STRIKE TALK FROM PLATFORM

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1920, 1 December 1913, Page 9

STRIKE TALK FROM PLATFORM

AT OPERA HOUSE. MR. PAYNE, M.P., ON CHRISTIANITY. OTHER DIATRIBES. USUAL MENTION OP VICTORY. The procession and mass meeting planned by tile strikers for yesterday afternoon was abandoned. Only a small crowd gathered in Post Office Square, tlio starting-point, and soon after two o'clock it was aiuioun'cecl that owing to the inclemoncy of the weather the programme would not bo adhered to. In the evening two meetings were held, one in the Opera House, the other in His Majesty's Theatre. The Opera Houso was packed, but tlio gathering was not as enthusiastic as former meetings. Mr. Ci. Farland presided. Mr. Farland said that the watersiders would never go back under the Arbitration Act. Had there been no .Arbitration Act the whole of tlio workers of New Zealand Would have been able to down 'tools and throw in their lot with tlio watersiders.

Tlio first speaker following -the (chairman was Mr. James Roberts. Mr. Roberts said that to-day thero was more solidarity , and unanimity than there was on tlio day that tlio men went out on strike. All of a sudden a lot of the strike leaders had found out that tiiey were foreigners. Tho speaker was not an alien from New South Wales, where Semplo and Holland camo from, or a foreigner from Scotland, where Fraser camo from, but a New Zealander from Ireland, where Mr. Masscy came from, for the Prime Minister claimed to bo a Now ZealandcK Trying to drive the strikers back under tho Arbitration Act .was as useless as tryiiig to-dVivc n' liail through a piece of iroubark with the buttrcnd of a sausage. Anyone who knew tlio Press knew that letters appearing in the columns of tho newspapers were written within tlio various offices, and were ■ not tho letters of genuine workers. Tho Press cried out about syndicalism, but never tried to explain it. Syndicalism meant a syndicate of workers. It was rcmarkablo that the Press, which had done so much for tlio workers in the past, and had to somo extent educated them, should take tho stand wliich it liad done, in tho present strugglo. Ho urged workers not to touch what ho termed "scab" I cargo.

On Christianity. The chairman, in introducing Mr. .T. Payne, M.P., remarked that the net ion of Messrs. Payne and Webb in Parliament had been highly creditable. Mr. Payne then stopped forward. Ho commenced this way: "I would just like to have a word with the workers. First of all, I would like to know, A.ro you downhearted? Voices: No. Mr. Payne: Are you going to display that bulldog tenacity characteristic the British, ctc. ? Chorus: Yes. Mr. Payne: And you are going to see it to a successful issue? Chorus: Yes. Mr. Payne: Good boys. Mr. Payne then went 011 to say that it was a banding together for strength which was going to make for industrial peace. Christianity was instituted to spread over the wholo world, and bound tile world's peoples into 0110 grand brotherhood. But Christianity, though it had done good, had failed in other ways. Christ had worked from a humanitarian basis. To-day they wanted something that did not pander to the rich, and not become a toll of the rich. Christ's hunianitarianisni iad been neglected, and lip service and outWard show filled the place of genuine good. They, he repeated, were going to have something which would he in the interest of all the people. Then they came to 1.W.W.-ism. Let tlieni call it by another name. Let them call it the second Christianity.

V/ Oman's Diatribe. Mrs. Donaldson declared that the huge, attendance indicated clearly that interest in the strike was not waning She wanted to tell the strikers that the wharves needed them badly. The wharves were' dirty, and tilings were wasting and rusting. If they had aiy doubt as to whether they woro winning their fight or not. let them go down to tlu wharves. There they could *itl clear signs that they worn winning. The port was not open, and when Mr. Mnssov said tint tho ports were open, he must be referring to some other ports. The other .side had. continued Mrs. TVnaldsnn. made a great mistake in educating tho workers; the workers now wanted some of the good tilings. Rome of the men who were working oil the wharves now woro among the poorest specimens, physically and intellectually, whom she lnd seen. Decently, a demented man had murdered a woman, and had been sertnncd (o doalli. Tie employers to-dav said: "If we can't break your strike any other way. >vo shall break it by starvation." SiU'h men were more criminal, because they wore trying to starve men and women. If the coming Christmas was a poor one, the next would bo the richer for it.

The Resolutions, The following motions wore at I hi? slace put, and carried without dissent: (D That this meeting of Wellington citizens strongly condemns the action of Mr. Fisher, Minister of Marine, in suspending certain clauses of the Shipping and Seamen's Act, thereby trying to defeat tho workers in their fight for Justice. (-) That this meeting uf_ Wellington citizens condemns the action of llio"present Government in delaying tho release of the Labour leaders at present in prison, and demands immediate action to release- the same. Respecting the first motion, Mr. Far-

land said that the idea was to condemn Mr. Fisher for "allowing anyone to go to sea" when then' were capable 'e.imen ashore. Mr. Hickey on Victory. Air. I'. Mickey declared that the strike in New Zealand was "going all right," and in Australia tilings were "0.K." They would all be soriv when they head tile sad news. Moil had come down from the country mid loaded the Opawa to the brim, and she was to have sailed for London at fi o'clock yesterday morning. . She had not- gone. Xow.he was sorry about this; and the worst of it was there wore no firemen on hoard. "AVe can't find the firemen," he continued, "but wherever they are, you can bet that organised Labour won't let anything happen to them." (Applause.) Gaoling was not having the effect of breaking the strike. In no other strike, in Australasia 1 bad the gaol been so much resorted to. . The Courts were being made Courts of coercion, instead of Courts of justice. AVheii he went into the Court tho other day, the very atmosphere of the place seemed biassed. There were three forces in this strike—the watersidcrs, tho coalminers, and seamen —sets of men who never stood shoulder to shoulder before. The dockers alone had fought the employers in England, and wonj and the employers in that country were many times stronger than tho employers in this country. So the fight here, was A voice: A cakewalk! Mr. Hickey: "No, tho cakes and the cream pufi's are for the peabs these times." However, they would win, victory was absolutely certain, unless they scabbed upon one another; the position was absolutely perfect.

BUILDING TRADE STRIKE* ON THE CRUMBLE. Only threo local unions went out on strike in Wellington in sympathy with tho misled Waterside Workers' Union. Those were tho Drivers', Seamen'.?, and Iluilding Trade Labourers' Unions. Most of the drivers have since returned to work, and tho places of the others have been filled, so they are not giving anyone any anxiety; the. seamen are still out, and with three x>arts of the ilcet again in commission are wondering whatthey came out for; and the Building Trades Labourers' Unioh is showing signs of returning intelligence. On Saturday the plasterers' labourers all returned to work", and t-lio plasterers have been enabled to recommence work on those buildings now approaching completion. A good many of the bricklayers' labourers have also returned to work, and a further hatch of men have promised certain contractors to return to work to-day. This promise they are pretty sure to" keep,'as it mis got about that there are building trades labourers coining in from tho country in tho hope of getting work here while tho striko is on, as tho work is more permanent in the cities than it is in country towns.

Ono grave effcct of tlic strike o.s far as the building trade is concerned is that it lias hung up a groat deal of ivork. It is known that several people who intended to build in Wellington havo instructed architects not to call for tenders for the present. Thus is the striker hitting at his own kind, for if ho holds up the man who intends to put largo sums of money into circulation by building, ho is directly depriving carpenters, joiners, plumbers, labourers, plasterers, and steel workers of a certain amount of work which would ensure something like steadiness of employment during tlio coming year.