SURPLUS COAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 29 October 1921, Page 4

SURPLUS COAL.

GOVERNMENT NOT A BUYER LABOR LEADER’S SUGGESTION. (From Our Parliamentary Reporter.) Wellington, Oct. 27. A suggestion that the Government should agree to purchase the coal output in order to keep the miners employed was repeated in the House of Representatives yesterday, by Mr. H. E. Holland (Buller)? The member stated that the States mine was working half time and other mines were working about three days a week. Much hardship was being caused to the miners. The Government had agreed to buy the wheat crop. Why should not it take the coal also?

The Prime Minister replied that there was no parallel between coal and wheat. The Railway Department' had suspended one of its contracts for imported coal. The other contract had not been suspended, but was coming to an end. About <O,OOO tons of coal had still to come to the Dominion. The Government would be only too pleased to use local coal, but he did not hesitate to take his share of responsibility for the importations. The position some time ago had been that owing to the decline in the local production the Government had to choose between importing coal and stopping the railways. His instructions to the General Manager of Railways had been to look abroad for the coal required.

Mr. Holland: That was not the fault of the miners.

Mr. Massey: I don’t think the honorable gentleman should raise that question. If we had been able to get the ooal in thia country, we would never have gone outside for it. I am not going to discuss whose fault it was. I don’t think the honorable gentleman himself is blameless in the matter. We had to choose the lesser evil. We were forced to go abroad for essential supplies. We will be glad to return to New Zealand coal as soon as the imported supplies have been disposed of. Mr. Massey mentioned that a reduction in the price of the Welsh coal had been obtamed in consequence of the fall in the British price.