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Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXIII, Issue 7660, 19 June 1896, Page 2

Hopks were fondly cherished a week ago that the suicidal strike of miners at Newcustle would be brought to an early termination by conciliatory conferences between employers and employed. These hopes have now to be cast to the winds, for our cablegrams to-day tell us that the breach has widened, and that the mad war between capital and labor will bo fought to the bitter end, which means empty pockets and empty stomachs. Evidences are daily being received in Newcastle of the disastrous consequences of the strike. Latest mail and cable advices are that the large shipping firms intend avoiding the port altogether in consequence of the losses they have been subjected to by detention of their vessels. Through tho strike the Chilian State railways havo placed, contracts for 100,000 tons of coal, which would otherwise have come from Australia, with the Chilian collieries, aud the export of coal to South America has been cut off. One of the largest coal importing firms at Singapore has written stating that they can see no prospect of doing further bußines in Australian coals owing to the cheapness of Japanese coal, which can now be landed there at 10a 6d per ton. Tho current rates of freight to bingapore and Manilla are 8s 6d and 103 ; which facts should constitute a convincing answer to the statement that the price of Newcastle coal could be raiaed without any danger of losing tho foreign trade. Through the strike tho foreign marketu are being lost, and once Newcastle's hold on them is gone it will bo very difficult to regain it. Then, too, the intercolonial trade ia shifting to the' southern collieries, and it seema that the reault of the strike will bo to destroy Newcastle itself. One shudders to think of the' misery and Buffering which must ensue to women and childreu, die helplets victims of the struggle, and truly it has been anid that such a strike is a reproach to the resources of civilised sooiety.