THE MINING CRISTS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14431, 26 January 1909, Page 6

THE MINING CRISTS.

KITUATI ON UXCH ANC ED. FURTHKR COXFKRKXCKS HELD. XWTHER SIDE UIVIXG WAY. (FIIOU OUE OttK COSBESI'ONDKST.) AUCKLAND, January 25. There is no present appeaiaucs ol an immediate scttlciiioiit- 01 ilbe crisis at lluiltly. and the ctl'orts of the Hon. R. M.'Kcn/.ic so fur stem tc have bwn without, avail. The members ot the Miners' Union accepted the Minister's proposal tlwt the matter should be referred to a Board of Concilia!ion, with the stipulation that the lour assistant deputies over whom llie trouble has arisen slwuhl be removed Lorn a position of control over the men ]:endin o r a settlement of the dispute. The directors of the company, hnwe-or, declined to ajrree to this proprsition, aid contend thill the dispute must be willed accord in % to the piovisions of the new lonciliatioii and Arbitration Act. They tetiise, moreover, to consider ttiiv su'nvstioit that the a.-sistant deputies should be li'iimvi'd from llie positions Ihey at pkiwill occupy.

The directors of the Tanpiri Coal t.'oml'.'inv held a Ion;; Ci.ulcrence with the Minislor of Mines' this nioniitig. and the whtde question was thorouLjhly discussed. The meeting was of a private nature, and all infoi'iiiation was withheld from the press; Messrs Fulton and Manniii.pt (president ar.d secretary ut the Waiknlo Miners Union) also had an audience with the Hon. Mr M'Kcnzie, but the result of their deliberations was imt disclosed, the greatest reticence hein<, displayed 011 all ski™,

On being interviewed this morning. Mr Maiming said that the proposal put forward by the Minister of Mines was the only way out of the difficulty that could be seen, ll was all very well for the Taupiri Company Io reply that Ihe machinery of the new Concilialion Act should be put in motion, but llie Waikato Miners' Union would tight that proposal, and the new act could not be put into operaliun in this caw, since the action of the miners at Umitly did not constitute 11 strike. Tlipj had been locked out in the lirst place by the company, and their action in refusing to go hack to work did not make thorn guilty of a breach of the act, For this reason they could not bo proceeded against as strikers or debarred from any of the privileges accorded industrial unions. Likewise, there would be no breach of the law under the present circumstances if outside unions lent financial assistance, for they wuuld not be abetting a, strike, but simply assisting fellow-workers in distress. "The company says it will remain loyal to the men who were loyal to it," eaid Mr Manning. "That may be. but they will find the miners just as loyal to their union, and we will absolutely refuse In go back to work unless these four men to whom we have objected aie removed! from a position of authority over the men."

Mr K. W. Alison (chairman of directors of (lie Timpiri Company) on being interviewed (hit afternoon, said that after going fully into Ik whole question, the company was not prepared to ncccpt any tribunu' which might he set nn other than that _ which the' law provided. This decision had been come to after a conference villi the Minister, and after lengthy consideration at a meeting of the directors, and it w;is absolutely dclinite. Application had already been lonVed for the reference of the dispute to die Conciliation Council, under the conditions of the new act, and it- now remained with the Government to set the law in motion.

On being asked if there was (lie slightest likelihood of the company suspending the four assistant deputies.' to whom exception was taken hy the union. Mr Alison replied that under no circumstances would the directors consent to their removal. The stopping of the mines. j, e added, hadi already been a big loss to the company, and a big ]yss to the men. It had caused much iiiconvenjence to the consumers of Taupiri coal, and had brought about an approximate loss of £1000 per week to the Slate as u result of the loss of revenue to the Railway Department.

11l rqily to a ftuthcr question as to whether there was a possibility of tho company withdrawing the • puinps and flooding the mine, Mr Alison replied that tho men had themselves settled that question In- deriding that (lie union sliou'd riot Mil oni the ouyine drivers. Had the enginedrivers been'induced to cease work, then the company would liave considered the question of {lie advisability of drawmi! up the puinps. It is understood that, there, may he Mine, slight delay in the Huntlv industrial dispute, hem;,' brought forward to the Conciliation Council, as it is reported that the appointment of Mr Harlo Giles (the now commissioner) lias not vet been gazettd. Another conference was neld this afternoon between the directors of the Taupiri Coal Company and the Minister of Mines Further proposals., it is understood, were lint forward for consideration, and the Hon. R. M'Kenzie left Auckland at 4 15 to consult with the miners' union officials at Himlly this evening.