WORK AND WAGES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 9918, 5 August 1910, Page 3

WORK AND WAGES.

THE UNPOPULAR DELEGATE. United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright. . (Received August 5, 0.10 a.m.) SYDNEY, August 5. Mr Paterson has resigned from the Newcastle Collieries' Wages Board. Ho said that he could now resign without loss of self-respect, and he was anxious net to do anything to interfere •with the smooth working of the Board.

THE PATERSON AFFAIR. The hostility shown by the Newcastlo miners towards Mr John Paterson as their representative on the Wages Board reached tho stage of an application to Judge Heydon, on July 25 in tho Industrial Court, that the Board should be dissolved, the object being, of course, that Mr Paterson should be removed. Having heard affidavits in support of the application, and the arguments addressed to him by Mr Watt (the Federation's representative), his Honor adjourned the case, saying, as he did so, that very probably ho would not require to' hear the ether side. Amongst the grounds of tho application were:—(l) That the interests of the employees in tho industries comprised in the Board are not adequately or properly represented on the Board as at present constituted. (2) That under' the circumstances disclosed in the affidavits the omployees' member on tho Board should be replaced by a person in whoso nomination the Federation should have a voice, and in whom the Federation luts confidence. (3) That Mr John Paterson, the-employees' member on the Board, is incompetent. (4) That Mr Paterson is unfitted to remain on the Board by reason of his misconduct. (5) That the' employees in the industries having lost confidence in the Board as at present constituted,, by reason of Mr Pate'rson's being on the Board as employees' representative, it is desirable- to reconstitute the Board, at all events until the determination of the hearing of the present dispute. ■ (6) That" by reason of the presence on the Board of Mr Paterson, the decisions and awards of tho Board are likely to be one-sided, and to cause grave dissatisfaction and unrest in the industries concerned.

In dismissing the application for the dissolution of tho Board, tho president of the Court said h'e had come to tho conclusion that a sufficient case had not been made out to justify him in holding an investigation into* Mr Patorson's conduct in order to find out whether he was incapable or had been guilty of misconduct and prevarication, as' alleged.