THE COLLIERY STRIKE.

Auckland Star, Volume XIX, Issue 221, 19 September 1888, Page 8

THE COLLIERY STRIKE.

The Sydney " Morning Herald " # gives the following summary of events in connection with tho colliery strike:—Tho strike among the colliers in the Northern district continues, and the outlook is indeed gloomy. Efforts at conciliation have beenjmade, and the masters and miners have met in conference, but the end of the conflict seems far distant. The men decline any compromise, and say in effect that the^ masters must accept 7 tlie terms they offer or the struggle Aill continue. After the failure of the efforts of the Rev. Canon Selwy n and his co-mediators to secure a settlement, matters were brought to a complete deadlock, and Canon Selvvyn was assailed by the men as an enemy of tho miners. By the general public this attack was regarded as an cvi- N dencebf ingratitude to the man who had worked so impartially in the interests of peace. Who was to remove the deadlock was a problem which. for some days occupied the public mind, and by a consensus of opinion tlie Hon. Mr Brunker, the Minister of Lands, vvas selected, to conduct the negotiations. Mr Brunker had previously taken a prominent part in the mediation movement, bub had always-given the place of honour to the Rfjv. Canon Selwyn. In furtherance of Mr Brunker a efforts Mr H. Bucknan, the Mayor .of .Newcastle, wrote to the miheris' delegates, rec[ueating them to render to Mr-Brunker all the assistance they could to bring about an honourable settlement. Negotiations then proceeded, and Mr Bruhker secured from Mr Curley, the miners' General Secretary, a promise to the effect that the miners were willing to appoint a sub-committee^ to meet the masters' deputies. The meeting took place in Sydney, on September 4,. and; the result was that the masters agreed t8 meet the men, as desired, in open conference, and unconditionally. ■ Tho conference took place in Newcastle oh September 7i and was carried .■•on.;- with; cjosed doors. The proposed agreements of thettvo parties were then laid upon the table, and copies of each were handed to the different parties. The proposals were not discussed at all, but short speeches were made by Mr Gregson and Mr Curley touching the strike, and some points bearing upon it. After an hour's sitting, 4tbe conference adjourned until the next morning. When the minors' delegate entered the room where the adjourned conference was to be held, the r<porters who were present followed, i and afiked ; if there was still any objection to their presence.:■■; Mr; Greg?ott; and the other masters replied at once that they had none. On the contrary, they were specially anxious that the press should be there to fully report everything! that transpired. Mr Goundry stated that the miners did not.object, but advanced no reasons for taking the: step. The reporters then retired. The door was then closed, and the discussion of the two proposals opened. The miners declined to accept the first claufie in the masters' agreement, and ra i short adjournmeht w &S made to enable-them to consider the matter. When the conference resumed thafdelegatee announced that they had no ctetinite" proposal to submit," but in the way of a suggestion they named a 6l't. seam _9 the minimum, wibh an accompany-: ipg sliding fcale which provides for the injoreiale of isb"6« miners'. wages by 6d per ton: As the,7 proposal only came by way of -a suggestion, and the committee feltv; that before putting ib in .writing it was necessary for them to go back to the full delegate board, there was Qnly one course open, and the conference' immediately Adjourned until the following Thursday. ... Prior to separating, however, the chairman of the masters arid tho secretary for^the miners briefly intimated their objections to each other's clauses; and these. objections, were very numerous. In connection with the strike there have been some very disgraceful proceedings/ One of the first efforts of the partisans of the Northern miners was an attempt to sow dissatisfaction among the miners employed in the Southern collieries. It was partially successful,»'for; two' disgraceful acts were cbthmitted in the workings of i one;of the Southern mines. They. had- been putting down a 'bore at the bottom of a shaft, in order that the water from the shaft might run into the. workings below. One of the rods was lifted out of the bore, and a piece of steel dropped to j the bottom. -iTheeflect of that has been to utterly ruin the work for the present. A few days since^ a fire was discovered under cqndition? which led to a suspicibn that the mine had been set on fire. It was a diabolicar attemjit, and the fire must have cost tho individual considerable difficulty fcoMrtdla Luckily the fire was soon extinguished. ...... In the case of three of the Southern collieries, ademand has been madeby the men ; for; an in the;hewing rate.. The present rate was fixed when the selling rate was lis lOd, or 12s per ton.; Since then the price has fallen to 10s 3d arid 10s 6d j butthrpughout the masters have paid the full rates, and have not, as they were entitled, made any reduction. Now that there, is a temporary increase in the demand, owing to the Newcastle trouble, the men make tnis demand f pv a higher rate, ignoring the fact that two-thirds of the output from the collieries have bwn engaged for

months to come, and in some cases for over (a year ab the low prices referred to. The demands that have been made upon the. managers are for an inorease of 6d per [ton upon the present hewing rate, to .work Ikss hours per day, and to force the owners to discharge any man who will nob join the Union. They alsodemand that broken days,. quarter and half sluits, shall be paid for as I full days. In one case, that of. a colliery ! not bound by contracts, an offer of 6d per ton advance upon thei present rates has been ! made, and in another colliery an advance of 3d per ton has been offered. In the other collieries no offer has been made. .What may be the issue ol the, demand cannot at present be conjectured. . JExci tins Scenes. The wilful acts in the south were soon followed by a series of degrading scenes in the Northern-district. - '- *■ • .* "Oh September' 4t1.: the attention^ of the whole district was centred in the doings at Greta, where the men brought from Sydney were made the objects of hostile demonstrations. This scene was followed by another disgraceful occurrence at Wickharo, where a contractor named Sullivan bought 100 tohsof coal from Mr-Hugh' Walker, the proprietorof theLibwood colliery. He started the work of filling the trucks with "nine men, and the work proceeded satisfactorily for two hours, when bhe miners from JWickham and Bullock Is and begao bo assemble and intimidate the men; So long as their number was limited they were comparatively quiet, but when fully 200 of them had collected, an agitator came out from the ranks of the strikers, and appealed to them to stop bhe work, and thus exhibit "a spark of manly spirit;" The men took no notice of him, and this incensed the crowd, whose appearance and actions were suggestive of something desperate in the event of the non unionists' refusal of their requests. The men worked oh without interruption, and Mr Sullivan stood by, completely callous ancl indifierent of the savage mob who jeered and hooted and otherwise attempted to heap ridicule on the earnest toilers. When they grew tired of this means of intimidation, they resorted to the desperate and dangerous method of throwing coal and half-bricks at the mell. Fearing injury, five of the men threw down their shovels, and the miners showed their appreciation of this step by cheers, and doubly vicious groans by the other men,' y ho stuck boldly to their brbad-bladed coal implements ;.The proprietor of the colliery despatched a messenger to Inspector Brennan, at Newcastle^ and Sub-inspector Lynch was quickly on the scene with a dozen,con-tables. Before their arrival the miners contrived to slip the lynch pin of one' of the lull trucks, and thus ran 6 tons of coal over the railway line. Another instance of disgraceful conduct was given in the way in which a young man at Newcastle, named Gaynor, was set upon by a mob of roughs. In order to get away from chom he ran among the empty trucks, but bis pursuers followed :him with such determination that he was compelled to seek protection in an office? They yelled after him in bhe chase like a pack of hounds, and surrounded the office. The pblibe came up after Awhile and took Gaynor safely to the city watcbhouse. The mob still followed, and even waited a considerable time outside the police station in a most defiant manner. He told the strikers that he was in want of money, and offered to cease if they paid his day's wages.!' This they refused. ..:. • ' Boycotting is general in the district, the shopkieepers.beine threatened with the loss of custom if they serve the " blacklegs/ and lodginghouse-keepers arenot allowed to give the hoh-uniou men accommodation, Altogether the condition of the Northern district is very disturbed. The rnafiters are determined that the mines shall:not remain Irak idle, and the: feeling is general among their. v that if 'the men V-O' not agree to resume work at the close of the confererence, concerted action must be taken to obtain men. In three cases cabled commissions have been: sent to England for the engagement of miners for thiee years, with the payment of their passages to Australia. The effect o_ the strike has been serious for Newcastle. Trade there has been stag*. nated. Coal in the colony has been increased in price, and the Sydney Gas Company have [ announced that they will."hot: supply fresh houses with gas until the termination of the strike, and that they do not apprehend being able to supply tas for domestic purposes much longer -;■ but an'effort will be made to provide gas for street lighting. ~. :.