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HIS DOCUMENT I £ THB PRO PERT Y OF HIS BRITANNIC MA JESTY S GOVERNMENT.)
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COPY N O ,
Sj.JLlLJL-1n,P.585(25)
C A B I N S
T.
.
THE COAL CRISIS.
Memorandum by the Lord P r i v y
Though I do not y e t
Seal,
know the p r e c i s e
conditions
of the Government subsidy t o t h e c o a l i n d u s t r y ,
it
is,
the circumstances, urgont that wo should a p p r e c i a t e
broad o u t l i n e s o f the p o s i t i o n
I n the f i r s t
place I t
i n which we are
in
the
placed.
i s m a t e r i a l not t o under­
r a t e the amount of money t o which we may be committed;
the e s t i m a t e o f the d i f f e r e n c e
we s h a l l have t o f i n d
month u n t i l next May i s , o f c o u r s e ,
one of the elements
o f which I have not yet any p r e c i s e i n f o r m a t i o n ,
ought t o r e a l i s e
but we
that the subsidy i s most u n l i k e l y
f i n i s h by that date".
per
Though the Commission w i l l
to
probably
hot suggest that t h e r e i s in r e o r g a n i s a t i o n any complete
remedy yet improvements they w i l l
c e r t a i n l y recommend,
and the case f o r going on with the subsidy u n t i l
the
Improvements have had time t o take e f f e c t
likely
i s not
t o be r e s i s t e d .
T h i s l e a d s at once t o the c o n c l u s i o n t h a t the
temporary c h a r a c t e r of the subsidy, a f t e r perhaps a year
and a h a l f
or two years -continuous payment, w i l l
s e r i o u s l y undermined.
long, while i t
interest,
Be the p e r i o d , however,
continues,
be
short
the Government must, in I t s
exercise a controlling oversight
or
own
o v e r the
i n d u s t r y , and the longer the p e r i o d i s , the deeper w i l l
r o o t s of n a t i o n a l o v e r s i g h t have struck i n t o
But apart from t h i s , i n view o f
to set,
it
is
the.system.
the precedent we are now
s u r e l y e v i d e n t t h a t no Government
a s a i n w i l l i n g l y be p l a c e d i n our p o s i t i o n ,
- 1 ­
could
1,6. In a
the
capital
industrial
bungle a f t e r
bungle u n t i l Government i n t e r v e n t i o n i s held
be i n e v i t a b l e ,
millions,
that in
d i s p u t e l e a v i n g the p a r t i e s t o make­
and the i n c i d e n t a l l o s s ,
to the tune o f many
i s wrung from the Exchequer;
future,
to
it
follows,
therefore
the Government w i l l have to i n t e r v e n e ,
not a t
the end but a t the beginning o f tho d i s p u t e .
In o t h e r words
in a c r i s i s ,
financial
Government c o n t r o l
and Government
r e s p o n s i b i l i t y must begin at once..
And i f ,
in a c r i s i s , why
not in the management o f the i n d u s t r y which l e a d s up t o a
crisis?
The conclusion from t h e s e premises seems t o be
inevitable:
as r e g a r d s i n d u s t r i e s in d i f f i c u l t i e s
r a t e important i n d u s t r i e s - the precedent we a r e
leads straight
to
a t any
sotting
nationalisation.'
I need not say t h a t t o a Government pledged as
we a r e ,
this conclusion is absolutely unacceptable,
such a p o l i c y were
feasible,
But i t
i s not
even
feasible,
because o b v i o u s l y the coal
i n d u s t r y cannot be t r e a t e d ,
if
as e x c e p t i o n a l .
our p l e d g e s a l l o w e d i t ,
we have to
say to s t e e l ,
If
our p r e s e n t p o l i c y l e a d s t o
and t h i s i s u n a c c e p t a b l e ,
the l i n e .
or shipbuilding,
What should
or
agriculture?
nationalisation
I s t h e r e any ground on w h i c h ,
which I do n o t p e r c e i v e ,
hold i t ?
even
at what p o i n t are we g o i n g to draw
we c o u l d hope t o make a s t a n d :
ground,
if
and i f
in our r e t r e a t ,
there be such a
have we the s t r e n g t h
Eave we any l o n g e r the c r e d i t
to
to h o l d i t ?
For
good reason or bad we have r e t r e a t e d because we d i d not
venture to
g i v e way to
fight.
force,
We have nob only
thought i t r i g h t
to
but wo have condoned the breaking o f
c o n t r a c t s by the a l l i e d unions i n t h e i r
their
threatened sym ­
p a t h e t i c s t r i k e , and we have a c t u a l l y agreed t o pay a l a r g e ,
sum for
the arrangement,
Whatever our own u l t i m a t e
i n t e n t i o n s may be, t h e r e I s no doubt that t h i s
i s how the
Trades Unions themselves and the world r e g a r d the
Who w i l l
b e l i e v e us, a f t e r
days, when we say we w i l l
the
e x p e r i e n c e o f the l a s t
die in some i l l - d e f i n e d
r a t h e r than a c c e p t the n a t i o n a l i s a t i o n
industry,
and in f e r e n t i a l l y ,
other d i s t r e s s e d
of
1925o
eoal
the n a t i o n a l i s a t i o n
be only too g l a d i f
of
my c o n f i d e n c e
out.
3*
s
ditch,
every
can be
but the moral baa i s o f the Government seems t o me
to have dropped
4th August-
the
few
industry?
I shall
restored,
event.