WELLINGTON.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2206, 2 June 1908, Page 3

WELLINGTON.

(Special to “Times.”) WELLINGTON, June ,1. THE WEATHER. The weather yesterday was cold -and boisterous, the harbor being so rough that many peoplo travelling across it in the ferry steamers suffered from sea sickness. PERSONAL., Air. A. AI. Thomas has been appointed associate to Air. Justice Denniston -in succession to Air. A. L. Denniston, who intends to enter into practice on his own account. Air. John Chillwcll, Fellow of the Institute of Chemists of Great Britain and Ireland, has been appointed -as an assistant chemist to tho Department ol Agriculture. AIA'ORI CRIAIINALS. Among .tho prisoners dealt with at the Supremo Court to-day wero two young Maoris. -One was Rurkawa Huru, from Wairo-a. He had been placed on probation for twelve months for burglary, and during that time he was convicted of breaking and entering, and sentenced to six months’ imprisonment. There were other convictions since then. “It is difficult to know what to do with these simpletons,” said Air. Justice Clupman. “I think they enjoy prison life; it docs not -seom to have had much effect on him.” He proceeded to inform prisoner that it was no use being lenient with him. Ho committed other crimes as soon as he got the chance, and, the sentence would he twelve months’ imprisonment, with hard labor. Another young-looking Alaori, from AVa-iroa, named Itan-iera Tehiu, was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment with hard labor for for-, gery. His Honor stated that this was not an ordinary case at fabricating a cheque, but fraudulently altering one. It came to the same thing ,is far as the offence was concerned. Prisoner had already been sentenced to twelvo months’ .imprisonment for forgerv at Gisborne, but that seemed to have had no effect in preventing him from acting dishonestly again. THE ARBITRATION ACT. The local newspapers continue to devote a great deal of space to the brink-down of the Arbitration Act. and the topic is also one of great, conversation amongst manufacturers and business men generally. In the course of an address last evening. Air. AV. T .Young, secretary of the Seamen’s Union and the Tramway Union, spoke strongly in condemnation of the Act. He pointed out that when the Act was 'first introduced in 1894, its strong supporters were the workers, while the strong opposition came from the employers. Now the position was reversed, for the workers were coming to the conclusion that arbitration in New Zealand had exhausted its uses, and if the workers were to improve their positions they must grasp some greater medium than the Conciliation .and Arbitration Act. The measure had been so amended from time to time that it wqs not now intended to encourage and support the formation of trade unions. Referring to the amendments of 1900. tiie speaker remarked, “Here commences a long chain of links tantamount to binding the iiii.ion dowimto a system of slavery.” It was difficult to say how a trade union could possibly free itself from the provisions of an -award, which could now remain in operation until it was superseded by another, or the union’s registration was cancelled. If a trade union cancelled its registration under the Arbitration Act and the Trades Union Act, any court of competent jurisdiction would, in his opinion, be empowered to declare the union to be an illegal combination. The underrated nrovfeions which did not appear in the original Act had been abused by the Arbitration Court and the employers -in the.most barefaced manner. He claimed that it was almost a sheer impossibility -at the present time for any representative of a union to get a fair and courteous hearing at the hands of the Court. The time had come when there would have to he an improvement; which could only come through the exercise of the workers’ votes. They should send men to the House of the;r own way of thinking, men who would take what was the workers’ right instead of having to wjiit on the doorstep for something the Liberals liked to srivo. The .Blackball mine -and Auckland tramways strikes were of material .importance, for they involved the question of dismissal of unionists. iSoven prominent unionists and socialists were dismissed from the Blackball mine. Under the Act it would he impossible to prove to the Court’s satisfaction that those men were dismissed because they were unionists. If the evidence was so, tlie Court would place it on one side and-find in favor of the employer. AIINTNG.

Several hundred Talisman shares were sold to-dav at £2 Gs Gd and £2 6s. Other mining sales were: Big River £1 3s, Wnihi Consolidated £2 ss. and Toiigiaro 3ld. Union B ulk shares (£2-5 paid)' sold at £6O, and Gear Meat (£1 paid) at £? 10?, .