TRANSVAAL COAL STRIKE.

Taranaki Daily News, 11 January 1922, Page 5

TRANSVAAL COAL STRIKE.

A FRUITLESS CONFERENCE. SITUATION SERIOUS. By Telegraph.—-Press Assn.—copyright Capetown, Jan. 9.

A conference of the Chamber of Mines and the miners’ delegates resulted in the former offering to postpone the notices to the men in order to allow further time for negotiations.

At a later meeting the Labor Federation declined the proposal and endorsed the decision to strike to-night. General Smuts, addressing a meeting of the Federation, asked them to do what he asked them. He declared they were taking a dreadful onus upon themselves. The party which had the support of public opinion was going to win. “If these mines close because you refuse my simple reasonable requests, the public will look upon it as an outrage. Do not create an impression that you are not reasonable.”—Reuter. Capetown, Jan. 9. The ballot favored a strike of the miners, power workers and engineers by ten to one. The men cease work after to-night. The Cape Times says that no more serious a situation has ever confronted South Africa. It has been flung in the face of the country by deliberate and reckless defiance. The federation had previously offered to keep all the essential services going, on the condition that certain mines were placed at their disposal and all the labor withdrawn except that controlled by the federation, but General Smuts was unable to accept this.—Aus.-