MINING DEADLOCK.

Taranaki Daily News, 31 October 1921, Page 4

MINING DEADLOCK.

OWNERS’ TERMS DECLINED. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Wellington, Oct. 29. Regarding a telegram from Greymouth on the mining deadlock, Mr. T. O. Bishop, technical adviser to the Mine-owners’ Association, stated to-day that at the Westport conference the following alternatives were offered by mine-owners’ delegates:— (1) That Messrs. Davidson and Bishop should leave at once for Southland o make the best arrangement possible regarding the two idle mines and then arrange for a meeting of the Otago and Southland companies and the Miners’ Unions to make new agreements for those districts, the West Coast meeting to stand adjourned in the meantime. (2) That.the present negotiations be allowed to proceed and that immediately after their conclusion, Messrs. Davidson and Bishop should go to Southland and endeavor to procure a satisfactory settlement of the disputes there. The proposals were declined by the miners’ delegates, who suggested that Messrs. Davideon and Bishop should go to Southland to try to bring about a resumption, and, if successful, to return and resume the West Coast conference. To this the mine-owners’ delegates declined to agree on the ground that it was eimply wasting time as it made no provision for reaching finality. Mr. Bishop says it is impossible to think otherwise’ than that the Miners’ Federation officials attended the Westport meeting with the fixed intention of breaking off negotiations before they had really commenced, by refusing take the Otago and Southland district agreements into consideration immediately and refusing to negotiate regarding the agreements of any other district until the Southland dufficulty was overcome. They have in effect cancelled the arrangements for holding district conferences. The owners’ decision regarding future steps will probably be announced in a few days.