COMMON-SENSE. FOR INDUSTRIAL PEACE.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 58, 6 September 1909, Page 7

COMMON-SENSE. FOR INDUSTRIAL PEACE.

ME. HALLY'S EXPERIENCE A 0? OTIRA, THE DOCTRINE OF SWEET REASONABLENESS. The simple engine of common-sense, with Mr. P. Hally (Conciliation Commissioner) as "the man behind/ worked valuably at Otira last week, and the product was peace. The Post has already explained that the primary cause of the deadlock was the workers' alleged! abuse of certain lamps, and the employers' natural desire to safeguard themselves against wholesale loss or damage of articles which cost about 13s 6d each. By reasonable colloquy, on ths basis of give-and-take, a serious difficulty was pleasantly settled. The quarrel has passed away, and. only technical points, on matters larger than the lamps, remain for the Arbitration Court to decide. The chief of t,hese questions will be -. Is tne- tunnel a mine or not?" The query involves the bank-to-bank clauso of the Mines Ajat. The men wish to know whether Miey are legally entitled to payment for all the time consumed in going from t!ae mouth of the tunnel to the working face and back. Both. P u'j ies V Says Mr - Hallv > are prepared to abide by tho court's decision in this matter. v BRINGING THE PABTIES TOGETHER. Answering various questions put by a representative of The Post this morning, Mr. Hally remarked that he had no difficulty in getting the parties to agree to the terms submitted. "So far as I am personally concerned," he continued, I am well aware that a large amount of kudos has been given me foi the part I am supposed to have taken in the matter; but, honestly speaking, I am not entitled to say much, s as in the first place I question very much if I could have arranged the preliminaries leading up to the conference had ifc not been, for the instrumentality of the Son. J. A. Millar (Minister of Labour); Mr. W. Ferguson (secretary of the Wellington Gas Company), and Mr. William Scott (secretary of the Employers' Association, of Dnnedin). You will understand that Mr. Murdoch M'Lean, the managing director of the firm, had never met me,( and as he had a somewhat unpleasant experience with former negotiations with the union oflWak, he was somewhat chary about meeting them again, and had it not been for the influence of tho gentlemen I have nanv»d I do not think I could have managed off my own bat to lead the parties to an understanding."' THE REASONABLE SPIRIT. "I found the ,nnion officials reasonable," he-resumafl. "I might say that, so far as my experience aa commissioner in this district is concerned, I have found both parties imbued with the spirit which I think Mr. Millar wished to inculcaie- when he had this legislation in view % namely, common-sense, or, in other words, to settle these differences, which inevitably will occur, by_ a conference of the parties most interested, namely, the bona-fide employer and his workmen, and without the aid of any oatside influence in the shape of semiprofessional advocates, who as often as not have very little practical knowledge of the intricacies of the industry in dispute. It is quite a sufficient stumblingblock to have a commissioner lDte myself, possessing only a very limited . knowledge of these matters, without introducing others who have no direct interest in the dispute, and whose qualifications may be a Sow of language and a smattering of court procedure. No, as I have already said, the only proper persons to arrange an industrial dispute are the employers and employed." - After praising the tact and ability of the workers' deleeates, Messrs. Betts and Faga-n, Mr. Hally said he was satisfied that as long as those men maintained their position there woxild be no difficulty on the. West Coast. HOW IT IS DONE. Replying to other points raised, Mr. Hally said he was not hampered with conditions or instructions from the Government or Labour Department in ar- , ranging these industrial difficulties. So far, he had had a free hand, and acted as he thought best. "I have no denned lines of procedure," he explained. r 'Thia varies, as it must necessarily do, according to the extent and nature of the dispute, and, what is perhaps of more consequence, the class of people I have to meet. I endeavour to do away with formality, and conduct the proceedings m a friendly conversational manner, always taking it for granted that thos« who take part in the conferences have ft full knowledge of their business." NOT OPEN TO THE PRESS. "Personally," he added, "I do what I can to discourage the newspapers being represented at these conferences, and for a number of reasons. First, I hold that ths business of these conferences is of a private nature, a matter bttween employers concerned in an industry and employees engaged at it; second, I havo found that many sensible and intelligent men belonging to both parties feel that they are under restraint when they notice a reporter making notes of their remarks, and as a consequence often refrain from expressing an opinion. On the other hand, there are others who can never say enough, if they think their ideas will be read in a public newspaper.^ Consequently, it happens that oftentimes statements are made ~ that convey wrong ideas, and tho proceedings are unduly delayed. Of course, the results of the conferences are always sup- v plied to those who desire them. Third, I am of opinion that it would be impossible for me to conduct these proceedings in a conversational, or, if you wish, free-and-easy manner, if the pjess is represented. I have never yet seen any feeling shown at any conference between parties. All have parted at the conclusion much better friends than when they first met."