The Sun TUESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1929 FATAL REVOLT IN AUSTRALIA

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 848, 17 December 1929, Page 8

The Sun TUESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1929 FATAL REVOLT IN AUSTRALIA

QLOOD lias been spilt at last on the northern coalfields of New South Wales. After eighteen months of wordy warfare over a chronic industrial dispute, an armed conflict has broken out between the guardians of law and order and a multitude of strikers. Policemen and violent pieketers have shot at each other with intent to kill and, so far, one miner has been killed, five others wounded, while three sergeants of police and a constable have been injured, mainly by revolver bullets. Among those casualties, two victims on either side of the clash may lose their lives. In addition to these grievous results, a free exchange of brickbats and batons inflicted many bruises on the combatants. It is sincerely to be hoped for the sake of Australia that nothing worse will happen than that which already has fouled its bad industrial record. The recalcitrant miners may attempt to continue their revolt against constitutional authority, but they should realise even now that the substitution of a reign of terror cannot overwhelm reason. No country dare tolerate too long the violent intimidation of free labour which has been engaged as the last resource of the State to save its industries and commerce from stupid ruin. Whatever sympathy the miners have deserved throughout the period of their protracted dispute has been alienated by their belligerent methods of picketing and intimidation of men who not only are willing to work, hut are in distressing need of employment. The fact that many of the strikers were armed with revolvers proves conclusively that their mood was the temper of dangerous rebels. Their threatening attack on the police at Rothbury compelled the armed constabulary to open fire with revolvers. The tragic business is, of course, regrettable, but there .comes a time at the height of volatile mob disorder when something akin to the pale Corsican’s historic whiff of grapeshot is the only means of restoring order. And such a conflict as has been experienced in the most provocative industrial State in the Commonwealth was bound to come sooner or later in a country that has been plagued with strikes for more than half a century. It would have come long ago had Australia been spared its surfeit of plastic politicians and professional agitators. The present dispute has been under political and arbitrational consideration since July of last year. A score of special efforts and appeals has been made in the hope of a peaceful settlement. Trouble first reached a serious stage in February last when the miners in a large section of the northern collieries received a fortnight’s notice of the mineowners’ intention to close the mines. Operations ceased on March 1. Since then, each attempt at securing an amicable settlement has failed. Three Governments—two Federal Administrations and the Nationalist Government of New South Wales—have intervened in turn with characteristic political proposals for breaking the deadlock, but since each proposal inevitably involved a reduction in the miners’ wages, all the schemes for settlement have been rejected. Though both Federal and State taxpayers were to be burdened principally with the cost of reducing the selling price of coal by five shillings a ton, the miners have refused stubbornly to accept the necessity of a reduction in contract rates by 12-J per cent., and a drop of sixpence a day in respect of all-day labour employees. It has been asserted without challenge that such a reduction still would leave the New South Wales miners as earners of the highest coalmining wages in the world. That advantage apparently has no attraction for an industrial organisation which takes its trades union wisdom from the fountainhead of folly in Moscow.

Twenty-five thousand miners are concerned directly in the revolt on the coalfields north of Sydney. Most of them for the greater part of this year have been content to live on charity and levies extorted from other industrial unions. An end must be made to a wicked hold-up of Australian industry. The Government of New South Wales at last has taken the right course, and it is to be hoped that it will not weaken in its determination to bring aggressive Socialistic Labour to its senses.

THE HUTT BY-ELECTION

AFTER a brief but intense campaign, the Hutt by-election will be decided tomorrow, and critical opinion holds to its original belief that Mr. Walter Nash, the Labour candidate, will capture the seat. He is opposed by two able candidates, one of whom, Mr. H. F. Johnson, the Reform nominee, has impressed all unprejudiced observers. There are, however, more elements involved than those that surround polities and personality, and these, which may he called extraneous influences, should help Mr. Nash more than either of the others. It is just possible, however, that rhe strength and popularity of Mr. Kerr, the United man, in Petone, where he is the editor of the local newspaper and a prominent public figure, may weaken Labour’s prospects in a populous industrial centre on which it will depend for much of its support. In his successive challenges to Mr. Wilford, Mr. Nash, who has a permanent post as secretary of the New Zealand Labour Party, and who therefore lias a sound grasp of its political doctrines and a useful familiarity with recent political history, arrayed a very compact Labour vote against a Liberal vote which was partly produced by the grip of Mr. Wilford’s popularity on the electorate, and to a smaller degree by the electorate’s devotion to Liberal principles. Though a Liberal, Mr. Wilford actually was considerably closer to Reform than to Labour, and to this relationship owed his success at the two last elections, when-Reform did not put a candidate in the field against him. At an earlier election, however, Mr. A. M. Samuel, now Reform member for Thames, had stood, and made a great fight of it. Although much is made of Mr. Nash’s strong polling against Mr. Wilford, he did not at any time go as near to success as Mr. Samuel. When it is remembered that much of Mr. Wllford’s vote at the two last elections might have been a Reform vote had ,a Reform candidate been in the field, it is evident that there is room for speculation about the possibility that Mr. Kerr and Mr. Nash, splitting the United-Labour vote fairly evenly, may leave a formidable block of Reform votes to Mr. Johnston. The general suspicion of some sort of unofficial alliance between Labour and United during the last session strengthens the possibility that Mr. Kerr may do Mr. Nash considerable harm. Thus, although tiie Labour prospects will be most favoured, the result is not a foregone conclusion. Whatever the result, unless Mr. Kerr scores a surprise victory, it cannot but be embarrassing to the Government, which can ill afford the .loss of the seat, much loss a development that will allow Labour to be more dictatorial than ever.