NEW RAILWAY FUEL.

Grey River Argus, 3 November 1928, Page 2

NEW RAILWAY FUEL.

Local Miners to Lose. (To tne Editor.) Sir—Allow mo a little space in your vihiahle paper to draw 'lie attention <f the public to the report in your paper of the 31st October, headed ‘‘N.Z. Railways—lmported Fuel—Big Contract to the Sensile Heat Distillation Company.” The report goes on to sav ‘hat this contract has been -eenred hv the above company to fupplv the N Z. Railways with a hundred •honsand tens annually. Ye gods! For .‘ownright effrontery Mr Contes and his colleagues cannot be b“aten. Your leaders will rem< mber that, just a few weeks ago. he made the threat ILa the first mine to close would be ih< State Alines, the mill* s that belong to the people of New Zealand; and the next thing is that he considers letting contracts to impor' thousand of tons of coal annually for t ie rail- | wavs. Mr Coates has had a frequent

lapse of memory within the last twelve months. When’he made the statement tha* h<‘ had instructed the Railway Department to use as much N.Z. coal :u they possibly could do. would anybody have imagined that ho was at the same + im • negotiating to substitute lor New Zealand coal on the railways this fuel which he now is definitely con ractiug to fetch into the country from GV-rseas? What a future he has in tore for our principal West Coast in- ■ insiry. if ho is given as fr< e a han 1 , a- he l<s had up to the present! In face <>f this can the electors of New Zealand. an<l especially of the Coast. Lave “eonfidince in Coates” as his co league , when he make§ those state-, me nt?. and hen contradicts him elf almost in the one breath? Are the public of New Zealand and of thi West (da.'t going to allow Mr Coates |to let this contract outside of New Zealand, and heir own mines lying [idle? At the present time there are ’ over one hundred miners unemployed . in Blackball, and the State Mines ar< .working only half time. Thin there are the men who work on the wharf n Greymouth. Are you going to take ■is thing lying down.’ Are they goI ing to vo‘e for the Coates policy and starve ? It say- in the report (which, by the way, was not published from a New Zealand or Government source, but from Lon lan) that the negotiations have not been finalised on either side. That- in my opinion, is only “ cyewa b” for the people who lead, but do no think. You people of New Zealand if you lot this go without a kick, you will find if Mr Coates ib rcturmd to power, that this . jiitraet is finalised by both parties, and you and your women and childien can starve! Why i- ?dr Coates afraid tc set the S ate Mine; Commission of Inquiry going? lie knows that the people of New Zealand would get to know t;>o much. Now, you workers on the waterfront and in the mines, also you business people of Greymouth, allow this to go l»y without an effective effort to prevent it, and you will live to rue the day that you ever had a vote to support a policy ‘aking the bread and butter out of your own mouths. — 1 am. etc ; A RUNANGA MINER. Rnanga, Nov. 2.