MEETING OF RAILWAY WORKMEN.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIII, Issue 1565, 11 August 1873, Page 2

MEETING OF RAILWAY WORKMEN.

An advertisement appeared in the Greymouth papers published on Saturday, to this effect : — " A meeting of the workmen in Greymouth and district will be held in the Volunteer Hall, this evening, at 7.30, for the purpose of considering the present strike of the men employed on the Brunner, Railway Works, &c." Punctually at the hour of meeting men congregated in numbers sufficient to fully occupy the hall. The majority were " workmen." The Mayor (Mr Masters) presided.

The Chairman", after reading the advertisement calling the meeting, stated that a deputation from the working men had waited upon him asking him to preside at the. meeting, and. had furnished him with an outline , of the business it was suggested to bring forward. He had

gladly complied with the request, having been assured that the desire wa3 to conduct the proceedings in a thoroughly orderly and business-like manner. He was not aware exactly what matter would be prominently brought forward, but he thought the principal grievance was the proposed reduction of wages on the Railway Works. He might remind those present that the difference was simply a private one between the contractor and those engaged on the line, and he would advise them not to pass resolutions hurriedly, or without due consideration, thus binding themselves to conditions which might 1 create a lasting feeling of distrust between them and their employer, whereas it was possible the same result might be arrived at by, adopting a middle course. In the meantime, he would state that the Town Hall was at their disposal any evening, and. he would advise them to wait upon Mr Hungerford, on his return from Hokitika, and ascertain if a satisfactory arrangement could not be arrived at before assuming a defiant attitude. They could then, if they wished, hold another meeting on Monday evening, but he thought it would not be found necessary to push matters to extremes ; anything in the shape of a strike entailing great present loss on those who could not well afford it. Most of those present had lived on the Coast for several years, during . which time the spirit of mutual good feeling and friendship existing between all classes was not only understood and acknowledged here, but was the subject of remark in other places. The first resolution, he understood, was one to bind those present not to work at the reduced rate. Before it was proposed, he would again ask them to consider his proposition for adjournment before finally pledging themselves, and in discussing ! the question thus publicly it was necessary for them to show that the rate of wages proposed was insufficient, and disproportionate to the requirements of the Coast and the expense of living. He concluded by reading the motion which it was proposed to submit to the meeting.

The First Speaker said he thought it first necessary to make allusion to a letter from Mr O'Brien, Mr Hungerford's overseer, which had appeared in the evening paper. If he had read that letter correctly, it contained a sentence which stated that the men who had been deputed to wait upon Mr O'Brien had expressed an opinion that men who were not worth 11s per day should be discharged. The deputation had not offered that as an opinion; and he said so positively. It would be out of their place to dictate to Mr Hungerford as to whether a man was, or was not, worthy of employment. Speaking of that matter, he considered that 10s per day was not sufficient pay — for several reasons. First, it was laborious work. In the next place it was running down wages. This contract was the largest contract in the district, and, if wages were run down in this case, it would folio yr in all others. It was for the advantage of the working classes, and of others generally, to uphold the rate of wages. — (Applause.) Although it might be called the durrent rate, it should not be considered so, because the Government, the Borough Council, and others had been giving more, and it was well known that the Government paid less than other contractors. He thought it was out of place for the largest contractors to cut down wages. Bbsides, he considered the wages were not sufficient to make a livelihood on. — (Applause.)

Speaker Number 2 : I'll second the resolution. Number 3 said he was only a workingman, and he hoped they would excuse him. He was. not in the habit of speaking publicly, but, as this was a duty which belonged to all of them, he would ask them what was the current rate of wages ? What were the wages given by the Government and the Council ? (A voice : 125.) And what were the wages on Maher's road? (Voices: 11s.) There was another contract in which Us was offered for the spare labor which was here at the present time. The first and last thing he had to say was that no man should start work except at Us per day, which was the price that others were giving. Supposing wages were cut down to 10s, in six months they would be cut down to Bs. He proposed that no man who had been working for' Mr Hungerford should start until lie got 11s a day. Speaker Number 4 : 1 beg to second the resolution, your Worship.

The Chairman said he could not see the sense of the argument of the supporter of the motion when he said that because wages were fixed at 10a on the part of the contractor, the rate would be reduced to 8s in future. What they had to consider at present was whether lls was sufficient. It would be well to consider the matter, and to consider whether it would not be better to wait upon Mr Hungerford, and see if an arrrangement could not be come to. The question only, affected this contract. The Borough Council, it was true, paid more than was offered under this contract, but the men engaged were employed only on small jobs, most of the work being done by contract. The meeting had not been informed much as to the intentions of the men employed on the railway, but he imagined the resolution proposed meant "a strike." It would be a manifest waste of time if both parties held out, and he suggested that, anless it wastheirwish to affect the labor market as a whole, whether it would not be better to postpone the meeting, and endeavor to come to some amicable arrangement. It was quite possible that • some arrangement might be arrived at, if a committee were appointed to wait on Mr Hungerford. There might be some delicacy in doing this ; but, really he thought it would not be compromising their position. The Borough Council paid more than was offered in this case, but the work men employed were only employed on small jobs, most of the work being done by contract. The meeting had not had much information from the mover and seconder of the motion, and, with the intimation that Mr Hungerford was willing to pay 11s per day to good men, it was quite possible that a settlement might be come to by appointing a committee to wait upon him. The resolution to be proposed next, he might state, was one appointing a committee to receive and to distribute means to support the men on strike. That meant fighting the matter out, and it involved a considerable amount of expense. It would come hard upon working men if they had to depend, for a month or two, upon anything but their ordinary earnings.

Speaker Number o thought the Chairman had taken up his words, wrongly. Mr Hungerford was a large contractor, and

this was the\first of a number of large «ontracts on therCoast. The Government and the Council paid 12s ; Mr Hungerford offered 10s ; but all hands were going in for lls per day. ~ The Chairm-ait put to the meeting the resolution whichhad been proposed, and it was agreed to without dissension. The majority indicated their approval " in the usual way," and nobody showed a hand J against it. The resolution was—" That, in the opinion of this meeting, workmen should not work under lls per day." The Chairman said the next resolution was to the effect that .the workmen on the railway should, be paid fortnightly, and on the ground. He suggested that it was scarcely necessaiy to ! propose such a resolution, as Mr Hungerford, through his representative, had already promised that which the resolution implied. A Speaker : Has that been done since the row commenced ? Another Speaker : It has not, I believe. Speaker Ndmber 1 : >fo • I believe not. ; Angther Speaker : Well, I will move that, in the event of the men going to workj ■ they be paid fortnightly, and on the ground. The Chairman suggested that it would not be wise to pass such a resolution, seeing that it had oeen stated, on behalf of the contractor, that wages would be paid as proposed. He thought it would be well to act in this matter as mildly as possible, and to pass no resolutions upon matters which were already settled. The Speaker who proposed the motion said he was willing to withdraw it, agreeing,as he did, with the Chairman. . The motion had been prepared before Mr ! O'Brien's letter had appeared, and he thought its proposition was not now necessary. • The Chairman approved of the course adopted, and intimated that the third proposition was That a committee be formed to receive and distribute means to uphold the object of the meeting." : The motion was moved, seconded, and unanimously adopted, and it was, at the suggestion of the Chairman, agreed to i that the same committee, who were nomi-l nated, should wait upon Mr Hungerford, ' with the view, of coming to some amicable! arrangement. ■ • ■ . The Chairman, in making this sugges- 1 tion, said he thought it might be possible i that, by pursuing ., such a course, the; matter might be settled. They might! force the contractor to terms, or he might make other arrangements ; but, meantime, it would be a bad thing for the; working men to remain idle, and he! thought that some effort should be made to ariange the matter in a friendly way. ! Thanks to the Chairman were proposed; and carried by acclamation, and, in acknowledging tke compliment, the Chair-; man said that, apart from the question in; dispute, it gave him pleasure to preside [ at a meeting at which good order had been; so perfectly observed. i