Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 1674 So happy decision

Among the 45 member states of the League of Nations, there are 11 countries in the Commonwealth of Nations. This may be the reason why the United States is unwilling to join the League of Nations.

As July approaches, more and more tourists are pouring into Pretoria, but the farce in the UK is intensifying.

The living conditions of British coal miners are not good. In the past 1925, the average weekly salary of coal miners was 30 shillings, equivalent to about 80 pounds per year, and their income was at the bottom of the whole society.

The annual salary of 80 pounds is not bad if it is in southern Africa. After all, the price of goods in southern Africa is cheaper, especially food. The annual salary of 80 pounds is enough to meet the living needs of a family.

There were too few in Britain. During the World War, the cheapest meat in London soared from 450p to 7p per pound (45 grams). Although it fell back slightly after the World War, it did not fall back to the level before the World War.

In other words, after the World War, prices in Britain rose rapidly, but the wages of coal miners did not.

Under such circumstances, the mine owners demanded to reduce the salaries of the coal miners and extend the working hours for the sake of profit, which is indeed unacceptable to the coal miners.

Many coal miners have to work part-time in other jobs after get off work to support their families.

Now 7 hours has been extended to 8 hours, and the salary has been reduced by another [-]%. One person working three jobs cannot support a family. The coal miners will definitely go on strike.

Lord Weir, the leader of the special investigation team sent by Stanley Baldwin, submitted a "Webster Report" at the end of June, which conducted an in-depth investigation on the living conditions of coal miners.

"Existing information shows that the living conditions of coal miners are indeed not good. A normal family of five needs at least 5 pounds per month for food alone. They also need to rent a house, buy clothes, and pay for their children. Education expenses, medical expenses, transportation expenses, and taxes, etc., etc., etc. - not only coal miners, but also other low-level people. Last year, our country had a total of 75 people who used electricity. This is normal. They I can't even maintain my life, and I can't enjoy the convenience brought by technological progress at all—" Lord Weir's investigation report is not very detailed, which is understandable, after all, the time is too short, Lord Weir can come up with such a report, Already worthy of my salary.

"My lord, the issue we are discussing now is how to urge the coal miners to return to work as soon as possible—" Neville interrupted Lord Weil's report. The coal miners' strike affected everyone's hearts, especially Neville.

Neville started by smelting non-ferrous metals, and the current Chamberlain family is still one of the largest steel suppliers in the UK.

The strike of coal miners brought huge losses to the British economy. In 1917, the British steel output exceeded 1000 million tons, but dropped to only 1921 million tons in 375. Since then, it has recovered year by year. Last year, the British steel output was still 850 million tons. China's steel production is estimated to drop sharply, reaching 700 million tons, and Neville is thankful.

Steel is the foundation of all industries, without steel, industrial manufacturing would be impossible.

"Now it's not that the coal miners don't want to work, but that the mine owners have united to cruelly squeeze the coal miners. The coal miners have the right to make their own demands." Lord Weir was also dissatisfied. A few days ago, the coal miners proposed that they could accept extended working hours requirements, but hope to keep the previous salary unchanged.

It is a pity that the coal mine union insisted on reducing the salary by [-]%, and the negotiations broke down again.

The prolonged strike has caused the life of coal miners to fall into extreme hardship. Many families of coal miners cut off their income and can only look for food in garbage dumps.

The British Isles are not southern Africa. The level of development is relatively mature. There are no wild fruits to pick, and no wild animals to hunt. After the coal miners lost their jobs, public security problems frequently occurred, and the children were seriously malnourished. Many women had to sell their bodies in exchange for food.

If this situation continues, in time, the UK may replace the Netherlands as the largest European country.

"The interests of coal miners should be protected, but the interests of mines should not be protected? Do you know how much coal is imported every day? Do you know that the coal sent to Cardiff from southern Africa is more than the coal mined by Cardiff itself? The prices are all low? Do you know how much steel the Royal Navy Shipyard purchases from the United States every year? The warships used by the Royal Navy are actually built with foreign steel, which is a disgrace to the Royal Navy." Neville inadvertently revealed his feet , His mouth is full of doctrine, but his heart is full of business.

"Hehe—" Lord Weir sneered twice, but did not respond.

Eggs cannot be put in the same basket. The Royal Navy Dockyard will not only purchase steel produced by local steel mills. The Chamberlain family is the agent of southern African steel in the UK. This is where all the contradictions lie.

"John, can the Federation of Coal Mines make a step forward and resume the operation of the coal mine as soon as possible." Stanley Baldwin and Slime, this is the traditional skill of the British government.

The coal miners have now conceded, and as long as the mine owners are willing to do the same, the protracted strike will end smoothly, and Stanley Baldwin can cope with the attacks of the Labor Party and the pressure from Buckingham Palace.

The coal miners had been on strike for months, and it was impossible not to attract George V's attention.

Just yesterday, George V summoned Stanley Baldwin again to inquire about the progress of the work to deal with the strike.

Stanley Baldwin was keenly aware that George V's patience with him was wearing thin.

If this problem cannot be resolved as soon as possible, then the tragedy of the collective resignation of the cabinet may be repeated.

This is tantamount to a disaster for the Conservative Party, which has just won the trust of George V.

It cannot be said that there is trust, and George V has no choice. At present, when the Liberal Party is gradually declining, the only thing George V can trust is the Labor Party besides the Conservative Party.

Although the Conservative Party did not perform well, the Labor Party performed even worse. Ramsay MacDonald's short prime ministerial career proved that the Labor Party was not yet capable of governing independently. George V had no choice but the Conservative Party.

Of course, choosing the Conservative Party does not mean choosing Stanley Baldwin. In addition to Stanley Baldwin, there are other ministers in the Conservative Party, such as Arthur Belfort, Neville, and others who have made public Winston, who broke away from the Conservative Party and is active in British politics independently.

"Your Excellency, Minister Neville just said that the British coal industry is facing fierce competition in domestic and foreign markets. The coal sent to Cardiff from southern Africa is indeed cheaper than the coal produced in Cardiff. American coal It is also cheap and has a huge impact on the local coal market. It is understandable for miners to protect their own interests, but if the mine loses the competition and has to close, it will not only be the mine owner and workers who will be affected interests.” Johnston refused to budge, it was not a matter of salary, but whether he could survive.

For the UK's domestic coal industry, coal from southern Africa, it's competition within the Commonwealth.

And coal from the US is international competition.

The price of coal in the United States is also very cheap. The reason is very normal. Coal mines in southern Africa employ African-American workers and have to pay wages. Some coal mines in the United States directly use slaves to mine, and the cost is infinitely close to zero.

Don’t think that the United States abolished slavery after the Civil War. The U.S. federal government has extremely weak control over the states, especially the southern states. You may not believe it. Mississippi did not abolish slavery until 2013. That’s already It was 148 years after the end of the Civil War.

"If you want to end the strike as soon as possible, the two most feasible ways are to force the coal miners to accept the conditions of the mine owners, and the other is to continue to provide subsidies to the coal mines so that the mine owners can persist." Neville proposed these two Neither plan is very reliable.

"Persecution? Now it's not 1826, but 1926. How can you use the method of 'persecution'?" Lord Weir was outraged.

Neville did not speak, and the final decision rested with Stanley Baldwin.

Stanley Baldwin was torn.

It is impossible to force this way, and it may cause more serious consequences. Stanley Baldwin does not want another national strike.

It is also unrealistic to continue to subsidize coal mines. A year ago, the government decided to subsidize the mine owners with 2300 million pounds, but it did not allow the mines to survive this crisis. 2300 million pounds obviously cannot satisfy the greed of the mine owners. Another 2300 million the same.

Maybe 3000 million would do.

It's a pity that the British government can't come up with this amount of money, let alone 3000 million, and let the British government take out another 2300 million without showing it.

"If the miners' families have no income, how long can they last?" Stanley Baldwin chose the most dangerous way.

"What do you mean?" Lord Weir's voice trembled.

"It means that if there is no income, how long will it take for the workers to accept the conditions of the mine owner—" Neville said coldly.

"No, Prime Minister, you can't do that, the coal miners are also British, don't forget that you are the British Prime Minister, they are also your people-" Lord Weir shouted, he is a man of conscience, and he cannot let This kind of thing happens.

"The owner of the mine is also a citizen of the British Empire!" Johnston's attitude was equally firm, and Lord Weir was facing a double-team of Johnston and Neville.

"Then it's decided, let's wait for a while, and if the coal miners accept the conditions of the mine owner, then everything will be fine—if not, we will consider other options—" Stanley Baldwin decided to sacrifice the interests of the coal miners , losing this part of the vote may lead to the Conservative Party losing in the next general election.

But if the interests of the mine owners were sacrificed, the Conservative government would now collapse.

Now or in the future, this is a heavy topic.

"What a pleasant decision!" Lord Weir was extremely angry, but unfortunately no one cared about him.

(End of this chapter)