CONCILIATION BOARD.

Otago Witness, Issue 2355, 13 April 1899, Page 23

CONCILIATION BOARD.

KAITANGATA MINERS? DISPUTE. The adjourned sitting of the Conciliation • Board was held on Monday morning for tha purpose of hearing the deoision of the parties in reference to the recommendations made in the industrial dispute between the Otago ' Coal Miners' Union and the New Zealand Collieries, Railway, and Oil Syndicate.. The members of the Board present were: — Messrs W. A. Sim (chairman), G. P. Farquhar, G. L. Sice, R. Ferguson, and J. A. Mil- ; lor,x M.H.R. Mr W. P. Watson was present to represent the syndioate, and Mr Smith appeared on behalf of the union. 1 Mv Smith said that before the union intimated their acceptance or otherwise of tho recommendations they desired to have an explanation of one or two matters. The first , of these was with regard, to the height to , which boxes were to be filled. Was the height I mentioned in the recommendations to be the ; height of the coal in the box at the face or at the mine mouth. If it meant at the mine mouth, then the boxes would have to be filled higher at the face, so as to allow for settlement of the coal in transit. Another matter was with regard to non-xinionists. The clause relating to these appeared to give nonunionists the preference of employment over unionists. The Chairman aeked whether the union had brought these matters under the notice of tho ' company and sought to arrive at an under- ! standing.

Mr Smith : No. The Chairman Baid the questions should have been discussed by the parties, as it was not for the board to give explanations. He pointed out that the recommendation osuy protected the non-unionists at present in fche employ of the compapy, and gave them equal rights with unionists. As regarded the matter of filling the boxes, the intention, ho thought, was that they were to be filled to a. certain height at the pit mouth. It seemed absurd that these matters should not hava been discussed with the company. Mr Smith : We have been rebuffed on several occasions when we have approached the company.- • ' . Mr Watson said his company were prepared to accept the recommendations, but he was instructed to ask that ■ they be made to come into force on May 1. .. Mr Smith said he could not say whether the union would accept the recommendations or not. He' would have to put the matt«B in which he had received information before the union, and accordingly would have to ask for an adjournment until Wednesday. The adjournment was agreed to. Mr Watson said his company were determined to carry out the recommendations to the letter, and desired to know what remedy they had in the event of the union men not complying with the conditions. The Chairman said that the board had nothing to do with the enforcement of recommendations; it was for the Arbitration Oturt to do that. s The Board then adjourned till Wednesday morning at 11 o'olock.

A disturbance took place at the Richmond pony course, Victoria, the other day. In the. 13.1 Handicap Mrs Barlow's pony Cherry was made a strong favourite, and won pretty easily, to the joy of the punters. When the jockey Barbour came to weigh, Thomas Barlow, Mrs Barlow's husband, dragged him from the pony's back, and beat him, while a man named Jones ripped the saddle off Cherry, and threw it into the crowd. It fell at the feet of a constable, who took it to the scale, and Cherry, weighing in, was carried out. Barlow and Jones were arrested on a charge of insulting behaviour. At the annual meeting of the Bimetallic League of New South Wales and Queensland, the secretary reported an addition of/ 105 members during tne year, and a credit balance of £32. The president (Mr W. Alison) gayo a short address, pointing out that the rise in. the price of wheat last year had been tho cause of the lessening of ,the interest -in the currency, question, but that the present fall, Which was certain to come, and which was certain to be greater yet .under currency contraction, would again make international bimetallism a live question.