THE ONLY WHY

Evening Star, Issue 24327, 16 October 1942, Page 2

THE ONLY WHY

WAiKATO STRIKE SETTLEMENT DEFENDED IMPRESSIVE SPEECH BY MR COATES (Spec ial.) WELLINGTON, Oct. IC. After making impressive reference to what lie described as the titanic struggle taking place within one day's distance by air from New Zealand, the Rt. Hon. .). G, Coates devoted his attention in the House of Representatives last- night to the issue raised by the Opposition Lender's no-confidence motion. Mr Coates said the issue before the House turned definitely on the question of whether tile law should be carried out in respect of a group of miners in the Waikato area. He asked himself what lie would do in similar circumstances to those' which had arisen, and he asked other people to put themselves in the same position. No coal was being produced. There was no one to mine the coal. The real need was coal ; it was essential to the country’s war requirements because without that coal the country’s war effort and war requirements were definitely being seriously and dangerously jeopardised. That was the fact they had to face. No one could condone the action of the miners. It was wrong; it was bad judgment at tlie point when all the miners went out on strike. They were all in the same box. Although he was definitely of opinion that the Jaw should he put aside sparingly, at the point where the people were threatened in his opinion they were entitled to pass by even a direction of a court. Government “ Hear hears.’ Mr Hudgens: Statesmanship. Dealing with the question of an election, Mr Coates said that without hesitation his view was that this was not the time for an election. Members in the secret session would get a close-up view of why. If there was any doubt in the minds of members he was quite prepared as one member to leave it to two or three perfectly independent men with a knowledge of the movements of the forces in this area and eastern area as to-whether in their opinion the country was at liberty to get into the throes of an election, and the disastrous effect of one pulling the hide off the other on the, public platforms. His view was that they were not entitled at this moment to take any liberty whatever. “ Have an election by all means, but not now,” Mr Coates added. “ Ydu could not now, at this stage; you should not.” Mr Coates said that he had been told that he said when he returned to Wellington from Auckland that the mine owners agreed with the proposed regulations for the control of the mines. The Prime Minister: You never said that. The Minister of Mines': Just the opposite was said. Mr Coates said that what he had stated was that the matter had been put before the coal mine owners and that they were opposed to it. The Prime Minister: But that they were friendly in their discussions. The mine owners, said Mr Coates, were anxious to help in every way possible. but thev said they had done no wrong, and did not see why they should be selected for special treatment.