I do not propose to chop up the coalfields into mathematical sections
and compulsorily unify the collieries in those sections. I am merely
laying down the broad principle that to get the best out of our national
asset the National Mining Board must bring about through its power of
granting leases the formation of larger working units than at present
usually exist. The geological and other conditions in the different
coalfields vary enormously, and these form a very relevant factor in
deciding upon the ideal unit of size. It is conceivable that in certain
districts all the colliery-owners in the district, with the aid of the
National Mining Board, would form a statutory company on the lines of
the District Coal Board, described in the Report made by Sir Arthur
Duckham as a member of the Sankey Commission. One advantage accruing
from unification (to which recent events have given more prominence) is
that it mitigates the tendency for the wages of the district to be just
those which the worst situated and the worst managed colliery can pay
and yet keep going, and no more.
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