The Oyago Witness WITH WHICH IN INCORPORATED THE SOUTEHRN MERCURY. (TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 1921.) THE WEEK.

Otago Witness, Issue 3501, 19 April 1921, Page 35

The Oyago Witness WITH WHICH IN INCORPORATED THE SOUTEHRN MERCURY. (TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 1921.) THE WEEK.

—juvsKAL, l " * llU<3 natura ' allu<l ,a Phnti» dixit nat-ur. and good (umias mint erer At the very moment when apparently all attempts at a settlement by A Dramatic negotiation had failed, and Development, when the United Kingdom was faced with the imminent prospect of an industrial upheaval of unparalleled magnitude, the decision of the railwaymen and transport workers to cancel the contemplated general strike and their refusal to come to the aid of the miners was a denouement as dramatic aa it was unexpected. To the community at large the decision has created an intense feeling of relief, while to the advocates of the claims of. Labour, and especially to the extreme spirits among thorn, it has come as a shattering blow, involving, as admitdoes, nothing less than the breakon! OI ' * 1,;1 niuch vaunted Triple Alliance. The unprecedented sensation caused by this extraordinary change of front is illustrated 111 the fact that at the very moment when Mr Clvnes, leader of the Labour Party, was telling the House of Commons that the railwaymen and the transport workers could not desert their comrades, there was handed to Air Lloyd George the telegram, which he, amid a scene of excitement and emotion, made known to the House, stating that the general strike was “off.” Viewing the strange situation calmly and impartially certain features stand out as inviting comment. The first of these features is the undoubted disinclination of the great mass of the workers of Great Britain to De betrayed into a conflict with the State by the counsel of extremist leaders. From the very first it has been apparent that the railwaymen and the transport workers, whilst sympathising with the miners in the difficult position in which they found themselves owing to the slump in the price of. coal, were extremely loth to precipitate matters by forcing a general strike. Moreover, the executive of the Triple Alliance, despite a brave show of front, were anxious as to whether the decision to strike would be universally obeyed. The loophole for an escape from the strike came when Mr Frank Hodges, secretary of the Miners’ Federation—whether officially or no seems to be a disputed question—addressing a crowded meeting of members of the House of Commons, said that the miners were prepared to discuss the question of wages separately and immediately, provided the proceedings were not regarded as a part of the terms of a permanent settlement. In other words, Mr Hodges declared that the Miners’ Federation was ready to make a temporary settlement of the wages basis without prejudice to the larger claims for a national agreement and a national pool. At the same time the mine owners made a further offer to meet the men and discuss the question of wages especially with the view of improving the lot of' the lower paid workers. The majoritv of the members of the Railwaymen’s Union and of the Transport Workers were of the opinion that Mr Hodges’s proposals should be accepted, and that negotiations should proceed on that basis, and when the miners repudiated Mr Hodge, the Triple Alliance, following a stormy discussion, decided not to support the miners to the extreme of a general strike. There is to be a full conference of the miners’ delegates on Thursday next pending which work will not be resumed in the mines. Surveying the situation it can be seen that after a stoppage of work The Existing involving the miners in Situation. heavy losses of wages, and resulting in many thousand pounds worth of damages by the flooding of the mines, to say nothing of an expenditure by the Government on precautionary measures, estimated to cost the British taxpayer some £50,000,000, ' nothing has really been settled, and the real difficulties still await solution. The anomaly of the coal miner’s occupation, so far as the United Kingdom is concerned, consists in the fact that in certain of tire more favoured mines there are a few men able to earn from £7OO to £BOO a year, while some 35,000 are liable to income tax, but there are others in the poorer mines scarcely able to make two ends meet. As examples of the latter class there is the case of four Welsh ex-soldier miners, who, addressing the Prince of Wales, appealed to. him to intervene, declaring: “The wao-es offered range from 64s 3d to 46s 9d for six days’ work, but owing to broken time and the slump in trade the work averages five days, and during the last few months the work has been only two or three days a week. If we accept the wages offered we will be worse off than paupers.” In so far as this is an appeal for a decent wage for n fair day’s work, the appeal of the miners is one likely to evoke general sympathy, since it is not in keeping with the spirit of progress that any manual worker should be forced to accept the untoward conditions prevalent before the war. While, however, this may be admitted, the remedy is not so easy to prescribe. The demand of the miners for a national wage and a national pool virtually amounts to a demand for the nationalisation of the mines, a demand to some extent snnnorted by the report of the Sankev Commission. In this connection it may be well to quote the words of Lord Askwith in his valuable book on “Industrial Problems and Disputes,” and in which he declares that “the manner of appointment of this Commission, its constituent parts, its method of business and the subsequent working of the mines, failed to convert the ordinary citizen, or all the miners, or to convince the Government of the necessity of accepting the majority report.” Lord Askwith further comments : “To the ordinary man nationalisation was nothing more than a word

or a cry. It was not understood. Its results had not been explained. Its method of working was not shown. Without any clear facts upon which judgment might be exercised, the people were faced with a demand when their burdens were very heavy and when they did not wish to be hustled into another huge national undertaking.” Lord Askwith also recalls a letter he wrote to The Times upon the position when the Sankey Commission report was being circulated, from which the following is an extract: ‘‘l have been present at the Trade Union Congress, and have heard the speeches made upon the subject. The strong impression left upon my mind by the speeches and by the opinions everywhere expressed by members of the public" is that the miners, although they claim to advocate a plan which will suit the public, have not taken nearly enough trouble to prove the value of their plan, and have not convinced the public either of the value of their plan or that they mean, well by the community. Consequently the issue is serious. . . • There will be w-orse friction than was ever known in the past if nationalisation is carried through by the force of one section of the community.” And Lord Askwith concluded by saying: ‘Rightly or wrongly the nation has not been convinced bv the report of the Coal Commission.” these words, written twcK, years g go, stand good to-day, and one lesson to be drawn from the collapse of the general strike is that the people of Great Britain are not to he converted to nationalisation of the coal mines by any threat of direct action. The Prime Minister has started for the Imperial Conference heartened Mr Massey's in at least two directions; Mission. the return of the Government candidate at the byelection for Patea is an assurance that his hold on the Dominion is stronger than ever; and the collapse of the threatened general strike in the Homeland should serve to disperse all doubts as to the postponement of the important gathering of the leaders of the Empire, in which he has been bidden to take part. In the message to the people of New Zealand, Eenned on the eve of his departure for ondon, Mr Massey displays that everavailing optimism which is so conspicuous a part of his character. He is confident that the period of financial stress the Dominion is now passing through will be successfully endured by “the same sturdy courage, cheerful faith, and settled purpose” that enabled the people of New Zealand “to carry on through the trying period of the seemingly unending war.” Just as the war eventually came to an end, resulting in victory to the British arms, so Mr Massey confidentlv anticipates that trade depression and financial worries will pass. “The clouds will disperse,” says the Prime Minister, “and the sun will shine again upon us with undiminished brilliance if we are true to ourselves and exercise that needed industry, thrift, and economy which are essentials to a quick recovery from a depression which just at present is casting its shadow over us.” In relation to some of the world problems likely to engage the attention of the delegates to the Imperial Conference, Mr Massey is not so hopeful. He foresees another war, to be fought in 10 or 20 or 40 years, of which the Pacific will probably be the storm centre, and in anticipation of which the Empire as a whole and New' Zealand as a part will be called upon to frame an adequate naval policy. Air Massey’s declaration in this connection is important. “He was not going to commit the country to heavy expenditure or anything that could be avoided, but the time was coming when we must assist the United Kingdom in keeping up an Imperial Navy. As far as the Government’s policy was concerned New Zealand would do her full share in maintaining an Imperial Navy.”

The report of the Imperial Shipping Committee, of which Sir James Allen is a member, has now been completed (says our London correspondent, writing on February 24). The report deals with the limitations of shipowners’ liability by clauses in bills of lading and with certain other matters relating to bills of lading. All parts of the Empire, including India, were represented on the committee, which sat under the chairmanship of Sir 11. J. M Kinder, M.P. In due course the report will appear in the form of a White Paper. A W el'ington Press Association telegram states that in a letter to the Prime Minister, Sir Thomas Robinson, of the Imperial Meat Control Department, says that he was glad to report that progress had been made for a settlement of outstanding items as between suppliers and the British Government. He speaks in terms of the highest praise of the Department of Imperial Supplies, and says that the excellence of the arrangements greatly facilitated settlement, which was a somewhat difficult matter. A sitting of the Magistrate’s Court was held at Kaitangata. on Friday by Mr A. M. Mowlem, S.M., when two young men named Richard David Waddingham and Thomas Robert Oliver were charged with breaking and entering the dwelling house of John Bustard, farmer, at Wangaloa, on March 20, and stealing two watches, valued at £7. Detective Palmer prosecuted on behalf of the police, and Mr R, R. Grigor appeared for the two accused. Aft.o r the hearing of the evidence, both accused pleaded guilty and were committed to the Supreme Court at Dunedin for sentence. Both were admitted to bail—self in £SO, and one surety of £SO. A miner named James Lee pleaded not guilty to a charge of wilfully damaging a shop window to the extent of £2 10s. After hearing evidence at length, the magistrate convicted the accused anil imposed a fine of £5. Accused was also ordered to make good the damage. Efforts are to be made by 1 lie Commonwealth Ministry to obtain a further reduction of at least 5 per cent, in the price charged by shipping companies for pasaages for immigrants from the United Kingdom to Australia (the Age states). At

present it will cost intending immigrants £2B a head to reach Australia, the Government finding £l2 of the £4O required by the shipping companies. Strong hopes are entertained that, with an increasing flow of immigrants as a result of the commencement of the Federal scheme, it will shortly be possible to arrange passages at a considerably cheaper rate, though a return to the pre-war rates, when the fares were less than £2O, is not expected. Mr E. O. Shepherd, of Devonport, who returned on Saturday after spending a week grass-sowing on his bush property in inland Waikato, says the impression grows more and* more on him that not many years before the advent of the Europeans the 'fastnesses in the district must have been densely populated by Maoris (says the Auckland Star). Especially near the many waterways and lakes are found evidences of the closest settlement. Traces of the Natives are to be found everywhere, and this time he discovered huge heaps of shells, that at one time would have been thought to have been deposited there by Nature, but really they were the fresh water pipi shells that had been carried there by the Maoris. By investigating closely he often found Maori weapons and tools right in the centre of these heaps where they had been covered up by the accumulations that were constantly being added. Maori clearings and cultivation showed that the aboriginals were not devoid of the secret of manuring, and that intensive cultivation was very common amongst them, because the soil had been deeply worked. Broken stone axes were very plentiful, and this proved that their implement makers, to supply the demand for tools, could not have been idle men. His last visit, with its discoveries, deeply impressed him because he realised that what he and other pioneers were trying to do had already been done, and perhaps better by those who preceded us in the occupation of this fertile country. An Auckland Press Association message states that the mail steamer Niagara, which left on Saturday, carried 3700 cases of apples and 250 cases of pears for Honolulu. Mr Charles Francis, president of the Printers’ League of America, who is visiting Dunedin just now as commissioner of the Labour Department of the United States, gave a reporter a succinct review of recent political history in America. In his view, America repudiated Woodrow Wilson, not because they did not approve bis policy, but because they would not tolerate a dictator. Great numbers strongly disapproved of his leaving the country — a thing which no President had ever done before—where he was greatly needed, to attend to business in Europe which Colonel House could quite well have carried through. Instead of that he put Colonel House out of business. On his return, because ilr Lansing (Secretary of State) took some action during the President’s illness, the President wrote to him in such a strain that Mr Lansing resigned. The net result was that the Democratic Party got the smallest vote that either of the two great political x jal 'ties ever received. Because Governor Cox was Wilson's nominee his own Democratic Party turned against him wholesale to bring about this result. Captain Monro, managing director of the Canterbury Steamship Company, is to leave Now Zealand by the Corinthic on the 23rcl inst. for England, with the object of purchasing a light-draught steamer for the Dunedin-Wanganui trade. At the Eltham Magistrate’s Court cases of interest to ice cream vendors were brought by the police against several shopkeepers, who were charged with selling ice creams which were deficient in milk fats (wires our Ilawera correspondent). In one ease an analysis proved that the sample contained 4.62 per cent, of milk fats, instead of 10, as stipulated by the Act. In two other cases the fats were only 3.3. and 3.02 respectively, and one of the defendants contended that the cost of the ingredients—eggs and cream —would not allow ices to be sold at the prices charged. The magistrate imposed fines of 10s and 17s 6d, with costs in each case. He intimated that heavier penalties would be imposed in future. At the Magistrate’s Court, Kaitangata, on Friday, before Mr A. M. Mowlem, S.M., James Lee was prosecuted by Constable E. T. C. Turner, and convicted of wilfully breaking two panes of glass, valued at £2 10s, the property of G. M'Vie, draper, and fined £5, together with court costs (11s), witnesses’ expenses (16s lOd), and ordered to pay £2 10s, the value of the broken windows. Richard David Waddingham and Thomas Ramsay Oliver were charged with breaking, entering, and theft of two watches from the residence of Bustard Bros., Wangaloa. Detective Palmer prosecuted. Accused pleaded guilty, and were committed to the Supreme Court, Dunedin, for sentence. Bail was allowed in self £SO and one surety of £SO each. The Daily Telegraph, describing the exhibition in London of the gifts received by the Prince of Wales in liis tour of ihe dominions, says: “Many among these artistic conceptions are extraordinarily good, and there is a great <leal to inspire and arrest the attention of the student in illumination. Of course, there are artistic failures, especially ill the caskets, and these are (In > (as often in this country) to want of perception of the propci* purposes of a casket. It is first an ornament. A striking example of failure is the casket by the Parliament and people of New Zealand, one of the most ornate examples in the exhibition. New Zealand is properly proud of its large variety of ornamental woods —24 in num-ber—-anti apparently has insisted that each of these shall have its place in the work. That was asking the impossible of the craftsman —inviting disaster. As well might one pour out 24 raw colours on a palette and insist that the painter shall show them all in his picture. The effect would have be-ni much better had live woods, or fewer, been employed.”