A UNION SECRETARY MISSING.

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 14830, 22 November 1913, Page 12

A UNION SECRETARY MISSING.

MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE &$ WANGANUI. (bpeciai. to "the pbess."> WANGANUI. November 21. Considerable uneasiness has been occasioned among the local waterside _ workers by the unexplained absence or fhe Union Secretary, Mr A. J- S.mnb. He was last seen on Tuesday afternoon, . ; at about 5 o'clock. Ho had that «ftornoon posted a notice in tho . wait ng , ■ room calling a meeting of the tnwn -. for 7.30 p.m. that evening. bavae forty or fifty members, including toe - president, attended, but although thet waited for some time, the secretary am not put in an appearance, ana «"» meeting finally had t<i be abandcneO, tho president staling that no books veiny, available, no business could «» transacted. This was at 8 o'clock. * ; motion was proposed that tho secretary , be allowed a further quarter or, »

boor's grace, bnt this was rejected almost unanimously. On Wedno«lav no trace or Mr »mitn ieuld be founa," and representatives of / the Union who visited his 'batch, ' re- ' railed that the place appeared to be £npty. They also reported seeing the remains of some paper jr papers that had apparently been burned. Yest«raav again, there was no sign of the nissing man. Smith, in addition to bc-inc secn-tary to the local union, is :■•»!«, a member of the executive and trcasnrer of the Waterside Workers' '••.Federation, and it was nc who a few days ago moved in the direction of inducing members of his I-nuui to express disapproval of the Federation president and secretary in declaring a Ljicv of loyal adherence to the Arbitration Act.' Later, at h full meeting of tJto executive, lie reversed his attitnde. and voted to endorse the action that cad been tahen.