BLACKBALL STRIKE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 152, 21 March 1908, Page 5

BLACKBALL STRIKE.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS, V RUMOURED CONCESSION BY THE COMPANY. ■ CURT REPLY TO MINISTERIAL APPEAL. 1 (BT TELEGRAM—SrEOIAIi CORRESPONDENT.) Grevmouth, March 20. . An important has; beoii made • by : tlio: Company; according to ,-a' Tppresontawho states.that tho Com.>pany; is prepared to -.donate one half (£37 iOs.) of-tho'-fino of £75 imposed -on - tho ;tfnioh....:'Thisj/ibi-is:'lipped, .will facilitate a v. pf. it thq'-. difficulty.... .It. is :frpely' '. ' ininiouted, hjQ^that tho.. Union wthdrqiv alj . the -money;! standing to .its credit, and divi- :' ,-ded.i,it . amongst, the- members... Thero'- will, , therefore, bo some trouble when the Goycrn- .- < mpnt' : d©ma ; hil;'payment of.: the fine. Tlio ; ./Union, at is understood,, liaye. offered to pay . . ii.jitl'Jjiplfato -pt.2,8. 6d. per month..: 'The nest Union meeting.will ,bp held on Monday.' Tlio Grey " Star's'' ChristoKurcli. correspon; dont telegraphed - tho other day that ' tho , Blackball miners', delegate would not . rer - coivc much ; support from • Unionists there. Apparently to contradict this,' Mr. Thorn, :s. ''.secretary 'of . the -Trades: and' Labour: Council . ■ of Canterbury, telegraphs -to the Blackball :!Union-> as follows"The:. Christclmrch Poli- \ tical, Labour; 'League 'denies, the . . statement . that, the wprkers here are imsympatlietic.-Mr., , .-.-.Pj-itcljaVd/.vM' last ,night at: a big -..meeting.^;:, j: " ;~v v" 7 : -'7 1 ; .It is-understood that the,,offer 1 of the com..paiiy . to;: donate ialf . the'. fine. came , .through • y,Mr.,',J.;'AV,M , Cp|iQ_u^li , |-'-.. i tp;;,tlio Blackball ' •'Unibn.'...... '■; ;/..\Mry- I«itcli .states , that , he .'knows ; nothing. »f ; tho matter. •'- ' ' 'V... ''.

INTERESTING TELEGRAMS. AN APPEAL AND A REPLY. Amus.oment lias been caused by the pub- . lication pf;a'portion of tho telegrams that: passed'botween the 'Hon. J. A. Millar' and the :Union.- The; Minister in appealing' to tho pien :to . resuniei work and abide by the • , 'Arbitration' Act, concluded 1777. : f'.Mon, do not forget .that thoso , l)oY<Drsvwho .gave you the splendid coni.ditlons under you are working to-' day ;arej the same powers that may take tfiem'a'way." '£?$!? s . l>ufc to the point:—' "Mr. Millar,-do not forget that the . powers that put you in your present position Jo-day can put you out'again/' ' • MEETINC OF MINERS. AN EMPHATIC DENIAL. ;' (BY TELEGRAPH— : PRESS ASSOCIATION. 1 !)', 1 Creymouth, March'2o. Ihe miners held a meeting at Blackball ■ i this 'afternoon,, but »nothing 'of a definite ■ ;, naturo ■was done.,. Mr: Fitzgerald attended the, meeting, and addressed tho minors, advising them not on any account to give way. :■ " Argus.";, reporter' interviewed: • the manager in reference to .tho paragraph" ap- ., pearing.,in the eyoning paper as follows:— : There seems to -bo somo possibilfty- of an ! ; .early settlement of ; ijjipIssj)ut£1$sj)ut£ ' a £ the company. lias, offeied, . one of the men now 011 .strike informs us (in addition to the 'offers > made, after tho 1 close' of the sitting 'of tho Arbitration Court), -to donate half' of tho ■ £75 fine inflicted on the Union'." Tho'man- : :ager' that'''"thp company. • ba\e offered to pay, half the fino an emphatic denial. , He does not know where it originated, but tho company aro no party, and if the company are prepared to take the dismissed men back and'allow 20; minutes crib time,-,-furtfeaban' itliis'' tliey will I not go

■ Tl' e Union mil hold a. meeting on Monday morning at 10 o'clock, and until then there ..can bo no change in tho position ' OBJECTS OF THE SOCIALIST LEADERS. '■, SOME.INSTRUCTIVE FIGURES. ' ; (Br, TEI,EGEAPn- ; rJIESS ASSOCIATION-) ' ; ' • Chrtstchurch, March 20. Mr. Eritchard,; the representative of tho iiddre?sei.. a meeting 'at' :.' % e Socialists' Hall last, night.. From his '. .^?P, ar^ a : a PPf? r ed ;that the trouble, beV • t T ecl ? •. '110I 10 company and the men is a minor v ; ' matter, and that .the chief object of the j- '■■ Socialist- loaders of the. Union is to throw discredit- on tho Arbitration Court and Act. ; A tentative settlement,/ of, tho'idifferences . be- * tweeh the management, and.'tho Union' wa3 ■. made by Messrs. 1 M'Cullough and on . March 12, . and. tho.'.arrangement Was agreed, to by ballot-at; a meeting of the miners the same evening. 'Apparently a : Bcttlement 'of: tlio difficulty did not suit tho /: '■ Socialistic , clement, and' on Friday they induced the. men to repudiate . Thursday's agreement. • ■

: ' . stress TV'fis laid by speakers at last a ';; night's/meeting upon the greed of tho capitalists, but a local paper recently published a statement which shows that tho capitalists 'in . the; present case , havo not much' benefit from tlio mine. Tho . .i . company ; was .formed in 1882, and spent a • largo sum-in opening up tho mine, but it -' pilly■,corriinence3. 'jjutting out. coal fifteen ■. years ago. Since that period : the company has paid £215,000 in wages at the niino, po«i; r il>utea ' £1900 tp the 'miners'" sick fund. /The company, however has not been -'prosperous/ and : it' has had .to write off £28,000 of capital, which has been lost sincß tho. inception of the company, whilst tho shareholders have only' : received four ■ dividends,' totalling some £6400 in the' fif- . .; teon years.' It is 'understood that 'the"company is still willing to allow the. concessions agreed to on' March 12;