THEELLESHERE GUARDIAN. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 1891. THE QUEENSLAND STRIKE.

Ellesmere Guardian, Volume x, Issue 919, 17 June 1891, Page 2

THEEL LESHERE GUARDIAN. WEDNESD AY, JUNE 17, 1891. THE QUEENSLAND STRIKE.

Anothrr gigantic strike hasflsczloJ out The Qu'M>ni»l:i:» I slicarfra hnve foil a 1 t-i; past)rilißt9 too j r m,' for th«m, and thy k*t9 torn fowil tv $lw irsj 4

Strike leaders are not usually noted for extreme modesty,,- but thoee men who, engineered! |h0 huge fiasco whicb has jnst come to an. uu^imely Jend. are surely entitled to wear the belt /; for; co^l astnrance. They have the r effr^hter^lb tell the men whom they have led to destruction, that the strike must end, and that they had better «o back to work It the runholders refuse to give them employment, as is not improbable they will, then the Union men mart insist on the Government finding employment for

'hem. This from those chiefs who have all along been bolstering lip the> strikers with assurances of the flourishing ' state of the exchequer ; who have incited their dupes to defy employers and Government alike ; who have been the cause of the loss of hundreds "ftf thousands of pounds worth of valuable property ; who have winked at, if not actually encouraged outrages of rhe most diabolical nature, is surely the aome of daring mpudeucq. They say m effeot to the Goveroment :—" We don't approve of you. We have broken all your laws, and will do tha same again when we get a chance. Through our own idiotic and criminal folly we have become destitute. Find us employment." If tbe Queens-

land Government does find them worlr, we should suggest that setting tin leaders of the disturbance to work m chain gangs to rebuild the houses and woolsheds they hate burned, to re sow the pasturage they have destroys I, aid te find food for the men they have duped, would be the most suiiable em ploy ment for them. If it could con veniently be arranged that some of these dupes should be appointed overseers, and armed with stock whips, it might be

an improvement.

However, the strike, disastrous as it bas tamed oat to all concerned, has a

useful moral. It has shown, and more especially so as following on other un

successful strikes, that the "labour

party" has not the autocratic power it suits the would be leaders to attribute to it. Wherever audL whenever labour has< united to make any. fair and reasonable; demand from capital, it has been fairlj and reasonably met. Any real griev : ance the men have suffered under has been redressed promptly and judiciously ' upon iis being properly placed before the; masters. But; oven masters are but (

human, and itis not m human nature to" listen quietly to tlie, arrogant demands of a crowd of irresponsible demagogues wlio for purposes of thxir- own aggran | disement are 'appoint^ or appoint s themselves, leaders of the working men. Sooch blatant agitator's have received a severe lesson. It is to be hoped theywill profit hyiti^ , ; i , I 1