mustered
only 43 in the Division Lobby against 257 for the Second Reading.

_Tuesday, February 25th._--Their Lordships resumed their debate on
Industrial Unrest. Lord RUSSELL attributed it mainly to ignorance--on
the part of the capitalists and the newspapers, who, with few
exceptions, never gave fair play to Labour. He was supported to some
extent by His Grace of YORK, who declared that, after a perusal of the
Labour Press and the non-Labour Press, he could hardly believe they
were dealing with the same subject.

[Illustration: PERSUASIVE PURRING. MR. BRACE.]

Up to almost the eleventh hour the Committee stage of the Coal
Commission Bill in the Commons was not encouraging. The Labour
representatives moved amendment after amendment, designed either to
wreck the measure or to make the Commission a mere registration-office
to approve their own cut-and-dried plans.

Mr. RICHARDS moved to omit wages and hours from its purview, but the
House, brought up in the belief that _Hamlet_ without the _Prince of
Denmark_ is but a poor play, voted him down by 270 to 40.

[Illustration: MR. JOYNSON HICKS'S FAIR WARNING TO SIR ERIC GEDDES.]

Then came another question-begging amendment from Mr. ADAMSON,
suggesting that the Commission's inquiries into the possibilities of
reorganising the mines should be limited to the single question of
"nationalization"--the "blessed word" of Labour just now. This was
supported in a capital maiden speech by Mr. SPOOR, an ex-pitman, whose
father and son are both in the mines, and by Mr. CLYNES, who rather
unreasonably complained that the HOME SECRETARY made SHORTT speeches;
but it shared the same fate.

Not till the Bill was nearly through Committee was there any sign of
_rapprochement_. Then, in response to the persuasive purring of Mr.
BRACE, who had urged that the Commission should issue an interim
report on wages and hours by March 12th, the PRIME MINISTER declared
that, after consultation with Mr. Justice SANKEY, he was prepared
to promise that the report should be ready on March 20th. A smile,
extending almost to the extreme limits of his moustache, spread over
Mr. BRACE'S benevolent countenance. Thenceforward all was peace, and
the Third Reading was carried without a division.

_Wednesday, February 26th._--The Lords passed the Coal Industry
Commission Bill through all its stages without a pause. Then Lord
DEVONPORT expatiated on the mistakes of the Food Controllers with such
a wealth of