THE STRIKE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 154, 24 March 1908, Page 6

THE STRIKE.

The latest intelligence from Blackball promises to force from the Government the action that it has been striving to evade. The Union lias decided not to pay the fine imposed upon it by the Arbitration Court. - The' ground upon which it bases this further contempt' of the'law is the alleged ' unfairness of the Court's decision, but, of course, the reason for the Union's action is' entirely beside the question. The procedure before the Government' is ; very simply-and clearly laid down in the two 1905 Acts. Clause .15 of the Amendment Act directs that the procedure in the case of a strike shall be the same as in the case of a breach of award. Subsection (f) of Clause 10.1 of the consolidating Act prescribes that " all property belonging to the judgmentdebtor (including:therein, in tho case of a trade-union or an industrial union or industrial association, all property held by trustees for the judgment debtor shall be -available in or towards satisfaction of the judgment debt." ' Should' the property, of the, Union prove insufficient fully to satisfy the judgment debt, its members shall be liable, to the extent of £10 each, for the deficiency. ' '■

1 It is difficult to. .understand wliat the Union expects to gain from its latest act,, beyond a further .measure of public disfavour. If. the Government chooses to do its duty, the money can be collected, from the Union if possible, or from individual members if the Union funds cannot meet the liability.. Perhaps the Union is relying' upon the unwillingness of the Government to follow it through all the mazes of disobedience and contempt of Court. This confidence in a Ministerial weakness is hot without some' • .warrant. Within the past few days . four Ministers have delivered political speeches, in; the course of which they touched upon nearly every political issue 'of the day. Yet , nobody/ reading these speeches, would gather from them that there was such:a thing as a miner in the Dominion, or such a place as Blackball in the world. The Blackball miners can hardly be blamed if they, construe this amazing concert of silence into a license,to. defy .the,law without fear of consequences. The strike became long ago the'paramount consideration of the Government; the issues which are involved in it are greater than any other which : can be discerned in the whole field of politics; beside them, the 1 -Premier's endless statistical speeches are the idlest chatter.. ...

The miners in tlieir. conflict with the law are supported by'a large section of Labour opinion. The State Collieries Miners' Union has set on foot a movement to petition . Parliament for the removal of Judge Sim from the Presidency of the Arbitration Court. The public will probably be more deeply offended by this Unwarranted , assault upon a • capable Judge than by all the other acts of lawlessness committed by the strikers and their friends.^'