GOLD-MINERS OUT.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 397, 5 January 1909, Page 5

GOLD-MINERS OUT.

- „ 4 L, MEDICAL TEST. THE POSITION AT REEFTON. ATTITUDE OP THE NORTHERN MEN! (PT TEIEGKArn.—PRESS ASSOCIATION.) Reef ton, January 4. Pursuant to the decision arrived at on Saturday mgfit tho miners did not turn up o work morning. tft l AH the. 'mines aro virtually idle. At the Unorgotic mine only the ramo manager and issistant manager aia working. All the vorks aro hung nr), Casual hands, oven though notified that r io medical examination was required in their sasc, have ,not resumed. Work at tho tube ■mils and extension of plant aro thus de» ayed. ' ' ''Tho Kocp-it-Dark mine'was pnmping'aftor Christinas holidays,- r.Tho-mine manager, s now engaged l 'tilting the tuckets and tho lUpenntendcnt'-js at 'the engine.' •' Tho Globe battery is in. full swing crushing tho remainder of a special lot of stono, out only tho manager and one assistant are irorfciug s ' Creymouth, January 4. Everything passed off quietly iu the BJackwater Jnino ~ ' Work 'Was resumed as usual at the local mines., i rirf , T t u lltl l( ,, '-Somo uneasiness iutcamo of the Inangahua troublo. ' Y WESTPOP.T COLLIERIES NOT YIJT " ' "\"" , - M ' AFFECTED ' * J ' '"v/wtport," January I. * Work at the collieries in the district was resumed this morning, after tho holidays. Tho output is fairly good. > ~The>Reefton trouble has so far not affected tho colliery vndustri. OWNERS OF GOLD-MINES UNITED.' POSITION OF COLLIERIES. Mr W. Pryor, secretary of tho New Zea« land Employees' Association, told a Dqmtniok reporter yesterday that the refusal of tho Reefton miners to resume work after the holidays had not affected the attitude cf the employers They would still insist on oiedh cal examination. Thoy had fully expected that a settlement Would result from the conference that was held on Saturday, and thoy regretted that such had not been, tho case, and that tho men had not accepted batter counsels 'There was 'now nothing for the oompanies to do'but to stand firm in'the attitude they had previously taken up. AH' the gold-mine owners in tho Dominion were united in the matter. Replying to a question as to tho action of certain coal-mine owners m insisting on medical examination, Mr. Pryor sajd that pneumoconiosis was, not known to arise from employment in coalmines, but a miner, after becoming some, what affected -iuth. it. might go to work in a coal-mine. Possibly a number of men from Reefton might be seeking omploymonfc in coal-mines, and thus difficulties were feared If, however, one of (these miners was laid aside by pneumoconiosis within 19 months after leaving a gold-mino, and could show that the dispose arose out of that employment, ho-would ho entitled to receive compensation from tho ownors of the goldmine. Mr Pryor added that the extracts from the report of the Labour Bills Committee, as published in Thb Dominion yesterday morning, quite disposed of tho contention of Mr. P. J. O'Regan that tho insurance managers bad' altered .their attitude on the quostwa at issuo, THE TRADES COUNCIL'S ATTITUDE. > MATTER TO BE DISCUSSED. Tho West Coast mining trouble has nofc yet come definitely before the Wellington, Trades and Labour Counoil, and no eorres-. pondence on the- subject'has been received by. tho officials of the'council. .It will probably be discussed 'at the regular meeting next Thursday. 1 -Tho demand oi the Miners* Federation for compensation in respect of pneumoconiosis has boen* endorsed year after year by the-Trades Councils' Conference; witbj littlo or no_ discussion. 1 T?ho Wellington Trades and Labour,Counoil having'had no word from the Miners' Federation, as has" been done in the wayof tendering monetary assistance to tho miners. The secretary of ono of the strongs est local unions, referring to ,the mining; trouble, said, "Wo do not regard this as a strike, and, in any case, the poor can* always be relied upon to.'help the poor.'*

GOVERNMENT CANNOT INTERFERE : BY MR MILLAB. • 't£b§ NO PROSECUTION. Tho Minister for 'Labour (Hon. J. A\ Millar), when seen yesterday, said he had nothing to add to the statements ho made; before tho stoppage of work at tho mines, Tho ' Government could do nothing •in tha matter It was purely a question botwcen tho mine owners and the employees. In regard to tho men's request that thq Government Acpident Insurance Department should'tak'o th'o"rfsk connected with "miners' complaint," Mr; JHOlar said that was like asking "the Government to insure very miner in tho conntryi who was suffering from the disease .Such »ithing could not bo done without tho authority of Parliament. On the Minister's attention being draws to the demand that tho Government should prosecute tho men for striking, nn/i the counter demand, that it should prosecute the owners for creating a lock-out, ho stated ilhat neither of these courses could be taken, because .there was. neither a stnko nor a, lock-out under tho Arbitration Act. 'The present oosition had arisen .quita outside that Act Tlio men wero prepared to go back to work on the terms of tho award, nnd tba mine owners Tver© willing to employ them on tho terms of the award, the cause of the present -'dispute being quite a different .matter, , ~ Mr, Millar added that he had received ad-, ■vice 'that i tho miners at the small coaj-nuue at Kiripaka, nosth cf declined rafcdicai examination, and had left the mine, '-WHAT THE EXAMINATION MEAN& A'MEDICAL VIEW. (DV TSI EGHAfH —SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT J Chrlstchurch, January 4. ;_ln connection with tho mining crisis, 3 repiosentaiivo of "Truth" had a chat with a, .local medical, practitioner of widp eiperiaice among minors, and endeavoured tc- ascertain from him what are tho underljmg causes, that havo led tho miners to so strenuously object to medical examination The doctor thought tho greatest objection on tho part of tho miners would'be found to bo not to an esiuoinataon for "miners' complaint," but to tho fear that the cxamm- \ sition would bo wider in scope, and that some other physical defect might be disclosed thafc would lead, to their rejection Ho admitted that on this score the miners would have some leasons -to raiso- objections—reasons that would not CTist if the examination uere restricted only to the question of "inners' complaint " Tho examination might bo of such a character thai would pass men as being generally physically fit, therefore there might bo some sense in tho men'i objections But on tho other hand, if the Government liked to mako laws that operated iu the direction of tho Act Tinder consideration, then employers must protect thomsolvca, oven if tho employees had to her subject to an examination for overythmg.i just as those persons desirous of joining certain branches of the Public Sernca havo to do. As to the character of the examination to which the miners would have to submit themselves, he stated that it would comprise an examination of tho chest and of tho condition of the lungs. "Miners' compbint" wns a condition of general debility, ■which arose from causes inseparable from the miners' occupation In the speaker's medical exporionco outside of this" city, he had ev» aniined as many as one hundred minors at a liitjadical oxammatem would b&

in no senso degrading. Tho men would hare ? to bare their chests, and would have to answer questions put them by tho medical examinor. He was_ of opinion, however, that if a medical examination was insisted ,upon : it would go farther than merely an examination for signs of "miners' complaint." NORTHERN COAL-MINES IDLE. > A DEADLOCK AT WHANGAREI AN& HUNTLY. ' f (St TELKGBiPn-rBESB ASSOCIATION) Auckland, Jannary 4.. t In consequence of the clause m the new , Workers Compensation Act, passed last sesi Bion, which throne tho-responsibilty upon mine owners of having to pay compensation, in cases of "miners' complaint," a I deadlock»lias arisen in connection with the coal-nuning industry in the Auckland district. ' The various mino owners have taken np-the stand that the Lability involved is too heavy and too uncertain for them to undertake by continuing to employ men suffering from the disease in question, unless such men sign agreements not to claim in respect of that particular disease. The decision has been emphasised by, tho insurance companies (including the Government Accident Insurance Department) declining to take, the additional risk. * ■. r The coal companies, having given instructions that no men are to'be employed/ who have not been medically examined, tho miners in the Whangarei and Huntly districts have refused to undergo the examination. Tho mines were to have resumed work yesterday, biit in_ each case the minors failed to take ■ap their , duties. Coal-mining in the district is therefore at a standstill until some solution is arrived at, and, supplies being short, an advance in the price of coal is predicted. Representations are being made to the Government by the Employers' Association to end the deadlock.' MINERS WHO ACCEPT'YrtE TESfc" , ,' NO TROUBLE AT THAMES.

(bi telegraph—press association.) , _ ' - Thames, January 4. , f Regarding the difficulty occurring with jpect to the medical examination of miners, in i view of the provisions, of the Workers' * Compensation Act, so far as the local position n, concerned the compamep are insisting, on the men being examined. 1 In some casps no definite instructions have been issued, but tho managers are not likely *° , acce § t tho responsibility of dispensing with medical examination in view of the alunanimous desire of the mining companies that medical examinations are to be held. In some cases tho men havo I taken time by the forelock,' and have already been examined 'Armed with their medical certificates, they commence work forthwith. 'Li.tho case of' those who have been,'or will be found to be, suffering from "miners' complaint" m the Thames—there must be'a considerable number — tho men must, perforce, wait for the return of tho Stipendiary Magistrate before they can secure the exemption necessary. ,It is not anticipated that any trouble will J"se'ipcally as tho Miners' Union is outside , the Miners' Federation, and any mandate issued by that body lias no bearing upon the local position. . s , • , ' ' _ , , Auckland, January 4 «£P e -Cpromandel correspondent of the < Herald states that tho medical examiner there has been kept busy for the last two days m examining miners, so that they can comply with the new regulations. ,- ,

I SCOPE OF MINING INDUSTRY.' MEN EMPLOYED. The number'of men who may possjbly bo affected may be estimated from the following itable, which is the latest return of the Mines Department, and shows the-number of goldminers employed throughout the Dominion Wiring the year ended December 31, 1907 :— , c w,' Alluvial. Quartz. -'- ' -I I j s , ° .9 8 - 0 Auckland -._ — — 2,888 '— ilarlborough 10 — «, 14 _ Nelson 828 130 856 — , Westland 1,292 252 23 '— ' Ofcago 2,416 230 187 12 i / Totals —. 4,546 612 3,968 '12 Total ," Gold-minors Emploved. - <... ■ * 19D6.,... 1907. Auckland .„ 2,706 , 2,888 , Marlborough .„...„! 15 i 24 Nelson _ 1,875 1,814 Westland .' _ 1,569 1,567 Otago . 2,874 2,815' The Dominion r .'. 9.039, 9,138 A summary of the men employed in New Zealand mines (including coal) during 1907 lpves the following.— •Gold mine 5,,},..,..,„..- _ »9,138 j » Metalliferous .'.... 251 Coal r....r. .-... 3,692 Total ,in Dominion 13,081