CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ATTITUDE.

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 14840, 4 December 1913, Page 8

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ATTITUDE.

A VOTE OF APPRECIATION. ' ' R~~ ■ ... g At the quarterly meeting of the Can--terbiiry Chamber of' Commerce yesterday, the President, Mr E.G:.Staveley,----said:-— '•■•'■ •' '" ...'.- .. *'b "We must 'all-.'deplore'.the unrest which exists in the ranks of Labour throughout the world at the present time, but when it attacks one's own country it means industrial disaster. Industrial disturbances usually arise from a sense of insufficient remuneration or excessive hours of labour. The present dispute which has involved us .in such extreme difficulty and danger is entirely free from the usual claim for the improvement of the conditions of labour. Those conditions here are amongst the best in the-world, and the wages paid are probably" the highest, and notwithstanding this, the country is, or should be, enjoying the fruits of a great prosperity. Whatever may have been the actual difficulty which started th*. present dislocation of the trade and commerce of the Dominion, it could not possibly warrant the waste of valuable time and money which the disturbance has caused "Iv addition I would say that, whilst having tlie fullest regard for the reasonable aspirations of workers, who number amongst them men, equal in character and ability to those in other ranks of .life, yet.we as subjects of the British Crown will always jealousy guard the liberties -which nave como down to us through the centuries which havo passed, yet liberty must not be allowed to drift into license and lawlessness. The freedom of the subject to live by the fruits of his labour, subject only to the. restrictions imposed by la,w, must be held as a sacred right, and must not be challenged by any, man or body of men who may be disposed to set the* law at defiance. Laws can be altered by the will'of-tbe people, but irresponsible sections must not and will: not be permitted to usurp tbe functions I

of the Crown. Those who have been responsible for the disturbance of the peaceful operations of trade and commerce at our ports would do well to consider the remarks made by Sir Robert Stout in delivering his judgment on November 29th last, in which his Honour said had it not been for the men who voluntarily came forward to maintain peace, and order the community might have been in a very serious position to-day. No community can allow its peace to be disturbed or it would not be worthy to" be called a civilised community. » "It is highly satisfactory that our Port of Lytteiton was re--opened for transport quietly and without strife. For thi. I consider we are largely indebted to the prudent and able conduct of affairs by the man duly appointed for that pnrpose by the authorities, Mr R. A. Cliaffcy. and by those who acted under his direction. Wo are also indebted to the Government for their firm action in the maintenance of law and order." (Applause.) Mr Hill-Fisher moved, and Mr A. H. Turnbuii seconded:—. "That this meeting of mem'wrs of of the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce expresses its appreciation of the conduct of those who came readily forward to assist the community generally in keeping open the Port ol Lvttelton at a time of industrial and commercial unrest, and tenders thank, to tne Government for the prompt measures taken by them for tlie maintenance of law and order."

In moving the resolution, Mr HillFisher said people seemed to overlook tho fact when they criticised the fJovernment's action, "that it is the duty of tho Government to keep tho highways open and free to all subjects under the British flap;. Mr A. H Turnbuii said they must givo their thanks to that body of men who camo forward to maintain liberty, for that was what- it amounted to. They had no quarrel with the strikers because they would not work, but when they tried to prevent others from working who wished to. that was a very different matter. He knew that many of tho "specials" had come down to camp at great personal sacrifice and inconvenience, not to browbeat the workers, 'but to maintain a principle. They were not concerned with the rights and wrongs of the case there that afternoon, but he thought tho resolution was due to the special constables for what thoy had done. Whether the strikers iri Lytteiton had a grievance or not, ho felt that there was room for a special tribunal apart from the courts to deal with differences that arise. He thought it would be a good thing for tlie Chamber to set up a committee to enquire into grievances voiced by the workers. It might not do any good, but at least the public would be influenced by the fact that these grievances had been investigated and reported on. They all wanted the matter treated justly and fairly both. from the employer's and men's point of view. He would like to say that many of the strikers had gone' out merely from feelings of loyally to their unions, and he urged the employers to remember this when the matter of a settlement came up. Tho men had been misled and had been loyal, and it was not for anyone to show vindictivoness towards the great majority of them. The motion was carried, and it was decided to send copies to the Prime Minister and Colonel Chaffey. .