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finally decided, with the approval of the Treasury munitions committee, that both these charges should be borne by the. Government, and the financial basis of the war munitions volun- teer scheme was thus established.

But matters had now reached a point where local effort, guided only by a small expert committee, could no longer control the situation. A strong movement was on foot for the 'aanuioaa supersession of the committee by a strong central department. The first step in this direction was taken when, on the advice of the Treasury munitions committee, Sir P. Girouard and Mr. Booth were appointed by Lord Kitchener to carry out the general scheme for the increase of the output of munitions proposed by Sir P. Girouard. This was on May o, and Mr. Booth and Sir P. Girouard set themselves actively to work to create a department. But events were moving with such swiftness that by May 26 the Prime Minister announced that a new department for the manufacture of munitions was to be established, and on that day Mr. Lloyd George took over this department at Whitehall Gardens.

The first steps taken by Mr. Lloyd George were to take over the organization of Sir P. Girouard and Mr. Booth to form the basis of the great supply departments of the Ministry of Munitions that were almost miraculously to alter the munitions position, and on the other hand to bring in Sir H. Llewellyn Smith, then permanent secretary of the Board of Trade, as general secretary of the Ministry with special charge of labour matters, thus laying the foundations of the two great depart- ments of the Ministry that were ultimately to be known as the Labour Supply and Labour Regulation Departments.

It was upon the labour side of the new Department that the duty devolved of working out the schemes for transfer of labour initiated at Newcastle and Glasgow. Nor was much War time lost in setting about this task. On June 8 1915

Mr - L1 y d Geor 8 e met the National Advisory Committee and represented the gravity of the national situation, particularly from the point of view of mu- nitions production. The National Advisory Committee devoted the next day to the consideration of a scheme which might help by increasing mobility to remedy the shortage of labour. They proposed in effect the extension to the country as a whole of the schemes adopted at Newcastle and Glasgow. Only skilled work- men in employment, but not engaged on Government work, should be enrolled. The volunteers should be transferred only to firms controlled by Government whose profits were restricted. They should on transfer be entitled to the same subsistence and travelling allowances as were authorized in respect of the earlier schemes. Mr. Lloyd George accepted the scheme in principle at conferences with the trade unions on June 10 and 16, and the war munition volunteer scheme was born. The conditions of the form of enrolment are worth giving in extenso.

" In accordance with arrangements which have been made with the Minister of Munitions by the National Advisory Committee, acting on behalf of the Trade Unions, I undertake with the Minister of Munitions to accept employment on making munitions of war in such controlled establishments as may be named by him, and to remain in such employment during the war for so long as required (not exceeding six months in all) subject to the conditions set out.

" I. The rate of wages paid will be that of the district to which the workman is transferred, provided that if in any case the workman proves that this is less than the rate he was receiving before enrol- ment, he shall be entitled to receive such higher rate.

" 2. The workman will receive over and above his wages the following allowances:

" (o) If brought from a distance beyond that which he can reason- ably travel daily, railway fare at the commencement and completion of the work for which transferred ; and, where necessary, subsistence allowance at the rate of 2s. 6d. per day for seven days per week. It is clearly understood that the subsistence allowance is not intended to enable any workman to make a pecuniary profit.

" (b) If within daily travelling distance (exceeding half an hour each way) the value of workman s tickets and one hour's travelling time per day at the rate of time and a half.

" (c) If within daily travelling distance (not exceeding half an hour the cost of workman's tickets.

" Subsistence and travelling allowances will be paid by the firm employing the workman, with the wages.

"3. The workman may volunteer for a further period of employ-

ment after the completion of the period for which he is required in the first instance.

" 4. Any workman transferred from employment under this undertaking shall, if found suitable, be guaranteed employment during the war for a period not exceeding six months.

" I agree that any breach of this undertaking may be dealt with by a munitions court, consisting of a chairman appointed by the Vlinister of Munitions, with assessors equally representing employers and workmen, which may impose a fine not exceeding 3."

It may be noted that throughout the discussions at this stage Mr. Lloyd George accepted the war munition volunteer scheme as the alternative to industrial compulsion.

The scheme was accepted in principle on June 20. On June 24 enrolment began under the auspices of the Labour Department of the Ministry of Munitions. A vast campaign of publicity was started, and munition work bureaux were initiated with almost startling rapidity at 200 town halls and 200 labour exchanges. The intensive period of enrolment was closed on July 10, though enrolment continued after that date at the labour exchanges. The final results of the enrolments were as follows: Platers, riveters, drillers and shipwrights .... 23,564 Tool-makers, toolroom workers and gauge-makers. . i r 34

Tool-setters 193

Millwrights 1,727

Turners 7.971

Fitters 24,830

apstan and turret-lathe operators 830

Skilled metal machinists 6,710

Other metal machinists 1,884

Workers in brass and other metals 4. 66 7

Lead-burners

Coppersmiths 395

Miscellaneous tinanalysed. . . . . . . 27,166

102,027

These were promising figures, but the result was to show that the first expectations were not to be realized.

In the first place it was obviously necessary that the employers, on whose work the volunteers were engaged, should have an opportunity of expressing their views on the transfer. Accord- ingly arrangements were made for a regular system by which employers should be given an opportunity of lodging a protest, and an expert panel of adjudicators on these protests was set up. When it is realized that protests in respect of no less than 60,000 volunteers were lodged, the sort of task set the adjudicators may be imagined. Nor was the volume of the protests the only difficulty. To decide on a protest involved an inspection of the firm to ascertain' its direct or indirect contracts with the War Office (a constantly varying factor) ; to see the order books, and if necessary verify the work by inspection of the shops; to report on the nature of the work done by the volunteers; to find out what numbers of men of the same grade as the volunteers were employed by the firm, and if on short time or overtime; to discover what the effect of removal of volunteers would be on private work and on the continuance of the establishment.

Inquiries such as these made the progress of adjudication slow. Moreover, many men had volunteered who were not really skilled, and many more who were, without knowing it, engaged on munitions contracts, or who, knowing this, desired a change of firm. The result of the scheme at the end of Sept. was reported as follows: out of 103,000 volunteers, 37,551 had been submitted to employers, of whom 28,551 had been rejected and 8,581 had been accepted. Of those accepted, only 4,529 had started work, including 721 placed by the Clyde and N.E. Coast Committees. These results were at first sight extremely disappointing. The reasons for the comparative failure have already been indicated : i.e. employers' protests, the number of unskilled men volunteer- ing, and the fact that many volunteers were engaged on muni- tions work. But there was another cause which had a very pro- found effect. The volunteer was entitled on transfer, in accord- ance with the Government undertaking, to the rate which he was receiving before transfer. Not only, especially in the case of piece-work earners, did this lead to grave administrative difficul- ties, but (what was more important) it excited the apprehensions of the employer, who viewed with dismay the prospect of the introduction into his works of men receiving different rates of pay from those enjoyed by his own workpeople. But all this does