“Five minutes to clear out.”

Industrial Unionist, Volume 1, Issue 8, 1 September 1913, Page 1

“Five minutes to clear out.”

• New Chums in “God’s Own”

In a letter —too long to print in full —sent to the Industrial Unionist, a fellow-worker from “Home” tells how he and a mate, along with 400 others who had sought the new T land in quest of a little more freedom and access to the good things of life, landed in Auckland in July, only to be speedily disillusioned upon hitting up the real thing. These two working men had seen all sorts of alluring advertisements and listened to glowing lectures boosting up New Zealand as a great and glorious land for the worker. They had scraped the fare together and hoped to be able to send for wives and children, but when they landed' in Auckland they could get no work, though they chased round for jobs. After this first rebuff they pulled themselves together and decided to try the country, but as funds were low they were obliged to visit an uncle with three brass balls and a boomerang nose to get the means of travel. They took the Main. Trunk and got off at what seemed a likely place—Huntly.

An individual named Fletcher was hunted up' and work applied for. On being questioned as to whether they were “ Arbitrationists or Federationists ” they, of course, didn’t know. (How many new arrivals could answer such a, question?) They did know, however, that they were good unionists, and that was their doom. Sentence was delivered : “ Five minutes to clear out of it.”

The two then went to Karangahake, and, having no luck there, and being penniless as well as hungry, they were obliged to sleep out on the grass in pouring rain. They were eventually treated well by some Working Class New Zealanders, and after spending more time looking for work, and being warned not to go near Waiki, they went South.

Our correspondent urges that Labour organisations here should see that the truth about conditions in New Zealand is placed before the readers of Old Country Labour papers.

The question may be asked: How long are the workers going to allow whole districts to be dominated by the scab element who, at the behest of the greedy mine bosses, can dictate in this style. In Huntly wholesale victimisation has been carried on, and men have had to break up tlieir homes and go, as the result of the treason of some and the supineness of others It seems that fresh and more drastic tactics must be adopted to oust the scab element.

When are the N.Z. workers going to start wearing wooden shoes ?