WENNISTQN MINERS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 104, 25 January 1908, Page 5

WENNISTQN MINERS.

PROBABILITIES OF A STRIKE. THE PREMIER'S HURRIED DEPARTURE. hurried. departure of the Premier to the' West Cpast, and the telegraphed portrayal of tlja Minister for Labour (the l|on. J. A. Millar) running away from a game of. bow]s'at Dunediiij with the tails, of his coat flying in thai air to patch ft train, and thus obey a speedy summons from his,chief, led to a deal of speculation in the city .yesterday as to tho probable"cause of. siich haste. ■ There seemed little doubt that the matter at, : issue was the trouble connected; with tho Denniston minors and tho " bank to ; bank " dispute.

.v. THE POSITION. The facts of the dispiito' have been fully published during the past week or two, but tho excerpt from an interview by a representative of This Dominion on January 19,7 with Mr. John Foster, -president pf the Dennisten' Miners' Union, explains tlio present';state of affairs. Stated that.geijtle- ■ mail: — " "The Act of last session was introduced . for the'purpose of securing what the rpiners' had been 'agitating for during ; fourteen years,- namely, hours bank to hank. The -Arbitration Court, however, has decided that -.the'' now legislation has no effect as against thie. award. ' The mipers insist that the intention of .the Legislature was;.to give them what they demanded, and immediately after the Act-became law'they informed the company that they wished to take advan-tage-of it; and .they gave fourteen days'* , notice.' accordifiaj-. ' The Arbitration Court'' has decided that ill doing sp the men cpm-'l mitted,;a.', breach pf : the. award, but' they unanimously' insist 1 upon, adhering to their original resolution—namely, to work (light' horns bank to ■ bank according- to the law. One, interesting fact.'deserves to be cbronlclcd, and that is,'.'that; notwithstanding all the objections to tl)e ljank to bank prin? ciple,-it ha. l ) been in force at the Denniston Mines since November 16, and the putput, both per. man and in the aggregate, has beau-fully maintained. The position is a<> centuated by the-fact that, in tho State collieries, the ' miners have eight houi's : bank to bank "without any restrictive stipiilations about travelling time or anything else. At the Briinher and •Tyneside.' mines, and at' many-.-'others elsewhere in: t.he Dominion, the same',system obtains. 1 Audtit 400 menat Denniston are affected by the dispute. . Tho men's patience," said Mr. Foster, in conclusion, "is exhausted, owing to the _ fact l -that, although ■ the Parliament' of New /ealand, .seyefi , years ago, passed certain legislation, .yet it; has never .become'law in respect of the Denniston Amines, .although it £ in force in other mines throughout the Dominion. 1 The men have so far been very patient and reaspnjible: After what I have said, the public can judge." ' \ an opinion. ~. V • vi SPntleniari jn tJiis' city,, well acquainted withutho sijbject in dispute, and in touph with the .Winers had no doubt' that this . had eccasionet! the Premier's action: For s ? ln e, days,, he said,, the -trouble' had boon .Biinmering. _ The miners had for some time , .expressed • determination in their demands, and,, in spite _ef the award of the '-'Arbitratien . felt that they ,had right on Me'r; side.v A very serious position ' has arisen, because, as far as was knewn, the men-had tlie sympathy, of t] lo coa i miners througnout. the country, including those employed in the State coal .mine. That, 'of less than : a strike, if the trouble remained unsettled, and ajtrike ini the coal trade would mean a very sermus thing to the Dominion. One wn!w C lf„ y fi COn i l '' re the results hi J ,cf • i 6 , to PP a S e of shipping, trains, industries, and factories, It was a position tha,t could not be allowed to last fpr, anv J®,ngtli, pf,time. The-greatest, diplemaev was ft? re , () , l " rei tp straighten matters! out, and Pr™' "TS -«• all the'resource of tho S ° PrnhnK % Labour■;to do that f ' 0 won woiikl ,be assured that the Act of last session which they were depending on for tho rights of thSr:^ SsteS ded ,- t9essiQnso : M^

further views.v deavour to; save the. dignity of the-Arbitra-on Act in respect to the men's recent at $B,«><? : ! <bank .to"bank" dause" tainthpt- ,^ ememberecl . that the. men main! award nf til? ,fTv le p lat , lon overrides the vided that +li" n Co , urt < *Moh Pro•leL "> e)l roust be eight hours to' bink Ce 'Sl e \l ° f e J ght . , hours from bank wm i • the trouble arose h fpw tjie.jnen maintained), overridden sL?thon e ?hr , "p ot i »* " therstens inth omp £" y has, taken no fur'.Si 1 /" ™'!' ?»swws the ■ foundations of tho Arbitration Act are : S 1 peri ' T l Jt fabric i'n ilin! Informant linkl P . Smg l Th,s P osition ' ollr of the attituX t? 3 f l Ct a ? d % result £nce C on thf® ™® i™ mi n?" • 1,0 P res °nt pase. W'rl^ 1115 ' 01 ; fo , r Mines (the Hon. James Jr n e^ its th srioS'*- ti " '"«»»■ t *nrinJ • koinas, Chief Inspector of Fac tones, is proceeding to the Coast. WESTPORT VIEWS. (by TEHiGRAI'II—riIKSS ASSOCIATION.) •a i+j, , Westport, January 24. _Although the object of the hurried visit of, the Proinier and,the Minister for Labour •JimlirS P i r ; ? s n0 ' been (l' sc '°sed, it is understood to have reforenco to the Dento tnV| C '°' a li mmer Ijrt °ver the "bank Uninn L oI ? U3e - . IllG Donmston Miners' Union m regular communication with the Hon. J. A. Miliar, regarding tho dispute, between the Union and the Westport mv ,W' V| ? 'V lB Presumed the Com-{.,-n T a '- b?p " communication with ciso ho !l n' Pll r aro P'',°P ar 'hg to bring their mrnrn r,- V ™ C °«rt 8 > 0"(1 Will CpmS W.Xnr'T- ln , H ,p Court at Hestport a fortnight hence. J 'p7' s ' Branch Manager of the Westport Coal Company , IS up a ware of any special WmfLl i . il l J l niste r rs should come to Mostport so hurriedly. So far as he knows work is proceeding steadily at Denniston. •nnti l -' cu' r e s 'd e nt of tho Union, knows nothing of the particular object of tho Ministerial trip, although the committee have been advised of the visit. It is suggested that any pressure that may .have arisen comes from the directors of the Company at Dunedm. , INTERVIEW WITH MINERS. Greymouth, January 24. The Hon. J.' A. Millar arrived from Christchurch by special train last evening. T'lio journey from Christchurch was' accomplished under twelve hours. f Jhe Premier is cxpeeted to arrive at two O'clock in the morning by the Tutanekai, and the Minister for Marine will join him, and tho party then proceed to Westport. 'J.lie reason for the hurried visit to the coast"is said to be in connection with tho coal miners' dispute at Denniston, and an interview with the Miners' Union will be held at Westport to-morrow. The Hon. J. A. Millar returns to Greymouth on Monday, and will enquire into Harbour Board matters, and inspect works now under construction.