Neither of these alternatives was acceptable, and in order to meet the situation the following resolution was submitted by the owners and accepted by us:-- In order to meet the convenience of Mr Wilson it is agreed that consideration of the claim for a reduction of wages be postponed until the meeting of the Board in November, when Lord Davey shall be invited to attend and, failing agreement, to decide on the claim after consideration of the information which may then be put before him as to the state of trade, a preliminary meeting of the Board to be held on October 29th, in order if possible to effect a settlement without the intervention of the umpire. In harmony with that resolution we met on the 29th of October. There were two courses open to us, as you will see: either we must consider the circumstances warranted the reduction asked for, or on the 5th of November--which is the date of the ordinary quarterly meeting--meet the umpire. One thing more let us point out: on the 24th of October we received the accountants' ascertainment for the quarter ending September, which showed a further fall in the realised selling price of coal. You will easily perceive the force of the situation which he had to meet. Let us enumerate the circumstances. In August the employers claimed a reduction on the result of the ascertainment then obtained. Although they were (as they said) convinced of the validity of their claim, we have kept the higher wage for three months, and you will know how much that means to us as a county, with our large wage fund and the thousands of men and boys employed. Furthermore, there had been another fall in price. If we had gone to the umpire these facts faced us. These facts were fully considered, and the probabilities of the case carefully investigated, and we were convinced that the course most conducive to the best interest of those we represent was the acceptance of the one and a quarter per cent. reduction, and we are as fully convinced that the action will carry your general approval. As is seen by the circular, a settlement was made without the umpire. Lord Davey was informed, and replied as follows:-- 86 Brook Street, W., _October 30, 1904._