UNION NOTES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 464, 24 July 1909, Page 3

UNION NOTES.

mis. column is edited by the Flaxinills Union Dxfiontlvs. All mutters iorpttbUOation under this head must be forwarded tothe Secretary .of the Union.!

1 FRESH FIELDS AND PASTURES GREEN.

We are informed that Messrs Hennessy and Gibbs purpose milling the leaf on Mr Barber’s property during the forthcoming season.. Therk is reported to be three years flax available, which is* we understand, to be milled under a similar scale of royaly to that at present in force upon the Motoua Estate. : NEW CHANNELS FOR FIBRE. To anyone as vitally interested in the industry as is an employee it is always pleasurable to sight new outlets for our product. During this period of enforced leisure we have made trial of one of the ■; patent brushes made 1 up of fibre in . place of bristles. We do not know . what the patentees claim for their production, but the brush in question is “the whole team and the dog under the wagon,” and it does not harden in water. THE BOOT ON THE OTHER FOOT.

The Evening Post .had recently a leader headed “Preference to ' Non - unionists.” Briefly summarised the facts with which it dealt were as follows; The clause in the Act which provides that eleven days suspension is tantamount to dismissal was made the subject of a court case down south, and the court held that although this clause certainly applied to members ot a Union it \ could not be applicable to nonunionists as they had no standing in Court. “Almost thou persuadest one to be a npn-unionist.” These gentry are, we are more or less reliably informed, x better workers, more thrifty; they are the silver lining to the black cloud of parasitical political wire-pullers and arrogant trades guilds whose baneful influence is driving Cohen’s capital back to its native Israel; they are the little white hens who never lay astray —and now they’ve got preference! Can they possibly want more? They are pretty much in the position of John Leech’s.collier, whose wife, arms akimbo, queried of her lord and master “Wasn’t you drunk Thursday? Wasn’t you drunk Friday ? Ain’t you drunk now? Do you /ant to be a bloomin’ angel ?” if our non-union friends are not satisfied with the above mentioned beatitudes they must be hankering after halos and wings ! And yet despite all these that little word “Scab” leaves the same unsatisfactory taste in the mouth as of yore. OUR EXTENSIVE AREA. It has always been a drawback to us. Little streaks of silver have crept into our once golden locks trying to overcome it and although this column has done much to lessen the disadvantage, more remains to be done before it is completely eliminated. With this end steadily in view it is our purpose to publish uuder the auspices of the Union, a monthly paper dealing with the combination of labour and flax throughout the Dominion. We shall aim to make this publication the last word upon all the latest developments of the industry and by so doing to make it of interest to all concerned, employee and employer alike. It will also deal with all Union matters in the fullest detail This should also prove i interesting to both sides. Forms of application for supply will be issued to delegates in due course. Bear in mind you can’t afford to miss it and early application will be necessary to secure a copy of the first issue. A VISITOR. Mr E. L. Broad, the well-known Manawatu flaxmiller, has paid several visits to Foxtou lately. We note this with interest in view of the approaching end of the Award, but we are still sanguine that local millers, when cited, will- not take too broad a view of the points at issue, however comprehensive their outlook may be ! AT LAST. Sittings of the Arbitration Court

in the Wellington district have been arranged as follow: —Wangatrui, / Tuesday, August 17th; Palmerston North, Thursday,,’ August 19th; Napier, Monday, August 23rd ; and Wellington, Monday, August 30th. / The long deferred cases which the labour Department have in hand against Messts Broad and • Reeve will come on for hearing on the 19th proximo, and the court . will also hand out its interpretation regarding scutching contracts. In this connection it is of interest to note that the employers have asked for an interpretation of the clause relating to contract work as .applied to the mill hands.