THE BLACKBALL STRIKE

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXIX, Issue 14637, 20 March 1908, Page 8

THE BLACKBALL STRIKE

[Fro3t Our Correspondent.] GREYMOUTH, March 19. Mr Pritchard addressed a meeting of wharf labourers on Tuesday night and j was listened to attentively, but at tho j conclusion ho was simply accorded a 1 vote of thanks for his address. Some speakers adversely criticised tho action S of tho Blackball minors and strongly | advised them to return to work, thus j ending the action which they charac.torised as “suicidal madness.” | The time allowed for the payment of the fine of £75 by the Union has not j yet expired. In the event of non-pay-ment by tho date allowed the Government will take stops to collect the fi.no. THE POSITION YESTERDAY. [From o<tr Cokrhspondicnt.] GREYmOUTH, March 19. Everything ia very quiet at Blackball, and no fresh developments are rej corded. The manager (Mr Leiteh), asked on what terms the men would be talien back, replied that the same conditions as were offered on Thursday still held good, namely, the extension of crib time to twenty minutes and tho reinstatement of the dismissed men. A Union meeting was held this afternoon, and it is understood that the question of a ballot on. the proposal to' return to work was discussed. [Per Press Association.] GREYMOUTH, March 19. There aro no fresh developments at Blackball. The miners held a meeting this afternoon, but nothing was done of any importance, and no resolutions were passed. The manager states that he has had no communication with the Union during tho week, and matters are at a standstill. He ia prepared, whenever the miners wish, to agree to the terms' ho made lost week. Tho Grey Wharf Union has expressed regret at tho strike, and disapproval of the men’s action. Mr M’Kellar, of Christchurch, is at present at Blackball making inquiries into the position. Several people from Greymoutli have tried to reason with the miners, but have failed, the last being a well-known clergyman. DUNEDINT March 19. The Otago Trades and Labour Council this evening passed tho following resolution, in regard to the Blackball strike:—“That, in view of the fact that this Council believes in the principle of conciliation and arbitration ui labour disputes, it cannot advise affiliated unions to grant assistance to tho Blackball miners.” THE MINERS’ EMISSARIES. MR HICKEY’S MOVEMENTS. [Per Press Association.] WELLINGTON, March 19.. Mr P. H. Hickey, one of the .dismissed miners, will arrive in Wellington on Saturday. Arrangements) are being mado to hold a publio meeting in the evening, at which he will asked to speak on tho matters in dispute between the Miners’ Union and the Blackball Coal Company. The “New Zealand Times” states, that it has it from a reliable authority that certain overtures are now. under consideration by tho Union which will permit of a compromise being arrived at in the course ot a few days. THE MINERS’ ADVOCATE. A VIGOROUS OPENING. THE NEWSPAPERS’ CRIMES. A meeting of the Christchurch Socialist party and of others interested was held last evening in tlie Socialists’ rooms, the business being the introduction of Mr D. K. Pritchard, the representative of the Blackball miners, who has come to Christchurch to advocate their rights. There were over seventy persons present, and Mr C. White presided. . Mr Pritchard was received with applause. That alone, he warned the audience, rendered, tnem liable to prosecution under section 8 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act for aiding and abetting strikers. He had been employed in the Blackball mine for only seven months, and was till recently scarcely known. But ho had suddenly been brought to the. front, and now there were three leading men of Christchurch who were striving with all their ingenuity to bring him prominently before the public, and that in tho most disreputable manner. Holding up a copy of the Christchurch “Star,” he said, “I don’t know who the editor of this rag is, but I do know lie is anything but a gentleman. 1 Mi; Pritchard,’ he ivrites, ‘an emissary of the strikers, arrived in Christchurch last night in search of sympathy and money. Wo hope that he will get neither. He will, of course, be accorded a courteous hearing, but it is to be hoped that he will have something hotter to offer as an excuse for his presence hero at all than a few demagogic utterances about the rights of the working man and the troubles of their wives and children. Mr Pritchard’s energies would be better devoted to trying to teach the men themselves that any such troubles as exist are of their own making, and that the law provides an ample redress for any grievance from which they may be suffering.’ Not only does lie attack me, but he is striking directly at the basis of trades unionism in tlie colony.” It had been alleged in the papers on the West Coast, ho said, that the wholo trouble had been caused by “ irresponsible ooalheavers.” The. editor of one of these papers .in particular had been exceptionally to the front. Every innuendo and term that his little brain could conceive or could discover in “Webster” had been printed in that paper. The miners had been called irresponsible, erratic, insane, erratically insane, insidiously insane, and all the combinations of those terms. The people in Blackball wero, lie could say, after a very wide experience, neither erratic nor insane, and he had never seen a more intelligent, sober, or industrious set of miners than those in Blackall. However these newspaper editors might try to blind the issue, they could not hide the real fact that the miners were struggling for time to take their daily bread. It was ovident to him that a great- deal of misconception existed as to what “crib-time” was. It was not a smoke-o; it was tho only time tho men had to take a meal between their early breakfast and their evening dinner. By the time the message announcing “crib-time” had reached them, perhaps a mile from the pit-mouth and they had pub on some clothes and sat down, perhaps fivo minutes had passed, and before they had time to swallow a few mouthfuls tlie trucks were running again. There was statutory provision that peoplo should not get on and off moving trains; there should in all reasonableness be a similar compulsion that men should have sufficient tinio to- eat properly, to allow them not to ruin their digestion, and so endanger posterity. Ho had no intention of touching tlie history of tho strike till Sunday night. On that night, too, he would deal with the “ Press.” He wuld prove then that many of the statements in that paper were deliberate falsehoods. “They” had dared to send telegrams, to which they dared not put their names, telling the people of Grey mouth the attitude of the Christchurch workors, and he would have to- prove that the writer was telling falsehoods. But ho would only do that to a larger audience, so that tho account of it might go over the length and breadth of the dominion. Tho “Lyttelton Times” had let him down a littlo easier, and he won Id deal with it lator. Mr Pritchard tlien proceeded to comment uiion tho action of Mr Justice Sim. Ho had contended that the niino management had a perfect right to diemiss a mm at ft moment’# notice. 1

and that a man could leave at a moment’s notice. But the moment they ceased work he came along and fined thorn £75. The miners only ceased work because some erf their comrades had been victimised. Probably the audience did not know that the seven moil who wero dismissed were the complete executive of the Socialist 'party in Blackball; the committee was wiped out of existence. It was at least a strange coincidence. (Cries of “Shame.”) There was a man who must bo broognt to bcok before the speaker could rest content. Mr R. Tennant, inspector of mines on the "West Coast, had walked in and out of the Blackball mine times without number, and bad held it up as tile model colliery of the West Coast. He had nevor uttered a complaint about the ventilation of the mine. But as soon as the minors complained of the bad ventilation, and, took advantage of the Hon R. M’Nab’s presence in Blackball to get a personal interview with him and have the question laid before tho Hon J. M’Gowan, the mine manager threw a challenge 'to the Minister to have any expert examine the ventilation. Mr Tennant did inspect the mine, and the old miner who accompanied him reported to his fellows afterwards that Mr Tennent had in his mind iat least the condemnation of the ventilating system. On the spot lie had said to tho miner, “ They can’t get enough air here, I can see that.” Why, then, had ho allowed men to work for years in tho midst of danger, among the gelatine smoke and the black damp, and gas damp, and all the other damps a damp mine could know? Ho had not condemned the mine officially, but he had condemned it then. A complaint had been made by tho men six weeks before tho strike, on account of the bad ventilation, and the inspector cams along to investigate it at a time when no miner could guide him. He had gone down with the manager, and when, he came up, he said the men wore too well off ana did not know it, and that the colliery was the model one of the Coast. There were main courses in the State mine where the air circulated so that a naked flame would not stay alight; while in tho Blackball mine there were faces no air could reach for forty-eight hours at a time, and all for want of a few yards of sacking-like brattice. There was another point. Mr Justice Sim had admitted that fifteen minutes might be a little too short for cribtime. Then ho had adjourned the Court for ail hour and ten minutes for lunch. Tfee meu hardly got that much time in a week. He had come to Christchurch simply to tell the truth about the position, and that was what oould not be got from the newspapers. If ho had heeded the Press, lie would never have come. There were some political nonentities of whom lie spoke more, in sorrow than in anger, who had expressed their opinions. The workers had not waited for the advice of editors to form unions; why, then, should they have taken over this business, when by waiting a little they could have learnt the whole truth? If those people who had accepted the antagonistic side had been able to hear what the “ irresponsible coal-beaver,” newly-dubbed “ambassador” and “emissary” had to say they would have changed their views, and would have withheld the rash resolution passed the previous night byseven or eight men. Mr Lomas, whose attitude had not been fully reported in the Christchurch papers, had acted as a friend of the workers up till recently; but last Saturday lie had advised the strikers that if they could not pay their fine in a lump sum, instalments would bo accepted. A prompt reply was sent, offering payment at tho rate of 2s 6d a month, so extending the payment over sixty years, by which time, he was con- ' vinced, the Arbitration Act would be off the Statute-book. Ho felt convinced, he said, that an amicable settlement would be arrived at very soon. The Government was preparing to launch a thunderbolt, and the Hon J. A. Millar was expected down soon. Mr Millar had been lauded by the “ D<> minion ” and the “ Lyttelton Times for his tenacity and courage in respect to his Bills. The other day Mr Millar had concluded a telegram to the miners in the following ingenious manner “Men, do not forget that those powers who gave you the splendid conditions under which you are working to-day, tho same powers may take them away. A reply was- sent thus: —“Mr Millar, do not forget that the powers that put you in your present position today can put you out again. ’ Mr Millar’s telegram when ho heard of the strike was in' a very different style, redolent of red tape:—“ Kindly advise me of all movements in connection with the strike, eo that I may judge if a settlement can he arrived at without putting the law in motion.” Their reply to that was: “Put it in motion.” The men were not frightened, they were playing football, and having a good time. But under their attitude lay a fomenting spirit that boded no good for the Act or for the conditions in which Mr Justice Sim had been able to say the manager could dismiss those men as he did. Not one of the workers in the dominion under those conditions was safe in his place if their employers chose to use the vile and brutal methods used by Mr Leitch. Tho speaker then referred to the manner in which the miners had been betrayed by one( of their number in the Court, who had denied_ absolutely wliat he had previously said. Such men as these, he said, were among the forces they had to contend against. Then he went on to speak of the way in which the mine manager, after he had spent months in devising a way to discharge the seven men, and had done [ so, had suddenly reinstated them after a- night. “ We know,” he said, “ that the man is“governecl from Christcburcn, and that the Christchurch Boat'd is governed from London. Those men would never have been reinstated if Millar had not come down to Christchurch. and seen the Board, and the Board had not wired to the manager to reinstate tho men.” Mr Pritchard concluded his address with some further remarks about the newspapers, which he designated “our blissful and glorious Press, that will certainly go down to posterity as one of the greatest evils that eyer existed in the twentieth century.” “ I have no time tor them,” ho added. “ When men toll deliberate lies it is the duty of anyone to do their best to correct them. But what a waste of time it is. Would it not be better to tell tho truth, and give ns a fair hearftig? No honest man can say wo aro more revolutionary in the modern sense than you in Christchurch. We want to get a living, and jog along; but wo are not going to jog along under the lash of tyranny or the iron hoof of monopoly.” It was decided to hold a public meeting in tho Opera 'House on Sunday night, when Mr Pritchard will give ail address on tile strike. The meeting then unanimously passed a resolution expressing its. admiration of the attitude taken up by the miners, and pledging itself to do its utmost to assist them. THE WORKERS’ REMEDY. THE ARBITRATION COURT CRITICISED. A CAPITALISTIC MEASURE. . At last night’s meeting of the Socialist party, Mr J. Thorn, president of the Trades and Labour Council, mado some remarks concerning the Arbitration Court, and also (following the lead of Mr D. K. Pritchard) upon tho Christchurch newspapers. The papers, he said, wealthy organisations as they were, advised the workers to boro* ro- 1

course to law in such crises as had arisen at Blackball. It was about time the facts with regard to such a course of action were placed emphatically before tho public. If anyone wanted to see how the Arbitration and Conciliation Act was operated in the interests of tho “bosses,” and many times to the detriment of the workers, he had only to watch the pace of the Arbitration Court when the “bosses” committed a breach and when the men did so. Just before the slaughtermen’s strike, tlio Court had been “ meandering through the country at about a mile in a million years,” and could not possibly get to Christchurch to hear some disputes that had been filed by trades unionists months before. Within 48 hours of the men going out on strike the Court had come to Christ church, tho _ strike was over, and the Court was flitting somewhere else, looking for some more slaughtermen. In the case of the Blackball miners, the arranged itinerary of the Court was placed <m one side in a moment, and the Court went to Blackball, fined the men, and it was all quickly over. A little while ago the Mnngatua gold miners were locked out. But there was no very great haste for the Court to go then; it was a breach by the “ bosses.” All the unions in the colony subscribed in support of the miners who were locked out. The Court never hurried. He had never heard yet that any decision had been given, and a few days ago he was asked by a member of the Court if any decision had been given, as that member was anxious to find out. That was the Court to which the workers were advised to go by a fat editor when they were in trouble. If the miners had filed a case in the legal way, they would have gone on for 12 or 18 months as they w-ere, and then the Court would very likely have given them a legal “ swipe under the jaw.” Another speaker asked Mr Thorn if that was not a little strong. “ Well, it may bo a little strong,” he replied, “ but I’m only a worker, and I’ve been, tantalised exceedingly on the Conciliation Board to-day by a cocky.” It was time, he said, that the lesson was rammed home to every worker that strikes were no good, and that Arbitration Courts were no good. Strikes involved suffering, and wero met by defeat very often. Arbitration Courts were simply a capitalistic measure to hold the workers down legally and enable the “ bosses ” to skin them quietly. They must not be satisfied with strikes or Arbitration Courts or the capitalistic system. The system must go, and until it was gone, with its robbery, chicanery, vice, and misery, the workers would suffer. An Auckland telegram states that the Auckland Trades and Labour Council has deferred consideration of tho request for financial assistance from thp Blackball minors, pending receipt of written correspondence. At the meeting of Socialists last night a letter was received from the Blackball Strike Committee, enclosing a receipt for £l3 5s 6d, a donation to the strike fund. Tho letter, after thanking the Christchurch Socialists for their gift, went on to say that anyone who read the evidence given in tho hearing of tho strike case by the Arbitration Court, would draw their own conclusions as to what could be expected from that tribunal. Nothing but revolutionary Socialism should' bo tho aim of the workers. At a special summoned meeting of the Aerated Water Workers’ Union held on Thursday, March 19, a communication was received from the Trades Council in reference to financially assisting the Blackball Miners’ Union. It was unanimously decided not to grant any financial assistance, and tho delegates to the Council were instructed to .vote against any resolution having for its object the granting of financial assistance to the miners. TO THE EDITOR. Sir,—-I wish the Socialists would bo straight when .they give information for the Press. Is not tho Tailoring Trade Union of 300 members a Union of importance? I think it is when the Socialist element connected with it tried to squeeze £2O out of its funds, but failed even, I believe, with the vote of sympathy. That was not blazed forth, and many of tho workers are disgusted with the whole affair. Noise is easily made when the pay is good. How small the Tailoring Trade Union delegates to the Trades Council must have felt when a motion of sympathy and support was passed by the Council (who, by the way, have no funds), and an opposite one by their own Union. Seeing that the Arbitration Court decision is being ignored, and Socialism is making a tool of our Trades and Labour Council and trades unions, would it not bo better if wo changed our name to Trades and Labour Council of Socialists? It is a farce to pretend Unionism, when it is Socialism at the trades Unions’ expense. Tho moneys of Unions should he kept in legitimate channels, as there is always some surprise sprung upon them at their meetings. Why must tho Unions be forced cut of their ordinary sphere of labour into the political arena just because certain individuals are against the Government and want their billets? Just picture Mr Fitzgerald Premier, and Mr Hickey Minister of Labour 1 Socialism has come to stay, but it is not obtained by tho trampling under foot of just laws and domineering impudence. The imported Socialist would do well to get hack to Merrio England. We are quite capable of managing our own affaire.—l am, etc., ” " JOHNNY RAW.