THE COAL MINES

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 68, 17 September 1925, Page 9

THE COAL MINES

PERFECTING THE LAW

AMENDMENTS AND CONSOLI-

DATION

."SAFETY FIEST."

The Coal Mines Bill was discussed in the House of Eepresentativee.last night. The measure was put through its final stages and passed, several Labour amendments being defeated.

In moving the second^ reading, the Minister of Mines (the Hon. G.J. Anderson) \said the Bill was partly a solidating and partly an amending measure, with the object of making ; th» law mow perfect. After tracing: the history of the Act, Tie briefly sketched the form of the Bill, remarking that it did •way with . the present chaotic condition of the Act and its many amendments, and contained complete revisions. Mr. Anderson gave chief credit to the tJndar-SecreUry of. Mines for the difficult work of preparing tha Bfll, which he said contained many technical provision*. The Leader of the Opposition (Mr. O. W. Forbes) said -! it was; time the Act and its amendments were amended; He stressed the need for safety in the mines, and said 4hat ehould be the first consideration. Every risk possible should be eliminated. "He deplored the neces : sity for importing coal, and urged/that as far as .possible ;the country's induutries should be maintained npon, New Zealand coaL Dealing with coal by-pro-ducts, he pointed to what was being done in other countries, and declared tha time wm coming whan we would have to pay more attention to the proper utilisation of our coal resorross. A groat deal of second-class coal under proper treatment would yield valuable constituents for commercial and 'other use. In this respect New Zealand wm lagging behind. The coal mines legislation of New Zealand, he hoped, was ahead of tha* of any other country in ' the'world.' ..-.' '/• - '; /.: ;""-. ,;;■_ , SOME AMENDMENTS / The Leader of the Labour Party (Mr. H. E. Holland) said the seed for po»l importations would, sever have ■ arisen improper methods had been adopted. He regarded the Bill,, although it was not perfect, as on a level with the legislation in other, countries. He pointed out that the production of. coal si the mines for the past' year had .increased, indicating that New Zealand could produce Bufficient bituminous coal for her ■ own needs. The Bill meant a great deal of improvement on the legislation of the past, but there were some point* in it he would criticise. He. suggested that together with the Infliction of a penalty upon a .'"■ ""*«<"• ' for overfilling tabs, : the mine owners should be Uahle to a fine for not supplying sufficient trucks, which was usually the cans* of overfilling. If work was ceased in a cer- .' tain portion d '• mfau because of excessive temnatsar* woric . should be. found for the men stiewhere. Mr. Holland also contended that check inspectors should be paid not by the miner*: but by the mines or the State. The Labour Party advocated the use of electric safety-lamps, and would move accordingly, during the Committee stage. They would al»o move for an increase from Jd. to Id per ton ba the royalty upon all marketable coal, for the purpose of the Miners' Sick. and Accident Fund, and for a payment of at least £1 per week to sick and injured miners. He hoped the Government would set its face distinctly against coal importations. But for. last .year's importations the ■ output would have been much greater, In eonofawion, Mr. Holland stressed the danger attaching to .the. miner's occupation, and declared' thatj considering the risks that were taken the miners were the lowest paid workers. Coal could be produced much more; cheaply than it was at present. Sir John Lake (Wellington North) described the proposal. requiring payment of part of the consideration for the assignment or transfer, of - eosi-mining rights as a breach of the rights of the individual. He argued : that Importations were justified so long as local pro-, dnction was subject to interruptions. Mr. J. Bdie (Olutha.) said that the main consideration of the Mines Committee had been the safety of the miners., MINISTER IN REPLY Beplying to the discussion, Mr. Andcr- , son said the safety of the mine* had 'been the subject of instructions to the Department fc«j many years. In regard to the treatment of „coal,"it /was hoped to have an -, expert report laid before the House very shortly. The pa;rment of royalty moneys into the Belief Fund was regarded as the best course. The Minister said he,was informed that it would be necessary to have the oil lamp •': as well as., the electric lamp in order to test for gas. In, reply to Sir John Luke, he said that the clause referredto had gone through both Chambers unopposed when it was previously introduced. The only reason for the clause was to prevent speculation. '■"' The Bill was thereupon read the second time. . ' '....■ In Committee on the Bill, the Minister'stated j>hwt next-year.-it was. proEosed to bring in a Bill settingtup a oard on which the State, the miners, and the: mine owners would.be represented, and . which would lay down a policy for the working of any particular mine. :.. "; : '■ ' '.-_. AMENDMENTS MOVED Mr. Holland moved that tha mm» owners should _be required to have an adequate supply of tubs. : The Minister said he recognised that sufficient tubs should be provided. He would go into the matter, and if it" was thought necessary to make the amendment suggested he would let Mr. Hoi- ■ land know. ■ In view of the Minister's statement, Mr. Holland the amendment to go on the: voices. ■ . Beplying to Mr. Holland, the Minister said he was advised that existing regulations enabled the question of working in excessive heat to be dealt with. j . An amendment was moved by Mr. Holland that olectric safety- head lamps Should be-employed in the mines, i .The Minister said that many miners preferred the hand safety lamp. The electric lamp at its present stage would be of no use in detecting gas. An .improved oil lamp was not available. Mr. Holland said his amendment was asked for by the miners. Tho Minister admitted that the electric lamps gave a better light than the ordinary lamps, but, although they were being used in the State and other minea, he did not think, their use should be ■ made compulsory yet. -..'■' Mr. JV O'Brien (WestJand) said electric lamps were in use in 1914 in the State mine, but for some reason or oilier they were; .'discontinued. He contended that some stand should be made on the matter, as it was inadvisable to continue obsolete method*. The trouhl*

with the ordinary lamp was that it went out when it received a sudden jar; and the men were often left in the dark until they could get to a lighting station. A clause could be inserted fixing the time in which electric lamps, should, be procured. The,-amendment was defeated by 35 votes to 24. , • ' Mr. Holland moved an amendment to provide that the State or the industry should bear the cost of workmen's inspectors. The -workmen themselves had to pay their own dheck inspectors at present, but these' men were protecting the property of the owners, and the industry should stand the cost. I, Mr. M. J. Savage (Auckland-West) said it was simply-monstrous that the men should have to bear the, responsibility of seeing that; their working conditions were safe. . Mr. H. T. Armstrong (Christchurch East) considered that the miners should be compelled to employ check inspectors, but maintained that' the industry should bear the cost. '.:'": . ■ • The Minister said that workmen's inspectors were appointed for the safety of.the mine and the workers, and , it seemed to him that if the workers 'employed the inspectors, then they should bear the cost. It would be different if the owners, employed the inspectors. The amendment was defeated by 32 votes to 28. ' ■" ..."'• ■.'■ ■ „■■' . . . ' SPEAKER'S RULING SOUGHT , Mr. J. O'Brien (Westland) moved an amendment to the clause in respect to. the eoalminers' relief fund,'with a view to,increasing the royalty on marketable coal; raised from the mine from, £d :to Id per ton. • ' . ■ The Minister opposed the motion, as he had other ideas which he would bring forward at a later date. The increase wonld place a bigger handicap on coal production, and he asked the chairman if the amendment, did not involve an appropriation; , , Mr. O'Brien pointed' out that the impost had remained at £d per ton, though i the'price of coal had soared to twice the original figure. The Chairman of Committees ruled that the amendment wai an appropriation in that it affected the State mines. On Mr. O'Brien's motion, the Committee socght tha ruling of Mr. Speaker, who upheld the Chairman's ruling.: Mr. Holland then moved to the effect that aide and accident payment* to mine workers in privately-owned mines should not b« le*s than £1 per,, week.. • The present payment, he said; was 12i 6d per week, and the miners felt it should be The amendment was defeated by 32 votes to 27. ■ ■ ■ •■..".■ ■' "•'. ' The Bill was repotted with the amendment* made/and then put through it* final stages, and passed, r ;