OUR AUSTRALIAN LETTER.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 437, 20 February 1909, Page 15

OUR AUSTRALIAN LETTER.

THE TORPEDO DESTROYERS OtIB OWN CORBBSfOHOEKT.) Sydney, February 13. Kio now naval policy of tho Commonwealth, in ono of its details' at least, has aroused the anger of the Labour section ,of the people. They object to the proposal that tho Government. should solid to Groat Britain for two destroyers, to bo ÜBcd as patterns for tho others to ; be conßtruoted in .Australia. Ti Ivy not, -.they: ask, build thom all hero? *: Tlioy .havo • prosscd-this ; ihquiry. with : so much vehemence during tho week that tho -Labour Government, now in power in tho; Commonwealth has had to listen. Iho employees of tho Pitzroy IJockyard, an ad-, mirablynsquipped: institution in, iort Jaokeon, controlled by, tho New South At ales Government, held a picuio tho other, day, at' which this- decision to sehd to Great Britain for two of the boats Was referred to, and various: speakers urged that there was nothing in tno world tto prGVCfte the dock'.- workmen i from, turning out a:. good ■ torpedo-destroyer. Tho men, tho machinery, and the enthusiasm," : were there—all that was j needed were tlio ..p1an5,......it,- was, contended. This view of the case appealed with such force to , Mr. W. SI. .Hughes, the l 1 enteral Attorney-General, who was one of .tho guests, that he communicated at oiice with the Minister ■of Defence,- Mr. Batchelor, in Melbourne; and: for: the. past few days tho Defence Department "hps been dpcussingvthe matter 'anew. Certain remarks: of the. Minister of Defence-make.,it clear, however, ■ that the original intention is not to bo disi turbedy' and that -the. first. two boats Will corao from the other side of the world, lie claims it to bo important that this work should be undertaken at onco,' and ronilllM •• his . critics { that if, it: were decided to build the vessels .here, there would probably bo a delay'of twelve months: before, a start, could be-made, as in any case tlie plans and speci- ■ fications iwould • have to; be obtained from-. England, and skilled workmen. brought out. "With' regard to the third vessel, however, it is quito possible that the original intention may bo altered, and that instead o having the parts shaped in England, and • gent ioiithere to bo put together, the . boat mav be built here from tho plans and specifications received from England. It is v er y ■easyi for tho Labour section;to suggest- that all the destroyers should be built m Australia,, hut tho fact remains, that the con- . Btrue'tion of vessels of this kind requires a high degree of technical and . specialised ;; knowledge,. as naval history, already sufll- . ciently. indicates. '• Therefore,,* if we are:,to have tho destroyors, we ought to, get them originally in tho -best market, and build them ourselves when 1 wo have learned bow to do so. Meanwhile the public ; who, have to pay; the piper; will' await with interest to be informed of .what we are to do with tho destroyers when we get them. : This and other important news' may. he' Communicated in Mr. Fisher's policy., speech, shortly to be delivered, or'at all oVonte when rarhatiient moots,' and tho Government annpunCes-the "main naval building piugramnlo for Australia," -as, it is styled. .. ■■■■..

Tho Naval Disaster. V -,The 'decision of Judge Backhouse and the two assessors who decided with him in, the Marine Court:,in. Sydney-, that tho- master or 'tho little steamer Dunmore, Captain Hansen, ' ~ should have; his certificate suspended _ for ' twelve imonths, as a result of tho naval disaster in Sydney Harbour on January o, has ; notalone been Strongly ;attaokod hy the pub--1 lie, and especially by,those who move m niaritimo circles, hut it has been made to look very queer by tho finding of the City Coroner, Mr. Stephen Murphy, who, having'coneluded ' the inquest on. the; fifteen men who. were drowned, gave his verdict; yesterday, that the disaster: was - caused " through.... tho ' 1 "negligent and careless navigation" of the coxswain of the launch towing the naval pin- . nace, Samuel Bryant, who: was. formally comtake his trialfor. manslaughter. ' Mr. MUrphy, in his finding-rrarrived at_ after he had»heardevidcnco for abouteight daysdeclared that the master of the Dunmore had followed' tho 'regulations applicable -to a ;c'ake- • of this kind, and must therefore be acquitted of any'criminal negligence.*'. There appeared to be no regulation requiring, a ship to give . way to another with a craft in tow, but such, -he was infoittted, Was the' practice" m /the harbour.* Any person :in: charge of 'a vessel : with another in tow, however, should exercise great care ,so as to avoid a possible collision, especially where a numjier Of lives were in his charge,'and his conclusion was that the coxswain of the launoh was.negligent on this occasion, and that this was tho cause of the - disaster. " This.' finding quite exonerates. the captain of the .'Dunmore from responsibility \ for the collision. It is ' true that Mr. Murphy ■■■' is also" of opinion" that neither ■.Captain .Hansen nor his crew sufficiently' exerted themselves to save lifo aftcr i the accident ; but this, of course, has nothing whatever to do ' ' with the cause of the, collision, and hence it is • very diffioult; in view of;tho. Corpner'B judg-, ment, to see how-the verdict Of Hhe : Marine Court is justified.. Mr. Murphy's decision will undoubtedly;: stimulate the agitation which has been commenced by tho fncAds of :- J Captain Hansen. A protest against the sus- : pension of his certificate for twelve months \ is likely to bo forwarded to the Governor- ' in-Council.; Undoubtedly, fault, jf lie committed any, would have' been .sufficiently met wtih a censure.' ? < ■

Labour Further organising. ; . The colliers ,of -tho northern districts of this State want to make certaiu of help from New -Zealand in; case" of,any strike. or lock-. . out, and a.'big-scheme- of: amalgamation .is ■ now on foot. "The : leaders of ,the northern unions have been aotively discussing. , these proposals for the -past few. days with A representative of the New .Zealand Federated Miners, Mr. P. H.llickey, who arrived here not . long since, and as a rcsult of this close con- : ferenco several resolutions have been drafted. , It is proposed that the amalgamation should include the'- coal and shale workers' unions throughout, the Commonwealth as well as in New, Zealand, so that tho power in the-hands of such a body will unquestionably be very 1 great. The scheme is &k yet in its infancy, 'for it is to'.be the subject vote of th6< allied, .unions; .who 'may. of course reject, it;; but present indications are that it will, be accepted* at least on this side of the-Tasman. Sea. The resolutions are as follow • (1.) *Oiat we recommend the rules of the Federated Coal and Shale Miners to the New, Zealand miners for adoption.' - (2.) That as a', basis of the principle wo re-commend-to ilie. Nortftefn,, Southern, and "Western minors,;-tha.t in the event of any .. crisis, .lock-out;; or strike if a general -character occurring in any of the districts or unions mentioned," the' other districts or unions not directly, concerned shall do nothing, either directly or indirectly, to assist the- employers; •of the districts or .unions, affected to defeat the'bbjects of tho men directly concerned.: (3.) That; in order to enable us to carry out the foregoing resolution, _ it is necessary, to havo a common understanding, and to have a plan of operations agreed upon, not only with the Northern, Southern, and Western - minerS '.of New South-Wales and- the miners of • New Zealand; but also with the Seamen's and Waterside Workers' Unions of Australia.; * (4.) That, in order to carry out the foregoing, tho Seamen's and Watersido Workers' ' Unions of Australasia bo communicated with, and tho position placed before them for, their consideration. , . ■■: ■.. ' ■ ■ - (s.):.That, in the event of the. Seamen s and Waterside Workers' Unions adopting the 'principle embodied in the second resolution, the principles contained; therein shall be ox- . tended to them. -• .- -. (6.) That the various distriots and unionß bo urged to deal with the matter as early_ as. pissiblo, nnd to forward a reply, with a view to a conference being held to discuss tho : methods to bo adopted. . • . Tho Jam-Making Industry. , Tho Wages Board has decided, to raise tile rates-of pay, for those employed in the busi:ness of jam-making in Sydney; .and, judging * from the revelations made during; the evidence at the inquiry, the decision comes not : one moment too soon. . Tho statement of various witnesses showed how. keen is the crim struggle for existence on the part, of - many of the 'employees, of this: particular branch of trade. One witness, a solderer, maintained a wife and four children on 30s. per week; and wore it:not for the luxury of working overtime he could not have managed

to support his family." By working i!i°o during tlio ireck lie.Wna able to earn W Od, Another witness, a paekor, who hhd a Wife and child to keep on 30s. Weekly, said he lost os. lOd. whoii a holiday came, and it was about threa months bfeforo he coma WorK bff tiio dofioiency.: Ho worked; several nights during tho week, to which lw W»b paid timo pay ttveragihg abo\it 2s. 6a. oath nigut--on6 girl earned lOs. a'weok. She; aid. not thillk tho Work she did but the effect of it was biid. She liiid no fathor, but lived at liosao with her mothei 1 and fUster, Who were each earniilg *7b, at a lolly fdcteryt Out of their 1 nited earnings of 24b. t'J E yl , / IK ' Bs. for rent. Tlw chftirman asked this feirl if sho would not rathfer be emfeloyed in domestic Bon'iee, , but she promptly. rcplj™ that slib Would prefer factory work. Tub lbng hours and drudgery of lioUSfe'work Siaflo it reply wliieh mistresses, would do well to pander over. Another witness, who filled th> jam into tho tins and earnod £1 a week,/snid she- thought 30s, WbUld be a fnii' Wa&e for a woman engaged, in tho wort sho did. '.Whett asked if sho thought £2 Bs. would bo tob: much) She was of Opinion it Would not. Slid considered it right that a woman should get'tho same wages as a man, it the Work both did was equal. If thilt &j'6t<!m crushed women out of ' employment she was prepared .to abide by the consequences, ■ For the employers, it was. contended that the keen competition .which .had to bo fought, not only. !in Now South Wales, but in the southern States, made, it impossible : for them to pay' better wages without passing them on. to the consumeri All kinds of predictions have been made that if the fates of , pay are increased, tho industry Will smash; and to thiß tlio obvious reply 16 that it i 6 better to have no' industry at all than to have people working at starvation rates. However, the employers have lost no time ill passing the diuefeficfe on to the consumeri The day the, award was made tile price of ' jam Was raised.' It is only, fair, on the other hand, that if . the manufacturers here have to jay increased wages, they should not be subjected to the harassing competition of tho jam produced at loser rates of pay in other States; and this seems an argument why tho. whole subject of the adjustment of wages in, should be submitted to the Federal Arbitration Court., ■:... :.

i A Fish War. Aldermin Allen Taylor, returning to of* fiCO as Lord Mayor Of Sydney, finds himsolr . suddenly drawn: into' a' fish, war; and:'reaUy;' : if he v ChrrieS tile Campaign through to victory,1)0 will do more to earn the gratitudo of thousands of humble householders than he would accomplish by much more ambitious schemes for the welfare Of the city. • For, remarkable -to relate, it' is' hlttlOSt jmposßiblej despite tho fact that wo are living oil' tllti : Biiv coast, to got an 1 adepato supply; of fish for tho Sidney bre&ki'ast'tablc. Why .this should: bethe easß is a: niystesy which ?Mk t always been impossible of solution:. On tlw bne'handj'-we' are told. With.Vehemence- tlldfc tlie..reasoii is the. existence of ajfiali nngi which : seeks before everything else ;to keep up prices, aild Will, to do SO, tllfoW whole cargoes of fish into tho scft; on tho other) these allegations are just as vehemently di!Hied. The Householder gives \ip ill despair arty' attempt to discover tho' ealiso of the fliyStery, and goes : on paying big prices for small specimens handed to him by thS fche6rful hawker at the doof. Ono never SeeS hero such fine schfiapper and flounder as the more 'fortunate ; people ;of Wellington and Auckland are ahlo to onjoy: hencO 'a fish diet nii this part, of tho world mamly consists .of breini, or lcatherhead, or jowfish, or some Other;; interesting species. ■ The Federal itrawler,viiow about to be.put in commission,, may do something to bring to light the treasures of our unexplored; fishing-fields; meanwhile Alderman Taylor has been thinking - about: tho; : probeSs of distribution, and ■has come' to the' conclusion that i .ifc; is; unsatisfactory—not; before'>iV was', tittie Mme- : body in authority.: at this . conviction., 1 Hence the City Council lias adopted now regulations and rates for the fish markets at WOolloomooloo, Whore: the "harvest of _the Sea" is, br was until; recently, jbrought. first •(jf-i •btty4r;;;3yh^;th6; i^l«totfs were" announced, th 6 l a'gonts J toe>k A fi-ight-, ! orumbrage,/ or 'both;/ anyway, : they., promptly said ."goO'd-byO" to Wofilloomooloo, and fled to- innrlcftts-of - tlixM I'-g\y 11. aL-lfedfern,.AvlicTQ. they are' now < installed. ~t Then the City Council met this move' with a counter one, by entering the field as agents at the \\oolloomooloo markets for tho fisherttiGn. Thus the Corporation has undertaken,the business in earnest, and:has notified city,and trv fishermen that if will: reoeive their 'con-! sienments -and dispose of them by public auction; - .This is the of the Control by the City Council of food supplies, as authorised under the new Act passed laßt session; and the Lord. Mayor says that even if it is "bordering upon Socialism, as lie has been told, he is. quite prepared to take that responsibility for the good of the community. Under the new scheme, ono of the first beneficent changes, so far as tho publie 16''coiicornod/ IB tnat the: fish •is sold ' promptly, and is not kept back, as before, for a more fav6urable market; and another, so far as the fishermen who toil, during the night to'replouish the market in the morning : are. concerned, is that they are paid at : once 1 immediately tV sales are closed. The Oity Council has entered upon its now venture in fish-dealing very cheerfully, and is likely to ■ prosper in it, for already the supplies, at the : Woolloflmooloo establishment are increasing.

A New Consul. . Sydney has been . entertainingthis wcelt. tlio new Consul for China in New Zealand, Mr. Hwang Yung Liang, who arrived by the North Gorman Lloyd steamer Friedrich der Grosse, accompanied by his we and d&uglt" tcr, : and his secretary,. Mr. is to proceed to-day to Wellington, where the headquarters of the xonßulato will bo. Oh arriving in Sydney, Mf. Hwang waß. invited- b'v newspaper 'Interviewers to talk abbutv tVo' political situation m China, but instead of doing so,; hie politely , and suavely started to tho newspaper . men,; askine 1 : them" for . information about Australia and New Zealand. Ho was entertained last, night at a dinner given by Gibbs, Brielit and Co.; the managers of the Eastern line of steamers, on board the , Empire, tit Circular Quay, when various speeches were made suggesting that a new era in the history, of trade and commerce was about to be dpened. 'by the appointment of . Chinese ; consuls to this part of the world. The merchants of this country, _ saw one of their; number carrying on business, in Sydney, Mr.v Ping Nam, • "want .the .same privileges extended to .them that China concedes to all merchants from A\ estern couwtries. We, tho Chinese merchants of thiß State,' are now- making every , effort to strengthen the the bonds , of commercialism between Australia and Clima, to the end that Australia shall not remain behind; other nations in the struggle for trade pre-emin-ence." Commerco, said tho new Consul, in allusion to these remarks, would.do a greatdeal in- breaking down the barrier which had existed through, ignorance and prejudice betweeji the two peoples..