SHEARERS VERSUS SQUATTERS.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 181, 18 November 1876, Page 2

SHEARERS VERSUS SQUATTERS.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE EVENING MAIL. Sir, —" Squatter " in his letter to your morning contemporary the other day accused the shearers of being guilty of false mendacious reports, and mad i special reference to the strike at Pudding Hill Station and the price now being paid. Believing that it would be interesting to shearers generally and to'at least a larg« portion of tne public> to be put in possession of the facts relative to the Pudding Hill strike, and that the knowlejlg* thereby acquired will enable a- decerning public to see which-side is guilty of false, mendacious reports. Being an actor in. tiie above-mentioned strike, I hope th»V ! yoa will afford me space in your columns to state the facts above referred to. Some months ago Mr. Budge, manager of Pudding Hill Stat.'on, " booked " his shearer*. It was understood at the time of " booking " that he would pay the highest current rates. As a?reed on, the sheare.l? went to the station on Monday, the fiA* inst., and on Tuesday morning the manager notified that instructed not to pay more than 16s. Bd. per hundred j of course, a strike was the result. Some P» t ie shearers ha Lag from Oamaru thinking there was some mistake, resolved} after coming bask to Oamaru, to call on thi owners of the station—Messrs. Lees ana Moore—and upon doing so, they were informed that Mr. Cameron, manager Iff Messrs. Studholm was responsible under the following circumstan**:

Mr. #<i n telegraphed to Messrs. Lees j and Mwfc3j»aaking if they would jotn ] a Squatter** Union for to pay shearers - only I 6». Bd. Messrs. Lpcs and Moore did not get the telegram nnr.il Snrday morning therefore did not -i>h- "" yBat Mr; Cameron did not wait f--r a r» p.;*. bat on the same Saturday he scut a special j messenger with % tetter to the ;u am -•;■■'■ at , Pudding. Hill, stating that all t:.«- rv..ttth i Canterbury tfock-owncrs had joined a j union and resolved to pay shearers only J6s. ad. per J Oft. Mr. Budge naturally thought that Mr. Cameron would not have th« unwarrantable impertinence to make such a statement unless Lees and Moore had joined the Shatters' t r mon~hence fch» strike. Instead of joining the Souatters' tTni»n they immediate ty after hearing of the state of attain telegraphed to thorr manager t-> pay 20a without any bother. The above facts wilt conclusively ahow the public which class is guilty of low, mean, false, mmitttc'wua etqHH-t* and frkfct.—- t am, &c.