NATIONAL REGISTER

Greymouth Evening Star, 18 July 1939, Page 7

NATIONAL REGISTER

PROTESTS IN AUSTRALIA

MINERS’ ONE-DAY STRIKE

[BY CABLE —PRESS ASSN. —COPYRIGHT.]

SYDNEY, July 17. ; Coal miners in Australia held a one- 3* day strike to-day as a protest against .. .the national register. On the other hand, many thousands clamoured at city and country *, post offices for cards with the object of registering. All male persons between the ages .3. of 18 and 65 are requested to fill in cards setting out their age, country -- of birth, whether they are married or 2 single, the number of dependent rela- J tives, and their occupation. Wealth and property cards must, be X completed by persons with' gross as- ~ sets of £5OO or more. ■* An attempt to end th trade union hostility to the register advanced a ~ further stage to-day, when the Fed- <• eral Labour leader (Mr. Curtin) £ agreed to meet the Prime Minister » (Mr. Menzies) and the Minister for. Defence (Mr. Street) in conference * at Melbourne on Friday to try to ar- £ range an amicable settlement. Mr. Curtin hitherto expressed the Z view that the trades unions would * “play into the hands of the Government and ruin their own. chance at~ . the next election if they di&bbeyed « their obligations under the national register.” “

A message from Perth says five men and one 'woman carried a coffin bearing the slogan “We are not going to be cannon-fodder for Menzies” through the city to-day in a protest against' the national register. All were arrested.