[Note 567.1] Lord Claud Hmailton (1843-1925) was director of the Great Eastern Railway, becoming vice-Chairman in 1874 and was Chairman from  1893 to 1922.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Claud_Hamilton_(1843%E2%80%931925)]

[Note 567.3] J. F. S. Gooday, General Manager of the Great Eastern Railway. He joined the  Board of Directors in 1910.
[Ref: 50 years of railway life in England Scotland and Ireland . http://novelonlinefree.com/chapter/fifty_years_of_railway_life_in_england_scotland_and_ireland/chapter_14]

[Note 567.4} Someone who exhibits great endurance through all kinds of trials, annoyances, or provocations, is said to have “The patience of Job” [Bible James 5.11] It refers to Job's refusal to blame God for his misfortunes.

[Note 567.5] This poem has the same structure as bar053~ A Welsh Rarebit published in the Railway Review on 2nd September 1898 suggesting that they both took inspiration from a poem popular at the time.

[Note 573.1] The poem is a parody of "The Spider and the Fly" by Mary Botham Howitt. (published 1829) Lewis Carrol’s parody of the same poem beginning ‘Will you walk a little faster said the whiting to the snail’ appeared in Alice in Wonderland published in 1865. The text of Strike Ditties I suggests that the author knew the Spider and the Fly - although the popularity of Alice in Wonderland may have encouraged him to parody the same work.

The Spider and the Fly

“Will you walk into my parlour?” said the Spider to the Fly,
'Tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy;
The way into my parlour is up a winding stair,
And I've a many curious things to show when you are there.”

“Oh no, no,” said the little Fly, “to ask me is in vain,
For who goes up your winding stair can never come down again.”

“I'm sure you must be weary, dear, with soaring up so high;
Will you rest upon my little bed?” said the Spider to the Fly.
“There are pretty curtains drawn around; the sheets are fine and thin,
And if you like to rest awhile, I'll snugly tuck you in!”

“Oh no, no,” said the little Fly, “for I've often heard it said,
They never, never wake again, who sleep upon your bed!”

Said the cunning Spider to the Fly, “Dear friend what can I do,
To prove the warm affection I've always felt for you?
I have within my pantry, good store of all that's nice;
I'm sure you're very welcome — will you please to take a slice?”

“Oh no, no,” said the little Fly, “kind Sir, that cannot be,
I've heard what's in your pantry, and I do not wish to see!”

“Sweet creature!” said the Spider, “you're witty and you're wise,
How handsome are your gauzy wings, how brilliant are your eyes!
I've a little looking-glass upon my parlour shelf,
If you'll step in one moment, dear, you shall behold yourself.”

“I thank you, gentle sir,” she said, “for what you're pleased to say,
And bidding you good morning now, I'll call another day.”

The Spider turned him round about, and went into his den,
For well he knew the silly Fly would soon come back again:
So he wove a subtle web, in a little corner sly,
And set his table ready, to dine upon the Fly.

Then he came out to his door again, and merrily did sing,
“Come hither, hither, pretty Fly, with the pearl and silver wing;
Your robes are green and purple — there's a crest upon your head;
Your eyes are like the diamond bright, but mine are dull as lead!”

Alas, alas! how very soon this silly little Fly,
Hearing his wily, flattering words, came slowly flitting by;
With buzzing wings she hung aloft, then near and nearer drew,
Thinking only of her brilliant eyes, and green and purple hue —
Thinking only of her crested head — poor foolish thing!

At last,

Up jumped the cunning Spider, and fiercely held her fast.
He dragged her up his winding stair, into his dismal den,
Within his little parlour — but she ne'er came out again!

And now dear little children, who may this story read,
To idle, silly flattering words, I pray you ne'er give heed:
Unto an evil counsellor, close heart and ear and eye,
And take a lesson from this tale, of the Spider and the Fly.

[Note 573.2] The company had laid plans to recruit blackleg labour in the event of a strike

[Note 573.3] On August 19th 1900,  1,327 workers went out from the employment of the Taff Vale Railway. Of these, 363 had handed proper notices in, 400 had inadequate notices in, and 564 had put no notices in at all. ref: http://solidarityandunity.blogspot.co.uk/2008/07/tafe-vale-dispute.html].

[Note 575.1] The "Branch Room" was the place in which members of trades unions discussed union business.

[Note 575.2] The choice of a ban coin as a metaphor for a bad person or ‘bad penny’ may have been prompted by reports of counterfieting coins for example a report in the Argus newspaper, 18th January 1895 [Ref http://www.drakesterling.com/coins-for-sale/news-wire/news-wire/counterfeit-gold-sovereigns] and The London Standard 7th June 1898 p8 [Ref https://newspaperarchive.com/london-standard-jun-07-1898-p-8/]

[Note 575] The Divine Right of Kings is the idea that monarchs are presonaly appointed by God and that God speaks through them.

[Note 574.1] Strike Ditties II continues the spider and fly metaphor established in bar575~Strike Ditties I

[Note 574.2] During the strike the company began a legal action against the union, claiming picketing was in violation of the Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act of 1875

[Note 574.3] All trains, including the coal trains vital to the income of the Taff Vale, were stopped

[Note 574.4] The strike ended on 31st August. The day this poem was published.