CURRENT TOPICS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume C, Issue 11725, 1 November 1898, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS.

• The strike at the Lambtoh and Burwood collieries aY Newcastle has terminated by the wheelers giving way. It seems that a few wheelers,

THE NEWCASTLE STRIKE.

influenced no doubt by the irritation that has affected the coal-mining industry for? some time, struck, and thus threw some fiver hundred men out of work. The number of strikers was only seventeen, but of course the employment of tire miners was dependent upon the wheelers’ exertions. The duties of the wheelers consist in removing skips as they are filled with coal, and replacing them with empty skips. The work requires a certain amount of tact and experience, and it is impossible, at a moment’s notice, to fill the experts’ places. From 1 what can he gathered, it appears that the system, in vogue at the Lambton colliery was to pay for wheeling at per skip, and for soma years past the men have been satisfied' with the remuneration of per skip,; Recently, howbver, the wheelers combined and made a demand, on the management for an increase of per skip, or, as an alternative, a standard wage of 6s per day. The colliery manager, after hearing the repre-i Sentatioins of the men, promised a reply latet! in the week, and a deputation waited u pon' him to learn. his decision. Mr Croudace declined to increase the rat© at per skip, but offered to plaoe-th© wheelers on a daily wage of 5s 6d. This offer was declined by the men, and when the whistle was sounded for* the resumption of operations the wheelers! refused to enter tire pit. The whole of the miners and surface'hands were in attendance, and were, irf consequence of the unexpected developments, compelled to return to their v homes. The men pointed out that the wages earned by them at l£d per skip did not exceed 4s 6d per day, and contended that they| were justly entitled to an increased remu-; Deration. The rate was fixed some yearg ago for the removal of skips from the werk-i ing places to a spot in the tunnel technically! known as the flat,, and at the time the rate! was considered a fair one. It was explained, however, on behalf of the employees,, that whilst the flat had necessarily remained iff the same position the workings had constantly extended, with the result that tha men had at last to cover double the amount of ground, occupying double the amount of time for the same payment per skip. The! leaders of, the movement expressed the! opinion that the-demand for an increase to 2d was a very'reasonable one, and that tha wheelers were determined not to resume work at tha lesser rate. It was further stated that under-the - existing conditions the meni only averaged from 4s 6d to 5s fid per day,, whilst at some of the other collieries the wheelers, although paid at per skip, were guaranteed a minimum of 6s per day, which! was frequently exceeded. The Lambton wheelers, however, did not ask for a guar-! antee of the minimum, but for 2d per skip,' or ’stab, wages at 6s per day, irrespective of the amount of work performed. The! wheelers, having now given way, liave, doubtless, succumbed to pressure from the miners, who have probably realised that the main issue-was likely to be confused with this side-one of the-wheelers’ wages.

THE WEIGHING QUESTION.

The Newcastle correspmdent of (the “ Sydney Morning Herald ” discusses at considerable length the bearing’

of the clauses in the new Mining Act which 1 are declared by the owners to be unworkable.. He says that the opinions of colliery authorities vary to a remarkable-extent as to the exact meaning of the 38th, clause, and until a clear definition has been furnished, owners will npt be able to decide what steps shall 1 be taken. It is generally contended that thal Minister of Mines should issue instructions and regulations as early as possible,, clearly setting- put what is required of colliery pro- 1 ' prietors, and the opinion is also expressed that an interpretation of tjie -clause should be obtained from the Crown law officers.’ To the uninitiated the reading of the clausa appears to be perfectly plain, hut there ara numerous smaller questions, all important in their bearing, which present themselves to colliery officials, and which require ex J , planation. For instance,.the clause provided that the whole of the mineral obtained by thd miners must be weighed. This would .at first appear to be explicit enough; hut when it ,is I'emembered that in many collieries thousands of tons of unsaleable small coal are left in the workings below, the question arises, does the clause in question require the whole of this-waste to be filled in skips,! taken to the surface, weighed, and paid for? Under present conditions the miners con* tract to hew good, marketable, sound coal,, and the only'remuneration received by them for small’is compensation from the skips.The supply of small coal is much greater than the demand, and it is alleged that the price obtained is only sufficient to clear (Expenses. The question of obtaining payment for the small coal has never been settled.! The • owners are determined, should they be required to pay for round and small alike, to reduce the hewing rate to such an extent that the men will reap no advantage whatever. In fact, it is openly asserted by representatives of the proprietors that the whole of the additional cost incidental to the enforcement of the Act will be passed on. to the men. In the meantime, it is understood, efforts are quietly being made with a view to the introduction into the Legislative Assembly of an amending Bill to bring the existing Act into line with the English law on the subject. From what can bo gathered, the majority of proprietors arc willing to comply with the Act if the weighing provisions, instead of being compulsory, are made subject to arrangement between masters and men. It is stated that a large section of Government supporters are in favour of the proposed amendment, and that the almost -unanimous support of the Opposition can he relied upon. The miners, in fact, seem to lie between the upper and the nether millstone. On the one hand is the inexorable “selling” price, and; on ihe other their responsibilities to tieii wives and families.

animats’ PROTECTION SOCIETY.

The Earl of Eanfurly takes an evident and laudable interest in all institutions calculated to encourage the best traits of human charac-

ter, and he showed this in an address which he delivered the other day at the fifth annual meeting of the Wellington Society fot the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. His Excellency said, among other things, that it seemed to him that the multiplicity pi Societies for the suppression of offences jin a -very large extent militated against tha successful carrying out of the objects fot which they were-formed. - It was with that

slew, and that alone, that he advocated the function of kindred Societies in. this colony. Many of these Societies could he looked iafter equally well hy the same inspector, jandl he trusted in the near future to see these Societies for the prevention of cruelty joined together and .working together in Unanimity, with greater power and greater 'good to the community both as regards Animals and women and than they Icould do in their present limited spheres. He would even go further, and say ho was anxious to see one parent Society for the [whole colony with branches in each' centre, hud with one head to look after the whole. This system had operated successfully in England. These Societies were perhaps sometimes looked upon as mere busy bodies, fend blamed for their interference, but that was not the intention. They desired to interfere with no one’s affairs, but they wanted ifco prevent cruelty that should not occur at all in this Christian country. At a later Stage his Excellency referred ho the educational benefits to children derivable from (Bands of Mercy, and cited some of his English experiences of them. Six or seven years ago a Band of Mercy was started in London !n connection, with one of the Prevention of Cruelty Societies. It was not expected that it would be of any financial assistance to the parent Society. On the contrary, it was thought it might rather prove a draig on its resources, but for the education of children in-the prevention of cruelty, it would be of great beneiSt. To their surprise the idea was taken np with great enthusiasm by children, and instead of proving a drag it proved a large Source of revenue, and produced thl last year that he examined the accounts something near to £3OOO. This was due to the activity lof the children, and he hoped members of the local Board would do their best to help the Society in the same way, and . in the prevention of cruelty, by reporting causes to the proper ■ officer for investigation- ■ The Suggestion of his Excellency might be taken lip with good- results all over the colony. Evil is often wrought by want of thought, find if an all-diffusing knowledge were spread among the public, there would be fewer out-, fages against the sense of kindness which is innate among the majority of mankind.