Cylchgronau Cymru

Sadly, this sense of admiration and harmonious co-operation was not to endure. The stumbling block proved to be the Labour Government's introduction of the Coal Mines Bill in December 1929, a measure rightly described by one historian as 'a clumsily patched-up compromise between what the Labour Party was pledged to do for the miners restore the seven-hour day and what the coal-owners were prepared to accept'. Lloyd George, who had himself been responsible for the conduct of an exhaustive enquiry into the problems of the coal-mining industry in the early 1920s,7 felt strongly that the Bill did not go far enough,8 and urged all Liberals to oppose its provisions. While the majority of Liberal Members, including Clement Davies, voted against the Bill on its second reading, two voted with the government and six abstained, an embarrassing insight into the rifts and disunity which remained charac- teristic of the Parliamentary Liberal Party. Meanwhile, at the end of the month, the Liberal leader, clearly aware of Davies's innate ability and parliamentary potential, entrusted him with the difficult task of drafting the Liberal amendments to the Bill. It was an onerous and responsible task for the inexperienced Member for Montgomery, who spent almost the whole of the Christmas recess in consultation with legal and parliamentary experts and distinguished mining authorities drafting suitable amendments. As a result of these commitments, Davies felt obliged to cancel all his engagements within Montgomeryshire, some of which were 'of cardinal importance'.9 Indeed, he made no public appearance in his constituency throughout January and February 1930. 10 Yet local Liberals, impressed by Davies's contribution to national politics, resolved to telegraph a 'message of congratulation' to him 'upon the important tanks entrusted to him by the Liberal Party in connection with the Coal Mines Bill. 11 It was Davies who was again responsible for moving the Liberal amendment during the Committee stage of the Bill in February 1930. On 27 February, Davies moved that a section of the Bill seeking to regulate production be omitted. In the ensuing division, the motion was defeated by a mere nine votes, while eight Liberals had abstained and four had supported the Government.12 Internal party wrangling and criticism of the defectors followed. There was to be little reward for Davies's industry and effort. In the face of this glaring disunity within the ranks of the Parliamentary Liberal Party, Lloyd George affected an extraordinary volte face. He decided to make the preservation of party unity his first priority, and in March he announced that there would be no further Liberal opposition to the Coal Mines Bill, all amendments were to be promptly abandoned, and Liberal Members urged not to vote against the Bill in any future divisions. Most Liberals did not trouble to vote in the Third Reading debate, when the Bill was carried by 277 votes to 234. To critics, Lloyd George offered the 'transparently fictious excuse' that he had no wish to embarrass the government during the conference on naval disarmament.13 For Clement Davies, these events were a bitter pill to swallow. Previously a warm admirer and fervent supporter of the Liberal leader, he became angry and hurt over his reactions to the Coal Mines Bill, and grew increasingly disillusioned with political life. He felt that Liberal 6John Campbell, Lloyd George: the goat in the wilderness (London, 1977), p.256. This was Coal and Power which had appeared in July 1924. 8See Peter Rowland, Lloyd George (London, 1975), p.665-6. 9Montgomeryshire Express, 7 January 1930. mIbid., 25 February 1930. "Montgomeryshire Liberal Association, Newtown, Mont. Lib. Assoc. minute book, 1920-60, Executive Committee minutes, 21 January 1930. 12See Rowland, op. cit., p.666. nThe Times. 22 March 1930.