WAIHI VISITED.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1511, 6 August 1912, Page 4

WAIHI VISITED.

MR. I\ RALLY'S IMPRESSIONS.' Air. P. HnUy, Conciliation Commission?? fnv tho Wellington district, who has just returned from a visit to Wa"ihi, was interviewed by a representative of IThe Dominion yesterday vitli regard to his impressions of that strike-afflicted mining district. Mr. Holly was accompanied by Mr. J, R. Triggs (Conciliation Commissioner), and, their joint impressions are embodied in a special report to the Government. Whilo not prepared to traverse anything embodied in tho report, 'Mr. Hall,y said thut ho defied, to clear away certain niisapprchensions which might have bepp formed from tho telegraphed report of an interview between an Auckland ''Star' reporter and tho two Commissioners when they passed through the northern city on their return from Waihi. Tho report conveyed the impression that any distress which existed was due to tho lack of the ordinary necessaries of life. "Personally speaking," said Mr. Hally, "I 'do not know of any caso in Wailii whioh could actually come under the heading of distress nr necessity. Iho wholo of the trouble is due to. tho tactics adopted by ft very largo section of thoso members of tho Miners' Union who now reside ill Waihi. Without going into details, 1 may say that they certainly do make things as inconvenient as possible for that section which includes the engineers ami drivers, with their wives and families. These sections practically constituto tho publio at Waihi, if one excepts the professional men—lawyers, doctors, teachers, and so on and if tho wifo of n man in the engineers section is seen going into n butchers shop, for example, she is followed by ■_ somebody from the opposite section-tho lederation supporters-ami tho butcher has to cliooso between serving her or incurring tho boycott of the Federation section. Then it is quite possible (said tho reporter) under such a boycott for a person in Waihi to bo actually m want through sheer inability to purchase supplies, cost notwithstanding? _ , , "No," replied the Commissioner, they timplv go elsowhere. They manago to not round it in various ways. One clergy, man resident; at Waihi, who has all intimate knowledge of the people there, and their circumstances, made a statement.tome—he ho* since put it in writinß-to tho effect that it voiild a dimcult matter (o expend JCS in Waihi in leffitimnio charily, notwithstanding (he fact that men there were now unemployed.