PNEUMOCONIOSIS CLAUSE.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 413, 23 January 1909, Page 4

PNEUMOCONIOSIS CLAUSE.

DUTIES OF A MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT. .' (BY lELEGUAI'H- rRESSASSOCIATION.) . Chrlstoliurch, January 22.. Mr. Freo has sent to Mr. Colvin, M.P., tho ; following telegram in reply to the one he received from that gentleman, and which appeared in tho morning papers. '". '~."' Tour telegram received. You: quite .miss the point that tho correspondence .-with the: Prime Minister, a paragraph.in .:. which: you object to, was conducted by , . .'.me for the.Reefton mine-owners, and'not.■■•': ■on behalf of any particular company. ■ ..You may know; all about the duty of a ■•: lawyer to his clients, but that has noth- v ' : ing to do with tho question, which-is, . "Were the Reef ton. mine-owners justified in' thinking that their representative in ; Parliament was to some extent' to.blamo--for their ignorance of; the provisions of .the New Workers' Compensation Act?'!• -; Is it not a faot that you, as well as:other members, received a circular letter from some labour.'organisation soliciting sup- j port- for the industriaj diseases clauses '■; .in the Bill; that/you did support At J and '-.:' ' during' last election took credit to your- . self for having done so ?. If my informa-: '. tion is. substantially correct, then it is evident that you _ took _ a keen interest -: •in the' clause dealing with pneumoconiosis, and therefore it was hot necessary for you ."to .'. consider seriatim every, clause in the Bill," for you to know how,: ■ '! seriously it .would affect every, mining -' : company in your: constituency.. Your failure to advise tho mining companies,: •of this startling, innovation in the law \ .affecting thom Would almost lead, one to., '■suppose that you were so anxious to placate the Labour vote that you assisted to get tho measure through as quietly ' / as possible. Personally, I prefer to think '.that your neglect arose from inadvort- : ence, not design: However, it'would be much more, graceful, for you to admit it ' . rather than indulge in utterly irrelevant personalities.. .'Surely oven youmust have •realised how very'weak the■ position is •which- you have taken up. You claim to.'have.'sent -a copy pf tho. Bill to the , .manager , of -. an' • English - company, but did, not,•communicate in any wav with tho Keep-it-Darlt,. ' Big River, or .Ulster's companies, two of which are .-. largo employers of labour, and all havo . a number.of local shareholders. If these companies were in entire ignoranoe'of tho '.. hew laws until after the olose of the session, was nO , t:tho:moniber for tho district ■' in' some measure to blame ?* ■ -. -. -- [