THE SHIPPING TROUBLE

New Zealand Times, Volume XLII, Issue 9788, 11 October 1917, Page 6

THE SHIPPING TROUBLE

STATEMENT BV PREMIER “INDICATIONS BETTER THAN SINCE STRIKE BEGAN.” Can the Prime' Minister give the House and the country any information about tho shipping strike —whether there is any likelihood of settling it?” asked Mr G. W. Forbes, M.P. for Hurunui, in Parliament yesterday. Mr Massey: “I cannot, of course, go into details. There are difficulties in tbo way of giving tho public the whole of the information that I have in my bonds at present, I can say, however, that the indications axe better to-day than they have boon since the strike commenced.” (Hear, hear.) NO NEGOTIATIONS OPENED CASE TO COMB BEFORE ARBITRATION COURT ON MONDAY. Til ere is no change in the deadlock between the owners of the smaller coastal steamers and the seamen, the acting-secretary of the VeUingtcn “local” of tho Seamen’s Union (Mr J. Adams) informed A “New Times” representative yoSteraay that no reply had been received from Mr Rowley, Inspector of Awards, in response to a letter from tho union indicating their willingness to open up negotiations for a settlement of the dispute. The Arbitration Court, however, is to sit on Monday next to deal with tho dispute. A concert and danco under the auspices oi the Is .Z. Variety Entertainers is to be held to-mght in tho Town Hall concert chamber •under direction of Mr H, Chard, in aid of the wives and children of distressed Unionist's. During tho period that the coastal fleet has been held up at Wellington opportunity has been availed of to place the following vessels on the patent slip for their periodical cleaning and painting or overhaul: —Kapuni, Kapiti, Blenheim, Hawera, Kaitoa, Wakatu r*nd Invercargill. The “Otago Daily Times” of Tuesday says;—“Mr W. Clarke (secretary of the local branch of th© Seamen’s Union) and two other delegates left Dunedin for Wellington yesterday morning to attend a conference of union delegates. It is Said that the outside branches are not altogether pleased with the handling by the Wellington executive of tho mosquito fleet industrial trouble, and that the conference has been called to discuss tho action of the executive.” The above paragraph was shown to the officials of tho Wellington “local.” who said that Messrs W. Clarke, Davis and MeKeohnie had acme to Wellington from Dunedin, but were here on ordinary Union business, and their mission was not in connection with the present trouble. The difficulty with the shipowners, the officials said, was purely a “local” matter, and no outside branches hf the federation can be interested unless the trouble could ho rightly ruled a national, or Dominion, matter. Arrangements bad been made for tho dispatch of the Kotare on Monday, says the “Otago Daily Times,” the seamen having agreed to go to sea under the old conditions. Subsequently, however, they again insisted on having two men on a watch, and the Kotare is therefore still laid up pending a settlement of the strike. It may be added that th© assistant secretary of the local branch of the Seamen’s Union states that the men who left the Kotare did so without consulting ham in any way, and acted without the authority of the union. The officials of the Wellington Union state that from advices- received yesterday the Kotare is still detained at Dunedin.