SEAMEN REMAIN AT WORK.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVII, Issue 66, 18 November 1913, Page 5

SEAMEN REMAIN AT WORK.

THOUGH INCLINED TO STRIKE.

Napier, November 18

'l'he crews of Richardson and Co.'s fleet were inclined to go out in sympathy with the strikers, but the men were addressed by Mr Kelly, managing director, after which they held a meeting and resolved to remain at work.

JOTTINGS.

It is stated that the workers on the Stratford-Te Koura railway have forwarded £32 to the strikers in Welling-

"The officers of the shipping companies at Lyttelton," Mr P. Hickey, secretary of the Federation of Labor, declared at a meeting in Newton Parkyesterday afternoon, "had gone to the Strike Committee there one day last week, and had offered them a blank (signed) cheque. The commtitee was at liberty to fill in the cheque for any amount it liked, on condition that the strike should be called off. The committee declined this. The shipping coempanies must have been very desperate when they made such an offer, "i dare say," continued the speaker, "that we could make a good deal of money this way, but we don't want it. Wo will not be bribed by money."

I'he Matiere correspondent of the Ohura Advocate states that pickets, which recently visited the co-opera-tive railway works, failed to induce the men to come out.

One result of the industrial troubles is evidenced by the necessity for discharging 200 sawmill hands in the district covered by the operations of the Rangitikei Sawmillers' Association, due to a falling off in the demand for timber.

Now that active hostilities have ceased in Wellington some of the up country specials who have been guarding the waterfront, are beginning fo feel a trifle bored. The other day it is stated a party of four were to be seen "on duty" sitting in the roadway playing a game of euchre.

Many and curious are the tales told of the doings of the Taranaki "specials" whilst in Wellington. The latest is with regard to a well-known Taranaki man who was pounced upon by a "lady" supporter of the Federation of Labor, who endeavoured to "tattoo" the face of the special with her nails. The special finding wordy argument of no avail, remembered that he had a horse brush in his pocket, and forthwith* began to brush the hair of the irate "lady" in a vigorous manner, giving her a homily on the evils of socialism the while. Needless to say, the lady gave in after a few minutes -experience of this treatment and rapidly sought safety in flight. One special constable in Wellington, evidently a humorist, has a pick handle for a baton. In his spare moments he has been busily engaged in carving 'it. The club now presents a very handsome appearance, having a representation of an olive branch running the whole length of the baton.

A home-made baton of rather formidable appearance was found in a truck in the train at Westport the other morning, and was taken possession of by the District Traffic Manager to keep out of action. It cojlr sisted of part of a pick handle, with the usual baton loop at one end, and on the other a covering of iron and with loading at the point. Anyone getting a blow from it would never be able to ask for another. Another echo of the strike. A Maori youth—one of the special constables from up-country—was walking along a Wellington thoroughfare when some choice language was hurled at him by a strike sympathiser. "800, ' yer dirty black scab," yelled the strike sympathiser. The Maori's answer was very effective. He merely doffed his hat and bowed politely to the pakeha hurler of the expletive, and, with a smile, passed on. In this case the grandson of a savage gave his white brother who inherited over a thousand years of civilisation, a lesson in good breeding. "Those who gave all the trouble and wero the head and. front of all the lawlessness and outrage, were the loafers and thieves and disorderly characters generally of the slums and purlieus of the city," said Mr (i. I). McKenzie, of Manaia, one of the mounted specials, to the Witness. "The strike gave them just the opportunity they wanted, and they were ripe for anything up to a plain murder. In the first days of their experience he had seen some of the Stratford men come in badly injured and their horses also cut and slashed with broken bottles and other missiles. But later on they gave quite as good, if not better, than they got. The plan adopted by the Taranaki boys was that, as they rode four deep, the moment half a brick or a stone was thrown from a house, three men jumped off their horses, the fourth men taking the bridles, and they clubbed their way into the house and brought out the offender and handed him over to the police. In this way they had some ugly desperate characters, but the baton was a wonderful persuader, and the biggest 'toughs,' after they had once got a taste of it. gave it a wide berth. But anywhere," concluded Mr MeKen/.ie, "they weren't the kind of a crowd to put up a good fight. They'd try to kill or maim you all right, hut they wouldn't stand up to you."