§ 3. Commander BELLAIRSasked the President of the Board of Trade if he has any information as. to the number of miners who were eligible to vote in the recent decision to strike and the number who voted for the strike; and whether the Board has at any time collected information as to the system of voting in this and other trades in order to see if the freedom of the men and women employed is safe guarded in a similar way to their votes at a general election for Parliament?
§ Mr. BRIDGEMANThe membership of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain at the end of 1917 according to figures supplied to the Ministry of Labour by the Federation was 769,470. It is presumed that all were entitled to vote. The members who voted, as stated by the Leader of the Labour party in this House on the 24th February were 611,998 in favour of a strike, against 104,997, total 716,995. The attention of the Government has not been drawn to any cases of intimidation of working men or women in connection with voting under Trade Union methods.
§ Commander BELLAIRSWill the Government consider this proposition: It is intimidating to men who have to vote in public when there is a large organised body of opinion in favour one way or the other?
§ Mr. BRIDGEMANI will put the point to my right hon. Friend.
§ Colonel W. THORNEIs the hon. Gentleman aware that the Miners' Federation voted according to the rules and that no one has any right to interfere?