WEST COAST COAL TRADE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2894, 1 September 1909, Page 33

WEST COAST COAL TRADE.

/ DISCHARGE OF MINERS. OUTCRY AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT. WESTP'ORT, August 30. The action of the' Westport Coal Company in discharging some 200 men from its Granity Creek mine owing to the slackness of the demand for coal is caus- ■ ing a good deal of local agitation, especi- ! ally- in view of the fact that- the Government is importing Newcastle coal in Mel-bourne-owned steamers for use on the railways. Amongst the reasons for the slackness in the demand are mentioned the food winter in . Canterbury, the shutting own. of the freezers, the laying. up or . 10 Union Company's boats, the competi- ] tion of Newcastle coal (213,654 tons landed in ,the last six months, compared with j - 192,018. t0ns for the corresponding period i laskr year), the - competition of Waikato coal -via the North Island Trunk-line,, and the general dul&ees of trade , ;n; n the Dominion^. . ' . t T3& Government's importation of- Newcastle coal is a particularly sore point, and in many quarters there is a demand for protective duty. The Stockton Miners' Union, in view of the widespread 'distress, passed a resolution deploring the Government's action in importing Newcastle coal, such action being a breach of the trust reposed in the Liberal Government by the Labour organisations. | Mr Colvin, M.P., who complained to Mr Ronayne of his importing 50,000 tons from Newcastle, says that Mr Ronayne told him that he was taking all suitable coal offering from the Stockton and State mines, but the Westport Coal Company would not supply the orders. Mr Colvin opposes tie reduction of the local rail- 1 way rates to assist in meeting the com- ' petition, as the revenue is required to complete the harbour. • ; Mr Dowgray, president of the Granity Union, says that one reason for shorten- ! ing hands is the temporary scarcity of j hard coal in the Granity mine. This dif- j ficulty will not be got over until the de- • velopment work now proceeding is completed. The -Miners' Federation, he says, will advocate, a reduction of haulage rates and a duty on -foreign coal. A public meeting in Westport resolved I — " That the importation of Australian t coal into the Dominion is increasing ; that ' the railways are large purchasers of im- ', ported coal ; that the mines in this dis- | trict are working at a redneed output j owing to the scarcity of orders ; that the i ■Westport* Coal Company to-day finds it j necessary, to give 250 coal miners notice, ' as their' services are no longer required ; ! that the meeting further urge on the ' Cabinet the necessity of making a full j and complete inquiry into the. reasons ; that have- brought this undesirable state of things about, and, if need, be, to introduce such legislation as will ensure the regular and systematic working of the Dominion's own coal measures." (Fkov Our Own Cosrespondent.) GREYMOUTH, August 30. Mr Colvin, M.P., in. an interview in regard to the slackness in coal mining, stated that next session he .would urge the Government to impose a protective duty on imported coal. He believed existing . legislation would be sufficient to prevent the New Zealand companies taking advan- J tage of such duty to proportionately increase their prices. As a member of the Harbour Board, he would not support any proposition .to reduce the haulage rate on fehe Westport-Mokihinui railway, as the board's revenue was hypothecated to pay interest on past expenditure, and to provide for future pledged outlay. 'A large number of hooks containing documents relating to Government transactions from the early '" forties " up to the " sixties " have been deposited in the rooms at the Victoria Barracks, Wellington, which will be used for storing Government archives. Fiom time to time addi- " tions will be made to the collection in the way of selections from the papers of departments of the Government service. I