"SAD AND SORRY"

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1913, 22 November 1913, Page 7

"SAD AND SORRY"

MR. BELCHER AND THE STRIKE. RETREAT BETTER THAN ROUT. •'I am sad and sorry," said' Mr. W. ,im a ! ' e l>ei'tei' in Cliristchureh on Ihursday. ''The men do not waist to listen to tiie men who have passed through the mill. 1 have scon organisations that were considered imprcgnabh;_ mowed down one after the other. lolence can never win, tb-fe cause of Labour, but it can givo rise to antipa thy. , I ," l T! K!re atG Processions with bands in Wellington, but they cause no interest, and they won't bring about a settlement. "Tlio whole struggle is hopeless. The offer made by the Union Steam Ship Company should have been snatched up as soon as it was made, so that the men. could • have gone back itnder the old agreement, with all the past forgottr-n. If the leaders of the men had availed themselves of that opportunity thoy would have proved themselves good generals, and the .respect and sympathy of tho Dominion would liavo lucn tHeirs. As it is., the me.ll would realise that an honourable retreat is better than an utter rout. "I am not bitter; t do not complain ; but a man feels it keenly uftcr serving Labour faithfully and strenuously for twenty years when ho is called a traitor, and is howled at becatiso ho speaks from the fullness of tits experience. 1 have done my best to advise the men. I have acted rather as a policeman trying to bring about peace where there are effort's tor violence. But what can one ma.n d.o?. "No man has the cause of Labour nearer to his heart than I have, and in the past I liavo gained for the seamen much that they would not otherwise have gained, because of my persistency and patience. In Wellington I did ail I could to work 'for a settlement, but it was useless. There aro obstinate men on both sides. "I am taking with me to Dunedin important official communications. I cannot disclose thorn nor their nature, but they will bo placed before tho Dur.ed.in men promptly, and they will deal with them as suits them. "This business will drag 011, but the result Will not be of value to Labour except as an education. Men will look back to 1913 as thoy looked back to 1890, and then thoy will probably realise that they wero badly advised When tliey came out in Oetolmr, _ "It is w r ell to acknowledge the position. and to realise that it is better to go back, benefiting by tho experience, and- to wait when the opportunity offers to drive the nail home firmly and strongly. "I feel 110 bitterness. If I were a yo-nnge.r man I might, but I have come through the experience of years, and now I am only sorry, sorry for Labour."