POLICING THE WHARVES

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 309, 25 September 1919, Page 6

POLICING THE WHARVES

• WATERSIDBKS' OBJECT. A -difference of opinion arose among members fit lost night's meeting of tihe Harbour Board, when the chairman remarked that the board would go into committee to reccive a deputation from the Wellington Waterside Workers' (Jnion. ' v \ ■ Mr. M. W. .-Welch asked: Why take it in committee? • The chairman (Mr. .T. <3. Harkness): I consider'that it would be wfjor. ' Mr. Welch: Well, sir, to test the feeling of the meeting T will move that it be taken in open meeting. There is too much committee work going on.~

Mr. C. H. Chapman: I second that. , Mr. M. Cohen: If the chairman has decided for certain reasons of his own that the matter should be taken in committee then the least we can do is to abide by his decision, I tiike it lie has good reasons for doing so.

Jlr! Chapman considered that the matter was of sufficient.importance to ventilate in open meeting. ' It concerned tihe proposal to havo police supervision of' the men. Seeing that the men objected to this they were'entitled to havo their objections made public.

iTlie ohairman pointed out' that the union had written to the.-board, which body had invited them to air their views before tihe meeting of the Wharves and Accounts Committee. Tho union never turned up at the meeting, nor' did they offex any apology. The board desired to do its utmost for the men to enable them to state their case, and they were now giving tihem another opportunity of doing so in committee./"I think," "lie concluded, "that that was just, as far as we' couTd go." The motion not to go into committee was then lost on. tho voices, and tihe board went into committee.