THE TROUBLE ON THE WHARVES.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1986, 17 February 1914, Page 4

THE TROUBLE ON THE WHARVES.

FOR. STERN MEASURES.

Sir,—With characteristic candour you are once again performing a public service m focusing. attention upon tho scandalous condition of things prevailing on tho.wharves. No one knows better than, those in authority that the state of affairs is a living shame; men who gallantly stepped into the broach when a. state of anarchy prevailed, and when thoj.critire trade of tho country was paralysed by:a,gang,of ruthless ruffians, arc beings-jettisoned In' the interests of men, the majority of whom having .violated,every precept of ordinary .decency,, afe : now' openly vaunting" of making common cause with th'o-des-peradoes and loafers—{he advocates of the "lazy", strike—in Australia. :Facts lire stubborn things; too stubborn, apparently,- -for certain members of 'the Harbour Board, who, if they remind mo ofv.anybbdy, rcmind.:me of that famous character whom Bunyan. has immortalised, who possessed the virtue of facing both ways. It is not.pleasant to rebuke a publio man coram populo. to castigate and '^-flagellateluni, (•specially in 'this democratic country,-where skins are'uncpmmonly.transparent; But.the state and : "red terrorism prhyailing.'.Qn, | ,'th'e, .wharves compels'-tho.. jj»oft". refci'-cjitj ■•nnd.f reserved, in inquire of. Mi-. ■Fletcher-'-wliati exactly is his game.. of ,b.rdinar.v.-intnjli-t'o appreciate tho to penetrate the disordered vision of your ordinary New Zealand miblie official. It is all the more "difficult', too, when wo. take- into consideration the fact that your' public adairs are conducted on. "sound .. democratic .linos,", those-"gn-und. democratic-lines which arc •invariably—but not always—synnnyiripiiswith: vote-catching': and ' vot'esiiatching.,,.

Parenthetically, I am confidentially informed that this does not aiui'ly to Wellington;, I. rejoice to hoar it, "and f'unrcsorvedl.v; accept it. But-in e,n far as "the chairman of Hie ' board is concerned, he certainly cut—and I run, sure ho one more f'-Tii ho will ■ readily admit during the

strike, and his latest "explanation" of his policy, or rather should I say his want of policy, is about as ■ belated, buiiglmg, and bamboozling as the most superheated imagination could conceive. If it wero not for tho high reputation which,- I understand, certain members of tho board command, charity' would impel mo to suggest that some insidious softening process was going on in the timber under their bats!

• What is tho position to-day? It is this:, A systematic attempt is-. being made to terrorise those men who came to the 1 assistance of tho general public Xhen, incited and stimulated by the wild rhetoric of those leather-lunged and blatant orators, some of whom are now hibernating .'within prison-walls, a disorderly and lawless rabble held up the country's trade and even threatened the lives of decent, law-abiding citizens. The mob,;however, Was.always an inherent coward, and when the "corkatoos" appeared those fire-eatinn-f would-be sons of Anak disappeared like, rabbits in a warren. They are apparently asking -for another invasion of the "cockatoos, and thev are going the way to have their wishes fully realised. Let us hope if this occurs that the excellent advice of the Chief Justice will be promptly acted upon—tho wholesale arrest of of-feiiders,-/and their immediate consignment under lock and key. What is required in this country, and what is required in Australia, is that short, sharp; and draconio action, which the Dutch Government of South.Africa took. It was not a matter of votes with them';'it was not n matter of political-expediency. The question, that confronted them was the maintenance of law and order, the security of the State, and the preservation of the inviolable rights of tho individual. The deportation of the thirty-pound-a-month firebrands from the glowing warmth and-tho eternal azure of tho South African sky to tho frigid atmosphere of the English winter and tho "thirty-bob-a-week" job, has set a magnificent example for othe,- Governments to emulate. There has been enough Labour fooling and bungling of lato in" Australasia, and there aro not wanting signs that a healthy public opinion is being incubated that_w.nl sweep into annihilation the political, huckstcrer, the jaundiced poitician, tho modern Iscanot, who would outJudas Judas, and betray Ins bosom friend for : thirty miserable pieces of silver; •■••'■ - ' ', , , . It''is-to. be hoped that employers oS labour on both'sides'of.'the Tasman Sea will present a moTe nnitcd front to -the common foe than has hitherto bccirthe caso.'.ahd that a common understanding 'will be arrived at in tho event of industrial hostilities in'oitlier-country. , ■ .'-I write'theso words m -the.'best interests of those with whom I live, move, and havo myibeing. We want a strong, honest democracy, but the imported gasbag—whether he comes from England, Australia, or Yankee-doodle Land—wha thrives on his dupes, must be jettisoned. Wo all desire to live well, happily; and .decently, .and. there is nothing'Mnore humiliating to'one than to see in any of our urban centres unemployed-, in wasons of industrial distress having recourse to the Charitable Aid Board, and being roughly interrogated by. some bumptious, inquisitorial, well-fed and pvor-paid octoroonrin-chief.' If you m Now Zealand could smash a strike as easily as did tho "cockatoos," if, you could arrest some of tho leaders, and fling tho most notorious into duranco !'.vilb,'.;if; : ,in the space of a few weeks ' ; j'pui'cpuld~ teach these men to uiider'stand that there is more liberty under the British Imperial Crown than under any other sceptre, and that that liberty shall not.-be .permitted, to degenerate those in .authority to-day -Sugtit.-.'tb' seize the'strife-mongers, who 'ihopo.'-fbJ precipitate another crisis,-.and ''drive''home i lib..truth ';as it has never, been driven.\home before that, though ■Mie mills of the. gods grind slowly, they. ;gvind exceedingly small, and thatgjwith ■'what measure'the Red Feds metal it out '.-to others it shall bo meted out to l them an hundredfold. It is writ largo in the ; affairs of men and of nations, that there is a nemesis that dogs tho heels ■of.all outlawry,-and.that sooner or--jater those who perpetrate these abominable .outrages'upon society will he overtaken by the same nemesis. . .But, butting aside the dupe and the imported windbag, the public must' kee]i a sharp look-out and" a jealous eye on tho. Harbour Board. The. public of this country are not going to be bamboozled, bounced, or boodled, and the sooner .that? those, in .authority appreciate the 'hard facts arid the situation,, and discharge their duties in that public- ■ spirited, and wholesouled fashion, and With,'that serene, indifference ' to '' the sputum of tho' rabble 'which we associate, with the administrators of public affairs in the United Kingdom, the bettor, for themselves and for an outraged cojnmunity.—l am. etc.,..' . v^:-*W.O>-' : '/; ■" JERMYN HIRST.