Mr. Day and myself retired, and I again told him that I felt very strongly that the whole committee ought to be called together, as I felt this was too big a responsibility for us. He again objected and said I must not call the committee together, especially after the Treasurer had written and said the committee did not want to meet. I therefore decided to face the situation bravely, and we went back into the meeting and informed them we had decided to give them permission to hand their notices in. I then addressed the men and urged upon them to enter into this contest thoughtfully and seriously. Their claims were just and reasonable, and I was sure if they acted soberly and orderly they would have the public with them. The question then arose as to what form the notice should take. I advised them to draw up what is known as a round robin and each man sign it. This was done and a notice was drawn up for each employer. It read thus:-- We the undersigned workmen of yours hereby give you notice that unless we receive 1s. per week rise of wage upon our present ordinary rate of wage on next pay day, also an agreement come to whereby our hours of labour be so arranged that our working week finish at one o'clock on Saturday, this notice will terminate on Friday May 28th. Each man signed it and a notice was handed in to each employer on the Saturday morning May 21st. The employers received the notice as far as I could learn without comment and very little was said during the week. I at once took steps to grapple with the situation. I got a strike committee formed and got proper pay-sheets printed, which every man would be asked to sign at nine o'clock every morning at the club house. At the same time I intended to explore every avenue during the next few days before the final crash came to secure peace. On Monday morning May 23rd I received the following letter from Mr. J. T. Willis, Secretary of the Farmers' Federation. SHERINGHAM, _May 22, 1910_. DEAR SIR,