Grey River Argus and Blackball News PUBLISHED DAILY WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 2nd, 1908.

Grey River Argus, 2 September 1908, Page 2

Grey River Argus and Blackball News PUBLISHED DAILY WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 2nd, 1908.

The Wharf Labourers' Union is the latest labour union to join in the condemnation of Judge Sim, president of tha Arbitration Court, for not making an award in the Canterbury farm labouiers alleged grievances. As against this we have the Wellington Cooks and Waiters Union holding the 6puo?ite view and refusing to endorse the action of the Canterbury Trades md Labour Council. It is evidently a matter of opinion. .Like many other questions, there is a good deal to be said on both sides. Anyone who reads Mr Justice Sim's review and pronouncement on the cause of inquiry will say. that he has adduced some cogent reasons for refraining "from making an award, even after having given full consideration to the indignant pretests of Messrs McCullough ,and Thorn. Looked at casually, it may seem easy enough to arrivS at a decif.ion to enable the court to fix a minimum wage, as is done in fhe case of trades or factories. But it is just .because the occupation of a farm labourer differs in most respects . from an/ recognised trade or that of a woiker in a factory that Justice' Sim found it so difficult to deal with the matter. The conditions of life of a farm labourer differ so much from any other occupation, and is so largely affected by weather, that it is not easy to see how to fix a scale either as to hours of labour or rates of pay. A point in the matter that does not appear to have been looked at as it ought to be is why the impartiality of the President of the Court should'be doubted. It is easy enough to understand some sort of bias on the parti of the other members of the Court,/ Messrs Brown and McCullouffh, eachv being- the advocate of distinct and antagonistic interests. But Mr Justice

Sim stands between the two as Judge and arbitrator. He is not specially interested in the fate of either. in any dispute coming before the Court. He is a perfectly independent officer, apnointed and paid by the Government to see that there is perfectly fair play between labour and capital in industrial disputes, and is quite independent of all parties. Why his honour and ability should be called in Question now over the farm labourers' dispute is difficult to comprehend, exceot on the ground that the labour agitators have given the cue that as nothing more can, apparently, be extracted from- the Arbitration Courts it was time the whole arrangement should be discredited. The court and its findings were satisfactory enough so long as they were favourable ; but now that a turn of the tide has set in. and further concessions seems to be very doubtful, some sort of a more premising rearrangement is wanted. The Conciliation and Arbitration Act acted as a new broom for a considerable time after being introduced and swept many grievances; out of the way. The time has- now come, so labour agitators thnk. for another new broom that wiil sweep more thoroughly than the Arbitration Court. According to our impression of the fa--m labourers' case, the agitation did not spring up spontaneously amongst the class specially interestdd- It would most probably not have been heard of but for the efforts of Mr Thorn and Mr McCullough, not that either of them had any knowledge of farming or felt any great interest in the condition of farm labourers except to enrol- them as a labour union, and as Dart of. an antagonistic, force to the farmer class. We are not aware as yet that the agitation has achieved any marked sucre.ss amongst the farm labourers of Canterbury, though the promoters and leaders of the movement continue to make a great noise. ' But that is pa:; of their mission in life. To our mini the reasons given by Justice Sim for refusing to grant an award have not been refuted in any way. It is admitted that a very large proporion of the farm labourers live with their employers — some put the number at 90 per cent — and are in a sense practically members of the family, and therefore not so situated as to be subject to such rigorous conditions as would' obtain in a factory. That portion of Justice Sim's finding which relates to weather conditions will show the difficulty of regulating the hours and pay of farm labourers. ■ Justice Sim says: — The operations of a farm are carried on subject to the restrictions imposed by weather, and it happens that time lost by bad weather at one period may have to be made up, as far as possible, by working lorger hours at another period, and that emergencies arise which make it necessary for farm workers to work at times without any regard for hours. Any limitation of daily or weekly hours would prevent this being done, I except at an increased cost by payment for overtime. Some of the witnesses who had kept exact records «aye instances of the time that had been lost through wet weather. T>us one witness said that four year ago his horse did not turn a furrow for two months through wet weather ; another witness said that he lost, in connection with ploughing work, 60 days in the year 1905, and 30 days in the year 1907; another' witness gave 31 as the total number of .days his teams, owing to wet weather, were able to work in four months in the spring of iqos ; another witness said that in four months of the spring of 1905 there were 64 days on which the ground, was so wet that the teams could not work it, and that during a period of nine months in the same year there ware 33 days on" which the weather was so wet that the teams could not go out at all. The Same witness said that in three months in 1906 there were 52 days on • which the ground was so wet that the teams could not work it. Other witnesses gave similar experiences, and from all this evidence it is clear that any attempt to impose on ploughing operations the restrictions as to hours asked for by the Union would hamper and greatly increase the cost of these operations: And the same observation holds good with regard to other farming operations..

The residents at Thames are at last taking a deep and active intterest in mining of deep levels there. The fisid is in this position that there are a number of mines, presumably profitable to work, but that can only be worked if the ground is drained. Th : s is possible to a great depth by the aid of. a deep shaft and; powerful pumping machinery. A few days ago the Thames Deep Levels Committee met, when the scheme outlined by the managers of the various mines at the recent Thames meeting was considers.l and approved. This provides for the driving of a crosscut north at the 1000 ft level from the Queen of Beauty shaft, utilising the- Saxon and Big Tump shafts for ventilating purposes, a distance of a little more than- 4000 ft, at an estimated cost of about A sctieme having been agreed upon by the committee, there now remain several details to be arranged . before it can be laid before the companies interested. The most important matter to be decided now is the basis of contribution towards the carryingout of the approved scheme. It is hoped that this aspect of the question may be satisfactorily settled, and that the outcome- of the committee's investigations and subsequent report may be > combined effort to devolop the so long unexplored deep levels of the Thames. These unworked lodes have been lying idle a great many years, something like the Ross deep lead, awaiting the enterprise of phicky in veslors. There is very little doubt as to the reward awaiting those who undertake the risk in both cases.

Petroleum boring operations in Taranaki district do not seem to progress as rapidly as the public were at one time led to expect. The bores that showed oil at depths of 2000 ft are not heard of now at all. Interest seems to be transferred to other v parts of the country. Boring is now going on at Rotorua, and Inglewood, at the eastern side of Mount Egmont. Operations at the Taranaki Oil and Freehold Company's bore are reported to be distinctly encouraging. A newspaper representative who visited the bore says that iwhen it was pumped out there was an undoubted show of oil., both on the rope and in the spoil brought up from the bottom by the pump. He: learned from Mr Balloch, the manager, that the bore is down nearly 700 feet, and for some days he had repeated shows of oil, improving as the bore became deeper. It has been found in hard papa, indicating very strong pressure from .larfc-e oil deposits below. The day before it passed through a stratum of aqueous gravel, evidently not of volcanic origin, and it was in hard stratum again, but at the time of the visit the pump ■ forced its way into soft country again, the extent of which remains to be 'seen. Mr .Balloch is very well pleased with the country, from the oil-bearing point of view.

A special summoned meeting of the Druids Lodge will be held this evening at eight o'clock. A full attendance is requested. The County Engineer is at present engaged in surveying the Ahaura river in connection with the Council's application for a bridge over the, river at Lee?s Ferry; Mrs Daniels; 'wife of Mr T. F. Daniels, met with an accident on Saturday afterrioon. She was riding on a trolly on the West Breakwater line. Mrs Daniels extended her foot, to bring the trolly to a standstill, but the pace was too strong and the leg was fractured in two places. Mr Daniels: (who is m charg-e of the Tavinui launching work) and Mrs Daniels are staying with Mr and Mrs Tullock, at the signal station. — Westport Times.

. The attention of our readers is directed to Messrs Nancarrow 'and Co's replace advertisement which appears in another column. From this it will be seen that the firm has some very desirable residential properties for sale and any person desirous of securing a good comfortable home would do well to consult with them. The firm is prepared to advance the bulk of the purchase money.

The annual general meeting of shareholders in the Garden Gully Gold Mining Company was held at the Albion Hotel on Monday evening. Mr D. Shannahan presided. Ihe bal-ance-sheet and report were adopted, after which the retiring directors, Messrs D. Shannahan and R. Insrall, were re-elected, while Mr J. L. Doogan was appointed auditor. A motion was carried expressing regret at the illness of Mr G. Perotti (Chairman ot Directors), and wishing him a speedy; recovery.

Owing to the new Apairy Act coming into force ordering every beekeeper to provide framed hives -tor their bees, Wickes, Limited, have set themselves out to meet the requirements of the general public. They have just landed a line of goods consisting of frames hives, embedders, queen excluders, etc., and trust that they will give general satisfaction to their patrons. Prices to be had on application* They have al<fo U-and-ed a splendid line of oyster shell grit in 10, 25, and loolb. Many old West Coasters will re--gret to hear of the death which occurred a few days, ago at Masterton of Mr George. W. S. Dalrymple. The deceased gentleman came to New Zealand early in the sixties, and shortly afterwards entered into business in Invercargill. He was the first captain of the Invercargill Fire Brigade, and held other public positions there. We came to Hokitika during the "rush arid carried on business there for some thirteen years. During his residence there he carried the position of Secretary of the local Fire Brigade. The late 'Mr Dalrymple was over eighty years of age at the time of his death, In the Salvation Army Hall to-night Brigadier Albiston, the Provincial Commander of the Army work in the South Island, will pay his initial visit to the Coast ,and will give very instructive talk on the social and prison gate work of the Army. The Brigadier has had a number of , years experience in this class of work and v.c are sure his talk will be most interesting. He will be accompanied by Major Ross, the Provincial Secretary who is a first-class banjoist, and a successful time is assured.

For the West Coast climate the quality of Zealandia boots is remembered long after the price is forgotten. When purchasing ask for the Zealandia brand because by doing so you are tasking for the veiy best article that can be "produced. For comfort, appearance, style and real solid wear you must buy • Zealandia. Messrs Skel'ton Frostick and Co., the manufacturers, who also have a branch in Greymouth where immediate supplies are delivered from, have stud ied the boot business from its inception and know exactly the article required for the West Coast. Don't be put off with the gag that something Is as good as Zealandia as there is nothing in this land as good and as durable.

We would remind our readers of the Grand Conversazione in connection with Trinity Church to be held in the Town Hall this evening. The -stage will be arranged as a drawing-room and the hall itself decorated with spring ffowers and evergreens. The viands on the refreshment tables will tempt * the appetites and gratify the palates of the most fastidious. The musical" programme will include items by some of the best amateurs and professional talent of Greymouth while Mr Fred Harley with the aid of his powerful theatrephone will introduce some gems of vocal music by the greatest singers of the world including Caruso, Madame Melba, Harry Lauder, and John Harrison. Altogether those who favour the Town Hall with a visit this evening" may expect to receive good value for their money and will enjoy a capital evening's entertainment.

There are numerous whimperings ex pressed when one is asked "And how is all the children." Some of the little ones have nasty sores, broken chilblains, chapped hands or lips and numerous other irritations which caneasily be overcome by using the famous Red Cross ointment. The Red Cross remedies are the cheapest by far of all the remedies. They are manufactured by a man who is both qualified and experienced. The soothing and healing influence of Red Cross Ointment is wonderful. The price is only is 6d and 2s 6d and everyone should keep a box of this mighty healer in the house, . also a box of Red Cross Pills which have gained fame throughout the whole of the Australasian colonies. The Red Crpss remedies are sold by all chemists and stores.

Victoria Park is fast beginning to wear a spring coat, the grass is coming away and when the track is dry numerous horses are to be seen being put. through light tasks preparatory to being sent along fast in view of the coming trotting meetings on the West. Coast; A number of horses have not been taken up yet, but owners and trainers are getting their gear ready to commence action. Now a word to those who want new trotting gear will be in season. In this issue Messrs Trist and Small exhibit a picture of a f amour trotting- horse being decorated for action. This firm are the largest and most experienced trottingrequisite "merchants in the Dominion being brought up to the trade they know what is required. Anyone wanting their knowledge would do well to write for a catalogue. The firm are ever ready to do business with the man at a distance. • 'Westport-Stockton shares are quoted qs gd sellers, 3d premium. As the .mine should be producing coal this month, the shares should rapidly rise in value.

At Cape Foulwind last week a Harbor Board workman employed in excavation ' work on the recreation ground, unearthed a Maori axe and a spade guinea (coin) dated George 111., i7go. It is. suggested that some whalers may have camped there a century or more ago. As some one has been tampering with the electric transmission lines at the Westport-Stockton Company's Ngrawawau works, fortunately, owing to early, discovery, without doing any damage, the Company is offering a reward of ,£2O for information leading to the conviction of the person guilty of the malicous act. Lord Wolverhampton has been telling the boys at his old school near Leeds what the life was sixty years ago. Instead of four meals of the best food they, had only three meals, two of which consisted of dry bread and milk and water. No cricket, no lawn tennis^ no lacrosse. School hours began at six in the morning, and in the winter at seven. News was received in Okarito last week of the death of Mr T. P. Wilson. which 1 took place at Whangarei, North Island. The late Mr Wilson was a resident of South Westland almost since the first discovery of gold until a few. years ago, when he left the district through ill-health. He was school teacher at Okarito for twentyfive years, and was greatly respected.—W. C. Times. We {West Coast Times) understand that some changes. are being made in the clergymen having charge of several of the 'Roman Catholic parishes on the West Coast. The Rev. Father Newyeux, S.H.M., has been appointed to the charge of the Ahaura parish, and the Rev. Father Lee, S. H.M., will be. his curate there. It is stated that it is probable- that the Rev Father Creed, who is at present in charge of- the Ahaura parish will be appointed to the Kumara parish. The southern correspondent of the West Coast Times says: — One applica tion for a re-hearing with regard to a special claim on the Five Mile held by Mr W. McEeod was objected to by Mr J. Park, solicitor, and the re-hearing was refused. We are always seeing persons peerering- off and applying for those claims but beyond the fact of the Government receiving revenue and lawyers good fatj/ees, there is never anything done to work the ground. We can only hope that this sort of thing has confe to an end, and that an attempt wiirbe made to work the claims. . .'-..'; The theft of two portmanteaux valued at £25, the property of Chief Detective .Mclllyeney, of the staff of the; Commissioner of Police, from the Royal Hotel, Wellington, was reported on July 10. The thief had apparently, entered the hotel by the back stairway and got clear away without anyone, in the hotel being disturbed. Diligent search by the detective staff failed, to trace the goods, but on Friday Detective Cassells and Acting-Detect-ive Bailey paid a visit to. a steamer in Wellington and there found the greater portion of the property that had been stolen. The articles were found in the firemen's quarters of the vessel, and one of the firemen was subsequently arrested on a charge of having 1 stolen them. — Dominion.

The annual ball in connection with the Grey Football Club was held last evening, and was a great success. The attendance was large, and air seemed to enjoy themselves thoroughly. The music was excellent, and the floor in good order. The ball was nicely decorated and the committe deserve a U i°, of P rais e for the splendid way the ball was carried out. f^\v h ii^ c ra P id an d continual growth ot Wellington of late years the num»cr^ of subscribers to the telephone exchange has been ever on the increasfc. One result of this is that the accommodation at present available St, 6en u quite out srown and extension has become absolutely necessary, ■SLM! c £>„ ™^ i will be reached in three years time, and a new exchange altogether wil be squired. The ultimate capacity of the switchboard at present in use is only a little over 4000 subscribers, so that when extension beyond that is imminent an entirely new equipmen will fiave to be installed. . „ You can not do better by giving Saraty's clearing drapery sale in .Boundary street another call, next Saturday the sale will end. Forty' dozen of assorted job lines of towel! left at is, is 3d rs 7 d, 2s 3d and 2s od a pair, also a fresh line of double white and grey sheetings 300 yards only at ,is 3d yard, and only a few blankets and rugs to^fceiN^at below ' cost So remember this genuffle sale. — Advt. ~**»-* H^ «i5 W embr £ i< ? erie j and laces now op. ened up, choice designs and lovely work, at extremely l ow prices. Wm McKay and Son.— Advt. B w eDdid T Vaiiety S f pretty P rints now showing, also excellent' rang P of check at 6d ! and 8d per yard. wS McKay and Son.— Advt. The warm weather approaching will soon /necessitate lighter weight underwear and you will be making your se' • cchonnow. At C. Smith's, Ltd., you will find Uinusually low prices. It pays to buy undergarments ready made for on c either buys plain pieces for the worth of the material alone or elaborate pieces that no one at home could make for the price. Visit the showroom at C. Smith's Ltd. . The Reliable Drapers, and investicrate these underclothing values for yourself — Advt. Rollers and fitting and fancy blinds all colours with lace and insertion can and fitted by Thomas and Mcßeath.— Advt. Come and se e our shipment in toiletware. The prettiest and cheapest in *°wn. Quality unsurpassed at W. B. Galland. The Furniture Arcade opposite Opera House. — Advt. YOU CANNOT DO BETTER if you want any of Ihe thousand and one lines i of general stationery which you are always needing you should inspect the large and new stocks at B. Dix?n's, Tainui street. You will get satisfaction and good value for your money. — Advt. HAVE YOtf SEEN our Tiew line of 3d sheet music. You may have your choice of c? different songs all composed by well known and favorite composers. The music is printed in clear type on good paper. Call and inspect ■them at B. Dixon's, bookseller and stationer, Tainui street. Next door to Noonan's. — Advt. To the ladies of Grey m oulh .SPRING IS COMING, and you will want your carpets beaten and relayed also yewe household furniture renovated. J-c* good work ai reasonable prices go to W. GALLAND. the Furnitur-« Arcade, Opposite Opera Hc-.i-.-. — Adv\ NEW SUPPLIES OF POSTCARDS. - The very latest designs and colorings in convics. actresses, New Zealand and local views, animal and flower studies and other lines too numer ous to mention just opened up at B. Dixon's, bookseller and stationer, I .Tainui street. Next door to Noonan's I —Advt. As for whit and Humour good, Bet a bit and Back Tom Hood ! And as Hood's great Humour's pure, So is Woods' Great Peppermint' Cure !