THE HUNTLY ACCIDENT

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue LXVIII, 3 December 1914, Page 8

THE HUNTLY ACCIDENT

Referring to the following message, "It having been reported here that Mr R. McKenzie was defending the Government over the Huntly disaster, Mr T. Seddon enquired as to the truth of the statement, and received- the following reply:—'Condemning the Government and holding them responsible for the Huntly accident at all my meetings. No truth in rumor you refer to. (Signed) Roderick McKenzie. Wakefield;'

Ths Wanganui Chronicle mak*s th<; following quotations: We have before us No. 34 of Hansard, and on page 737 we find the following reported as part of the discussion on th<? Coal. Mines Amendment Bill:

The Prime Minister (the Right Hon W. F. Massey): "Both the honorable gentlemen have endeavored to show that if the Bill which is now before Parliament had been passed into law last session or in the previous session, this catastrophe would have been averted."

The Hon. JVIr McKenzie: "It would not have made a bit of difference." The Right Hon. Mr Massey: "I agree with the honorable member for Motueka. There is on honest statement coming from a member on the Opposition side of the Ho^e, and tne only man who knows anything about the subject. He says it would not have made a bit of difference. I cali him as my first witness."

Again, in the same volume, page 740: lion. ii. McKenzie: 1 contend that ths mining laws m New Zealand are just as rar forward as tne mining uus Hi Diiuun, ana 3 look upon jL>r;tain as having tne best mnung laws m iiiarujje, coxier in Belgium or the north oi x'l-uu'm, wiicre i-uey are all very strict as tar as cue sai^ty ot tne mm^s i.> concerned.

iVir. wiuord: What do you think of Mr. iteia?

Mr. R. McKenzie: He is a very able man, in my opinion. 1 have kiiuawi him xor many years, and have no doubt at all about his being a very able man At the same time, Mr. Yviltord ana myself are not everybody. We cannot make people take the necessary precaution. The men must do it for themselves, i compliment the Minister on bringing i v a very lair Uill etc. And again on page 741: Mr. J. Robertson Member for Utaiu;: To-night the Prime Minister iiiads the statement that if this Bill had been on the statute book the disaster ab Huntiy Avould have occurred just the same. For once I find myself in agreement with the -Prime Minister 1 beneve that if this Bill had been on the statute book, and all the'other conditions at Muntly had remained just th.3 same, the disaster was very likeiv to have occurred in any case. The lion. Member for Motueak (R McKenzei), who was re;erred to by the 1 rime Minister as the one man in the Ti Se i!- ° P.robably knew more about the subject than any other member, said that it mattered not 'how we amended our mining laws, because that ivould not give the full measure of protection to the men, and the men would have to t>e abb ho protect themselves, ihis is a statement which to anyone vho knows anything about mining will at once appeal as the frozen truth.