§ the House to make a personal explanation and to amend some remarks of mine made on 20th May, in the Debate on victimisation after the strike in connection with the wholesale newsagents' business. I have been in further negotiation with Messrs. W. H. Smith and Son, the largest employers in the wholesale newspaper and book trade, who are not members of the Wholesale Newsagents' Federation, and they inform me that they have now re-engaged all but four of the forty trade union officials who were members of their staff, and that at no time did they enlist the services of the police force against their employés. I wish, therefore, to withdraw the statement that every active trade unionist had been refused re-employment, and regret that in the report of my speech an incident in which the police were concerned, which occurred in the street, should have appeared as if it had occurred on this firm's premises.
§ I make this statement in order to prevent any suspicion of unfairness to these employers. The information upon which my statement was based was only partly applicable to this firm. As nobody more than myself wishes to see a completely equable relationship established in the settlement, I wish quite clearly to express my regret to Messrs. Smith and Sons, and to this House for having supplied information which was not thoroughly correct in all its details.