COAL MINES BILL.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 19, 17 October 1907, Page 8

COAL MINES BILL.

THE BANK TO. BANK' CLAUSE.

The ,Hon. T. Thompson (Auckland). moved .) the committal of the Coal, Mines-Act Amendment Bill. ■ ' . ' .Thb Hon. J. R. Sinclair (Otago) objected to the Bill on,the ground that.it interfered with the courts of justice, and with a judgment that had been delivered in one of those courts. He did not propose to say anything : on tho propriety of. iputting-the bank tp bank clause into' any future awards -of the iiruitration Court, but he objected strongly to tho : Council enacting, such a clause, and thereby interfering with the functions and .judgments; of the Arbitration Court. As a director, of a large mining companyj . he did not claim to approach the subject impartially. The purport of the clause against which he , protested was to leave, the award?', untouched in regard to wages, but to reduce tho hours of labour . ..'//'"/ Shortening the Working Day. ' .In; the West' Coast mines it took the men 'tO minutes to get to the faco of the mine, . .. tnd get back again. The effect of the bank ; - to bank clause was, therefore, to reduce the ■/working day from .eight hours, to six. hours and forty minutes. Tho Legislature had •left to the Arbitration Court the task of de- . ciding what wages should be paid and what 'hours should be worked, and the Council ! ought to;leave the'.matter .there. The men had applied for' the bankito bank clause to be included in an award, and the demand was refused: V Was it for them to comb to 'Parliament , and asked to be granted their • desire at the expense of some one else ? Tho Court, had stated in the award that thero wcrfe men working above ground' in connection with - those '-.working' below; and if the latter worked only six hours and forty , minutes; the. working time of tha former ./would: have to bo similarly curtailed, / and they "must either have their wages reduccd or be paid for time not 'worked. He deiprecated the plea'that evil should be done "(that - good might' como. Parliament. had en5, acted . the bank to bank clause in reference ■to gold mining, but two wrongs would' not f make a right. . The London " Standard" had' f adversely on the action of Parliaiment.in 'the_instance given,' saying, "If Parliament will deliberately legislate to override the judgment of a Court it has set up, ' avhero is thb boasted security to employers ? [The paper might,have added, "and to employees." In the Coal Mines Bill introduced i&y the. Minister for Mines, and now passing through the House, the bank to bank clause did not appear. If the Bill were passed -as it stood,:, it . would violate one . of \>. the most cherished safeguards of our liberie tics, namely, o'ur Courts of Justico. ■ ' Ths Bill Defended. The Hon. J. T. Paul (Otago): submitted .that Parliament was above the Arbitration j'Court, and should not be influenced by . what S'B Court'might or might not do. ' The pre|>sont Bill had passed, through the . othor f House with .the support of'.tho. Government, 1 including tho-Minister for; Mines, and that ; » was suflicientv reason : for .-not 'including ; tho bank to bank clauso in the*-'' Government | measure. Parliament was surely ' as capable (of acting in this matter as-the,-Arbitration .; Court. vSuccessivo judges had refused to fix the hours of labour, bccituso the matter was before Parliament.; Wero Jlr./Sinclair's position correct, half our legislation. Would be improper. Tho Factories Acts 'prtecribcd.condi■'tions affecting tho.judgments of tho Courts. •Ho hoped the Council would pass tho Bill: • The Hon. S, T. George (Auckland) said tho bank to bank clause in this Bill would affect only one district. It was already in force in all other districts., The Court on tho West Coast had thought'fit to continue the old , award, and he'thought it would be right for the Council to overrido the.'Court'.. He would oppose "the Bill. " ; : *■ - ' The Supremacy of Parliament. . Tho Hon. J. Bigg (Wellington) said tho Court _ had'.gone .deliberately counter to tho ' intention of Parliament, and the offect of jtho Biir would bo to inform the Court that was .Bupromo.,. This would'not bo .tho first, insfcaiico in which tho Court had had to bo- directed by statuto. ~.' Parliament was' continually endeavouring, by amending legislation, to convey to the judges what was tho intention of a previous Act. Ho would havo liked tho Hon. Mr.. Sinclair to oxpress his .views on,other clauses, such as that permitting tlio agent of thb Union to appear and cross-examino witnesses ; at an inquest following a fatal accident in a mine. Tho Hon. J. Mafsliall . (Westland) said on tho West-Coast had adopted .'the Tjauk to bank system'. ' Ho supported tho 'Bill. ■' . : • -■ /■' ■■ '. Tlio Hon. .O.Samuel, (Taranaki) took tho • samo ;view as. the. .Hon. Mr. Sinclair/ Ho ■argued thai-tho proposed of tho ;b;mfc:to.bairfc;clause would,Woiua'par with a parson ifidnnrng Parliament 'to upset a judi".cial 'decision affecting the'-'libcrty of a subject. To Undermine the Court. Tho lIoiL 0. M. .iLiiko (Wellington) also opposed the"Bill foritho^creason''indicated by the Hon. Mr. Sinchit: TT/jh. JJx.

Samuel. Tho Arbitration Court was necessarily bettor informed than tho Houso on the mattor under discussion. To pass tho Bill would bo to undermine the Court, aud to bring upon Parliament an avalancho of petitions for the reversing of awards. i Tho Hon. G. Jones (Otago) thought tlio hours of minors ought to bo reduced, on account of tho ardu<jus t and hazardous nature of their work. No argument would induco hmi to forego tho prosont opportunity of effecting that end, and giving to all coalthe ■■ advantages already granted to somo of them and to gold-minors • T; K-. Macdonald (Wellington) insisted'that the Bill ought to be put in the waste-paper basket. Not a Tory. . Tho Hon. H. Scotland said he was afraid ? 11,I 1 , 5I 10 reputation, among_some mombors of the Council, of being a Tory—which ho never was. If the.Bill were passed, it would bo equivalent to the Council giving a serious slap m the face to every future President of the Arbitration Court. ® ee han (Auckland) supported the Bill,, on the ground, that the hours ot labour in coal-mines ought to bs -shortened. ,The Bill would simply bring one coal-mine into line that was now standing out. t The Hon. F. Trask . (Nelson) expressed. similar views. ' ■ • '. • Tho Hon. A. Baldey (Otago) said the miners were entitled .beyond all other workers to tho protection of the, State, and he-would therefore vote for the Bill. The Hon. G. J. Smith (Canterbury), while agreoing with what, had. been said on behalf of tho miners, opposed the Bill for the reasons given by previous speakors. ! -Ho suggested that the-bank to , bank clause should come into operation on the expiry ,of existing awards. Ho noticed that no member of, the' Government had expressed an opinion on tho Bill, : and he hoped the Attorney-General would do so.. ; . The Hon. W.. H. Tucker (Hawko's Bay) said he would vote for any Bill aiming in a straightforward way to ameliorate tho condition of the miners, but he could not vote to upset the 9ecision of a court of justice. At 4.45 p.m.-, on the motion of the Hon.. R. A. Loughnan, the debate was adjourned until.next Wednesday, and: the Council then r °se.' ' . ;.' '. -i .