THE STRIKE.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 676, 29 November 1909, Page 6

THE STRIKE.

Wees the. Prime Minister was asked on Friday for, a declaration of the Government's intentions respecting the strike on the West Coast, he said that if notice had .been given he would' havo had information ■ prepared by the officials and would have supplied it to the House. ■ It will surely strike those who noted the announcement as an extraordinary thing that the Prime Minister should have failed to realise that it,was his duty to ■take:, the House 1 and the'country into his confidence, without a moment's delay. If he really meant what he said in the statement quoted, it simply shows that it did'not occur to him that he should trouble to mafco' an announcement on the subject.This evidences a quite extraordinary 'misunderstanding of the obligation which jests upon the Government, as the Executive of Parliament, to keep Parliament and the country informed in mat: tors of public concern. By: its own legislation ' the' Government has made industrial trouble of all kinds a public, matter, and in this particular case the pub: lie are actually shareholders in the busir ncss affected. The State coal-mine is not such a, profitable thing that the public can afford to have it remaining idle, and the clear duty of tho Department is to set it working again with the least possible delay. \Vc have no information as to the steps, that the Government'; has taken to this end; probably the Government has taken no steps beyond appealing to tho men to accept its terms. Every day that passes without action being taken; by the Department heightens the danger-of .a more general strike and weakens tho Government's position. Thero is already some: very, disquieting talk as to the possibility of trouble in the private collieries, : and the present time is rather favourable to a violent attempt by the colliers of the Dominion to. gain that.' "•grcat'pbint Semple.says will be a triumph for the coal-workers generally. Any sign of weakness in the Government' will be noted by tho unions, ; find. may. bo considered by them a promise of success if they' declare war.. The main , teaching of the .strike,'-.as we have shown :_in an earlier article, is that the basic idea of State Socialism /is unsound. ;It must be - clear that; the nationalisation of. industry will still • , leavo\thfl.•'discpntcrit^.6^''.'th(J , ■ world unchanged. .'-Tho miners are crying'out against tho,manner in which the greedy State robs them! . The State, apparently, is a " bloated capitalist. I '/The strike will not have been wholly' evil'-".if it makes'raen realise-that State 1 Socialism is a stage in a cycle that has< appeared in history more than once—the cycle of State Socialism, collectivism, . chaos, des-i potism, and, finally, the.' restoration of Liberal.; individualism. Meanwhile t{ie country is entitled to know from the Government what the merits of the present trouble really are, and what is being done-to settle/,what must prove a; costly .business to the taxpayer and tho coun-i try as a whole.