THE COAL CONFERENCE.

Taihape Daily Times, 6 August 1919, Page 5

THE COAL CONFERENCE.

BOLD STATEMENT BY MINERS; . VVELLINGTON, this day.~. At the Coal;Mi{ning Conference to.-3 day, Mr Roberts, replying to the .0061 owners said. the Federation did'noi think the employers’ count'er—proposals were really counter-proposals, but: merely a camouflage of the real POS? tion. Owners had made certain state—ments to the Conference and the P 195? as to the increase in the price of coal, and to the decrease in the outpufi which would follow the granting oi the men’s demands The miners’ re.-I ppresentatives were of opinion that this lwas based simply on supposition, and, therefore, they urged the question he ‘submitted to a Royal Commission corfn jslstlng Of two representatives front [the coal-owners and two representa.-. Hives from the Federation, and an inRdependent chairman, to be agreed upon} by both sides. The Commission to be ‘empowered to have accesss to all lbooks, documents and accounts; to in-n spect mines and mining conditions lgencrally, and to report as soon as possible. The Federation agreed to discuss with a representative of tlid, State mines the question of represen‘-. tation of miners on the Board of Cons‘ trol; it also agreed that other coal owners should investigate the same; question. The offer made by the owe‘ ners with respect to loans under the‘ Advances to Settlers, was entirely a: ‘Government question of supervision‘ to be considered when the report ofi the Royal Commission was presented.

Mr O:’Rorke said the delegates were‘ prepared to hold over in themeantimeg the five points objected to by the owners, and hoped the owners would discuss the remaining planks in ‘the platform. F The Conference adjourned until this afternoon to -give the owners in op-1 portunity to reply. "

MR MASSEY’S HIISTORIC PEN. ‘ ~ » -. . . -——o.————-..‘ ' AUCKLAND, Aug. 5.5;: .«...The.~. pen with\_tvh‘ich the Treaty ':;()fl_ Vel'sailles..;rvas signed on behalf joi New-1‘ Z“ealand‘ha‘s been brought back the Prime Minister, who stated thatgifi was an ordinary fountain pen._ which was in the -habit-' of -using-‘every defy. Eventually it would be put away and preserved as a souvenir, 'M‘riMas‘:sey} said, but in the. meantime he Was» carryq ing it about with him and using. it aS_ previously. He said the majority ofi the delegates followed the plan of using whatever pen came to hand. The French Premier (M. Clemence.a.u) wa§_ an exception in using a special pen, his signature being attached‘ with -a. gold pen presented to him by a number of Paris school girls. ’ THE' RAILWAY RESTRICTIONS WELLINGTON, August 5. The Defence Department states that the Railway Department has advised that no soldier in possession of a. pri-a. vilege ticket will be refusedpermission.‘ to travel provided there is a train,‘ available. It will, however, be nee-es-4 sary to obtain a permit from the offi-< cers of the Railway 'Departnlent‘.: Where soldiers join a train at a flag station, guards have been empowered‘ to i Sslle permitsl ' ‘The Railway partnient having’ agreed t'o""a proposal to defer the issue of‘ railway ticket§ until resumption of the normal time‘: table it is hoped only soldiers Who de~' sire and find it necessary to‘ avail themselves inlme-diately of the Dl'iVi-4 lege will do so, in order that the De< partinent will not be hampered by anf unnecessary number travelling at the present timeu:

MISHAP TO THE WHITE PINE. i ~ NELSON, this day. . The barquev White Pine, from Ausq tralia, when trying to make the Wharf at Terakohe this afternoon became fast on a sandbank. She is not believed to be in a dangerous position unless westerly Weather sets in.. The steamer Koi will proceed to her assistance to-morrow morning_. The DEITTIYB Carried a cargo of gypsum and guano, the latter for Wanganui.

TRENTHAM ART UNION. ._._.o§._.— THE CHIEF PRIZE VVINNERS. WELLINGTON, this day’. The winner"'of the first prize in the’ Trouflmln Scholarship AYE Unibn-1 Valued at £IOOO, is Mrs A. G. Green, of Morning"fon, Wellington. The secrondz valued at £7OO, is ‘Miss Grace ‘M. Bunker. \Vaslling’coll Valley Road, Ne]-o