THE WIDOWS AND ORPHANS

Huntly Press and District Gazette, Volume 3, 18 September 1914, Page 3

THE WIDOWS AND ORPHANS

Mr R. F. Bollard, M. P., who ararrived on Saturday in Huntly, and was present at a meeting of the newly appointed Relief Committee, stated that promises of help had been readily forthcoming. The Hon. W. Fraser had contributed £2l towards the relief fund, Ihe Hon. F. M. B. Fisher £5 ss, Mr J. P. Bailey £2 2s. Mr B. Smith, Ngaruawahia, £2 2s, Mr J. Robertson, M. P., £1 Is, and himself £3 3s. These sums had been offered to him spontaneously, and were an indication of the support that might be expected when the committee appealed to the people of the Dominion. Mr Bollard added that before leaving Wellington the Hon. F. M. B. Fisher, in expressing his sorrow and regret, had told him that the widows of the victims would be entitled to the sum of £lB per annum, and that 5s per week would bg ’ uved for each child under 14 rs of age.

MESSAGES OF SYMPATHY

Letters and Telegrams of condolence have been received from the following:The Governor and Lady Liverpool. The Premier. J. H. Bradney, M.P. Auckland Patriotic League. A. J. Whittaker and Co. House and Dakin. F. J. Tattley. Amal. Soc. Railway Servants, Wellington. Hon. W. H. Herries. T.W. Rhodes, M.P. J. E. Butler. Ngakawa Miners’ Union. Roa Miners’ Union. Joe Hooper, Hamilton. , F. Cook, Churchill. Mayor, Pahiatua. Waihi Miners’ Union. C. F. Bennett, Auckland. Frankton Borough Council. Hamilton Chamber of Commerce. Hamilton Lodge of Oddfellows. Ngaruawaliia Town Board. Rev. J. Egerton Ward. J. B. Shaoklock, Mayor, Dunedin. Sir J. G. Ward Chairman Mine, Committee House of Representatives. Auckland Coal Dealers, Association. Buckland Farmers’ Union R. Coulsan. State Miners’ Union Buller Deputies’ Union Petone Societies Democratic Association. W. J. Ralph (who is at present in Melbourne) Karangahake Miners’ Union Bishop Cleary. Mayor of Taumaranui. Buller County Council. Inangahua Miners’ Union Hon. John Fisher. M.L.C. Rev. Howard Elliott, Mount Eden Baptist Church. Trades and Labour Council, conveying the sympathy of Mr Fisher, Australian Labour Leader CATHOLIC CONDOLENCES. The Rev. Father Edge has received letters and telegrams of sympathy and condolneee from ' Bishop Cleary, Auckland ; Archbishop O’Shea, Wellington. The Secretary, Catholic Federation, Wellington; The Secretary Hibernians, Auckland ; and very many of the Catholic clergy throughout the Dominion. INQUIRY TO BE HELD. STATEMENT BY PREMIER. The Prime Minister stated that an exhaustive inquiry will be held into the causes of the Huntly colliery disaster, but that he was unable to state wliat form it would take. STATEMENT BY THE MINISTER OF MINES.

During a meeting held on Monday to appoint a committee to deal with the relief of distress, the Hon. W. Fra«er, Minister for Mines, who had arrived from Wellington that morning, said that the appalling nature of the tragedy made it difficult for anyone to give adequate expression "in words to his feelings of sorrow and regret. His anxiety to pay the last tribute of respect to the victims of the terrible accident, and to show the sympathy of the members of the Cabinet with the bereaved bad brought him to Huntly. It was with sincere pity and ihe deepest regret that he had followed the dead to the grave, and if the funeral had not been held to-day he would have waited longer, in order that he might have had the sad satisfaction of being present. The Minister said that he had brought with him three safety lamps in order to facilitate the rescue work now being so heroiccally undertaken, and he expected eight more to reach Huntly to-morrow. Itwasvery d'fficult to obtain these in Wellington, and especially on a Sunday. They were used on the West Coast, but not, as far as he knew, in the mines in the North Island.

Mr Fraser added that before he left Wellington the Prime Minister had informed him that Professor Dixon, the greatest authority on explosives and explosions in Great Britain, who was one of the delegates to the congress in Australia, of the British Association for the Advancement of .Science, and who was at present on a visit to New Zealand, had offered his services in connection with the, present disaster. He was very pleased to be able to obtain the services of an expert of such eminence as Professor Dixon, in order that any further risk to vnenin going down into thebowels of the earth might be minimised. He would take advantage of anything and everything that might conduce to the future safety of this mine. Professor Dixon had just gone down the shaft, in order to ascertain, if possible, the cause of the catastrophe. The minister hoped he would be able to throw some light on it, and give him, as Minister for Mines, information that would minimise the risks run by miners. Personally, the Minister could form no opinion as to the cause of the calamity, but he would : take all possible steps to prevent ; a recurrence. Some thought i it would be easy to do so by making cast-iron rules, but such > rules might prevent men from ■ earning their daily bread. He * thought a system of electric 1 lighting, as now in vogue in < England, Australia, and other f countries, must come into general r use in the mines of the : ninn. r Such a system could be in- - troducod in a day in the

interval such care must be taken that no obstacle would be placed in the way of men able and ready to work underground. The lights as used at present must be superseded by a safer form of illuminant. The difficulty of introducing a new system, great though it was, was a difficulty that would be overcome in time. He was glad to learn that steps were being taken to institute a relief fund and he approved of of the supercession of the Empire Dofence fund in favour of the relief that was so necessary The Minister, said that he wa s sure that every care would be taken that those left behind would not be penniless. The widows and children bore the brunt of the sorrow and the destitution consequent upon the death of the breadwinner, and it was their obvious duty to help these in every way, and he was sure that every assistance would be forthcoming. He was glad to meet the committee in order that he might express the sorrow experienced by himself and by his colleagues on the executive. It was too much to hope that accidents of the kind would be eliminated, but every effort to minimise tragedies such as these would be made. He assured everybody that the Government would do all that was humanly possible to alleviate the sorrow and trouble that lay so heavily on the bereaved.