NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 673, 25 November 1909, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY.

•■■• The. cpmpromiso''between .the vJjTew Zealand Alliance , and the: representatives of the ;brewery interests , has < already •fallen through. 'At a large and representative meeting of the delegates from all parts of the jDominion the Alliance yestor'day decided against one of the vital clauses of the agreement, ■ This is the clause, providing ; that local and Dominion option shall appear on the ' ballot Eaper as one issue. Every voter for No-" icense .in his or. her district would be compelled, under the agreement arrived at, to vote for total prohibition throughout tho whole of New Zealand, The Alliance delegates now object .to this, and want the two issues, put separately. Whether or not the Liquor interests will.concede this point is not yet known—it.seems practically, assured that they will not.' . It is asking too much from'them. Inview of this new developmentiit may be regarded as certain that no licensing: legislation will, be passed during :the present.session. V •.

. Tim most singular thing -about the strike at the State coal-mine is the silence of the Government, if we except tho scorning indifference of Parliament to what is on the face of it a .serious industrial disturbance. Until the Minister, in charge of the; Department makes a statement 1 it will; be impossible to'estimate the merits of , the dispute,; although, aswe have :said before, the availablo evidence goes towards justifying the Department's attitude, Tho Government owes :it to the public to make a! pronouncement, and that without: any, further;'delay, -: Wo want to know the full f(icts of; the disputeiiand the attitudo which'the. Govern ment:intends i to' adopt—whether it:; intenia,to:.do notiuija;.orr whether it■■■ in-

tends to set the fniiio'working again as soon as', possible. [The situation created by the strike in 'New Soutlr Wales l'enders it urgently peccssary that the ordin- , ary, supply of coal in this country shall not bo curtailed. Every strike, of any raagnitudcT-and the strike on , tho/.West Coast is hot a small one by any : meansmust: mean an irrecoverable loss' to the national , economy. ■ Every striker, while he is_ on strike, is a'dronc:,in. the hive. Nor .is the; only loss the loss involved in the idleness of a , large body of ■ labour: the capital inycstodjintjw mines is also idle, and the vforks deteriorate with idleness. Other industries also mayv Iμ crippled. The termination of the strike, kwevcr,' much as it is to be desired, can bo purchased too dearly. Peace at any price is a' ruinous gospel in industry as m foreign policy. The only 'grain of comfort in the trouble is the blow which has been dealt to the foolish notion that State control will prevent such industrial tronbles. .'.'.■ , '■ ■. ■':' . .'".■' '