First of all then, let the House consider carefully whether from these
sources it is possible to overtake the 10 per cent. reduction which,
in the first instance, the Bill imposes. It is a question nicely
balanced; it offers matter for fair argument this way and that, but,
taking all the means of mitigation together, not only singly but
collectively, it is surely very difficult to believe that masters and
men, organised as they are, and working together with good will, and
with ample time to accommodate themselves to new arrangements, will
not be able from all sources to overtake the comparatively small
reduction in hours the Bill will effect.

I am inclined to an opinion that good use will be made of these
margins, but even if we assume, for the sake of the argument, that
there will be a net reduction in consequence of the passage of this
Bill in the output of coal, that reduction must be temporary and
transient in its character. For fifty years there have been continuous
changes in the conditions of coal-mining in this country. The hours
have been reduced, the conditions of boy labour have been restricted,
wages have been raised, compensation has been provided, and
precautions against accidents have been multiplied. All these changes,
the wisdom of which nobody disputes, may from a purely and crudely
economic standpoint be said to militate against production. We have
heard many prophecies, but what has been the history of the coal
trade? There has been a steady, unbroken expansion of output during
the last fifty years. In the period of ten years ending in 1874,
76,000,000 tons were produced; in the next ten years 112,000,000; in
the next ten years 145,000,000; in the next ten years 172,000,000; and
in the last period of ten years 214,000,000--a figure which has been
greatly exceeded since.