Page:Cook (1927) The Nine Days.djvu/18

 Despite all the humiliating pleadings of these leaders, despite the attempts behind the Speaker's chair of Mr. MacDonald and J. H. Thomas to arrive at a settlement behind the backs of the miners' representatives, the Prime Minister and the Government remained adamant, determined that the strike notices should be withdrawn before negotiations could be re-opened. No lifting of the lock-out; no securing a living wage for the miners was thought of; and midnight on Monday, 3rd May, arrived with no alternative but for the workers to act on their decision of May 1st.

This ends the second chapter. The Executives of the unions had given the General Council definite instructions. The General Council had pledged themselves to action, and the Executive members had gone back to prepare, in the short time left to them, for carrying out that action. Meanwhile, the Negotiating Committee of the T.U.C. had twice seen the Government in secret, in spite of their pledge to the miners only to negotiate together with them; they had twice tried to get the miners to accept formulæ which would have meant reductions in wages, in spite of their declared opposition to reductions. No other facts are needed to show the state of mind in which some members of the General Council faced the test of real action.

Tuesday, May 4th, started with the workers answering the call. What a wonderful response! What loyalty!! What solidarity!!! From John O'Groats to Land's End the workers answered the call to arms to defend us, to defend the brave miner in his fight for a living wage.

Hurriedly the General Council formed their Committees, made preparations to face this colossal task—the first in the history of this country.

No one could over estimate the greatness of the task that faced the General Council, and to the credit of many of the members—especially Ernest Bevin—they made every effort possible to bring into being machinery to cope with the requirements.

Unfortunately for the miners, Mr. Tom Richards, one of our representatives on the General Council, was too ill to attend;