Our Huntly Letter

Maoriland Worker, Volume 3, Issue 90, 6 December 1912, Page 4

Our Huntly Letter

Facts about the Scab Uuiori arid the Presence of the Police

Solidarity of Miners Union

"Thtf King ie dead, long live the King." Mahuta, the Maori king, lies buried not among the graves of his forefathers, but in close proximity to his late residence, in the midst of his people. To Rata lives crowned king among his people, not only crowned in thojr eyes but crowned in their hearts. Te Rata is the beloved of his tribes. Truly lift is a king, whose subjects yield him iove. Few are the kings of these modern days who rely on loyalty and love as the foundation and support of their thrones. In this respect Te Rata the Maori King, is king of them all. It is interesting to note that the white wage-slaves and the native Kaima'iii resident here and working in the mines have a staunch friend in Te I?nta. During tho recent cessation of coal-getting in Huntly, Walsh endeavoured to organise scabs among the Maoris. He succeeded in getting six on promise of big pay. The pickets reasoned with them and one returned. To Rata saw the president and secretary of the union and promised to intercede ;he did: result, no Maori scabs.

The Scab Union is growing in Huntly —so say the papers. Well, if anything that is good can grow under tJie hole-and-comer conditions that this thing called a union is growing, then the good is questionable. They were to meet on Thursday, November 21, presumably in the evening. Eighty-six (86) policemen were in. the town in readiness for any contingency. The alleged union met at 3.30 p.m. in the afternoon, in a room 12ft. x 12ft; there were some nine persons present, including Walsh and . Black. That evening at 7.30, the AVaikato Miners' Union held a meeting in their new hallj the finest of its kind in the Dominion. There were over 350 nien presertt, all members and all Federatibnists; they" didn't want the police to look after them.

During the early part of the Waihi strike the papers had a lot to say about the strikers loafing about, playing quoits, dancing, etc., arid living on others. Of course, such statements were calculated to affect the cbntribiltio'ns to the strike fund. Possibly it' succeeded with some" selfish serfs.

There) has been no strike in Huntly. There' has been no complete stoppage of the plant in Huntiv for 20 years. Some thr<?e years ago there was a lockout; the plant worked all the time, the Union did not call out tM e'rigihemeti and drivers. There has been a oiip day's holiday taken recently' by the underground workers and a Subsequent lock-out by the company _of three" working days, culminating in the dismissal of the Union executive, which caused the men to prolong the lockout pending the decision of the Federation, even as the company decided to lock-out the: men until the arrived at a decision.

Altogether the mines yielded no output of coal for 15 working days, from October'lo to 29. Yet the plant was continuously running, not an enginedriver, fireman or mechanic ceasing work or being requested to cease by the Union.

There has been no strike in Huntly, vet we have the spectacle of a fine body of men absolutely loafing about the'town with that air of indifference that characterises people who have no immediate definite purpose to undertake. These men are here (at one time so many as 86 in number) at the cost and by order of the Government; their whole' occupation is quoits, cards, and loafing, in one instance beer got hold of three, the only instance which came unde-r our notice. Oh the whole, these men, considering the circumstances and also the inconvenience all of thetn are put to in having to remain in such a town as Huntly, and having to remain with absolutely nothing to do and insufficient exercise, are conducting themselves as men.

They were brought here by the" powers that be —they are retained here by the powers that be—few, if any of them, are here by choice—they have no choice. When they leave they will_ be able to say: "We were sent to Huntly to meet imaginary wild men, barbarous, bloodthirsty haters of all law and order; we met men, true men and good men, not one of whom was it necessary to even lock up in gaol." The reckoning day will come and when it does the powers that be will be called to account. The police were sent here , to incite to riot, not necessarily oil their initiative, but by virtue of their very presence which was calculated to create eruption in the minds of the miners here.

a futile one. What can even the- killing of men avail, and when police are pitted against workers, who suiter:' The Masters? No! The police are our class; the soldiers are our class—we have no quarrel with them and if w< , fight one another, then we, the workers, and we alone, suffer. Away with such supreme madness. Let us cultivate sublime serise-Hhe sense that as workers (whatever be our station) w© will unite "to overthrow this cursed system of capitalism; and we will not fight each other to perpetuate it. Workers, unite! , Some may imagine we harp too much on uniting, organising, educating. But not near so much as the master class act on disuniting, disorganising and deceiving us. How is this for a system of disintegration. Six of the executive pf the new Union at Huntly journeyed to Auckland on Monday, November 20. to meet the Directors of the Taupin Coal Mines Co., Ltd., to draw up an agreement to be the basis of an award in place of the suspended one. Ihe Court has not suspended the award yet; Alison has, he seems to override the Court. Those six men travelled to Auckland at the company's _ expense. Here axe the various occupations: One horse-driver on surface, always in arrears of union pay, sfldom in com'plianoe; one. blacksmith, opposed to the union, especially levied; one platelayer on surface, has received upwards of £50 through the Union during a lengthy illness; one shiftman, the only underground man who refused to meet his levy, and a declared opponent of arbitration; one bosses' tool, of ill repute, has worked underground. Arid these are the men whom the masters organise and bribe to disuite the workers. These men rriay sell thetodelves for pelf and incidentally sell tteir class, but the hated term of ecabbery will be applied to them and their offspring down through the mists of time. Note—there is not a genuine ooalgetter in the whole of these men, and not one of them could give utterance to three intelligible sentences on Labour matters. In an open meeting of 40 men, not one of them would be pro* posed on an executive who elected them to office? Possibly the genial popui laxity-hunting, scab-organising manager of the Taupiri coal miners' chose them —ugh! Wednesday, November 27, twentytwo of our blue-coated guardians left the town under orders; 28 still remain to play quoits, cards, billiards, and for a.- change, fisbing and revolver practice. Why revolver practice? .. Possibly to shoot the fleas found in Huntl.y; they are a bit troublesome here- in slimmer. The world wants mending men of steel See to it through woe or weal, Ye d 6 your ptfrt. BRUIT. November 28.