LABOUR LAWS AND THE PRICE OF COAL.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 420, 1 February 1909, Page 5

LABOUR LAWS AND THE PRICE OF COAL.

I-"-:'.-'} ,"■ ;•■■■'-;.'■■. ,;• -.-,' , -.".' ;...'. .; ..-■ i; - ; ■..-■•. :'-;'•. r(BI.;TEUtaKArH.-SrECUr/COaRT.SPOND»KI.!I...i--■■'■;?'YV '"'.-■':'■ January' 29;' ;-. ;A.i'sequel to"the recent'troubleVat.Huntly (is;(as''already 1 announced) that the directors 1 'the Taiipiri : Coal -Company have, decided ■tb:',advance' : the.:price : ',of their: coal by ' a per'tori. This,, it appears,:-has-been' {partly; necessitated by the labour legislation ;.enacted-last : session,-which;has increased tho ;qost of. the output. The hours' of the Under;:grpunUrWorkers Act of 1908,- for ' instance/ ,-proyides' that'.eight; 'counting .froni' th'e ''tTrae/a'-workmaE , '. leaves the" surface- to descend-into: the mirieuiitilhe- returns' tothe' -open'-- air,' shall. be -deemed -a day's' work',' and -■.that/'n6..'perspn. shall be .compelled- : -te:-work .underground:.for moro. .than eight,hours on -any 'day without; being paid overtime'at 'the: irate.. t.-v, lime,' arid.a. half..- .The. result-.'is that t4e". : fcost'.of -working mines', has been'greatly :indr.ea.sedi ; Then, again, there are .the extra--liabilities imposed under the new 'Workers'. for. Accidents Act. For the pa.st six years the. Taupiri ~ Company. has : taken-'.its own. risk at'an average cost ~of about £356.per-annum, but with■ the new.conditions'/imposed the directors havefelt it unsafe-to continue this, and have therefore'! ■iakei but a policy with the State Insurance 'Department,: the cheque drawn to cover the company's risk amounting to £1400. ; -In 'connection with the announcement that the Taupiri Company had increased the price ■of,coal by.ls. per ton, as a result , of the ■increased' cost, of production consequent on • the labour legislation 'of last • session, inquiries made by a Dominion reporter-go to '.show; that 'this is riot likely to affect the price of coal in Wellington. In this town -ahriost all the coal in vuse come's from the •West Coast; and as yet no mention had been made of raising the price on the West Coast.

Why should dampness lower the resistance of.the human body to disease, and encourage' such ailments as rheumatism, neuralgia, and diseases of; the lungs? The risks attending the sleeping; in. a damp: bed. can, as the "Lancet" points ou'tj be understood, because when clothing.-is .damp fits function—viz., that; of insulation—ceases, and it no longer , against the body , losing its -. heat, and so: a chill is engendered, and a■ chill may bring almost any disease in its train, for a chill; is'nothing but a weakened resistance. .;Does : the 1 dampness of the. air or of the po'il actvin-a;-similar .way? : It is probable, for ■dampness permeates almost all materials, end life in a--damp atmosphere meaus'a. v body., exposed to an undue loss of that aniCmal 'heat which is necessary to keep the organism strong and vigorous. On the other ■ handj a 'dry air, though intensely cold, .is ' perfectly healthy bo long-as the individual proteots. or' conserves hie boat by wearing Buitable noh-flonductiDg'olotbing,- '. ■