DESPERATION.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1305, 7 December 1911, Page 6

DESPERATION.

i I .THE GOVERNMENT'S LAST BID. 'ATTEMPT TO CONCILIATE KAIL WAY SERVANTS. ' A last .desperate bid for tho support of tho- justly-dissatisfied railway officers has been made by the Government on the very cvo of the election. For a long timo tho railway officers havo been pressing for a Tclief of various disabilities. These were inquired: into last sessioii by tho Railway Committee, which reported • generally in favour of the institute, in face of determined opposition from tho railway authorities.

fobbed off and fobbed off, tho New Zealand Railway Officers' Institute has been growing very discontented, and there lia3 been reason to believe that the Government would have to face tho hostility of the railwaymen at tho polls. In the institute's journal, "Tho New Zealand Railway Officers' Advocate," of last Friday'ii date, a paragraph records the unsuccessful' attempts' of the executive to get any satisfactihn out. of Mr. Millar.

Yesterday tho following circular was issued to all members of the local branch of the institute. It speaks for itself, and plainly exposes the Government as having, in it 3 desperation, sought to make election capital out of tho men. The circular reads: * '

NEW ZEALAND RAILWAY OFFICERS' INSTITUTE.'" < :• (WELLINGTON. BRANCH.) .Wellington, December 5, 1911. CIRCULAR LETTER TO MEMBERS^

Under date December \l, 1911, the General-Secretary writes as follows:— . "The Executive Committee had an interview with tho Hon/ tho Minister for Railways yesterday afternoon with r(tferen.Co: to tho . action likely to bo taken by' the Department with regard to-the Railways Committee's report on tho. petition.' "Mr-'MiUar ihformod us 'that thcro ' liad been,. only one meeting of tho. Cabinet since the dissolution of Parliament, and that that was held.solely' to- deal, with finance matters that re- '■ quired attention prior to.tho general, election. Consequently there had been . 110' opportunity to amend the regulathis could only, bo done by tho Cabinet. "He stated, however, that in respect of the flick leavo regulation one slight alteration had' been made (after con-sultation-with thi> Prime Minister)— the, word 'may' having been substituted for 'shall' in the paragraph

which' now directs that, sick leave 'shall' bo deducted from annual leave. "Ho further told us that in the event of his..retaining the portfolio of Railways (if returned at the coming election) it was his intention to ask Cabinet to consider tho alteration- of the regulation on the lines indicated by the Railways Committee, of which, as he pointed out, 110 was a member. . "The question of reclassification is of courso a matter that can only bo dealt.with by Parliament, and in con-' nectioh with tho recommendation' ofthe Parliamentary Committee on this subject Mr. Millar Stated that if bo, was in office in January next it was his intention to invite the- Executive Committee to proceed to Wellington towards tho end of that month for tho purposo of discussing a reclassification scheme.

"L. BARCLAY, "Branch 'secretary." Our Madera will no doubt note how careful Mr. Millar has.been to mate tho railway servants understand that, everything dopends on his own ro-clection. And he thinks, no (toil Tit, that they will overlook tho years during which he has had tho opportunity but has refused their requests. And ho no doubt little thought that this further election bribo circulated privately amongst ■ members of the service would see the light . of 1 .publicity until it was too late for the. public to show through tlie ballot box what they think of a Government which , acts in this way on tho cvo of tho elections.