THE FERRY DISPUTE

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2375, 3 February 1915, Page 6

THE FERRY DISPUTE

NO MORE DEVELOPMENTS

MAORI STILL HELD UP

Thore were no developments locally yesterday in the dispute which has ted to the interruption of the ferry service. The Wahine is expcctod back in Wellington this morning, and it is also expected that she will/go South again as usual, to-night. List night passengers and mails were conveyed to Lyttelton from Wellington by the Monowai, leaving _at 6-45, and by the Pateena leaving at 7.45 p.m. The Pateena will come north from Lyttelton in the ferry run to-night, and will remain in the ferry service until the firemen change their minds, and the Maori is able to run again. CAUSE OF THE TROUBLE. AN INTERESTING THEORY. The following extract from the Christchurch "Press" news columns suggests a possible motive, not previously mentioned, for tho present activity of the firemen: — "It is. understood that the trouble with the firemen engaged on the Maori and Wahine has really no connection with their working conditions in the ferry service. For some weeks past there have been signs of trouble brewing, and the engineers of both the Wahine and Maori have had a very trying and worrying time with some of the men. Absence without leave, failure to join, disinclination to "turn too" when their time came to take their watches, insobriety, and the taking of supplies of liquor on board have been a few features of tbe conduct of some of the firemen engaged in these steamers. "It is stated on good authority that the Maori and Wahine are being used as 'levers' by a certain section of firemen to move the Union Company to comply with their demands in another direction. A certain steamer, which has been engaged for a certain voyage,; carries a crew of Indian lascars y . .. It is stated that a section of the firemen have made up their minds that must be manned with an "all-white" crew, and because their wishes in this respect have not been acceded to, they are venting their spite on tbe ferry service, the Union Company, and the public, by holding up the Maori. Tho alleged against the third engineer of that ship is merely their ' 'excuse" to cover up what is behind the whole trouble. We are' credibly informed that while the ferry steamers have, during the. past two or three weeks, had tbe utmost difficulty in securing union firemen, and have frequently had to take on non-unionists to make up their complements, there are it least thirty disengaged union firemen "on the beach" in Wellington, who will not go to sea in the ferry steamers or other Union Company steamers until the black crew, is taken out of the ——. "And the irony of it all is that while tho Maori's firemen have deliberately broken thoir agrement, and flouted the Shipping aiid Seamen Act, and. have not been prosecuted, tho masters of ships have actually been threatened with prosecution because, to keep the ships running they have sailed several times one or two men short of their full complement. Very often it is not possjble to discover that the ship is short-hand-edo until just on sailing time—when it is next to impossible to get union or non-union men, and to save holding up the ship and hundreds of passengers' and important mails, the masters have sailed, and noted the shortages in their official logs. "It must not bo imagined that all firemen give trouble. It is, after all, a comparatively very small section who make the trouble, and whose conduct is held in disgust by the whole of the seamen and the majority of firemen. Thore are dozen of ships on the New Zealand coast whose firemen are splendid, sober, hard-working, and well-be-haved men, respected by all officers and engineers with whom they serve. _ Many of them have sailed in the one ship continuously -for one, two, or three years, and often very much longer periods."

WAHINE'S STOKEHOLD FULL SOME OF THE MAORI'S FIREMEN JOIN HER. • Chrlstchurch, February 2. The vacancies among the firemen on the Wahino were filled up at Lyttelton to-day. Among those who signed on were some of tne Maori firemen.The Wahino left without any demonstraThe "position is unchanged in regard to the Maori. She lies alongsjde the new ferry wharf. An effort is being made to fill the vacancies in the stokehold. ' So far, two men have offered their services.