ARRANGING THE CONFERENCE.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1690, 5 March 1913, Page 7

ARRANGING THE CONFERENCE.

PRIME MINISTER AGREES TO MEDIATE. THE 2i HOURS' NOTICE. • | The Prime Minister (the Hon. W. I l '. Massey) stated last evening, in reply to a question, that he had been asked that morning to preside at a confcvcnce of tho parties to the marine engineers' dispute, and had agreed to do so. ... ' Subsequently it was ascertained the Union Company and' the Marine Englneers' Institute were approached and agreed to send delegates to a conference to be presided over ,by the Prime Minister. ... The representatives of the marine engineers at the conference will probably be Mr. S. D. Hannan' (Auckland secretary) and Mr. A. Wallace (Wellington seere-

: When asked if he had anything to say concerning the trouble with the engineers, Mr. W. A. Kennody, local manager for the Union Company, tajd' "Having bee/i appointed an assessor to sit at the forthcoming Conciliation Coun- ( cil proceedings in connection with the dispute, I think that it would bo most improper for ma to give any information Whatever." - ' ~ , . i> To show how many men would be attoted by holding, up vessels of the Union Company's fleet, -it is worthy of note that close on 3100 men'afloat would-be directly concerned. This.number' includes stokehold hands, deck hands, and cooks and stewards. In • addition .to these figures, there would be -several thousand waterside workers, clerks, storemen, and others who depend for a living upon the Hoot affected. Of the Union Company's vessels in port in Wellington.yesterday, the engineers of the Poherua, KoremilvO," Koonya, and Mararoa gave the,24 hours' notice to quit work. Tho engineers 'gave notice before the .vessel sailed_ for northern. ports on 'Monday evening, and tho , engineers on the. Maori gave notice at I Lyttelton yesterday morning. On inquiry yesterday it 'was ascertained I that the engineers on board the Corinna and Pateena,' which were both at Wellington, had not given notice. '.>