THE MINISTER'S VIEW.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LIII, Issue 9435, 6 September 1907, Page 8

THE MINISTER'S VIEW.

IPBKB3 ASSOCIATION.] DUNEDIM, September 5. The Exeoutive of the Txades and Labor Council of Otago has issued a manifesto to the Trades Unionists of . Obago • and the sympathisers of labor in opposition to the proposed 'amendments to.the Arbitration Act.

WELLINGTONj September 5. A deputation (representing the Trades Council's Conference had a lengthy interview to-day with the Minister for Labar with reference to the Arbitration Bill. The Chairman expressed thie ' 'opiniom that if the proposed - amendmente were carried the' Ac*" would tie op-good to God or man. .- He then explainied in dieitaal the Uoaions' objections, wMah werS set out in the recent manifesto. . > The Hon. Mr Millar, in iiis jreply, said it possibly, would,have be^i better- df they had come t& him before* tbJey'issued the manifesto. Some of the' tbiagswhioh were condemned in the , manifesto^ had been done at the instigation of officers of; the Union. No one would deny iW from, one end of the odlony to th© otlUeir 'demand' ihad been made that something jshoiild he' done to simplify procedure * and do away with delaysT He wias endeavoring to pvevienit those delays and promote further conciliation. He said •he had tried to avoidjtfhe evils of the wages .boairds' syiftttem in Victoria, aaid the proposal had' bean referredi to leaders of labor outside trades councils, . and they approved of it. Under a system of industrial councils the Minister believed they i-would have proper conciliation. If the system was not to be conciliatory tihen the sooner conciliation boairds were wiped out the better. The Government could aw* see its way to maintain boairds as at present oonsti-' tuied. He did not stick to every principle of the Bill, but thought its main principles were good and that it should be given a fair 'trial. He did 1 not want it to tgo ' fartih, thmt he had imposed greater jnespoinsibilities on •workers. Nine-tenths of What was in tfie Bill was either existing Jaw or had been asked for by the unions 'of' the colony.