THE ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES OF GOVERNMENT III

now agrees that the barriers should be lowered, but no nation
wishes to act first. Britain, which imports the necessities of life,
feels the inconvenience of the situation keenly, and -has tried to
relieve it by making trade agreements with a number of countries.
These may provide that neither side shall add to existing barriers;
or that each shall in future take a certain amount of produce from
the other. The Board, anxious to get markets for British exports
by granting a market in Britain to foreigners, has at times had
disagreements with the Ministry of Agriculture, anxious to
restrict imports and to keep up prices at home; or with the
Dominions Office, anxious to keep on good terms with the
Dominions by granting specially favourable terms to their
imports.

Another special activity is the care of the shipping industry,
which has been hard hit by the decline in world trade. The
Board has always had many routine duties connected with the
safety of ships: to these, since 1934, have been added the adminis-
tration of a subsidy to tramp shipping, and the granting of loans
for the building of new ships.

The Mines Department shows a similar combination of
regular work and special policy. There is the important routine
duty of encouraging research into the best way of using coal,
and enforcing the laws as to hours of work and safety in mines.
The latter task is performed under the supervision of a Chief
Inspector. The inquiry into the terrible .disaster at Gresford in
1934 brought out one of the Department's chief difficulties—
namely, that when there is much unemployment among miners,
many will hesitate to risk their jobs by reporting breaches of
the law.

The coal industry has suffered from the competition of oil and
electricity: relations between employers and men have rarely
been good: the organisation of the industry has been inefficient.
All these facts add to the work of the Department. It has often
to act as a conciliator in disputes: under the Coal Mines Acts of
1930 and 1934 it tries to encourage the amalgamation of mining