THE BLACKBALL STRIKE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 84, 28 March 1908, Page 2

THE BLACKBALL STRIKE.

UNSUCCESSFUL NEGOTIATIONS.

Per Press Association. Wellington, Friday. Information has been received here tliat the negotiations for tho settlement of tlw Blackball strike have fallen through. Instructions have been given by the Labor Department to collect the line of ,C7O imposed on the union by the Arbitration Court. If the line is not paid by the union the men will be proceeded against individually until the amount is collected.

MORI'} OVERTURES UNSUCCESSFUL Greyniouth, Last Night. The Blackball Miners' Union considered proposals by the tabor Department yesterday for assisting a settlement, and the proposals were reject''.l. The millers are determined to accept no terms that do not include half iu hour's crib time. The Miners are als) determined not to pay the fine of £i">, ! and the decision of the Government to collect the amount from the union or proceed individually against the men will be met with strong opposition.

Mr, Isdell, of the Labor Department, visited Blackball yesterday, and had an interview with the miners and the manager. 11 ( . states there is no cham e of a- compromise, both sides remaining very firm. Great interest is manifested in the meeting to-morrow afternoon of the Tyne-ide miners, who will consider the question of striking in sympathy wir.li Blackball. TTiere is an uneasy feeling about the result, the opinion being that a strike will result. The old rcsidei.t miners are against a strike, but the younger men are for going out. If a strike occurs at Tyneside it will be a serious thing for the mine, as there wi.l be a danger of it Hooding. There is a milil scare in town, and eoaldealers ave rushed with orders. The gasworks department lias since the strike built up a reserve of 10U tons oi coal. The Wharf Laborers' Union meet on Sunday afternoon to consider the proposal submitted to them.

SUPiPORT AT DUNEDIN. Dunedin, Last Night. Mr. Pritchard, representative of the Blackball miners, addressed a meeting here tlijs evening. Tlicre. wol ' e . a '"' l , 120 people present. After Mr. had explained the position at Blackball from the miners' point of view, tmfollowing resolution was carried without, dissent:—"That tlus meeting of citizens of Dunedin, after hewing the representative of the Blackball Union, Mr. Pritchard, congratulated the miners on their resentment of the action of the mine manager in victimising seven of their comrades, and expresses the hope that they will be successful in their efforts to secure extension oi cnti time to tliirtv minutes; also that tae meet in" pledses itself to financially sunport the wives and children of those w.i > have ceased work."

DECLINING SUPPORT

Christcbuich, Last Night. The Christchurch Tinsmiths' Union passed a resolution to-night that it could not see its way clear to give financial assistance to the Blackball minei-, as by so doing it would prejudicially affect the Arbitration Act, the principle of which the Union earnestly upheld.

THE GOVERNMENT'S POSITION

STATEMENT BY HONS. MILLAR AND DR. FINDLAY.

Wellington, Last Night'•The position at the present time, said the Hon. J. A. Millar to a New Zealand Times reporter yesterday, when uuostioncd regarding the continuance of the strike "is that the Government has mnrle a demand for payment of the fine imposed bv the Arbitration Court, failin" pavment thereof the necessary legal action' will be taken." Asked particularly what other action the Government proposed to take with regard to the strike. Mr. Millar saiil the Government bad no power to compel the men to go back to work nor tile owners to open their mines to work. "There is no such law in this country, nor in any other country, so far as 1 know. Where people seem to be making the mistake is in thinking that a strike is a continuous offence- 1 have the best legal advice on thai point, and I litul that the strike when eomini'ted is an otlence within itself. The buv lias been broken immediately it lakes pi 'ice. There are , others, again, who sioni to tlunL that action should be taken against the unions which have been contributing money to the support of the strikers on the ground that tlicy are aiding and abetting tile strikers, in this they were laboring under a delusion. Aiding and abetting an offence consists in the doing of something prior to or concurrently 0 with the committal of the offence, and not after the offence has been committed, the offence being complete within itself when the strike hits taken place. Subsequent notion cannot aid and abet the committal of an offence which has already been committed, 'the Government is exercising all the powers rriyen to it under the Act to see that the award of the Court ia enforced, and is giving the men time to consider their action before doing anything. So far no effort has been made to comply with the order, but the Department is at once taking the necessary steps to enforce it."

The lion. Dr. Findlay, as AttorneyGeneral, was afterwards asked for a further elucidation of tho legal point. "I not only share the view of the Minister of Labor on this matter," replied Dr. Findlay to a question, "but 1 advised the Government shortly before the strike took place as to what steps could lie taken to punish those who aided and abetted the strike. There is no doubt a great deal of as to the powers of the Govcrnmrat in connection with this matter. It is quite clear under section 15 of tho Act of 1005 that a strike is not a continuing offence. It seems to me quite clear that to encourage men who have struck and have been punished for their offence to continue idle or refrain from returning to their former employment is not an offence under section 15 or any other section in that Statute. There is, moreover, another and entirely independent difficulty in dealing with some of those who are

advising the men to continue their [iresent attitude. Section 15 provides 'thiit any industrial union or industrial association or employer or any worker, whether a member of any such union or association or not, who aids or abets a strike is guilty of an offence.' From i this it would seem tliat- the aiding aufl

abetting is only an offence if done by a worker, meaning, no doubt, a worker in the trade or industry in connection with which the strike lias occurred. Thus the section does not apply in my opinion to those engaged ill an entirely different calling who aid or abet a strike in the coal industry. It is clear from what has happened recently that the amended Act of lilll.-) requires revision as il stands at present. The <iovernment lias under the circumstances been entirely limited to proceedings against either the union or the num. Proceedings were taken against tile union because it had ill this case called a special meeting antl formally passed a resolution which was entered in the minute book proposing a strike. For this the union was lined I

j £75, and failing payment by the Union tho members are individually liable up to <1 limit of CIO each. To now proceed against the men independently would , be to punish tliem twice over, fur no doubt in iixing the fine the Arbitration Court considered the conduct of the members or the union and intended the punishment to be both collective and individual."