Miners

Angry Misima

Arrive In Sydney

THERE was an extraordinary scene when the Malaita arrived in Svdney from Papua on June 1, and Mr. C.

Bown, secretary of Cuthberts Misima Goldmines, Ltd., (which went into volun tary liquidation a few weeks ago) went down to meet a party of 19 persons— former employees, with their families.

They shouted angrily at him: “Why did you leave us to starve?” and “Give us our wages!” Mr. Bown failed to pacify them.

Members of the party—including Mr. J.

Mclntyre, Mr. C. H. Humphries, and Mr.

J. Fish—informed the newspapers that the company had not paid them tneir wages; that they and their families had been left without resources and even suf ficient food, and that they only got away because the Australian Government evacuated the European families from the island and paid their fares to Sydney.

Cuthberts Mine, before the war, was one of the most profitable in the Terri tories; but, after the war, the engineers

lost the lode, and the shareholders would not provide further capital to enable the search to go on. Mr. N. Draper was then appointed liquidator at £l,OOO a year and expenses.

In yiew of the publicity given the affair in Sydney on June 2, it certainly would seem that an explanation by Mr.

Draper, or the Directors, would be in order.