. When this is done in the coal industry, what is placed at risk is the capital or profits of capital-made available for the very purpose of being used in a risky undertaking. On the other hand, the only justification for a Government official taking risks is grave national emergency.

15. It is an inseparable feature of departmental Government that each man instead of taking responsibility for any proposed action should pass it on to his superior; and the final responsibility of the Department must always be to Parliament. Its actions are thus inevitably governed by political considerations and the interests of political parties. We have the greatest admiration for the work which individual outsiders who joined the Government Departments during the war have performed for the country, but the system in a Government Department has the effect of depressing rather than exciting imagination, initiative, and activity. Should the State engage in industry, particularly in the mining industry, which is so vitally connected with the destiny of the nation, the result would be nothing short of disaster.

16. No evidence which has been submitted to the Commission would justify us in coming to the conclusion that the benefits claimed by those who advocate nationalisation would result from any form of State ownership of the mines.

17. The danger due to political influence has been frankly admitted,

but it is claimed that adequate safeguards can be provided against political interference in industry or commerce. However feasible this may appear in theory the democratic system of Government makes safeguards impossible when the exigencies of a political situation dominate a question. We have therefore come to the conclusion that the provision of safeguards against political interference is not within the region of practical politics.

18. The evidence submitted to the Commission affords no ground for belief that nationalisation would have the effect of reducing the price of coal.

19. With regard to the question of increased output and the question of avoidance of strikes, it appears to us that the attitude freely expressed on behalf of the Miners' Federation against co-operation with the other Trade Unions, with the employers, and with the State with respect to the proposals made by the recent National Industrial Conference creates a regrettable impression.

Without co-operation, nationalisation, even if otherwise advisable, would in no way secure increase of output or continuity of production. The evidence has clearly shown that strikes are not prevented by State ownership and management.

20. It is regrettable that during the whole of the proceedings emphasis has been laid on a state of antagonism which is alleged to exist between the employers and the workpeople in the coal industry. To such an extent is this feeling alleged to exist that it is stated that the only means of overcoming it is to nationalise the industry and to substitute the State for private enterprise.

From the evidence submitted, which is confirmed by our own knowledge, no foundation exists for such an assertion. In certain cases owing to the action of individuals, few in number but active in agitation, local unrest has been created, but we are convinced that the relations between the employers and the vast majority of the workpeople in the coalmining industry do not call for the drastic proposals that have been advanced.

21. The personal and human element which exists under present conditions, would be almost entirely eliminated should the State take over the industry.

22. From the evidence submitted it is clear that the mine owners are prepared to increase the facilities for enabling the workpeople to acquire a greater knowledge of and interest in the industry.

23. We think it is only right that the community should realise the extent to which success has attended the efforts of private enterprise in the coal industry, and we would specially refer to the following extract from Lord Gainford's evidence before the Commission :

"Coal owners have not been slow to risk their capital in the development of coal, and have taken risks which the State never could have undertaken, wherever there appeared to be any possible expectation of success. The development in output during the past thirty years prior to the war from 128,000,000 tons to 288,000,000, and an increase in the men employed from 492,422 to 1,118,452, is eloquent testimony to the enterprise, initiative, and skill which coal owners and their managers have

brought to bear upon the industry. So far from necessary development having been retarded in the hands of the present owners, all available evidence shows that the full quantity of coal required from time to time by the nation has always been forthcoming, and an export trade has been steadily built up. (N.B.-16,000,000 tons in 1873 to 82,000,000 tons in 1913.)"

24. The advantages and disadvantages of nationalisation have been discussed at great length in the course of the evidence. Widely different and often wholly unconnected reasons have been put forward. Some of the more advanced Socialists object to industry being conducted for private profit and favour the nationalisation of all industry. Nationalisation of the coal mines is openly advocated as a step towards nationalisation of all industry.

25. The support given in the evidence to the claim for nationalisation comes mainly from Socialists and theorists who seem profoundly convinced that it is their prerogative to lead the nation in the direction of thought considered by them to be good for the nation.

It is noteworthy, however, that not all the theorists are of one mind on this subject.

26. The better housing of the miners, the increase of provisions for safety, and the lowering of the present high rate of infantile mortality are matters which every one will agree should receive immediate attention but each and all of these matters can be dealt with without resort to nationalisation of the mines, and call for careful and organised investigation and scientific and practical consideration.

27. The continued efforts to obscure the real issues involved in nationalisation by a special reference to these matters, which, while most important in themselves, are not necessarily bound up with nationalisation, coupled with the fact that nationalisation is not so much a request in the interest of the nation, as a demand under threat of a strike, by a relatively small section of the community, give the impression that nationalisation of the mines is more of the nature of a political move and not a policy based on altruistic motives on the part of those who direct the policy of the Miners' Federation.

28. Nationalisation in terms of the proposals of the Miners' Federation would amount, on State purchase, to such an amount of control by the Miners' Federation as would remove the industry from the control of the community on whose behalf presumably nationalisation is claimed.

29. The credit of the nation from an international point of view has rested to a great extent on the nation's sound and consistent policy in maintaining the stability and security of private rights. If these private rights are assailed and subverted in accordance with certain of the extreme views expressed during the proceedings of the Commission, it is not unreasonable to suppose that the national credit will be seriously affected and that this will be reflected in the industries of the country by very serious consequences.

30. We have carefully weighed the whole of the evidence, and have come to the conclusion that the nationalisation of the coal industry in any form would be detrimental to the development of the industry and to the economic life of the country.

31. It is clear that the present economic position of the coal industry cannot continue.

Wages in any industry can only continue to be paid to the extent that the industry can bear.

It is economically unsound to pay wages either—

(a) By repayment, in the form of a wage subsidy, of taxes previously collected from an industry, or

(b) By subsidies from monies collected from the taxpayer.

If the coal industry is to be resumed on an economic basis it is inevitable that one of two things must happen :

(a) There must be a large increase in the output of coal and a decrease in the cost of production, or

(b) The price of coal to the consumer must be increased and the consequences of this increase upon other industries and on the community generally must be faced.

Without expressing any opinion on the subject, we feel very strongly that in view of the statements made before the Commission the causes which have contributed to the fall in output should be the subject of immediate and complete investigation.

32. We also feel strongly that no action which will vitally affect the nation as a whole or will result in granting preferential treatment to any section of the community should be taken without first referring the question to the community.

33. Having expressed our judgment upon the issue between nationalisation and private ownership, we now beg to offer the following suggestions with respect to matters affecting the coal industry under private ownership, including the safety and well-being of the miners.

Safety.

34. There is no justification whatever for any suggestion that the mine-owners have been slow to take precautions for the safety of the workers, or that considerations of profit have restricted the adoption of measures to ensure the safety of those working in the mines. Statistics furnished by the Home Office prove that the rate of accident in the coal mines in this country is lower than the rate in the coal mines of any of the other principal coal-producing countries. .

35. The State has prescribed the duties of the owners in these respects, and the owners have conformed to the State's requirements.

36. The initiative in invention and adoption of safety precautions has come in the past from individual collieries. The State has followed the practice of the most progressive collieries and has adopted their standard of safety and their improvements and prescribed them for the remainder of the collieries.

37. We suggest that Mines Inspection should be strengthened by an increase in the number of inspectors and that greater attention than has hitherto been given should be paid by the Government to research, investigation, and provision of safety appliances.

38. We are strongly of opinion that the existing system of reporting and tabulating information as to injuries in the mines is not sufficient,