Page:Cook (1927) The Nine Days.djvu/10

 A question that may arise in the minds of some doubting Thomases is connected with the fact that we decided to hand over to the T.U.C. the whole case of the miners for future negotiations. Prior to the Conference of May 1st, the miners met the General Council in the Memorial Hall, and there it was made clear by our President and myself that we handed over our case to the General Council to defend our present position, on the understanding that they would adhere to their decisions of February 26th, and that we should act in conjunction with the General Council in all negotiations. In the words of our President, Herbert Smith, "We shall not surrender our revolvers—our tongues—to make our own declarations, our opinions on every movement."

The Chairman of the T.U.C. and Mr. J. H. Thomas declared emphatically, in their speeches at the meeting before the Conference of May 1st, that we were handing over our case on the clear understanding that the T.U.C. would adhere to their decision of February 26th, and that the representatives of the miners should be consulted by them, and act in conjunction with them in every move made in the dispute.

It was on this understanding that we and the whole Labour Movement accepted unanimously the leadership of the T.U.C.

This ends the first chapter of this great historical drama.

On May 1st the Conference of Executives had decided, by 3,653,529 votes to 49,911, to empower the General Council to go ahead with a General Strike.

Thus the Trade Union Movement laid down with great enthusiasm and determination a policy of preparedness to meet the great capitalist offensive.

After this wonderful decision of the Union Executives, all left for their homes with the determination to carry out the policy agreed upon. My Committee also left for their districts for the week-end to make preparations now that the men were locked out.

They went to this work feeling certain that, as the Government had repeatedly refused to consider any sort of fair terms for the miners, after long hours of negotiations, and as the Union E.C.'s had been almost unanimous in their decision to fight and the T.U.C. had undertaken not to negotiate without us, they could leave London safely;