SHIPPING TROUBLE

Hokitika Guardian, 31 August 1925, Page 3

SHIPPING TROUBLE

[Australia & N.Z. Cable Association ] BEING LED ASTRAY. (Received this day at 8 a.m.) MELBOURNE, August 31. The Senate for the first time since 1005 sat all day, adjourning at midnight till Monday morning. The Labour stonewall on the Police Bill disarranged the plan of Mr Bruce, who had hoped to force the hill through. Senate mem hers and representatives mostly slept in the precincts of the House, awaiting a message from the Senate notilying that, the hill had been passed. When it became apparent that Labour was stonewalling the measure the House of Representatives adjourned until Monday. In the Senate when Mr Pearce moved the suspension of the Standing Orders to enable the hill to he passed there was pandemonium and the gag was frequently applied. Mr Pearce said there is a movement in this country for revolutionary purposes—no secret is made of it and mcmlrers will ■he false to their trust if they shut their eyes to it. If the present measure is effective the Government' will ask the people to give it power to take other steps to prevent the destruction of the Commonwealth law. Referring to the refusal of Mr Lang (Labour Premier of N.S.W.) to allow his police to assist in Carrying out the Federal law Mr Pearce said very little, consideration would show that such an action is liable to sjiell absolute chaos and anarchy and sound the end of the Commonwealth Government in Australia. Mr Guthrie attributed the strike to the insidious engineering of Communist influences. Mr Walsh, he contended, was doing his liest to break up the British Seamen’s Union, while he was interfering in a dispute into which ho had no right to enter. Mr Hannan declared that if his advice was sought he would advise the British seamen in Australian waters to accept the majority decision of the union in England. A feature of the debate was the declaration hv Senator Ogden (Labour) that he would support the hill, he stating he believed the workers were being led astray. WALSH NOT AFRAID. SYDNEY, August 31. Forty delegates, representing twen-ty-five hundred’ striking British seamen, issued a statement repudiating (Mr Havelock Wilson, stating they stood ready to work for the international union of seamen. They wished i it known that no one in this country had engineered the strike. The sea- ] men had been goaded into striking i during the past week. Much propaganda work was done to ; work up a great meeting in the Do- < main to-day in support of the strikers. When the meeting was held a small : uninteresting procession of 2,000 sea- | men marched to the Domain, headed < by a band, where they were addressed i by the union leaders. ( .Mr Walsh, in a speech, said he came 1 to the meeting to show Mr Bruce he t was not afraid of him. Air Walsh i characterised the shipowners as a gang of commercial murderers. He urged ' the men not to budge from the atti- i tude they had adopted. _____ l PRESENT POSITION. 1 (Received this day at 11.0 a.m.) f SYDNEY, August 31. < 11 is reported that during the week- c end further additions were made to 1 crews of the vessels lying in the bar- 1 hour. The British steamer Harlfield i has left Newcastle for Adelaide. t At Cairns, the Port Curtis has been .■ added to the idle list, the crew refusing to take her to sea. Strikers failed to interest the members of crews 1 of vessels employing black labour and i while hands. The position in .Mel- f bourne is unchanged. * I MR LANG’S STATEMENT. (Received this day at 11.25 a.m.) SYDNEY, Aug. 31. Mr Lang in referring to the Commonwealth Police said if a reign of terror, coercion and deportation is contemplated in the industrial sphere, a considerable increase in the number of gaols, as well as police, would soon , be necessary. The creation of new in- J dustrial offences and the recognition 1 of new constitutional principles will < necessitate the erection of new ad- J ministrative machinery, and presently the resources of the States would be , taxed to the utmost. 1 Continuing, ATr Lang said: “Me ; do not feel inclined to burden our 1 people with additional taxation in orde.i that Air Bruce may indulge iu liis pernicious proclivities. Air Lang says: “I have no desire in 1m? placed In a false position l«y the heroics of Air Ilruce. 3he l’rime Minister’s attempt to set me up as a censor of Federal Legislation and make the public believe t "ill not onforce laws wherewith I personally disagree, indicates lie either lias not read the full text of my press statement or ‘ is prepared to wilfully and maliciously deceive the public. I stated most explicitly that I was prepared to uphold the laws of the Commonwealth, and State, but observed that what I am not prepared to d'o is Air Bruce’s grubbing. Air Bruce had no need to appeal to me to help him to form a Deportation Board. If Federal Judges are not available lie had the State Government at hand professing sympathy with his policy. MAILS HELD UR. .MELBOURNE, August 31. The Postmaster-General (Mr Gibson) said the strike in Queensland was leading to a very serious position so far as the mails wore concerned. He lms received a telegram from Queensland stating the mails are declared black, and that an accumulation of mails is lying at the various railway stations. The Department is doing its utmost to cope with the matter, employing steamers and motor ears, but to attempt to cover an extensive State like Queensland with motors would be voiv expensive, and almost impossible with the resources at the disposal of the Commonwealth Government. A mass meeting of Victorian railwuyinen carried a. motion of sympathy and congratulation with Queensland railwaymcii on the strike. AT NEW PLYMOUTH. NEW PLYMOUTH, August 31. There is little, change in the shipping strike situation. The Dorset is idle because the men will not get steam, up to work the winches. The Port Dunedin is loading a small quantity of cargo, but her winches are electrically driven. The Phvsn is to he berthed this afternoon. She has an Asiatic erew and it is hoped to discharge her without trouble. 1 REFUSE TO SIGN ON. LONDON, August 30. A mnss meeting of seamen at Southampton under the auspices of the (Amalgamated Marino M orkers Union, decided to refuse to sign on except at the old wage; also to approach the other seamen with a view to organising a general strike. The meeting decided to cable congratulations to the strikers in South lAfriea and Australia.

The secretary mentioned unemployed guarded the conference buildings all night against a possible attack by the Faseisti. NATIONAL MINORITY MOVEMENT ILONDON. Aug. 30. Air Tom .Maim. President of the Second Annual Conference of the National .Minority .Movement at Battersea, said he advocated an immediate l.i<r campaign of propaganda in the army, navy and air force to meet the capitalist offensive. The report of the Transport Morkers’ Minority Movement admitted organisation among the seamen was at it lowest owing to Afr Havelock Milson's dictatorship. MT.VORTfY VIEM’S. LONDON. August 30. A numlter of Lascar seamen representatives were present when the National Minority Conference resumed at Battersea. The proceedings were chiefly devoted to diatribes'. Harry Pollitt suggested there were responsible trade unionists who were secretly glad of the unofficial seamens strike, because Havelock M'ilson had broken the united front against a reduction of wages.