N.S W. COAL STRIKE.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2659, 15 November 1909, Page 5

N.S W. COAL STRIKE.

THE STRIKE SPREADING

UnITICI) PuiCHS ASSOCIATION—COPYRIGHT SYDNEY, Nov. 13. ■ j / i'Thero was a conference of delegates | 'lrom three mining districts to-day to 'consider the Northern proprietors’ decision. The prospects of the congress falling in with the suggestion to resume work preparatory to a conference are considered very unlikely. The Mount Iveira miners threw down their tools last night. All the Southern miners are now out. At a great meeting or Western minors it- was decided to cease work immediately. It is expected that all the pits will be idle to-day. The coke workers at Bulli and Bella mbi have been paid off, and the works closed.

The outlook is considered anything but hopeful, and -the fears of a general strike are increasing. The strike leaders state that the object of a general strike is to arouse public opinion to coerce the mine owners. Addressing the Hetton Lodge, one of •the delegates announced that the miners were not going to allow anyone to try to work in the mines. Mr Bowling expressed the opinion that the Waterside and other unions would come out if called on. The spirit of unification among the unions was never so strong as it was to-day. Nothing would be done to hurt the public that could be avoided, but it . was a light for supremacy, and the unions must have all the power they could get. Mr Bowling mentioned that he had offers of assistance from all parts of Australia and New Zealand, which, amongst other matters, will be considered at to-day’s congress. In regard to Mr Bowling’s scheme for working a colliery or collieries by the Miners’ Federation the pits mentioned arc Young Wallsend and Ebbwvale. Negotiations are in progress and it is understood that steps towards'completing the agreement are well advanced. NEWCASTLE TRADE AT A STANDSTILL. The effects of the strike are being severely felt at Newcastle. The export of coal for the week just ended totalled 1800 tons, contoured with 10,000 tons in the previous week, and SO,OOO tons for the corresponding week of last year. The general trade of the town is at a .standstill. Advices have been received in Sydney that a shipment of coal had already left Hong ’Kong for Australia, and quotations have been received from Natal and Japan for cargoes delivered within a month. Reports from other States indicate that the effects of the strike are becoming serious. In Melbourne there is an increasing tendency to reduce the hands employed in large manufacturing and commercial establishments. All the existing coal supply contracts in Melbourne were terminated yesterday, the contractors taking advantage of tho strike clauses in the agreements. The Australian Paper Mills Proprietary has closed ins works. Melbourne and Geelong lack coal. Asked in the House of Representatives as to whether he had not the power under the law of imminent domain to work the mines as Mr Roosevelt intended to do at one time in America. Mr Deakin stated that the law of imminent domain did not exist to the same extent in Australia- as in America. The Commonwealth Government had not control over the lands as the American Government had. OPINION IN ENGLAND. (Received November 14, 5.5 p.m.) LONDON, Nov. 13. There is a general absence of definite comment on the Australian strike •because its causes are unknown. Numerous Australian orders and inquiries have been received at Natal for colliers. All orders were declined .owing to shortage of labor- and the heavy bunker trade. A LABOR - CONFERENCE. SYDNEY, Nov. 14. A lengthy conference of Labor was held yesterday, lasting until late last night. Not the slightest, idea of the result was obtainable. RUMORED DISCONCERTING DEVELOPMENTS. (Received November 15, 12.30 a.m.) Although no official information is •obtainable, there is reason to believe that some disconcerting development occurred at yesterday’s conference, rendering it- necessary to again confer with the executives of the various am ions represented. After this, is .done, the conference will be resumed do-inorrow afternoon. It is rumored that the attitude of the Seamen’s Union may mean that the strike will not extend beyond this State. Mr. Bowling has returned to Newcastle, presumably to confer with the Miners’ Executive. BRISBANE WOOL SALES POSTPONED ON ACCOUNT OF STRIKE. BRISBANE, Nov. 14. The wool sale fixed for yesterday has been postponed, buyers declining to •operate pending the Newcastle strike developments. PROBABLE RISE IN UNION COMPANY’S CHARGES. ri’Eii Press Association.) DUNEDIN, Nov. 44. • An advance in intercolonial fares or 40 per cent-, and in freights', of 25 per

CABLE NEWS.

cent., bringing the charges into lino with those riding in the inter-State services of the Commonwealth, is contemplated by the Union Steamship Company as a result of the mining strike in Australia, but the date from which tho scale .shall come into operation has not been fixed yet, as further developments may make a change unnecessary. Should the strike last long, however, the difficulty and increased cost of getting coal, and tho general disorganisation of trade, will probably make the imposition of increased charges unavoidable. The mines on the West Coast are doing all they can to supply the sudden demand made upon them, and quantities of coal from Westport are being stored at Wellington, where the Melbourne, Bluff, Cook Strait, and Sydney steamers will coal. It is not thought that the intercolonial service will have to be reduced, but a reduction lias already been made in. the Tasmanian. services by permission of the Postmaster-General. The Loongana, running between Launceston and Melbourne, is makig fewer trips, and the Hobart-Sydney trade carried on hitherto conjointly by- tlie_ Huddart-Parker proprietary and the Union Company is being maintained by one .of the companies.