Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), Thursday 3 April 1879, page 2


Wxt Sibsfame (ttmwp,

PUBLISHED DAILY.

Thursday, April 19, 1879.

Ouk Sydney telegrams the other day informed us that the Miners' Union at Newcastle had determined to adopt a new scheme for limiting the output of coal, called the vend system. The circumstances which have led up to this action are so extraordinary that they are worth recapitulating, if only to direct attention to the natural tendency of nearly all trades unions, once their authority is recognised, to abuse it by interfering with matters which are outside of their professed object, and to tyrannise over those whom it is supposed to be, their function to protect. The whole of the arrangements under which the Newcastle coal trade has been

carried on for some years past are exceptional, and deserving of public attention. Some six years ago differences existed between the miners and the colliery proprietors in that district which led to several strikes, whereby both sides lost heavily, as

is usual.

These differences were at last settled by an agreement between the Miners' Protec-tion Association and the associated masters, by which the price of getting the coal was fixed at a certain proportion of the selling price. That selling price was fixed at 14s. per ton, under which no master was to sell under pain of heavy penalties. It may be said, in fact, that the war between the miners and coal owners was terminated by an alliance to plunder the consumer. Both of the contending parties were to get what they had been fighting for-at the expense of the neutrals-a mode of terminating a fight which has before now been practised by greater powers than either the Miners' Union or the associated masters. The miners were to got tire high wages, and the coal owners the large profits which they desired, by the simple expedient of compelling the consumer to pay a price sufficient to cover the demands of both.

Mr. Dixon, the secretary of the Coal Mining Protection Association, when addressing the New Lambton miners a few weeks ago, acknowledged that " he was very sorry that ever there was occasion for drawing up a scheme like this ,

an agreement the like of which had never been signed in any part of the world before." This extraordinary scheme was, however, found not sufficiently restrictive. In spite of all pains and penalties, some owners who were anxious to increase their output or who had a difficulty in dispos-ing of the produce of their mines would undersell the others, and to stop this practice the fertile brains which had devised the original scheme concocted another plan. The authorities of the union,

concert with the owners of what are known as the associated collieries, prepared an estimate of the quantity of coal which would probably be required during the year, and dividing that amongst the whole of the collieries assigned to each its amount of work for the year. No pit was to raise 1 more coal than the quantity allotted to it

by the authorities of the year, and at any colliery which refused to come into the scheme the miners were to strike work at once. The proprietors of the New Lambton colliery determined to resist this outrageous dictation, and their men were called upon to strike. Mr. Dibbs, who is one of the principal proprietors of the mine, addressed the men on the subject early in January last. He pointed out that he and his partners had satisfied all the other demands of the union, that there was then no difference between the employers and the men as to rate of wages or hours of work. He pointed out that the average yearly output at New Lambton had been about 110,000 tons, whilst the scheme now put forward would limit it to 65,000 tons per annum, and that the expenses of raising the limited quantity proposed to be assigned to it would amount to a larger sum per ton of coal than if they were in full work. He finished by declaring plainly that if the miners supported the officers of the union in this attempt to dictate to the proprietors the quantity of coal they should send to market he and his co-proprietors were determined to close the mine rather than submit.

A more outrageous demand than that of the union-that the colliery proprietor should only be permitted to sell his property in such quantities as met their approval-it is impossible to conceive, and the opposition to it may not impro-bably lead to the destruction of the artificial system by which the price of coal at Newcastle has lately been regulated. The probable result of all this will be that the New Lambton colliery being excluded from the Miners' Union will, of course, be freed from the agreement entered into with that body, and Mr. Dibbs and his partners will be able to sell their coal at their own price. If they begin to sell at less than 15s. per ton the associated collieries must come down to their price or else see the whole market supplied by the obnoxious colliery. There is ample room for a reduction of price since the same coal which is now sold at 14s. per ton has in times gone by sold for seven shillings, and the average price before the combination of master and man against the public was about eleven shillings. If, however, cutting down of prices once begins it is hard to say where it will stop, and with a diminished price for the coal the old dispute about its division between employers and employed will turn up again. The idea of terminating a trouble-some trade dispute by raising the price of the article produced to a level which would satisfy in full the demands of all engaged in the business was a most extraordinary one, and one that could never have been carried out in any country where both capital and labor were abundant. It is, however, still more extraordinary that those who by this arrangement got all they wanted should disturb it, and risk its permanent notification, by stupidly and without any provocation attacking the right of the coal owner to sell as much zeal as he wishes, and can get, at the market price fixed by the agreement. The last move of the union has been a piece of over legislation, and, like the last straw upon the camel's back, it will probably have a result the reverse of beneficial to those attempting to impose it.

The only satisfactory symptom in the case is the fact that some of the colliers of New Lambton have soon so clearly the injustice and folly of the proposed restric-tion on the output of their pit that they seem disposed to side with their employers. Mr. Morehead, the manager of the mine, refuses to submit to interference with the working of the colliery as the scheme involved, and he declines to make any engagement with respect to the price of coal, adding that any such interference would result in his filling the colliery with fresh hands. If this last attempted tyranny should break up the Newcastle Miners' union it will probably be all the better for the men, the country, and the coal trade. At all events the men will have only the Union to thank for any troubles that the re-opening of strife between employer and employed may bring about.

We in Queensland may perhaps benefit in some small degree if strikes again become prevalent at Newcastle. We have plenty of coal, and it is to be hoped that we shall soon have means of bringing it to the ship's side in more than one of our ports. A disturbance of the Newcastle trade might perhaps give our coal owners an opportunity to establish a business which they have not hitherto enjoyed, and we hope that if the opportunity does come they will be in a position to take advantage of it. We believe that our colliers, so long as they get a fair rate for cutting the coal, will be delighted to see their employers increasing their output, and we trust it may be many a long day before they quarrel with their bread and butter as absurdly as their Newcastle brethren are doing.

It is a lesson taught by universal experience that an evil which has grown gradually is seldom remedied till it becomes nearly intolerable. There is a kind of mental laziness which we often dignify by the name of conservatism that makes us shrink from a change. The old ways may be rough, but at least they are known and even the quagmires in the path are familiar. Following them we know what we shall be called upon to endure, while on the other hand there are endless possibilities of trouble in the unknown. So we prefer to jog along in the track so long followed, and continue to do so till it becomes almost impassable before striking out a new path for ourselves.

This is one of the old paths to which we cling with obstinate pertinacity, although it is evidently plunging into an impenetrable jungle of difficulties-the system hitherto pursued of providing the funds, planning the details, and directing the construction of our minor public works from a common centre. The need for a reform has been growing more evident yearly ; legislation on the subject has been a stock item in ministerial programmes for a long time past; a voluminous Local Government Act has actually become law ; but we seem nearly as far from the desired end as over we were. And yet the reform

sought to be effected is imperatively necessary ; the evil to be cured has become quite intolerable. The strain on our general revenue, caused by the fast grow-ing demands for road votes, cannot be borne much longer; yet, if we are to continue our present system, there is no hope of their diminution. From every part of the colony there comes an incessant cry, " Give us roads and bridges, so that we may bring our produce to market, and, becoming prosperous ourselves, add to your prosperity also." And the cry is well founded, the demand is a just one as settlement spreads the need for more roads and bridges will increase also. We cannot put this necessity aside ; we must meet it, and our general revenue will not long endure the strain.

It is not merely that we cannot make the general revenue cover all the demands made upon it, but it must be evident to the most careless observer who knows anything of the colony that a great waste is continually incurred in the process of transmitting Parliamentary grants into public works. Almost the last thing thought of seems to be economy in every direction there is waste of time, material, and energy, or, in a word, money the public funds. We are not called upon to prove the assertion ; we need no argument to show that in the familiar phrase " Government

stroke" there is embodied all

that can be conceived of listless, dilatory, inefficient work. And it is quite hopeless

to look for amendment. Centralised administration weighs uke a hand of lead on the energy of the officials in fact, any display of energy and zeal for economy are only too often rather impediments to success in official life, and a shrewd young man soon finds that a strict attention to official etiquette, and punctilious deference to his immediate superior, will be of more practical use to him in his career than any care for economy or zeal in the public service. And this is but natural. The young official knows that if he strives to please his superior the effort will be known and appreciated; if he strives to save the public money few people will know of it, and no one will thank him for his zeal; for, under our present system, there is literally no one interested in securing economy and efficiency in our public works. The residents of the locality in which a road or bridge is being made care only to secure the convenience afforded by it and are quite careless as to what it costs. (ortainly the money that is spent on it comes from a revenue to which they contribute, but the contribution is so indirect that their personal interest in its expenditure is very slight. Consequently they will witness even a gross waste or misapplica-tion of public funds without making an effort to interfere, for they know that by doing so they would probably incur a severe official snubbing, and perhaps even excite the animosity of their neighbors by endangering the tranquil flow of " money spent in the district." They, therefore, prefer the easier plan of badgering their representative, and, through him, the Minister, for more and more expenditure until the desired improvement has, in spite of costly waste and blundering, been fitted to their needs. And so the Waste of money, which the revenue can ill spare, goes constantly on, and will continue so long as our present system lasts.

But, great as the practical evils of that system undoubtedly are, the political mischief done by it is even greater. It is not too much to say that our Parliament has been degraded, and the whole tone of our political life lowered, by it. The choice of Parliamentary representatives is always affected and often decided by the capacity of the candidates for wheedling or bullying grants of money from the Government of the day and when an election takes place it is often found that intelligence, ability, and integrity have been compelled to stand aside while a majority of voters, eager for a large share of public plunder, have carried the sturdiest beggar to the head of the poll. And the debasing influence follows the chosen representatives to the floor of House. Have we not seen the fiercest fights, the most animated debates, over some paltry division of public plunder, while the gravest affairs of State were discussed in lifeless debates, by men apparently unable to take more than a languid

interest in the matter 1 Have we not seen how the most shameless log-rolling, at first practised by stealth, became a recognised Parliamentary rule, till at last

it seemed that a Government able to

manipulate its Works Estimate so as to bribe a majority of voters might govern in other respects as it pleased 1 But we need not dwell on these details ; the evil is patent to every one, although it is not so evident how far it may go, and in what abyss of political degradation it may land us.

We have only touched lightly on a few of the more prominent evils of our present system. It is leading us straight to financial difficulty and political humiliation. The necessity for reform will not be denied, and has been admitted by the passage of the Local Government Act; but that measure was acknowledged by its framers to be capable of merely partial application. As a matter of fact, it can only be brought into operation over so small a portion of the colony that it will not even serve as a palliative for the evils which it is necessary to cure and even as a palliative, it cannot be successfully administered as it now stands, for its partial application would tend to aggravate, by throwing into sharper relief, some of the worst anomalies of the existing system.

Mr. Alfred Hubbard has resigned both his

Beats as alderman and as member of the Local Board of Health. The causes that led to his

resignation will, we understand, be fully explained by him through the columns of the Press, but we may state that they are more or less intimately connected with some remarks made by a member of the Municipal Council at last Monday's meeting reflecting on the Local

Board of Health.

With regard to the coastal mail service, " Self Reliance" suggests that "careful perusal of the news in your issue of Tuesday relating to the A.S.N. Company and our mail service strongly leads to the opinion that it would be a wise investment of the Government to obtain a steamer fit for the service and run it regularly in the mail service, at the same time carrying passen

' gers and cargo to cover working expenses."

The honorable the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly directs it to be notified for general information that a writ has issued, and the following arrangements have been made, for the election of a member to serve in the present Legislative Assembly of Queensland for the electoral district of Northern Downs, in room of the hon. Joshua Peter Bell, whose seat in the Assembly has become vacant by reason of its resignation by the said hon. Joshua Peter Bell Place of nomination, Miles ; date of nomina-tion, Thursday, April 10 ; polling day, Thursday, April 17 ; return of writ, Thursday, April 24.

We are gratified to see by the Argus of March 25 that Mr. Thomas Joseph Byrnes, of the Brisbane Grammar School, has won the exhibition for English literature and history, awarded by the University of Melbourne to commencing students, thus adding another laurel to his wreath.

Fbosi yesterday's meteorological reports we gather that fine weather prevailed at Blackall, Stanthorpe, Goondiwindi, and Gin Gin. Rain fell at Bowen, Cape Moreton form.), Junction Creek (143rd.), Burnett Heads, Cape Capricorn, Cardwell, Clermont, Condamine (O'lOin.), Cunnamulla, Dalby (O'lOin.), Dalrymple, Gayndah (07in.), Georgetown (20in.), Bundaberg, Jimbour (O'lOin.), Hawkwood, Mackay, Mitchell Downs, Nebo, Nive, Palmerville, Ravenswood, Rockhampton, Roma, Springsure (steady rain), St. Lawrence, and Townsville. Other stations reported dull, cloudy, overcast. In Sydney it was fine, with north-west wind in Melbourne dull, and in Adelaide fine.

Thh rents received by the Land Agent for East Moreton on March 31 this year were as follow:Renewal rents for conditional selections, £10,209 Is. Id.; renewal rents for homesteads, £1451 12s, 11d.; first year's rents and survey fees, £132 3s.; total, £11,792 17s. This sum represents the rents for 923 conditional and 228 homestead selections, or a total of 1151 selections. This is a very high percentage of the total number, and must be considered satisfactory under the exist-ing depression. It is probable that many will avail themselves of the reduction of the penalty upon defaulters from 25 per cent to 10 per cent, thus reducing the immediate receipts ; but this may result in an ultimate gain to the colony in many cases by enabling selectors to hold their crops for a time instead of being compelled to sacrifice them at any cost rather than meet the heavy penalty for non-payment of rent. It will have been observed from our Rockhampton telegram

of yesterday that the number of defaulters in that district was considerably less than last year, and the amount of unpaid rent shows a proportionate decrease.

In the Supreme Court, in Chambers, yesterday before his Honor Mr. Justice Lilley, judgment was given upon the summons argued on March 21, in the case of Clarkson v. the Mutual Life Association of Australasia. This, it will be remembered, as an action of detinue for the recovery of certain certificates of title and for £5000 damages for their detention, and the summons now decided was to strike out of the plaintiffs statement of claim all paragraphs relating to special damages, on the ground that such damages could not be recovered. His Honor held that the circumstances in respect of which the damages were claimed were too speculative and remote, and made an order to strike out all the paragraphs objected to, defendant to have twenty-four hours to tender the certificate of title to the plaintiff or his solicitor, with costs, and a sum for nominal damages ; otherwise plaintiff to have leave to amend ; costs of the summons allowed ; plaintiff allowed costs of that part of the summons decided in his favor. In the case of Sutherland v. Sheaffe an order was made to sign judgment for the sum claimed, less the respective amounts of £250 and £70, leave being given to defend as to a sum alleged to have been paid, and a set-off claim amounting in all to £120, Mr. Foxton appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr. Pope Cooper, instructed by Mr. Bruce, for the defendant,

The argument on the application for a writ of prohibition in the case of Regina v. Spriggs was resumed in the Supreme Court yesterday. At its conclusion the court discharged the rule, holding that there was adduced at the Police Court sufficient evidence from which the justices might reasonably come to the conclusion that spirits were sold at the manufactory in Fortitude Valley occupied as a place of business by Spriggs. Taking this view of the case, the court did not think it necessary to decide the point of law raised on the construction of the 64th section of the Publicans Act, under which the summons

in this case was laid.

Arthur Venamore and William Templeton, trading asVenamoro and Templeton, of Stanleystreet, South Brisbane, carpenters and builders, were yesterday adjudged insolvent upon their own petition, in forma pauperis. The first meeting of creditors in the estate was fixed for the 9th instant, the usual statement of liabilities, &c, to be filed by the 7th.

Last night " Heart's Delight" was again played at the theatre, preceded by " Cool as a Cucumber" We believe we may assert with perfect safety that nothing so complete in its general excellence as the former piece has ever before been placed upon the Brisbane stage. Of Mr. Emery's Captain Cuttle we have already spoken, and no praise could well be thought extravagant of his felicitous conception and wonderfully truthful and humorous impersona-tion of the bluff, stout-hearted, and tender mariner. With the true instinct of a genuine artist, though necessarily following a line-up constantly imposed by the author bordering the very limits of the possible, and from which the smallest deviation would travel at once into the realms of burlesque, Mr. Emery never for a moment more the harmony of the perfect picture he presents us with. Nothing could he more jovial than his boisterous mirth, and nothing more pathetic than his rough though deep-seated tenderness. But we are not sure that we have sufficiently expressed our opinion of Mr. Bart-letts Dombey, which in its way is an equally finished piece of acting. The decision, the sublime self-importance, the unbending pomposity of the hard selfish nature rendered blind by intense self-appreciation, were admirably conveyed in speech, tone, and gesture, and may almost claim to have divided the honors with Mr. 'Emery. Mr. Thompson, as the oracular Bunsby, though having the smallest of parts, rendered his diverting scene with capital effect. Toots was well represented by Mr. Tyrel, who shows promise of a successful future. As Florence Dombey, Miss Rogers was perfectly natural, and entirely impressed one with the seriousness of the almost friendless girl and the scene where she listens with all her soul to the captain's account of the wreck and saving of Walter was wrought to a climax that was immensely effective. The play, altogether, is a picture that seems to come to us fresh from the hand of Dickens, and with scarcely a tent or a line that one could wish altered. The same bill is announced for to-night.