THE RAND MINES

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1847, 31 July 1907, Page 58

THE RAND MINES

POSITION OF THE STRIKERS. TRADE GETTING WORSE. (From Our Own Correspondent.) JOHANNESBURG, June 14 The mirers’ strike continues, although there is very little outward evidence of it. The strikers hold meetings, but very few of the public outside of those immediately affected take part. There have been a few isolated cases of aesau ! ts and one or two outrages, but nothing of much .consequence, and the military are now being gradually removed from the strike areas. The strikers now seek to influence Parliament to insist on the repatriation of the Chinese at the expiration of their contracts which will mean that all must be away before the end. of next year. Mr Outhwaite, an Australian, who oprosed Mr Joseph Chamberlain at the English Parliamentary elections for Birmingham, and who has been representing some English Liberal papers here, is going to England in a few days with the avowed intention of stirring public feeling in England in favour of the strikers, and also to get for them some material sympathy in the shape of money contributions to their funds. He and all the papers he represents axe very strongly anti-Chinese and they profess to think, that all the difficulties which the situation involves will be removed on the repatriation of the- last Chinaman.

This, however, is but one view of it, and I am sorry to say that view is not a correct one. The Chinese may certainly assist in limiting the scope of labour for white people, but the black and coloured we always have with u®

and they are a more serious menace than the Chinese ever will be. In the meantime the mines are apparently going on as usual. It is admitted that the development work is not keeping pace with th© production and it is an open secret also that many of the stopes are getting into very bad order and will want a lot of sorting up when normal conditions are resumed, but we may feel sure that the mine owners are not the ones who will first give way. Many of the strikers are gradually going back, one by one, and other vaoikers are finding places in the mines. Meanwhile trade, which has been bad for the last two years, is getting worse, especially in these trading areas dose to the mines where the strikers were employed, and many tradespeople are complaining of losses through bad debts as well as the declining business. Some overtures have been made for the return of the men in a body, but the mines have distinctly refused to agree to these, asserting their right to reject any they choose. Deputations representing the miners and also of the mine owners have waded upon the Premier and the Minister for Mines. The Government are evidently in sympathy with the miners, but are jowerlcas to do anything. T believe they intend bringing in an Arbitration Bill modelled on the New Zealand measure, but until this has the force of law no machinery is provided to enable them to terminate the conflict. The mine owners assume a very firm attitude. They say they cannot take the whole of the strikers back, as by doing so they would inflict an injury on hundreds who have gone to work. and they are determinedly opposed to re-employing any of the strike leaders. Tlie Premier pointed out that the Government could not keep the military on the Rand any longer, and that' unless some arrangement was entered into there was a probability of disturbances taking place, but this view of the position did nut seem to have any effect on the minds of the, mine owners. As they are politically opposed to the Government they would probably be glad to see the Ministers placed in a dilemma. The gold output for May has not been affected by the strike, but it is admitted that the present month will reveal a shortage owing to the fact that in many instances the men engaged m sorting have been compelled to go into the stopes and consequently a very much larger j-j i.poitiu.o of pcoc rock will be put through the mills. The development woj k, as I have already said, lias been materially shortened, and Were the mines to at once l ave the full complement of men it will take several Weeks, and perhaps months, before the underground wnkings have recovered from the dislocation which the strike hats caused.