THE MINERS' STRIKE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 146, 14 March 1908, Page 4

THE MINERS' STRIKE.

—— ; —»•— The Arbitration Court lias had no hesitation in/arriving at the conclusion that the Blackball Miners' Union was guilty of a breach of the Arbitration Act in refusing to work under the terms of the Court's award. ;No unbiased person, in view-of all the circumstances, should have any doubt/ at all that the men were on strike, and that they recognised they were on strike; / Their Counsel made the very best that eduld be made of their desperately bad case, and threw all the onus possible > on. the mine manager ; but, nothing short of a legal technicality could have pulled the miners out of the. position into which their leaders had dragged them. The fine imposed was a reasonable and proper one, but ( its effect on the Union, will not be seriously felt, as, judging by the attitude of a section of Trades Unionists and Socialist organisations, the sum is likely, to. be raised by. outside' subscription., The most remark.able feature of. : the Court's judgment is the concluding reference to the attitude of Labour, towards, the Arbitration Court. It is a significant and disquieting thing that a Court so .constituted, and so specially qualified to form a correct estimate of the position, should feel itself called on to depart in a measure from its judicial function, and administer a waining so direct and plain-spoken as to amount to an ultimatum. " Tho workers of the Dominion mast make up their minds," runs tho judgment, "which remedy they desire to see retained. They cannot have both, and thoy must /elect which they support. If they are satisfied that it he better for them to have the arbitration system abolished, and the right of striking restored in its entirety, there would be littlo difficulty, wo think, in persuading tho employers to concur with the workers in asking the Legislature to bring about a chango, and the employers would assist, no. doubt, with becoming cheerfulness .in performing tho obsequies of the system."

It is a time for plain-speaking, and tlie Arbitration Court is merely voicing public opinion in demanding that the leaders of organised Labour shall face the situation fairly and squarely. The Act has done so much for the men that were they left to their own judgment, there can be little doubt that the great bulk of them would prefer this means of pacific settlement of their troubles than to go back to the old methods entailing/so much 'suffering and distress on their families and themselves. But too many of the leaders of Labour to-day are of the type who seek to justify their existence by fomenting trouble—striving for personal aggrandisement which is not easy to attain so long as matters are working smoothly between employers and men. The result is a growing unrest, and' the end is difficult to foresee. Without the sympathy of the great bulk of the public, Labour cannot hope to succeed in the end. It

may win temporary triumphs, but the renctionis bound to follow. The' Blackball miners were unreasonable, and although the'mine manager might have handled them with: more judg- , ment, there was no sound excuse for their conduct. Their grievance was manufactured for them by agitators, and the men and the company have had to bear the brunt of it. What has been gained by the strike? Absolutely nothing. There has been loss of wages, and a substantial fine has to be paid by the Union; while the mining company has ha'd to bear the loss of its output since the men desisted from work. We, fear that the lesson of the Blackball strike will be wasted upon the agitator section of the Labour leaders who, for their own purposes, apparently, are seeking to harden up the rank and file, of their party for the coming elections by fomenting a spirit of discontent. Indeed, in to-day's report that the settlement; arrived at on Thursday may after all be repudiated by the Union, there is evidence that wantonness and caprice have still the upper hand, and that the agitator is still keen to stir the men up to a foolish disregard of fair play. .