FEDERATION OF MINERS.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 June 1923, Page 4

FEDERATION OF MINERS.

THE SEPARATION MOVEMENT. POSITION NOT CLEAR. By Telegraph—Press Association. Wellington.- Last Night. According to a Press Association m sage from Greymouth, the proposal for the establishment of a federation Li each mining district, instead of a naI tional form of organisation as at present, is favored by the miners of the i West Coast by a majority of 200 votes. 1 The proposals were rejected in all other 'districts, and if the information is cor■rect the West Coast unions, which for some time have been pf a disruptive diRI position, are the only ones which supiport the proposal. ! The secretary of the New Zealand Miners’ Federation (Mr. P. O’Rourke) has received no official advice as to the result of the plebiscite vote on the coast and the telegraphed information already receiVed is regarded with uncertainty on account of discrepancies in the figures. According to present advices the Blackball and Roa unions and the Millerton union carried the proposal by 154 to 51 votes and 277 to 118 votes respectively, while it was turned down by the State miners by 170 to 108 votes. Mr. O’Rourke pointed out that supposing the result indicated is correct, the voting does not reflect the opinion of the majority of the miners on the West Coast. The telegraphed message stated that the Ngakawau union figures had not come to hand, but that they were not likely to altey the result. As against that, however, the Denniston union, which consisted of about 400 . miners, had declined to take a ballot. It was clear that the large majority of that unit were opposed to the separation movement, and their opinions therefore/ defeated the majority of 200 members' of other unions who were reported to support the proposal.