SHIPPING TROUBLE.

Hokitika Guardian, 20 October 1925, Page 2

SHIPPING TROUBLE.

I.Australia & X'.Z. Cable Association.] THK CO.MITLSUPY COX EE HENCE. SYDNEY. 0 •. Ph The coni pit! sot y conference railed by tin- President ol the Arbitration Court to dismiss the British Seamen’s slid!;.' met. in camera, and adjourned alter a short sitting, owing to the strikers representatives refusing to negotiate until all the men now imprisoned are released. Tlu- shipowners made it clear Dial t heir allendanre was without prejudice to l heir legal rights, as they . intended the court has no jurisdiction. Tlu- President of the conn, in reply to the men's demand lor the lelease ol their eomrades. said il’e Court could not make an order for tlm release ol the men. nor mild the owners get them released unless the men first agreed to return to work. X l ' (.‘overnment would he likely lo keep the men in gaol once I lie strike was settled, and they wished In return to work. The Court adjourned for half an hour to enable the men’s representatives t 1 re. insider the position. Upon resuming, the strikers’ chairman announced they bad decided to maintain their demand for release. The Court then adjourned till to-morrow ioretiocn to give (he men another ehanro lor rtvonsiuoration. The President said that, if they still maintained the -amc attitude, he would refer the dispute into open Court, and call upon the men’s representatives to submit their claims, hut the ( oiti't would then reiptii'e the men to return to work belore it could hear Ilnur claim in the Arbitration Court. X KAY ZEALAND PORT’S. AECKLAXD. Del. ID. Two liroinen front the sienmer Taint'd. I!. Stanhope and J. Barm--, were sentenced in the Police Court yesterday to two mouths’ imprisonment lor continued disobedience ol orders. Mr R. McVeagli. who appeared for the master of the vessel, said the men struck in Wellington. They were brought i" Auckland by the Shaw. SaviH and Albion Company, upon their ns-iiram-c thoi they would work. Ail their expenses had been paid. This morning, however, they refused to raise steam on a boiler.

One of the striking seamen. I lamias Davis A] e llama ra. aged ’Jfh pleaded guilty to assaulting AY. i-’orhes. Chiel Detective Cuminings said Forbes. wlm was a “free" labourer on a ship, was at a street- meeting on Sunday alternoon, when lie was struck over the head by accused, who had no proyncat ion. Accused was sentenced to I I tla.vs imprisonment. DUNEDIN. (let. If.

Tin- Haranga sailod at 4.HR a.lit. i- 1 - da\ for Lyttelton. The crew decided (,n Sunday afternoon to take I 111 1 level to sea’, despite the fact that nine stok.-linhl ha nils are missing;. Ihe -hip. however, has Millicient melt under the Ad on hoard. Then- is no tree labour (limmg-I the crew. The llarniiga arrived on September dll. from London, via Suva, and was held up for two week' owing to the crew refusing duty. The s. lea titer Leitrim, which arrived dt. Port Chalmers on Sunday afternoon, from Lyttelton, with a volunteer crew, had no trouble in securing waterside lalnur and the vessel’s cargo is now lining discharged.

Sixteen students ol Canterbury College came down on Ihe Leitrim as trimmers. They were greeted as they stepped on the Pori Chalmers v-harf with cries of. ‘'Here are tlu- scabs, and sarcastic reference to "call.-g----hoy stokers." A soot ion of the crowd wished lo light the matter out. and .1 short melee occurred. After being paid elf, Die ua'n lel t this morning, wit It lir.st-c.htss railway lares paid. WELLINGTON. Dm. If. Tin- outlook as to tin- shipping si rike is said to b- much hotter alter (he rithniged tuaitm'/y. ilm- lollow'iig Steamer- have sailed from \\h-llingt ott during tho past week-end: Port Dunedin. ffem-i ia. am! Kent ; while 1mA t hen ie. Alai aka na . and Tr'-w-lyn have .arrived In-re.

A MELEE ON BOARD

AECKLAXD. 0,1. 19. An ugly mood developed among the striking scam.-n on the wat .-rl rout tMilay. (In the Otaki tin- argument of force, in tin- lorui ol listieiills. wa-cniphiy.-d to bludgeon a minority into a eon tin ua nee oi the strike. Ilns persuasion was elfeetive. alter a general melee, and the di'sll'eried majority i he' turned on the rooks. Ihe battle was uni'ipml. the odds bring many to one. and the galley stall' heat a retreat. The victors then took charge of the galley, reducing erni-k.-ry to scrap, damaging other utensils, and ilu-v made a ptettic inealol the |ood on (leek.

Another uiiplea-anl feature to-day were I wo assaults on volunteer s.-mm-ii. On the other hand, a hopelul sign was tin- sailing nl tin- Port Xieholsmi. which i' the first British vessel with a European or.-w not to he affected in any way by the strike. Tn-dav was the second oca-ion on v.diirh iite seamen of the ( Itaki refused

to take the vessel to sea. In ennsetptence she could not leave lor \\ e|lington as intended, site was '.eaeduh'd to sail at midday, but was not ready at that time, owing; to all the cargo fur Auckland not having keen discharged. Most ol the scan were on hoard. and a maioritv had apparently decided not to take the vessel to -or How-

ever. the decision was not unanimous, until the ineii laid fought the f|Ueslhm out among l hein-eU cs vvi'li hare knuckles. Tile re-ull was a victory for those favourable to the rout inuance of the strike. The seamen then ntlemptetl to induce the cooks and the baker to join them in the strike, hut this the men of the galley staff refused to do. Some of the seamen then tried moral suasion by attacking the cooks and baker, and abo by wrecking the galley. The cooks beat a retreat. Before t !i c linker eotlld escape, however, lie was assaulted, hut was not badly hurt. The men then turned their attention to the content' ol the galley and before they tini'hed ail the crockery was smashed and pot- and pails d, imaged. Cooked load 111 dishes was taken on tie deck and a-, lam h a- po-il,!.- eaten hy the men. who tl-ed t hei l ha nth, a . uh.,i i •

lute lor knives aml forks. By th is time a po-sc of polite had arrived on the scene. ami disperse.'! the men. A

!'; i! 11!-r .. l" Miiki'r. went on >ih,iv, hut 1 in-\- had rejoined ill.- <) t; 1 1 . i u lien l!.i‘ earn'n na- hnished a i halt pa--t three. As t lit* Olaki was ready t > sail I la- men w ere mustered an deck and va-ic a-lo',! li.v the captain whether they would take tlie ship tu sea. This tiiev re!used to lio. He the,, warned them of the e* hi staple m e oi their rotti-a!. km the tviirnino etas unheeded. In ninse(|Ueiii'e .pi ( 11 them will appea r in the Pol n e i '• tin t o-'norn e . eha l-oetl v. it!: reiii-iii'r t < one;. lee. I .;! ci/inieiiii.ls oi' t he lints! er. SVDXKY. (lei. IP. Tile (' 11 101 l ( 'olilpn !i \ Is I li Hilda I ell I « ith Itpplieat ions lor 1 er: h.-. on i lie Man n pa n in. sado.e on l-hadav. IP hold-up ot tlie Hiniiiro.'i i> c-aiisitie railsiderahle hardship- amont!; a number of Now /ealan.l 1 note put to extra oipsi-e tiiiMUjii delay at Sydney . A Sll 1 !•( PtVXKirS t d’l NIOX. SVDXKV. (let. -_>o. ■ James linrils. head oi' the Burns 1 *liili[> Company. has tetuna-d irmii a visit to iaiir iiie and Atner.Va. Ch.mpariint l.ahonr eoiiditions. he said that in America the laih-.iir position was ipote different t'roni .Australia, Thole the v.ei'lter realised it teas hi- yd, that paid his trip'., whereas jii Australia tlie hoes was considered ro do th-ir. One worked tor the lienejit; of the a h and the ot her used hi-, joh to null t lie Isos, or capitalist. down ~n the chance ot eettiiae -niii" of the spoil. Mr Burns uttered a sweeping: cotidenmat inn of strike alfa.irs a! the Port of Auckland. He descrih.-d it :e the worst. so far as 1.-diottr conditions j were concerned, he Ini' ever a ad- j dine, "| hate never Wen slower work | than I saw done there." I

THE STRIKE POSITION. Mil HOLLAND’S STATEMENT. AECKLAXD, October If). Replying to Mr Coates, at Ancklnnd (his evening, .fTr 11. E. Holland macks reference to the shipping trouble. He said that the l.ahottr Party’s programme provided for a State line or’ shipping, which would carry our own produce to the overseas markets, and would ply aruuiul the Xew Zealand coasts with a guarantee of continuity of service, and with living wages and standards of decency for the men employed. All the ships of the Enitod Kingdom Dai ding to Xew Zealand and Australia were part of the world’s greatest shipping combine—the Inchcape Combine into which it was nowbeing attempted to bring the Continental steamship lines. A Glasgow paper had recently declared that New Zealand's trade was altogether in the hands of this Inelu-ape Combine, and "The Economist.” of -Inly lSth. had shown that, after paying debenture interest, the profits of the Combine wore nearly L'i j,oal. (L Kf. or an increase of about L’7f(i.(ino over the profits of 1921. These were the shipowners who, he- /■ cause wages had been forced down in Germany, tool; their ships to that country for repairs. This Combine showed tin consideration whatever for the interests of Xew Zealand. It was clear they wanted the trouble to eventuate and to finalise in those waters. Their refusal to entertain the proposals for the payment hy the exporters of the LT a month in dispute was proof positive of this. They could have got I heir ships away without additional cost lo themselves, hut they preferred to lose enormously more than Ike amount, involved in the wages dispute. and. tit -the same time, inflict a loss on Xew Zealand. The wages sheet, of the ships constituted a shocking record. As between May 1. 1921, and May 192.'!, the wages were reduced hy .I'd Ills per man per month, notwithstanding that the cost of living in the loti ted Kingdom was as liigli as it was in the war period. In September of 1921. an increase of Cl a month was conceded, leaving tho wages £4 10s a ■ month less than in 1921. The reduction of Cl which led to the present trouble was claimed by the shipowners on the plea that the 1924 increase was granted on the assumption that trade would increase. The wages now offered stood at l2 2s lid per week for li ronton : C2 Os 7d for sailors, and £1 17s Mil for stewards. That was a wage on which no one, either in X'ew Zealand or Britain, could maintain a family. Air Coates had said that was one of the things that did not concern Xew Zealand. He (Mr Holland; contended that it was of interest and

concern to every citizen of Xew Zealand that little children should not .suffer want and hunger while their lathers were fully employed. All through Air Coates’ references to tin-, snipping trouble, lie hail carefully covered up the scandal of the low wages, ii Mr Coates himself were asked to work for such an amount, he would strike trouble iir .puck time. In his own phraseology, he would "hop out,” and would probably rock the boat in

the process. Air Coates was now suggesting that the Labour Party ought to have ordered the British seamen to V

•• hop aboard their IkoaLs and get to sea again;” hut if he really believed the Labour Party had the inlluenee which he now credited them with, why had not he been courteous enough to invite himself (Mr Holland; as Leader ,! the Labour Party, to participate in the conferences which took place between the Premier and the seamen 7

lie ,9t i 1 (nates) preferred to meet them alone. Again, why did Contes

tel use to give Parliament an opportunity to bring about a settlement of I In- trouble. The Prime Minister had appa i cnldy brought no pressure whatever In bear upon the shipping combine. All his .-Hurts had been directed towards tin- seamen. The trouble really belonged to Britain, and if the Combine had had any consideration for the people of this country, the dispute would never have been allowed to materialise here. He was willing, and always had been, to act as an intermediary. He wanted to see the trouble settled as speedily as possible; but there was only otto way to prevent similar trouble, and that was for tc--Dominion to have its own line