ADDINGTON WORKSHOPS INQUIRY.

Evening Star, Issue 14002, 8 March 1909, Page 5

ADDINGTON WORKSHOPS INQUIRY.

m When the appointment of a Commission to inquire into certain charges made by the General Manager of Railways in connection with the "Government stroke" at Addington Workshops was decided on, the men asked for permission to nominate an assessor and also a representative to watch their interests. Tho latter request was acceded to. The Canterbury branch, of the Railway Servants agreed to the appointment of one of their Executive, but the selection did not meet with the approval of tho Addington Workshops hands, and they adopted the following resolution: ,; That, owing to the refusal of the Minister to grant us a representative on the Commission of Inquiry into tho charges inado by the General Manager of Railways against us, and also to tho late and restricted manner in which he has consented to our having someone to watch the case on our behalf, and tho entire absence of any information as to tho scope of the inquiry, we, as workmen at the Addington Workshops, decline to recognise the said inquiry." Tho following telegram has been received by the Addington employees horn the Minister:—"Regret to learn that ,-ou have not sufficient confidence in your Executive to accept ono of their members to act on your behalf. In the circumstances the inquiry will be held without that representation which was offered you, and the Commission will be so instructed." Referring editorially to the difficulty of the Addington Workshops Commission, tho 'Lyttelton Times' says:—"There would have boen none of these misunderstandings if the negotiations had been conducted in broad daylight. Even now, when tho whole story has been made public, it should still be possible to get rid at tho tangle. The men have discovered by a roundabout process that the Minister would have approved of the appointment of one of their number to represent them, and tho best course for them to pursue now is to inform tho Minister frankly that they had not understood the position, and that their resolution was carried with undue haste. A dignified admission of error will make it possible for tho Minister to reopen the subject, and as Mr Millar is nothing if not reasonable, we have little doubt that the AddingtoD workers will be able to obtain bis approval for > he appointment of a representative from their own ranks."

WHAT THE MINISTER ADVISED,

FIRM, BUT CONCILIATORY.

[Special to tot. Star.]

OAMARU, March 8. Tho published correspondence re the Addington inquiry fails to put the matter in its true light. As early .as the sth inst, the Minister informed Mr Mack that ho would have been quite prepared to accept himself or any other member of tho Executive or any man in the Railway Service whom the Executive would have liked appointed on behalf of tho men at the inquiry, but he received information from Mr Cameron on behalf of the men that the latter declined to accept the inquiry. • <nder the circumstances the Minister regretted they had not sufficient confidence in the Executive- to approve of one of them selected on their behalf. Therefore- the inquiry would proceed on Wednesday without the men being represented. Then came Sunday's resolution, which bears strong intema'l evidence of laving been framed by somo old parliaaientary hand, in whicli tho author is quite oblivious of the Minister's previously-ex-pressed intention to accijpt any man iii the Railway Service. If tho bauds would not accept a nominee of their own Executive, tho Minister's firmness had the desired affect. Mr Ell counselled a different course- of action, and acceptance of the Minister's offer to accept any railway hand nominated by the men, though Mr Mack Tather disingenuously declared : " We have never been advised that any member outside tho Executive could "appear." In acknowledgment of this wire "the Minister has now telegraphed:

As I informed you in my reply to your telegram, I would have been quite prepared to accept any member of the Executive or any member of the Railway *Service, but the men at Addington advised me, as they had no voice in the appointment of the Commission, and had also been restricted in the choice of a representative, they declined to recognise tho inquiry in any way. Under the circumstances there was no necessitv to go any further in the matter, and I so informed them, stating that the imiuiry would have to go on without their representative. lam quite prepared to accept any member of the Executive or any member of the Railway Service to represent the men, and if you submit me the name of the man you desire, being a radway employee, I shall be very pleased to forward his name to the Commissioner and to advise that such person be authorised to watch the caso on behalf of the men of the workshops.