WAIHI & THE STRIKE WASTE.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1613, 3 December 1912, Page 6

WAIHI & THE STRIKE WASTE.

'-.; ;-:-W, ! ..::-;,-■..';.. : "»v .,.:—: i .V '■ -■' : SOME OF THE FIGURES. :■' LOSSES/AFFECT EVEE'tONE. (By 'OWeeraph.—Special Correspondent.) ■ '.'■.-','■ Auckland, December 2. . ; .; The meeting at -which the, decision to call the' Waihi, stnkie ■ off >was arrived ' at was not altogether harmonious. Thero : was ,'an'.'attendance !of about 150 of the strikers,'"arid, at -"times, , matters were stormy, .jnd the leaders of the federain for much adverse criticism.. ';',.■. section of..about .50,0f those present ". . epenly voiced-, their resentment'. at the methods',';ofVthe federation," arid .some, of them declared; that the strike liad been grossly" with- the result that of .families,had suffered, and .many, of the. bread-winners, wouldv now ■ find" it difficult !.to obtain ■ employment. ■ Twenty-four miners, voted against the mo- . tion to' call the'stfike off/ and some expressed, a .desire, to , .continue the, struggle, . to'"the:bitter end:.- - ' .-•;■ ■■' • - . So'strong is Hie feeling that tW affairs oi'the'federation have'been' mismanaged that a movement ■ is stated to be afoot asking certain 'of the leading officials" to tender their- resignations. l : This ' move- > ment, it is. confined eolely 'to the: JWaihi ;■ • men, ■' but that members . of tho Auckland Labourers' ■■ Union and 'the.tramwaysiand .waterside'.workers intend to take, a'.han'd.^ '■;'■.;'-- . The stnke lasted: 2911 weeks; •: -The-I loss in gold' returns due 'to'lthe' strike'can be set down at .£453,125;: calculated-nipon-an. , average return of .£40,000. per four--.weeks from the Waihi•"mine;'}and;-,£16,500 per four weeks from )tha-Waihi iGrah'd: 'June , -- tion mine..' There were?lsoo toen employed by thb minirigconipanies on-the-Waihr ■■' ' ■ field when the strike was declared who were receiving.a'total.of ;about .£4BOO a •week in wages,-'so-that, in.:the 29 weeks of idleness) the raeii -havo lost close on ,£l4o,ooo'in wages.' '' ■'•'• :-.-s"-. . Against-this,:they received about a week in strike pay','contributed by_ Ivew Zealand and'-Australian- unions afliliatea to-the-Federation of Labour, amounting 't0.,'426,100 for-the .whole, period.; , -- . The gold duty collected?by,.the Waihi Borough.Counoil,(by.which-the.torn was practically maintained) Represents, under- ' nofmalcalculation, .about a. year and (the .mines \ being 'idle.-for: seven months) the -loss to the borough finances caif.:be .'computed at well : over .£IO,OOO. .; Mr. E. Semple, organiser of the led-eration-'of speaking at the Opera House on Sunday night, said,, inter, alia, that many-people were -under the impression that the--Federation-was dead, but heicould' assure 'his hearers ; that such was very far-'from-being-the case. In fact, . the Federation wns only beginning to live. All great-nioyements were'built, up on ■ persecution;-and: the workers were now waking up the"-fact'that they had ever.ythii!g-to'fight'for. .Throughout the b&ttie-.the Federation had shown' no of cowardice or underhand work, and they were now-merely"retreating.in order to ■build.up their •'forces ;to"cpme at the ' enemy strongerithan. ever. He could as-; sure his hearers that the'; coal miners in this-country Would- lose ■; their heart's ' blood for the- Federation'..< The.y : -had fought quietly/- arid when the other side '■' g4.t:6trqng enough,'it adopted'the very tactics'^which"the; federationists should have used atithe start, but if such means ■were-a~dopted "against the federationists agSin-they'-'would defend their homes,their rights, and ' their' families, and though the river flowed with blood, they would.- fight'-the others with' the latter's ■ own methods. A .conference was to be held' ; in-Wellington in January at which aUsunidh3;were'to bo' invited' to "attend, and there they would solidify their, forces and form their plans; so that' they could fight'Jas. never -before and, when the time came, they Would present a front to the enemy in New Zealand which would ~' . ehake.it to'; its very, foundations. Mr> .Semple. vinterspersed. his remarks liberally with torrents of invective againstMr. Massey and! his Government, the ■ ■ press, Inspector Cullen, and various other peopl«v '■'■-:■-