NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1012, 30 December 1910, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

The very outspoken comments of. tho retiring president of the General Labourers' Conference regarding the office of secretary are of more than passing interest. What Mb. Shannon said of the awkward position of the secretary of the General Labourers' Union in having to seek re-election every year applies to most, if not all, trades unions. It is equally true of most of them that they arc liable to arouse opposition and make their position an unpleasant one by a strict attention to their duties. The mote determined they show themselves to be in the enforcement of the rules of the union the more they are likely to stir up antagonism and imperil their office. But this is not the real difficulty with which the trades unionist leader in .New Zealand is confronted. Comparatively few of the leaders of labour have been,able to gain any deep hold on the confidence of the men support them. A union secretary may _ retain office for a considerable period, but as often as not it is due quite as much to his ability to pull strings as to the manner in which he has attended to tho ■ interests' of his union. The members of the union know this, and estimate him accordingly. But even when ho does work hard, and perhaps successfully, for his union, nis path is not an easy one. There are always those who resont success in ■ another,. and who especially' resent being outstripped by a fellow-workman. The higher a trades union secretary .climbs, the more enemies he makqs amongst his own- ranks. 1 No doubt there_ may be oxceptions, but as a .rule this is the case. Possibly it may be duo in a measure to the class' of man who most often forces his. way to the front in New. Zealand labour circles. The secretary of the General Labourers' Union who was responsible for Mr- Shannon's remarks, has proved himself one of tho most energetic of the paid Labour officials in Wellington, and wo should think, .it most valuable, officer to his union. But he may. be. deposed any ■year by the machinations of a little coterie' of--malcontents,;'.regardless -ofhis past services or his present good work. And. he .knows this quite well and so doos'every other paid .secretary of a trades union; Probably the worst*-.employers'in the community are tho,trad© unions; '%bb; 'only do. they 'Mni'urierato"their employees poorly, but the tenure of office which they. offdr/is oftentimes dependent .on conditions - arid . cir-. cumstances quito outside the : merits of the. service rendered. .

We should imagino . that tiken all round the Christmas season has proved a very satisfactory and pleasant one throughout tho-Domin-ion from a business, as well as from a pleasure-seeking, point of view. According to all accounts trade durling the days' leading' up to' tho' holidays has been very Brisk. Certainly tho shops, have been thronged and there has been an air of bustle everywhere that, augured well. for. the week's takings, \but whether the shoppers have been spending ' as freely as was the caso three years ago is not so clear. One can be confident, however, that there, has' been much more money in circulation than was tho case twelve, months ago. Another evidence of improved times is the very large , number of people travelling by boat and by train from one part of the country to another. Holiday , travelling requires cash in hand and is a very sure test of prosperous conditions. No' doubt the pleasant outlook , for tho New Year has had as much to do with this as the improvement m conditions generally throughout the country during the past twelvo months.

The Harbour Board has acted wisely in taking steps to prevent ttra crowding of the wharves on the arrival or departure of .large passenger boats. Tho crowding which has taken place for some' time past at the departure of the ferry boat each night for Lyttelton, and sometimes also on the arrival of largo steamers, has been a,perfect nuisance to passengors who- have had to fight their way through tho crowd and also to all who. have had business on the wharf at the time. The charge that it is proposed to make to those who wish to see friends off at the vessel's side is an v innovation to which some objection may bo taken, but it is certainly preferable to allowing the particular portion of the wharf , at which the^ outgoing or incoming vessel, is berthed to be over-run with idle sightseers, ihe plan so far as it has been tried_has served its purpose very well. Passengers have been greatly . conyenienced; tho wharf officials and ships officers have found their tasks mado much lighter;' and the sightseers still muster in force on other parts of the wharf and apparently enjoy their outing as much as ever.