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Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 406, 15 January 1909, Page 8

I compensation merely on the ground that his j injury has been partly induced by disease [ or by the rocurronco of some old injury; f and these decisions have been repeatedly foll lowed in Now Zealand under the Act of 1900. i "The miners urge that if the principle f for which they contend is not upheld Bomo t icason will bo found for dismissing a man ■ directly he develops any disease, and a man who recovers from i. an injury will be re-em-s' ployed only if he gives an indemnity against I compensation for any lecurrence thereof. In i the caao of the, Wostporfc Coal Company, 1 [ - which has insisted on an examination sinco I 1903, it is stated that the company never ! t applied tho test to its old employoes. j i Thus," tho executive continues, "there is no . r parity at all between the examination rel quired by tho Wcstport Coal Cpmpany and ! that to which v,a are asked to subject our- J solves. In the case of a "person insuring his own life wo need only, peint out that by so t doing ho does not risk being deprived either i of employment or of the benefit of some ' statutory advantage. Besides which, life \ insurance is purely voluntary, and once eff fected, the interest of the person insuring I is in no way prejudiced. Wβ hold that a ( f man's body is his own property, and that f he should not be placed in tho position of . ! being forced to submit to a medical exami ' f nation in order to earn his bread." i |, r , j \ WHO IS RESPONSIBLE? , I , (BY TELECEAPH—PEISS ASSOCIATION ) , Auckland, January 14. 1 A telegram received from tho Prime, Minister states:—"Tho terms of the Government Accident Insurance Department were fixed before I wired the mine-owners on tho I West Coast. There is no difficulty in this ' \ respect. lam unable to understand why, in < 1 view of the fact that the Government has > i undertaken that the Accident 1 Insurance ' I Department should effect insurances for ] [ pneumoconiosis, there should be any further ! j delay on the part of mine-owners to end the < I trouble. I havo wired them further on the ', matter this afternoon, and the responsibility t : is on the owners I have given instructions < for an Order-m-Council containing the e Government Accident Insurance rates to be i published in. to-day's (Thursday's) Gazette." < , Thames, January 14. J 'A meeting of tho Thames Miners' "Union * [ made very little progress towards a solution ' of the present difficulty. Thero was very J ! ' little to report for the reason that no replies £ ' had been received to telegrams except that j [, from the Minister for Mines. _ \ I" Since the meeting a reply has been received j I from the Prime Minister that Gazette notices ' I W'll bo published at once. He explained that f ' the Government had offered to take or < f .to indemnify tho State Insurance Department 1 \ against loss. This was about as far as they ' j. could go at present. l I I.» - ' I I ( 'CONFLICTING VIEWS.. t ! (BI TELEGUArH—PHESS ASSOCIATION.) t Auckland, January 14. E > Mr. C. Grosvenrir, secretary of the Auck- ' f i Jand Employers' Association, interviewed to- [ day on tho subject of the Prime Ministers £ I telegram, said that oven now it would, be c 1 impossible for tho mining companies to ae- £ t viate from tho attitude they had taken, up l i until they knew piecisely what .the general « conditions of the Ordor-in-Pouncil weie., "I ' t havo no hesitation in affirming that thero is J J up hkehhood of the mine-owners being satis- * ( fiediby a merely temporary cover extending i ' ' only until Parliament moots,"'declared Mr. J i ! Grosvenor, "for in the event of Parliament 1 j failing to amend the Act, tho owners "would t f obviously be saddled with a liability m jußt c , v " tho same manner as if they were now accept- 1 ing the risks without a medical oxaminaticn t f of tho men." i ( Mr. W. J Napier, attornoy for the Day' r ' ( Dawn and Norfolk Mining Companies, ,con- I i ' siders the be at an end. _ The t \' Prime Minister's promise is, he- considers, o I quite enough to justify tho miners in re- j Burning Wk. Any rl d)JEculty which; may c t arise Defore Parliament meets will, in his 1 1 opinion, be infinitesimal, and he does not \ 'i think the companies now havo any valid j j Teason for the stand they took j '" up. There'is, ho no risk ivorth meH-' { • t tioning compared te the injury which may* l j i ! arise to the minera through a_ cessation of , 1 working operations; and for this reasbn tho f Day Dawn miners Lave resumed work, the t company being cpntent to take the risk upon \ the Pruno'Minister's assurance. ' i