§ MR. D. A. THOMAS (Merthyr Tydvil)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade a Question of which I haves given him private notice—namely, whether he has received any communication from Sir Edward Fry with respect to the South Wales coal dispute?
§ THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF TRADEYes, Sir, I have received an interim Report from Sir Edward Fry to the same effect as is indicated in the communication addressed by him to the Workmen's Committee, and which appeared in to-day's papers. I have also received another interim Report which is rather long, and which I have not yet had time to read; but I do not, however, gather from that Report that Sir Edward Fry proposes to relax his efforts or that he despairs of his intervention having useful results. I may point out that if, by the efforts of the conciliator, misunderstandings which keep the parties apart are removed and they are brought together to discuss between themselves a basis of settlement, a great step will have taken place in the direction of peace.