The Denaby Settlement

The year opened with all eyes turned towards Denaby. One has almost to cringe at the mention of the word, so disastrous and so unnecessary was the original stoppage, and when the information first came that the men had at length decided to adopt the only course open to them, it was with feelings of profound thankfulness that the announcement was assimilated.

For 39 weeks the majority of the men were idle. Some of them have not got back to work yet, and though Denaby to-day looks more like the Denaby of before the stoppage, the memory of it still remains, and hopes are fervent that there may never be another such occurrence.

It is impossible to state the cost of the stoppage, either to the men or the owners. The former’s union felt the drain as severe one, and when the announcement was made that the colliery company were about to sue the Miners’ Association for £125,000 damages for the illegal payment of strike pay, following the decision of the courts to stop the weekly payments during the actual strike, the position became extremely critical.

Indeed, to-day, the officials responsible for the management of the Yorkshire Miners’ Association would to-day be glad to think that the effects of the strike terminated with the resumption of work. Very little has been heard of the action-at-law since the latter event; by some it has been forgotten, perhaps conveniently forgotten, but, however glad we should be to be able to state that the hatchet had been completely buried, we are afraid that the New Year will see the Denaby episode again laid bare before the courts.

Silence the Motto

But if the Denaby dispute has done nothing else, it has impressed upon the miners and their officials the necessity of keeping their business to officials themselves. Information as to the trend of events from the miners’ point of view has been very scarce during the year, from official sources, at all events, and the miners themselves have been pretty well sworn to secrecy whenever they have met.

They are not greatly to be blamed for choosing to conduct their affairs as a commercial man would conduct his shop; on many grounds the idea is to be commended, but in the case of such a body as the Miners’ Association an excess of silence may easily wreak as much mischief as an excess of verbosity.

There is no doubt that during the Denaby controversy many irresponsible speeches were uttered—speeches which would have been well left unsaid—and harm was done in consequence. This may be taken as the reason why Mr. Pickard and his colleagues have kept themselves, as it were, within their own shell, offering thereby an example to the budding orators who are found in every mining camp.