THE MINING CRISIS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 408, 18 January 1909, Page 4

THE MINING CRISIS.

. There is no fresh news of importance to chronicle to-day in connection with the'regrettable trouble that has arisen out of . '■the' Workers' Compensation .Act. Messrs Pryor and Free and Sir Joseph Ward are all in Christchurch, and'indica-. tions point to the holding of a conferencebetween: themi with the object of ending the deadlock. The mine-owners are naturally still reluctant'to take advantage of the.Government's iniquitous expedient of using the public funds to end the struggle by buying off the obstinate unreasonableness of .the miners. Naturally, we say, because'vthe mine-owners havo no-guar'an-. tee that what is boing treated as a temporary expedient,may not involve them in a permanent liability without any setoff in the ,way. of a satisfactory amondment'of the. law.. The \ Prime Ministerwill say nothing upon the' direction ' inwhich any amendments of the : Act will: go. The only amendment that will meet:, the. situation must be either-the deletion of pneumoconiosis from the list of .diseases which compensation • may bo claimed, Or the provision that medical examination! shall-be.-' compulsory upon . aaWorkers who (Jesiro to take advantage of' ■the Act.:; But Sir Joseph Ward evidently lacks the courage necessary 'to, tell, the. miners, that: these. are;.the' only. :alterna-, tives. We may note, by :the:way, that our evening contemporary has supported our contention that!the mine-owners can, , rightly, demand that the law. shall compel tho miners to submit to exaininatiori. The public must not allow itselfvto, forget that the most important:aspect: of -the whole affair is the Government's;: decision .'to misuse the public credit: in. connection with the State Insurancq Department. In some quarters, this -vicious surrender to. tlie miners is being condoned as the only way of staving off a serious industrial .crisis... We do not believe that. it is >thc only way; if the Government had. maintained an.hbhest; and -courageous attitude from the; beginning,. the trouble .would probably bo over, by now. But in any case : . too great a price can', be':"paid .for peace,' and <too great, a; price, has been, paid in this instance; in the shape\qf;a grave infringement of' some of.the.most important principles of .good government.