COAL IMPORTATIONS.

Taranaki Daily News, 8 October 1921, Page 4

COAL IMPORTATIONS.

The leader of the main Labor Party in the House —there are, of course, several Labor parties in evidence —is devoid of a sense of humor, or he would not submit to the consideration of the House an amendment to the Address’-in-Reply containing the following gem: “The Government’s wasteful policy of heavy coal importations instead of local production.” Mr. Holland represents a mining community, and knows quite well that it was the action of his own constituents which caused coal to be imported to New Zealand in large quantities and at big cost. They were prepared to hold up the country's industries in order to gain their own sweet way, notwithstanding they were receiving very high wages and working short hours. The Government was obliged to maintain the railway services and the chief industries, and therefore bought coal from as far as Wales. As soon as the miners saw the big heaps accumulating they turned to work with a will, and little has since been heard of / the national strike their leader promised earlier in the year. Now there is more coal available than is required, and work at some of the mines has had ;o be slackened, with the result that the miners are not making the big money they did so easily less than a year ago. Verily they have been hoist with their own petard. It is -to be hoped they will take the lesson to heart. It is certain that they will receive very little sympathy, particularly from the heads of househods in the cities whom they kept by their selfish, callous policy on short fuel rations during two cold winters. The Government is to be commended for the action it took in countering the nefarious designs of the miners. It will have cost a good deal of money, which admittedly would have been better disbursed in the country, but acquiescence with the unreasonable demands of the minerfl would have been more costly and destructive of national self-respect.