TO THE INDRABARAH.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1778, 17 June 1913, Page 6

TO THE INDRABARAH.

Lumpers leave Wellington i t • ■ 1 •*' & WHARF DRAMA. , &IGHTEROR SALVAGE WORK? 'Alongside the Taranakf Street Wharf yesterday afternoon, on tho seaward sld«i tho-s.s. Kini was discharging sling after' 'sling l of sacks of cementj which kept a stream of lumpers busy wheeling to and fro from tho storing shed. Opposite the Kini the collier Komata lay. A line of | drays -was. backed {to tho ship's side, and ns ono was filled by the coal-baskets regularly emerging from tho hold, the splendid draught horse in the shafts would '»lmost instinctively strain forward, tho.. wheels of the dray would clinch over, the, lumps of coal strewn all about, and into tho gap another dray would move. Quietly and rhythmically the work of discharge was going on from both the red-funnelled boats, and tho scene boro all tho general characteristics of a busy day on any ot Wellington's many wharves. j, Forward of the Kini, though, tho atfinosphere was different. Here that veteran lof sail ar.d steam of tho South Pacifio, ! ; tho Stormbird, was tied up, an air of coiiispicuous l-estfulness hanging over her. Up 4n. tho .bows alone, where the winter sun : was-brightly striking, was there any '[sign of activity. One sailorman Y a9 mechanically chipping away, while another 'casually daubed an ochreous paint brush lalong the ship's rusty plates. , •, Steam was up, and the smoking ftinnel i'and hissing noise betokened an early departure. Presently through the hurly 'burly at tho Ivini's liatches two men, 'portmanteau on shoulders, pressed- along, teaching the' Stormbird, thev dumped their luggage on the wharf, and sat down on tho striiiger to wait. Then other won, ! eomo-with portmanteaux, others with -wicker baskets or hold-alls, or perhaps a ihumblo "bluey," joined the first-comers. <It soon became bruited about that -this [expeditionary force was on the point or embarkation for the sceno of the beached 'liner, Indrabarah. To the number of Vibout twenty, it was said, they had agreed sto go to tho Rangitikei beach that momlug. They were a lightering contingent., i Bat tliere'was one point which it was Quickly apparent "now they wanted to settle before they ventured on their mission, bud as soon as tho representatives_ of those principally concerned(in the welfare tof the Indrabarah and her cargo appeared, the men surrounded them, and discus'eion at once ran 'high. The men s contention was that tho work they were en* •gaged for was in the nature of salvage Vork, and not the ordinary lightering or taTgo.... In consequence tney demanded Salvage rates of pay. f An insurance represent&tivo rfini&r&fid lo the now heated workers that he was prepared to make a fair deal, paying at boastal rates—l2s. per day, with bed and food and overtime. The Indrabarah s conditions, ho said, wero tho same as if fche were lying in port. "The queerest port I've heard or, Wowled one of the men, "stranded on the beach, mat did thoy pay at the Star bf India (? Canada) at Gisbqrnc? ' A deadlock ensued.. The crew of the ißtormbird assembled on deck to watch the proceedings; the white-aproned and tapped cook and baker making a relieving fentro-piece in tho picture. , A Cockney worker, generally addressed Ss "Chairlie," now took up the leading art. "Wot I s'ys, men, is, do we go or ot?" Someone interrupted him. He pun round defiantly. _ "Men, I sez," he tepeafced, "are .wo to be called blacklegs? I sez noi" ~ Seeing that "ChaMio was likely to Wove stubborn of placation, one in authority on the other side turned to him. /'You're sacked I"—he emphatically gave botice.- "You'll get a day's pay." _ I, "Chairlie" was not'tobe put off in that !way, though. He said he had been pick- ' Bd to go, and, strange perversity of huinan nature, go, ho said, lie would. And ngain he joined in tho "dickering." He drew in vivid terms pictures of working In wet holds on cold days. "Wot about' that there meat, afrcezm' an' covered Swith snow. Salvage screw for U9, men, I S "let the secretary speak," implored an Earnest-looking man, desirous of getting along to v the job. The secretary speaks. ' Some of the men board the Stormbird, "Chairlie" and a co-agitator amongst them, and the gunny-bags are bein{{ flung after them riverside, when a voice calls from the • {wharf: "And so yo're blacklegs." i "Don't , you call me a blackleg l ." is purled back, and some of them cl&mbe* /to the wharf again. ! "A lot you caro for union principles," )ingrily snapped one of them to the man Who had called out; "not as much as the wood-blocks you stand on." ' 'The debate is resumed. Tho company representatives muster up further patience &nd argument. But the _position reaches jo critically acute stage. Chairlio," says '."GO, and if," ho contnvues, "when at Jthe Rangitikei things don't suit we downs Stools," and he dramatically drops his ihanda to his sides. "Chairlie," though-, 5s not listened to. Bather one advises (him to keep cjuiet, and "let the secretary fepeak— he's paid for it." > ' The secretary again speaks, and has been; Speaking for- a few moments when the' jprder is authoritatively bawled:' i" "All union men .leave the ship." • Back "to the wharf clambored tho men Who had bean sitting on tho Stormbiid'fl 'bulwarks, bringing their baggage with, 'ithem. "Let's go to the Mid of the wharf, ,'%ays th® spokesman, "and discuss it away ! jfrom these," pointing to tho interested of the unusual drama. Tho ;motley band, with some advisors move Way, but the haranguings can still be heard Tho ' - company representatives Srear a look- of anxious impatienre--aii hour's delay has already been occasioned. 1A man returns from tho fringe of the fcrowd. "They're all talking at race, lie reports, "and they don't s&om to know ■what. they're talking about, but I think KQ ,> ' • .. . ■ . "Gam -ycr scab," oomes from rfiip- j the labour parliament breaks Kip; they will go to tho Indiabaiah. Tho §term« affrood upon are reported to be .2s. W SrdiW working hour ; 3s. per -hour ovortae, with tucker; and 12s. per day 'when tho conditions prevent work. But Wo stUl persist that they will telegraph, fo Gisborne to see what tho men who ' Worked the Star of Canada got. - The men. flip, up tho Stormbird a png>™.v and tho secretary makes a note m wckfit-book. The last ono has hardfv eot aboard before the. vessel s lines nre cast off, and she is moving away from the wharf. No further ohances are to be taken of tho workers changing their ' left behind gives some mussel to "Charlie." worry, f h T individual replies. "Just send ti-fvr/1 .fn th© old . A-nd as the Stormbird turns heir head v Ltrance. the workers' voices fe e ll MP in chorus, telling that they aro I'Off to Baltimore. •