The Coal Industry

Taranaki Daily News, 31 July 1915, Page 3

The Coal Industry

A NATIONAL CONFERENCE. ILUYH Cl-X'MIGrS RECEPTION. , A vV()XOi:i:.ll"L Sl-KECtf. 8y Cable —Press Association— Copyright London, July 2!l. Three thou-and attended the National Conference on the mining industry in the, Kiirgsway Cpcra House. All the leading miners' ir.eu were present, and every coalfield in the kingdom was represented. Sir John 'Simon, who presided, said the miners had sent 2."iO,(!0l) of their comrades to the firing line. Tlie industry, owing to tie' recruiting, was three million ton.- -hort monthly." With goodwill and greater effort, it should Impossible to recover some of the shortage, though he hoped the regulations securing the safety of the mines would not be modied. The Eight Hours Act might be suspended during tlie war, but the Government could not play tricks with the Act without consulting them. 'Mr. Lloyd George, wbo was greeted with a roar of applau.-:!. said coal was the lifeblood of the nation. He was not sure that those engaged in the in-, dusiry realised its importance at the present time. King Coal is tlie paramount Lord of Industry. Coal is our real international coinage. Shells mean coal; rifles and cannon mean coal. The 350.0C0 British casualties were really inflicted !)>' tlie Westphalian miner working in co-operation with the Prussian engineer without regulations, without stint, putting air his strength at the j disposal of the Fatherland. " Ho went ' on to ask whether the British miners I were doing their share similarly.

THE SKY 18 OXLY MOTTLED. He admitted tli.it the country could not expect men to work overtime, suspend trade union regulations and put fortli their full strength if all was going .well and there was no danger; but. could anyone reading the news intelligently doubt that the situation is serious, if not perilous? There are two new parties now, be. said, pessimists and optimists, the. blue-slcv school and the greyskv -school, but lie thought the sky is mottled and we ought to'remember that thv. sun is shining behind the stovmv clouds, but still prepare for a thunderstorm. We should not read the headlines of the newspapers, but read the news. The man who does not then unI dcrstand the p Til of his country would , not Wieve if one rose from the dead. There are hundreds of thousands of dead lying east and west who could tell of the peril if fchey rose. Events in the east portend that a larger share of the burden than ever wilf be cast on Britain's shoulders. LRITAIX MIKT Flfi-HiT AXD PAY. Tt. is useless to pv nine-tenths of the price of victory. We cannot bridge a twelve feet stream with an eleven feet plank. There was onlv one question, and all classes and trades must ask themselves: "Are we doing enough to secure victory when it means the fate of freedom for ages?" There was too much disposition to cling to the amenities of peace, such a.s the fashions o." [ lock-outs, strikes, ca'canny methods of [ slowing up output, and sprees. All our wages must go up, profits must be improved, and prices must 'be kept down. Tt was also said that no man must, be calied on to serve the Stat:' unless he wished or should onlv do the work- he bkid. not what fitted hTm. This freedom implied the right to shirk; it implied the right fo>- one to spend and enjoy, and for others to defend the country. "].s that .fair?" asked Mr Lloyd flcorge. Assuredly, victory was not to ibe gained by that road. ' "' i

TiHK OHITTY COLONIALS. The story of the Australian and Xew Zealand battalions had not yet appeared. "I will defy the Press Bureau,"' said ■Mr. Lloyd Oorge, "and tell how the Xew Zealanders and Australians were, facing the Turk attack the other day. What was the effect? Xo man would go on the sick list, not all the doctors in the regiments could persuade them. They wouldn't complain. There was no pulse-feeling, r can tell vou. (Cheers.) There was no shirking;"not until the attack wa,s over, and they had finished the Turks, would thc-v go into hospital. That's the spirit which alone will enalble us to win through. Nothing short of this will achieve victory. The pen! is a great and immediate one. but. if the democracy of Britain rises to the occasion, it will again triumph over all the forces of de-potism. The time lias come when every man and woman must help their country."

'• OUR BOYS •' WAITING. 'Tlio soldiers," Mr. Lloyd Oeonro concluded, "are awaiting anxiously to hear tlie rattle of loaded caissons coining from England. They le.ft us to fill tlifi waggons, and when that is done there -will <be written in letters of flanifhoiv the flajj of freedom drooped for a moment under the onslaughts of the ruthless foe, tut the men and women of Britain came to the resoue and planted it firmly where no tyranny could ever tear it down.''

CMKER* AM) CHEERS. Mr. Lloyd Oorgo was visibly moved by bis reception. Th.-> Jimisc u'us puckcd from stalls to gallery. Row* of coal-owners and miner*' delegates oraipic! the platform. The Bpeee.li was full of picturesque phrases, and had the quality of intimaev arising from the fact that lie was amoiv's men who knew him well. The threat to defy the Press P.ureau was greeted with general laiiffhter. The storv of the Australians and Xew Z'alanders, which followed, aroused good applause! The closing passage of the speech had an electrieal effect, and the meeting aagm rose to its f. ( >t. and cheered itself lwan-e when ifr. Lloyd Oorge and Yi'r Henderson left to ' attend "a Cabinet n.ec ling.

EXT!irsr.\STK" RESOLUTION'. ■Mr. Smellie then proposed, and Mr. A. F. Pease, 'pi-sidcnt of the Miners' Association, seconded, a resolution „f urgency that the owners and worl:?nen should secure the greatest possible output of eoal during the war. The conference passed the reselution with enthusiasm.