Reefton Reflections.

Maoriland Worker, Volume 3, Issue 77, 30 August 1912, Page 8

Reefton Reflections.

Arbitration Proceedings. Characteristic of the tactics employed', during the dispute is the latest move ; made by tho Consolidated Superintend- ' cut. As mentioned in my Inst notes, an application for ihe appointment of an arbitrator was heard in Wellington on August 9 by the company. Assuming even in tho teeth of experience tliat wo would get- a fair cKnl, no move was mado by the union beyond appointing a representative to watch our interests. When the company's affidavit was examined wo wero surprised to loam that the working of tlie Watigh drill was not tho only matter in dispute. When on May L 8 the members of this tin lon refused to work the drill single-handed and were in consequence ordered off the leases, it seemed to us that then* could be no two opinions as to the cause of the present deadlock. Wo now learn, however, that our honorable opponent has asked Judge Sim to appoint an arbitrator to decide, not only whether -he dri ! ! should be worked by on" or two men, but also whether or not the work of stoping shall be done by contract. When we signed our present agreement, stoping Was being done by shift, and had been so done since tho union ivas formed, and since unspecified conditions or customs obtaining when. an agreement is signed are tacitly incorporated therein, the attempt to include tho question of contract stoping within the scope of the present dispute is a. deliberate and unquestioned breach of agreement. It was not until August 7 that l we learned we wero being asked to play with leaded dice, but as soon a_ tho facts wero revealed to us wo instructed our counsel, Mr. P. J. O'Regan, to apply for an adjournment so that we could file an affidavit in reply, with tlie result tbat the hearing of the application has been postponed till the 23rd inst. It seems to mo very unlikely that any arbitrator will decide against us in regard to the drill, and if the order of reference is limited to this question the eompan. will have played its last legal card. Then we ought to see what kind of a hand can be dealt from the other pack. Against Scabbery—and for it. Through being unable to manipulate tho camera, I lost a good opportunity of adding to the pictorial attractiveness of The Wokker. When the attempt was first being made to work the rockdrill single-handed in the Energetic, tho names of those who assisted wero inscribed in bold letters on the railings and woodwork along the road to the mine, and attached to each name a significant word; and it was a crestfallen and sorry-looking group of faithful servants who passed along that road en tho morning after the nocturnal signwriter had boon at work. A few days afterwards the master-mind conceived the idea of controlling his myrmidons by sharing their humiliation. Re also employed a signwriter. hut one with more time and possibly more talent than the road-decorator aforementioned. The inhabitants of this peaceful village were surprised one day to see A. Winter Evans' 40 h.p. stink-distri-butor gliding gracefully down Broad-

A Breezy Budget.

(From Our Own Correspondent.)

way with a plate attached to the rear, on which, in neat, bold white letters, was written, "The Srab Car." The idea, of course, was to ridieulo the epithet and so rob hof its titim l :. Ii- lai! 'd however. The plate has been detached, and tin- "loyal employee" .still vrimes poreonLibly when rinvor ■ Kays seal) in lis hearing. E\ idenee u [ -,!,-■ restraint men are placing on theuK'eh es is furnished by' the fact that tusvwit branding such strong provocation the car and it-: occupants escaped the exhilarating oxuerienee of a plunge in the icy Inangahua. Sonnffl and Ye Editor. Semple was being driven down 1 Broadway on his way to the railway station some time ago. and ar; vhe enneb s+opped to pick up passengers opposite tho "Times" office the Fdilnr walked across the street and subjected the inoffensive Robert to a violent denunciation. On Thursday. 22ml inst,. the local Magistrate was to be. asked whether he considered the leiutuage used on that occasion eomuatible wiih the exalted dignity of a journalist and a .LP. The Great (Very) Press. After about 10 days' quiescence, tlie "Tnangahua Times" has had another attack' of mental aberration, during which it stated editorisillv that the Federation had, in three months, "raised 10s. per member, or not nearly a shilling a month." In arithmetic, as in logic, (he editor's conclusions aye always faulty, even though his premises be sometimes sound. The description of the paper in The Wom;EU, though anparently extravagant, was reailv quite accurate, and was reprinted ny tho "Times" as an illustration of the resourcefulness of the Fnglieh language. The paper itself is a shocking; example of the degradation of the public taste in literature. The fact that people aro willing to exchange good money for such crudely-written piffle as the average "Times" leader is a subject) for mournful reflection. I think, though, if it were not for tho amusement afforded by the editor' 3 futiio attempts to express his muddy philosophy in in-, tolligible English, the poor little sheet would succumb "to the stress of the times. In this feature it is quite unconsciously a rival of ''Comic Cuts" or ■ "Ally Slopcr." Health Rejuvenated. The position generally remains unchanged. It would be difficult, and perhaps inexpedient., to mako any further reduction in the garrison. Those we have are scattered over a wide area, so that in the event of any emergency we would find ourselves with few enough defenders. One striking feature of the situation is the vastly improved apnearance of the locked-out miners. WHiat other results may follow, this at least is certain—the enforced spell will add years to the live 3of those directly affected. Three months of openair life, even in winter, has changed some of them almost beyond recognition. Added weight is given to the idea, widely held and sometimes timidly expressed, that a net gain would result from shutting down the mines altogether. Shareholders and things like that may gasp at the notion, but in all seriousness let the digger consider it.