GREAT BRITAIN: This Barren Land

With the blackened stone houses lost in the darkness below, a single file of men tramped upward along a stony path. In sweet, mournful harmony they sang: "Guide me, O Thou great Redeemer, Pilgrim through this barren land. ..." For generations Welsh miners had gone to the pits singing the same hymn.

Last week, in the noisy, crowded House of Commons, miner M.P.s, collars open, hair ruffled, eyes red after two days of debate, raised their voices in the song they remembered at that hour: "Guide me ... Redeemer. . . ." Then they pushed into the "aye" lobby to vote...

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