STATE COAL MINES

Hokitika Guardian, 22 September 1920, Page 4

STATE COAL MINES

PltEijlEiyS COMMENT

(Our Parliamentary Correspondent.) 1 '' MHILLINGTdN, Sept!' 21. “Thi s sort of tiling cannot possibly continue,‘said the Prime Minister in the House to-day when informing members that the employees at the State Mine had stopped work work again.” f'believe ' tliat''it be better to face tlic trouble and have it over, than allow this state of affairs to continue. As far as I am concerned I am prepared to face it. If the men now employed at the mines will not produce (■oaf in proportion to their numbers, then some other means must be found of procuring coal for the people. He believed that the Dominion was up against trouble at the 1 coal mines, and the question was would they put up with the present conditions any longer. It had been '’reportod to the Government that the miners had adopted their present policy because conscientious objectors were being kept in the prisons There were, however, no. conscientious objectors in prison now. All these men bad been released after serving their sentences, which the Government had reduced £by six months. He did not say that there were no deserters in the prison of the country, at present. Deserters were quite' a different class of people. Hie Minister of Defence endorsed the statement that - there were, no conscientious objectors still in prison. There were fourteen military offenders in prison. Three of them were seiwing sentences for .criminal offences and the others had been defaulters or deserters.

Mr Holland (Buller) asked if Mr Massey had exact information as to the cause of the stoppage' in the State Mine.

The Prime Minister replied that he had just been reading a document bearing on the point. An official statement was to the effect that the stoppage was connected with the Broken Hill levy. Trouble had been reported last week at the Blackball mine on account of two blacksmiths who refused to pay this levy. The telegram lie had received from the Inspector of Factories for the district was as -'follows: “State Mine idle in agreement with the irritation policy of four days fortnightly. Hie ostensible reason is the Broken Hill levy.” Mr Massey added that he knew no more about the matter at the moment.