BLACKBALL FINES.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 222, 12 June 1908, Page 8

BLACKBALL FINES.

. MOTION OF PROTEST. GOraRXMENT DENOUNCED; Some vigorous denunciations of the Gov-ernment's-.action; in permitting ' the seizure of effects. of the Blackball miners in paymfent of the -TJnion's' fine' for striking. were hurled from the.steps of the Queen's Statue :at'a'ring 6f'workers, yesterday. •. - Comrade 'Dowdlc 'moved:—' ' •. /'That .this'.'meeting- of Wellington '■workers express its sympathy with the : miners of Blackball whose household • . gijods, -\vere seized arid, sold during tho ; ';P, resent 'week''..'at the instigation of the ; Minister for • Labour, in default of tho ; payment: of the fine of' £75 inflictcd on the members of the Union for their act of striking as a. protest against the vic.timisatioii qt their comrades because of their political opiriiohs. We workers of. Wellington express our disgust that a so-called Liberal Government should resort to such Oppressive arid coercive measures against the workers ,of Now Zealand] when such Government has utterly failed to provide proper legal protection -against- victimisation; and we call upon the working class of New Zealand to. sink all their little differences , and combine aud organise so. that at next ' general election they shall vote solidly as'. ■ a class,; and exclude; from '.office the op- ' pf'ossors of'.thpir comrades oil ithe West . -Coast'coalfieldi;" --

-. ■ The : mover 'protested strongly against the Government's/action in • "deliberately making l-'wfar on'defenceless women and children." It might: be.! turn of any of them next to see /their ' household goods takeri and their wives and children sleeping upon bare boards. A vej-y little/more .of such conduct on the part of the present Government would lead td .a revolt of the working classes. He urged- his hearers to exclndo from power at the next election * politicians who, he said, only, used; the'.workers as tools for their own ■■,' • .. ■ ;Mr.\ ; D. Al'Lareri, in seconding-the motion, said ho'believed that the policy ] being suod ■ ;by. the; Government' was diametrically opposed'!to., anything liko real conciliation or arbitration.' / He, considered; that, the endeav-"our.-to carjy : dut-.tho ,law by a .succession' of poejeiye., enactments would destrby any attempt'at future peaceful settlement of indus-trial-disputes,;'' :• The author of tho Arbitra--tion'Act, the .Hon. -W. P.' Reeves, had stated that 75 .per., cent, of abuses would be filially settled , by.', the ..'Conciliation . Boards. • The Government,! • however, had' allowed this portion - .of! 'the . system v. to'.;.Be- ''weakened.\ There, ./wore . people- who - ' agreed with...tho Government that- the Con-, cilialion Boards were . useless, but if they wore! it-was - the; duty'of! the '.'Government to ■strengthen -them,.: to; ..make ...them'/ practical arid effectiye, 1 ■ ■ The, Government had never cousideratipn.., olio thing . -which was , of'/vital iiriportjjncb i. mode of procedure of Jtheso boards... They got together ab!.!c6ncilial»rs :a,number, of, men who were now.'and:faw-';to.-the,.business,,and set them u'p.. : .to;, petfoiin. ..judicial/ functions. , The. : resmt',;was: th;it.'!b(uridbrs ( arid! mistakes were taadej. and ( .tho [fault .lay ivith tho Govemfor.- : their.;;.,guidance,'' ,Tliomost, impo.rtant. matter 'regard to.'._' arbitration was - that tliere. should; lio a - full myestigatioii irito- 'ajl itho;. circumstances of a ,dispute. Tlie Blackball.meii-!ha'd!acUxl'in_defenco.of their comrados.-ivlip.-had'.bceri vi'ctimised7-ho.hoped that -,do. t-lie. same -^^rid;v-irisi'ead.!bf/M r iipiliarory r: methods. being u^-;'idr./d'.^l^iHyMilgajkiori i iArbitt'atiori was/ drdered • ;to .go! to. Blackball to,/bring ~tHes6!,riieiv''tp-; l ibeli,..sd,to' speak, -.wjtli tho-crack of t-lio whip.' . .The ..Union was .fined £.75/ ■ Tjio Employers'.. Association of this city said that tlip''.worker's' were tlio- parties who had.,.beeri 'breakilig...the . law./ The.. records Shewed,'. ': hdfrevijri;! that',; year ■ after-- year breaches .of .awards. by cmployevs had - been counted in/hundreds upon hundreds. . Those emijloyers Were finefl trifling sums, which in their'jP.QSrfcibnV. they' could easily pay, 'and they, simply/lauglied-at .the law as it stood! What! jtho. .workers . wanted .was arbitration ■on 'fair, norms, 1 ' nqt/ mero ' trifling. with', affairs which ,t« thbin were .of vital importance. The Government .-had,!said ,tliat ,it .would carry through'' this, law vby., coercive, i measures,. by force,, so /to: speak/The whole'object 'of the Arbitration'; Act- was to provide' an appeal from forco'to reason; the method ,being Tiursued' by tho Govornmerit, to-day was simply a return to ifbrc/p.' Certamly it was .the forco of tho law, but tho result; was .tho" same -to the .worker.'. The Government . bad taken practically ino action against !tho employers in tho of- the ,Dunedin,tailoresses.. In!the D.enniston miners' case they; shilly-shallied till tho - men; were forced .to take' the'- matter/into t-htf Blackball men on the vital barik-to-bank question,; arid 'now.they. : had fined the -Union,£7s. Ho did ■ not .believe..that . t,he.v would 'evei' collect, tho fine. He; believed !that.,thcv wero only, makiiig 1 themselves ridiculous. Ho .referred, to the miners'., sportive conduct" at! the recent. sale?pf; effects,.'.which 'realised-12s. . 6d. In his' opmienj the-Government should. bring down, an amendment;to the, Act embodying, a rbv'efsiqn ;'t-o',the .true spirit : of conciliation. .- ; -!MK- who .was, next'. called upon to speak, said,"that lie entirely'disagreed with ■;tl>o<-majority ■ of; Mr.: ,-M'Lareri's .statfr meiits.i with' the action of the.-Government;.'in.' putting into forco the ■law . which; the'.workers... had assisted them to framc.y.'lri iroturningj a<! capitalistic Governmerit.;they,h'ad.returned raenVto hold theiivin toV.be:.. their./ masters. 'Talk between th.e .robbers and tho pbbeg—the capitalists,' or-omplovers, and fto wor-Jj qrs fromvwhom ••they -stole!' No conci'liaThe; worker, ; iuust go obtained tbo .whole,product of or -brain. Ho supI Pp r as-an- expression !of rcyplt'-,;;'. declared .to ; b& -. carried-; uhailimously. ,, -■.

APPLICATION TO THE [SUPREME 7 "-rSvK.:: COURT. /; ; : . (liY TELKGI'.AriI. —rPHKSS- ASSOCIATION )• ' • n ,y • ■?,. ' ■ Christohuroh, Juno 11,. •' application. made , .bv thd .Blackball Umoii.tqjvremoye ihe ,order mado'b.y the Ar-bitration,:-.C/mrt '(directing the individual members: of tho. ,Union .to. payVtho. fihe imposed;<>n; the rUniori) •'into the Supremo Court ca% before, his. Honour Mr. Justice Dennistqn . this and ..was adjourned to of the. Arbitration wnixwbe. sery.ed with the necessary notice. .ae; t Unioni''';i4-; moving; to have"- the order quashed .on. the ground. that the' Court had no power.to'inake'it; ' ' '