THE MINER'S LOCKOUT OF 1893.

This article focuses on the coal miners' lockout in Great Britain in 1893. Traditionally, the lockout in 1893 has been regarded as a great victory for the miners. This was the official view of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain at the time. The formation of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain in 1889 marked the opening of a new phase of militancy among the British coal miners. After the collapse of the Miners' Association of Great Britain and Ireland, in the depression years of the 1840s, the policy of the miners' unions became increasingly dominated by the Miners' National Union, formed in 1863. The Miners' National Union placed considerable emphasis on securing an adequate standard of living by means of legislative regulation of conditions of work. It also favoured conciliation as a means of determining wages. It was dissatisfaction with the results of these policies, in a period of falling prices, which led to the growth of militancy among the British coal miners, particularly those of the central coalfields. There is certainly evidence to support the view that the origins of industrial conciliation and arbitration in. the coal industry lay in a desire to contain the trade unions rather than to fight with them.