SEAMEN'S UNION SPLIT

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2181, 20 June 1914, Page 6

SEAMEN'S UNION SPLIT

/ JIR. YOTJNG AND MR. BELCHER. Apropos; of the meeting between Mr. Young anil Mr. Belcher in TitßDoMLVioff of June 15,' the "Otago .-Witness" has. the following to say:— "It; appears that Mr. W. T. Young (scoretary' of • the' Wellington branch of the-Seameri'.s-Union) and his fellow delc-,-'gatei.(Mr.Hßichards); 'bit off more than .-they l |could> chew,' to use' an .everyday American colloquialism,'when they waited ori Mr.'Belcherbh Thursday morning, for tho purpose of trying to bring the Dunedin Union into line with ■Wellington in 'regard to certain matters affecting the,,whole of .tjio Dominion unions. Taking the history of the Dunedin, Wellington', and .Auckland Unions during .tho past lew.months into consideration, it can', truly, be asserted that Messrs. Young and Richards attempted to ■. 'Jbeard the lion in his den, the Douglass , in his.hall,' when they called in to sea . Mr. Belcher.' Mr. Belcher has given his •devoted services to tho seamen for the past 2t) years, but, during tho period of tho strike, these services were entirely 'forgotten by .the Wellington branch and its secretary, 'Mr. Young (who president of the Federation af Labour). : :Mr. Young apparently ivanted tho seamen to do ono thing; Mr. Belcher advised them to do another. It is common knowledgo that • Messrs. Belcher, Clark and Smith (tho Duncdiu delegates who attended a con- . jorance in Wellington) were subjected to tho'indignity'of being 'shadowed'while in -Wellington by members of that union. And this was not the greatest of tho indignities put on Mr. Belcher by tho Labour leaders there while lis was attending tho conference. Ho also recoived a rough handling on tho Lyttelton wharf from some of tho seamen and firemen who were sympathetic to tho Wellington Union's conduct of tho strike ..on the occasion of his second journey to Wellington. Only a few days ago, too, Messrs. Donovan (president, of tho Wellington branch) and Young (secretary} brought a caso in the Supremo Court against Mr. M Kenxie (president .of the Dunedin branch) arid Mr. Belcher for the express purpose of throwing difficulties in the way of Mr. Belcher being returned as the local secretary. The Wellington Union, howover, lost its case. Even tho most forgiving individual could hardly, under tho circumstances, liavo met the northern delegates with much equanimity. Mr. Belcher ;bluntly challenged their authority to impose Wellington rulo in regard to matters in which both tho law and the union vote gave Dunedin a free hand; he questioned tho sincerity of their professions that they \icro seeking tho good of tho union, told them that ho did not know- them officially, and had no desiro to know them personally, and absoutely. refused to discuss the business of the Dunedin branch with them.. The then 'ushered' them over tho doorstep' in:front of a heavy :'cbony ruler.". '