SITUATION UNCHANGED

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVII, Issue XLVII, 8 March 1912, Page 5

SITUATION UNCHANGED

THE GREAT GOAL STRIKE. MANY INDUSTRIES GRIPPED. LEADERS ANXIOUS AS TO STRIKE FUNDS. (Press Association.—Coiyriqht.l LONDON. March 7. The strike situation is unchanged, and there, are no signs of Yielding. The strike is slowly tightening its grip upon every industry. The trades union leaders are anxious with regard to the depletion ot funds through the idling of various :n----•dustries. The Amalgamated Railway Servants* Sooietv is faced with £20.C00 a week in mi-employed pay.

The Amalgamated Society's executive in reply to certain branches, declares that- in view of th e miiur.-" favourable position there is tio reason for combined action. The committee adds that it is unable to sanction a refusal to wnrk troop trains. It also torbade the Bermondsey branch, which is under syndicalist- influence, to hold demonstrations in Trafalgar Square in reference to the miners" strike.

Two -cpllierifts at Swansea were flooded owing to the men refusing to pump. One of. the Bishop Auckland collieries has been closed permanently. Four hundred Oxford undergraduates have offered their services to work in the mines. The cutting off of the electricity supply at Sheffield i|i the daytime has rendered manv factories idle. At Aberdeen the lighting and tramway services are being curtailed. MIXERS FEELING THE PINCH. FREE MEALS ASKED FOR. SCHOOL CHILDREN TO BE FED. (Received 10.15 a.m.) LONDON. March 7. The Northern Railway Company -denies the report that it- is reducing the number of grains. The entire Ministerial press censures the' miners. The -"Clironicle" says that, the terms of the schedule do not admit of reasoned defence. The "Pall Mall Gazette" demands the introduction of Australian methods of compulsorv arbitration, and the cutting off of the strike funds. To-day's news shows that the miners are feeling the pressure from other unions whose funds are being depleted. Electricians, clerks, and sub-managers are working the ventilation and drainage of the big Glamorgan colliery. The loss, including miners" wag-es. in South Wales, arjounts t 0 £400.000 weekly. I The" Trade and Labour Council is urging the Cardiff City Council to provide free meals. The feeding of school children is being arranged at Mountain Ash. REDUCING TRAINS. (Received March 8. 8.55 a.m.) LONDON. March 7. The London and North-Eastern Rail ■wavs will run only statutory trains aftei Monday. "HUNDRED PER CENTERS." (Rc-c. March 8. 12.30 p.m.) The Yorkshire and Derbyshire owners have practically agreed to concede eight hours to surfacemen and better pay. Speculators at Cardiff hold 100.0G0 tons of coal, purchased at £1 a ton. An offer showing 60 per cent profit was refused by the holders, who are asking ICO per cent. THE GRIP OF THE GRIMY HAND. AND THE PROBABLE EFFECTS. ON THE EMPIRE'S OUTPOSTS. In Dunedin shipping and commercial circles the absorbing topic is the British coal crisis. The menace of the present situation is recognised. The common desire is for a speedy settlement of the dispute that is paralysing the United Kingdom and threatening to disturb the trade of Britain's distant Dominions. A j shipping representative said to a '"Star i reporter; "1 am certain that fe\\ minds in the colonies can grasp the seriousness of the position, and that it would be difficult to find one representative of business in New Zealand who is competent to give a comprehensive, reasonably ac- i ■ curate measure of the probable effects of this tremendous strike on the financial, commercial, and industrial business of the Empire. There never has been an , industrial crisis like it. This is a na- ■ tional strike affecting over a million . miners, a million workers, and a million j interests. And, as far as I know, it is the first national strike of miners in [ the United Kingdom. I remember the : great coal strike in 1893, but then only j one-third of the British miners fought . successfully for a living wage. Consider | the great changes in the spirit and sin- j •ews of Labour which have been effected • aihee then, almost 20 years ago. The ' boys of 1893 ais now recognised under _ the British Coal Mines Art as men. j | "EDUCATED STIJKERS." j They have been tetter educated than , the strikers of the preceding generation, and. are in a position to clamour more logically for what they call their rights. Inherited power and profit are now bitterly challenged by the workers, who must live by the sweat of their brow. The temper of Labour has now something of sensitive delicacy, and is more easily aroused. And if -this strike lasts for any length of time the characteristic good sense of the British miner, and his instinctive repugnance to violent courses, may be overwhelmed by the pangs of hunger and the display of what they will describe as tyrannical power. The posi-tion,-in my opinion, is charged with glim ! significance. Civil war conditions are possible. This view may be the night mare aspect of the situation, but I am not a pessimist. No, I believe that the worst will be prevented from •coming I have in my mind's eye now the great seaports of the United Kingdom whence annually some 60 millions tons of coal are exported. Imagine the number of workers who earn their living bv hand- : ling that coal. Then think of the fact j that the annual consumption of poal in : the United Kingdom is something like i 170,000,000 tons —an average of three tons odd per head of the population. It is almost impossible to grasp the full effects of the stoppage of the cpal supply. As far as shipping is concerned, t there must be a ruinous crippling of trade. The reserve stock, as- you know, j is nothing compared with the demand. At most ports the coal is dumped into the ships' bunkers from railway trucks. , The hulk system is not practised extensively, as the import trade in oversea - borhe trade is nil. The Admiralty may have reserve supplies, but the great industries of the United Kingdom cannot afford to spare the ground and shelter for such stocks. All I can say is this : If the strike lasts a month the result will be heart-breaiking-"

I A SHIPPING REPRESENTATIVE. A representati\ e of oversea shipping said it was impossible to say how the strike would affect such shipping. "The strike has just begun. he remarked, "and it may he that most of the ships coming to Australasia to load the products of our fields this season will have j had their bunkers filled. If that be so. there is a chance that the trouble will be over before they return. The Huinegomg vessels which are due in British } ports this month may be affected sen- ! iiiisly. 1 hope not. but it is impossible ; to expect full freedom from the effects of i the crisis. And the influences of the ; Strike be felt in the financial marj ket. That goes without saying. It is ' not a time for croaking . Let us hope I that the strike will be ended soon. | Another commercial mar., when interviewed, spoke ot the effects the stiike j mav ha\ e as regards the diversion of trade from Great Britain to the East and the United Stales. He instanced how Australia lost commercial prestige ■by the crippling strike •of the New • South Wales miners. It was paltry compared with the British upheaval, but it served to close many markets, and quickened the activity of the Japan and Indian sources of coal supply, as well as I the sources along the Pacific Western (.'oast. It was possible, he thought, that the Continental miners would, it thev did not strike, keep their output of the normal level, by way of slightly aiding their British brothers, for although comic newspapers and grave leader writers in England and Germany plav at making faces at one another, the men whose hands are horned with hard work have much in common. He pointed out that it was a significant fact that when the Newcastle strike was on the miners in New Zealand did not hasten to increase the output. He admitted. of course, that it was difficult to obtain more men at the time, but he was satisfied that the men employed could have swelled the output if their minds had not been sympathetic towards the New South Wales men. This was not surprising. considering the fact that workers all the world over were dreaming of universal federation. He expressed the opinion that it would be a good thing for British business men and British workmen if some permanent understanding could be established between employers and employees so that contracts ' could be entered into as the Japanese fixed theirs—in the knowledge that the supply would be forthcoming. The whole situation, he thought, was depressing. Industrial strife appeared to be world-wide . THE LOCAL COAL INDUSTRY. A representative of the local coal mining industry was pleased to say that as far as his knowledge went there was no danger of a "sympathy" strike in New Zealand. He remarked, however, that the coal miners of the Dominion were better organised now than ever they have been, and had been strengthening their sinews of war for years. He had prepared his mind for anything, and pointed out that the newspapers were well head-lined daily with reference to industrial unrest and strikes all over the world. He expressed the opinion that the Government have been unwise in the matter of preparing for trouble. He considered that it was the duty of the State to hold large reserve supplies of coal at a time when strikes were the order of the dav.

The consensus of opinion appears to be this: That the United Kingdom is faced with a national peril, and that the shadow of the trouble must fall upon the outposts of the Empire.