HUNTLY DISASTER.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXV, Issue 16666, 26 September 1914, Page 11

HUNTLY DISASTER.

EXTENDED MINE MEN RESUME. [Per Press Association.] HAMILTON, September 25. A large meeting of miners at Huntly last night discussed the recommendations of tin: deputation appointed to approach the employers, to resume work to-day, pending the settlement of the demands for all-round increases. The matter was argued at great length. The chairman, Air S. Dixon, who is president of the Union, pointed out that the directors of the company had promised that when a settlement was reached to make the increases retrospective to the time of resumption. About three hundred men were in the building when tho motion lor resumption was put. About seventy voted for it and twenty against, the remainder abstaining from voting. When the whistle blew this morning. 200 out of the 230 men employed at the Extended Aline resumed. Ralph s Aline will not open for some time owing to the repairs and necessary saleguards against further not being completed.

AIINERS RESUAIE WORK. [Per Press Association.] AUCKLAND, September 25. After an enforced period of idleness extending over a fortnight, the industrial wheels of Huntly were again set in motion this morning. When the whistle sounded, 198 men were ready to "o clown the Extended mine. At Ralph's, the scene of the explosion which cost forty-three lives, three gangs of tweutv men each descended to carry on the clearing of the falls of coal preparatory to resuming regular wore:. The managers of the mines. Mr Woods and Air Fletcher, stated that the response of the men was quite satisfactory. Usually there are about -oO men in tho Extended mine, but, as Friday is the last clay of the week, it is presumed that some of. the men are waiting to begin with a clear week. It is just, a fortnight since the explosion stopped work at the mine, but, although the men have not been earning anything, they have received a week’s pay, due to the facu that the company always keeps a week m hand. THE AIINERS’ UNION TROUBLE. WHY EXECUTIVE WAS ASKED TO RESIGN. . STATEMENT BY AIR ROBERTSON, [Fkr Pbkss Association.] WELLINGTON, September 25. According to an explanation given to a “Times” representative hr Air .J. Robertson. ALP., there has been a great deal of misapprehension of the facts connected with the Huntly .trouble. Tho following Press Association message was published in the newspapers on September 24-: “ Huntly. September 23.—1 t trams-, pires that at a meeting of one hundred members of the Huntly Aliners Luion last night, at which Air Semple and Mr Webb were present. ? it was decided to request Air Stuart- Dixon, the president (who secured a verdict- for £IOOO damages in the recent libel action the ‘ Alaorilancl Worker together with all the members of the executive, to resign.” The request for the resignation of the president and executive of the Huntly Union, according to Mr Robertson, had nothing to do with the demand for more wages, but was owing to dissatisfaction with the committee which had been set up to administer the relief funds. The dissatisfaction is said to arise from a feeling of no-conli-dence in. the Union’s president. “It has already been evidenced in Huntly since the disaster,” said Air Robertson, “that many of the miners’ relatives will refuse Jo touch reliof if coming from the hands of Air Dixon. He is president of the Aliners’ Union, butneither he nor the executive was elected by the Aimers’ Union a-s it exists to-day. Tlie meeting was called for the purpose of discussing the orgaiJisation of relief. It was a public meeting, not a meeting of the Miners’ Union. It was called and the notices posted before ever it was known that Messrs. Semple and AY ebb would he in Huntly that evening, and it was attended by the general public. Air Webb and myself took the platform and .addressed" the meeting. I suggested to the meeting that Air Dixon and the executive should lie called on to resign and to submit themselves for eelection. The object in doing so was this : In a conversation with Air Baillie, chairman of the Town Board, .in the afternoon, he told me that the executive of the Union was added to the committee as the representatives of the miners. The miners, however, held with a large section of tho public also that as they had not been elected by'the miners to their positions on the executive, they were not representative, and the only Way to remedy the position was to ask them to resign and submit themselves lor re-election. Were this done, it should be pointed out, no Labour organisation collecting funds could then take any exception to the Huntly committee, and harmony of action would bo secured in the interests of all concerned. A resolution was put to the meeting. The voting was by second ballot, and it.was carried by 107 votes to 56. The resolution was:—‘That for tho purpose of securing unity of action in tlie organisation of relief funds in connection with the mining disaster at Huntly, this meeting of Huntly 'citi-

zens calls upon tlio present executive of the Huntly Miners’ Union to resign and submit itself for- re-election by the union.’ 'The members of the executive of the union did not attend the meeting, ns they were tco busy elsewhere, but the local reporter for the Auckland ‘ Herald ’ was present, - and could easily have supplied a more correct report.; The report conveys the impression that Messrs Webb and Semple, by some Machiavellian machinations, are causing the trouble which has since arisen at the Extended mine over the new tonnage rates. This trouble arises in a way that will' - easily explain itself • when known" to the general, public, and may also be the subject of discussion in Parliament, within the ncx* day or two.” THE RELIEF FUNDS. [From Ovr CcnsESFOxurarr.] OTIIvA, September 25. The Otifa Tunnel Workers’ Union has decided to contribute, pne .day’s wages to the Huntly relief fund. The amountderived from this source will bo about £6O. RELIEF FUND. ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS. The following additional contributions to the Huntly Relief Fund have been received by the treasurer:—

£• jr. d-. E.A:S. (Sumner) . 0 10 G OLA. . . 1 1 -0 Mrs “ E.A.S.” . 1 1 0 Phil Mnnn . . 1 r 0 W. Devenisli Meares . . 5 0 0 Mrs G. A. E. Ross .1 0 0 T. J. Edwards o 0 0 W. Smith 1 1 0 F.R.A. . ... 0 .1 0 W. Gfregsby . - i 1 0 Fletcher, Humphreys and Co, 10 10 0 S. Manning ; ond Co., Ltd. . 10 10 0 ,T. A. Rawson 11 0 Faddist 0 10 0 Per H. Hunter— ■ Scott Bros., Ltd. •1 i 0 W. II. Price and. Son 2 0 0 ■ Pr■■■and:I). Duncan,-Ltd. . L J. .0 ■ A.. J. -."White. Ltd. ■ . , • 1 1"0 Holmes and Son . ;. . 0 10, e. 1’Y Cross and Son - , . 1 1. 0 R. C. Bishon . . 2 2 0 Bi'owii, Little and Co. - ; 2 - 2 o L.H. . . . 0 10. G B. Ballin .... 9 2 0