At the Waterfront

Maoriland Worker, Volume 3, Issue 60, 3 May 1912, Page 7

At the Waterfront

By NAUTILUS.

Tho conference of AVater-'ide Unions which will bo held prior to tho general i conference of tho N.K.F.L. should be as representative as possible. Every W.AV. Union should see to it that dole- ] gates are sent along. No doubt the expense entailed by the late conference with the employers will be considered In .some unions as sufficient to be borne in ono year, but the question of! expense should not enter into the matter when the future welfare of tho AVatorside Unions and their position in the Federation has to be considered. The coming conference ."-ill mark an j epoch in industrial development. The ' whole construction of the Federation : will be under review, and any Water- ' side Union that docs not send a. delegate has but small consideration for* the future of the Federation, v # # The waterside workers of AVollington have decided to organise a brass band. Mr. 11. Douglas and the secretary (G. G. Farland) have been apiv.iinled provisional organisers, and already some 20 players have been enrolled.' The industrial organisations of Wellington have long felt thy. need of ; i

clause of the Defence Act. as such a clause, in the opinion ot this Associa- | ti-*_-., is absolutely adverse to tho true principle of democracy." H * » It has been definitely decided lo hold another military camp on tho West Coast during May, when all those liable but who did not attend tin? Easter encampment will bo required to be present, failing which the Act will bo enforced, 'there should be .something doing very shortly. » ;« * The Society of friends in Auckland are putting in concrete form their objections to conscription to submit to the Premier. This is. the outcome, of a recent denotation to tho P4ta: Minister.

an olficiont brass band, and trie watcrsiders are about to supply tho want in this eonncction. In fact, the power of music in organisation has ; been a neglected element in N.Z. 'In Germany nnd many other countries bands yo part and parcel of the organisation, nnd in England there is hardly a coal mine or large industrial establishment that has not its brass band. These bands aro used for various purposes — picnics, socials, dances, and all Labor (lemonstratic -s. Some of the finest brass bands in England emanated from labor unions. The object of tlie I AV.W.YV.U. is to provide music for any i union which requires a band for its amusements, and also for the purpose of industrial and political meetings. A general app*.. v ,l will be made in the near future to the industrial organisations ■of Wellington for assistance in tho equipment of the band. * * * Erom wharf truck to Mayoral chair, from bottom-dogger to chief citizen of the Empire «3itv, is something to be ' proud of. Mr. D. McLaren bus risen from the truck handle to the Mayora' chair, and whatever liis views on industrial organisation may be, the honor bestowed on him by tho citizens of AVollington is one of which every wharf man will be proud. *• " • Reports from Australia go to show that times are exceptionally good on tho wharves there. Mr. Birch, a member of the Wellington AV.W.U., who lias just returned from n trip around the Australian ports, states that many | /ild Wellington men aro making good wages in Sydney and Melbourne. * # . * Ben Tillett, the well-known dockers' l secretary, London, has been subjected '■■ to a greet deal of criticism as a rc,uilt of the circular issued on the wreck of the Titanic Mr. Tillett was firmly of the opinion that sufficient regard was not paid to the safety of tho second anil third-class passengers when the boats wero launched. * • - A. very old identity on Wellington waterside, William Mahr, an eccentric character, who was known from one end of N.Z. to the other, passed away in Wellington Hospital as tho result of a. fall in Courtenay Place. Bill Mahr provided amusement for a generation of whaifies in Wellington, and when the old man died the lads clubbed together and paid for his funeral.