NEW ZEALAND NEWS.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1951, 7 January 1914, Page 6

NEW ZEALAND NEWS.

/.(By, Telcernsh.— l'ross Association.)

■SfMSTACE HAMDS' DEMANDS. fjsff%-; s, . ClirlstetiurcJi, January 6. '.. pS'J'ho " Conciliation Commissioner (Mr. J" J. Triggs) was engaged to-day in i>residing ovor tho industrial disuuto bejtween tho State Employees' Industrial Union of Workers at Cliristchurch and ;.Mcssfs. J.iC.Williamson, Ltd., G. \Vil.'loughbjy Ltd., Denniston, Buckler, Hamilton and PliniKier, Anderson ana Richards, Ltd. The assessors worts: For the' employers, Messrs. J. fuller, Jun., :H, Chadwiek, and Bert lioylo; for tho .'employees, Messrs. 11. Staple ton, W. ■ Wiggins, and It. Daly ■ ■• ■; ;■ &;'■ Tho demands of tho union were a little, above : -thd award obtaining at DwieOiin, ■ and ttio employers suggested tliat the Dunedin Awnrd should be tKo basis , .of tlio Christ-church , demands. After considerable discussion upon ilotiiiis, it was found tint tho stage employees' assessors vrero \mablo to effect any compromise or reductions from tho demands of tho union, and it was then agreed that ilia sitting should be adjourned to Friday, the 16th instant, so that a meeting of tho union could bo held to give- the assessors power to negotiate with the employers upon-.tho basis of tho Dunedin Award. ' The principal difference between the . Duuedin Award aud tho demands of tho Chriiiichurch Union is that the workers hero - demanded £1 per week more (£G instead of £5) for men coins on tour. Night hands arc also affeele j. as they ask -is. Gd. per night insteau of 3s. lfld., as granted by the- Dunedin Award, The question of hours is not a serious one. . I On behalf of the union, it was urged that tho salaries asked for were now being paid by employers, and were tho same as obtained all over the Australian \ States! Therefore, it was represented, | that the employers really had nothing i to taka exception to. • !

■ The employers stated that while they wore prepared to go on paying the m'o sont wages, they could not see their | way to make them the legal miniuium. ;,;: serious charge fails. j . . ; Nelson, January C.. ■ A young man, Douglas Keir Gibb, appeared on remand to-day on a charge that, with intent to commit a crime, ho attempted to cause a young woman to be affected with chloroform. The evidence showed that the accused boarded at the house of the girl's parents, and wag madly in love with her. His attentions find boon rejected. Ho had been eccentric, and had previously entered, lier room with a revolver, threatening to. shoot himself. Counsel submitted tiat it was likely that lie intemkd to chloroform himself awl not the girl. Tho accused was discharged. ACHARCE OF EMBEZZLEMENT. '■''. ' Qunedin, January 6. '"' Frederick "William Donaldson, an exclerk of the Union Company at Dunedin, who was arrested in Wellington on a charge of embezzling £7 odd, has lJixjn' further remanded for a week. It is.stated that tho total of tho defalcations is about £80. ,»;' "] ALLEGED ARSON. j : s;> ; ",■' ■■.'.7' . . Tlmaru, January 6. j ,■; JamesMitchell, arrested at Kan^ii tata on Monday on a charge of arson in connection 'with a lire which destroyed au unoccupied house at Geraldine on ! December 28, was before the Geraldino Court to-day, and was remanded for a week.;... ■'.. ■~. . ■ *..\ MORE CYCLING RECORDS. v>. : ..■'■■■•■: ' Tlmaru, January 6, .' A. G. Donald this weiring broke tho motor-paced cycling records on, the Caledonian track, doing one ittilo in imin. 35 3-oscc, and two miles in 3min. 14see. EARTHQUAKE AT BLENHEIM. ■ BJsnhelm, January 6. "A.sharp shock of earthquake was felt i here at 11.50 this morning.