A DANGEROUS POLICY

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 294, 31 August 1918, Page 6

A DANGEROUS POLICY

The action of.the Government in bringing compelling pressure to bear on .the coal owners in order to induce them to confer with the representatives of the Miners' Federation .regarding the demand'{or an._increasc'in wages is quite indefensible ■ from the point.of view of strict justice. It may bo justified on the ground of expediency, but it is a 'dangerous thing- for a Government to allow, expediency to deflect justice from its direct and proper path. It .generally pays to- do the right thing and flake tho consequences, but whether it pays or not, the right thing: ought to be done. The Government have failed to grapple .with the coal mining difficulty in a resolute-, and statesmanlike manner. They have hesitated, and temporised, and procrastinated, hoping that- the - trouble would somehow settle itself, and now that action has been forced upon them .they have chosen a course which cannot reasonably be expected to result in anything better than a patched-up and which sets up a most undesirable precedent. Under pressure the owners have agreed to a conference on 'condition .that the miners go back to work at once. If the men refuse to do this there will be no conference, and their the Government will probably have greater difficulty in solving tho problem than they, would ha,vc had if they had acted more courageously when first called upon to intervene.- '.'Tho-owners undoubtedly have the Jaw on their side. This was admitted by the. Minister of Mines (the Hon. W. D. S. MacDonald) when interviewed in Auckland by a deputation representing the' Federation of- Labour. "The chief difficulty of the Government in the matter," ho' said, "is this: that one section (tb« mine owners) is really complying with the law." The men arc working under an award of tho Arbitration Court, which is still in force. Me. MacDonald Tent on to say:

Wc are supposed to be neutral until one side or the other commits a breach of the law by ivhieh it agreed to abide. The mine owners ask: "If agreements are confirmed by the Arbitration Court, and immediately afterwards a bodv of miners can come and ask if a variation can take place, where will the matter end? If-our last agreements with the miners rre useless, then if we met attain, and came to another agreement, how long will it bo before we arc asked to alter that?"

That is the contention of the owners, and they undoubtedly occupy a very strong position. v They are prepared to go before the Arbitration Court ■ and to accept the decision of that tribunal, but the miners refuse to make use of the machinery which the State has set up for the special purpose of settling such disputes as that which has created the present crisis. In those circumstances' the Minister naturally and properly felt that it would not be right to force owners to agree to a- conference. _M.it. Mac Donald put the matte ■ fairly and forcibly when he remarked that if an agreement was not in force, and confirmed by the Arbitration Court and accepted by the mine owners and the miners, the Government would be in a very much easier position in suggesting a meeting. But the Government have been unable to resist the temptation of following the line of least resistance. They have not merely '•suggested a meeting." The influence they have brought to bear has been so strong that the unwilling owners have been practically compelled to submit. The Government has taken a course which, as 'Mr Mac Donald has himself declared, is equivalent to an admission "that iu conn , r " lation of an agreement by the Court is worthless. This must weaken the position and authority of the Court and tend to shake the confidence of Jio public m the efli-:acy and administration of the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act. And it is not certain at present whether the Government's action will even ■secure the.partial justification of temporary success. The policy of putting off the evil dav Is asi-n ot weakness which invites further t ouble. The Miners' Federation is already proclaiming from the housetops that lt has won a victory lb is is not the way to foster that spirit of good will and conciliation without winch permanent peace is impossible The outlook is not at all satisfactory but it is k> bo hoped that reason will ultimately prevail and that a settlement may V reach cd that will be just both to it owners and the mincre, and also to the genera public. A serious dislocation ot the mining industry at the present juncture would cause much hardship and inconvenience; but whatever the consequences may | J0 the Government should do its duty without fear or favour J