STILL ON STRIKE.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1892, 29 October 1913, Page 6

STILL ON STRIKE.

Wellington Harbour yesterday presented a spectacle never before witnessed here. The long stretches of berthing accommodation at the wharves and breastwork facing the waterfront were almost entirely bare and empty of vessels, while'anchored out in the harbour was the largest fleet of steamers that has ever cast anchor in the port. As a safeguard against possible trouble, tho whole of the steamers—coastal and oceangoing—with the exception of the warship Psyche and the ferry steamer Maori, had left their berths at the wharves and anchored off the northern end of the city. In addition was the fleet of coal hulks deeply laden with coal—-all idle. Perhaps no more striking illustration of the loss and waste—not merely to the shipowners but to the whole community and especially to the strikers—which must inevitably follow upon this form of industrial warfare could be conceived than was given by that greatfleet lying idly there dragging at its anchor-chains. Tens of thousands of tons of shipping held up, time-tables dislocated, hundreds of men, apal-t from the strikers, compulsorily thrown out of work, business in city and country interfered with—and all due to a hasty and ill-conceived step on the part of a Union of Wateraido Workers which if it had given any serious thought to the consequences of .its action could never have happened. A good many people and some newspapers are having it brought home to them very forcibly by the present unfortunate strike that the provisions in the Amending' .Conciliation and Arbitration Act Bill, which insist on a reasonable attempt at a peaceful settlement of matters in dispute before a strike becomes lawful, are imperatively necessary in the interests of the employees quite as much as 'those of tlie employers and the general public. The present strike—with all its loss and the disgraceful acts of intimidation and violence—could never have happened had the men acted with deliberation and after reasonable discussion with the shipowners and harbour authorities, before rushing into the extreme step which brought on all the subsequent trouble. So far as the strike itself is concerned, yesterday was again a day of comparative orderliness. The strikers at one stage, obstructed carriers who attempted to cart certain goods on to the wharves, but there were apparently no acts of violence. The feature of the day's proceedings was ofcourse tho acceptance of the Prime Minister's proposal for a conference. Both the strikers and employers agreed to this and met with Mr. Massey as mediator.. Terms of settlement were put forward and discussed and are now to be submitted to the members of the Waterside Workers' Union on the one hand and to the employers interested on the other. It is impossible to say from the meagre information available whether any real progress has been made towards bringing the dispute to a close. Much as the miblic would like to see the end of it, there are very few who do not realise that peace can be bought at too dear a price. Particulars as to the conditions of settlement proposed will in consequence be awaited with very . real interest and concern. ' I