NEW ZEALAND NEWS

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 7, Issue 165, 17 March 1915, Page 4

NEW ZEALAND NEWS

NEW ZEALAND ODDFELLOWS. SOME ASTOUNDING FIGURES. By Telegraph.—Press Association. AUCKLAND, Tills Day. The report to the anaual session cf the Grand Lodge of the Independent Order of Oddfellows of New Zealand, states that there are 8 Grand Lodges and 18,153 subordinate lodges-, with a total nietmbeVslnp if 2,167,055. The invested funds total £13,784,015. In 1913 £1,243,753 was distributed in relief. Two hundred members had joined th. 3 various expeditionary forces. That consideration would be given to the matter cf assisting brethren on active service to retain membership was announced. The Grand Lodge of Australasia will hold its.next meeting in New Zealand.

CARDPLAYING ON TRAIN. HEAVY FINES-INFLICTED. NAPIER, Th! H y. The four men, Lynch, Short, Fuller, and Burke, acquitted at the lata session of the Supreme Court for conspiring to defraud a Maori by card-play-ing in a train were found guilty in the Magistrate's Ocil't on a charge of gambling on a railway train. Fuller and Short were each fined £SO, or three months; Burke and Lynch £3O, 2-r 2 months. The police objected to tlime being allowed for payment. Mr Dolan, for prisoners, said it is no wonder juries let people off when things like this happen. His Wcf ship said it is not a case of time, ihey are net honest men. THE FOOD PRICE QUESTION. GOVERNMENT INDICTED. DUNEDIN, This Day. The Tramways Union passed a resolution expressing the opinion that the Go/eminent was shewing lamentable weakness in allowing the public to be oxpicited in regard to the hi<gu prices for feed stuffs, especially in allowing the Millers' Association to charge £l7 10/ a- ton for flour milled from State. wheat sold to millers to enable them to sell flcur at £l4 10/.

A HAMILTON COURT CASE. HAMILTON, Thiis Day. "I consider this a ca.se where the criminal ,iaw was put in motion to collect a civil debt," was- the comment of Senior-Sergeant Cassells at the S.M. Court to-day. He referred to a case in which the police recejived instructions from Dune'din to arrest and have remanded to Dun'adin a previous resident cf the southern city on a change cf gelling' a cash register,which he repicsented to be b|is. The arrestee ap--,eL;ied in Court to-day, when a local member of the legal profession said he had been instructed by a Dunedin km c •' .soli.lters, who criminal ore cc; dings, to withdraw the change. His Wcrsr/|i;; scid he did not think there was any doubt that the criminal aide of th e law had been usted as a lever to enforce payment Sergeant Cassells remarked: '"lt is simply making the Court and the police ti'abt collectors, your \yorship. (t is like enforcing payment at the ■-Tint cf the biyciist." The withdrawal . me charge was p i mitted.

THE ARBITRATION COOVwT. ITS POSITION REVIEWED.. WELLINGTON, March K 5. Before the Arbitration Court to-day, application was made that the Court should set aside its ruling of August fitli.. which practically suspended consideration of new awards or the alteration of old ones until normal conditions returned —presumably after the declaration of peace. The application was made by Mr, E. J. Carey, who said he represented the Wellington Cooks and Waiters' Pnion, which in turn was supported by the Trades and Labour Council. He said he believed that most of the unions were in sympathy with the application. The application was opposed by Mr. W. Pryor, secretary of- the N.Z. Employers' Federation.

Mr. Carey said he hoped that . the Court would set aside its judgment and proceed with business. He was not making an application for a fresh award but for right to present the case. No court or judge, he continued, had ruled that the arbitration system should cease to operate on account of the war, not even in New Zealand. When the judgment of the Court was given in August 6th, the unions expected that the employers would meet them whenever possible, but the attitude of the employers had been proved to be to dispute all cases. New unions had been formed in Wellington since tho war broke out —the Bacon Curers' and the Taxi Cab Drive**;. The effect of the employers action would be to kill trade unionism if their attitude were allowed to continue. Referring tc the judgment of Mr. Justice Heydon in New South Wales, delivered on November 30th (now repealed), the speaker said that that decision did not suspend the arbitration system in Sydney, and had not resulted in the way the New Zealand judgment had, and many cases could have been heard under it that could not be heard hero. Ho quoted figures showing that froiu

August 13th.. 1034, to January l."th, .1915. there were 138 cases heard in New South Wales, as compared with 151 eases heard between March, 11*14, to July, 19.14. In December and January last, 23 cases were heard, and ;. ?- ter the decision of Judge Hcydon had been repealed, 17 cases were heard. There had been no stoppage of the system in other States. Dealing with the unemployment factor, the speaker referred to flic cheery reports of the Labour Department. During practical;/ all the period of the war the weekly statement was that unemployment tvss practically normal. The war itself was a cheek on unemployment, as the unemployed worker enlisted or stepped into the place of a worker who had enlisted. Mr. Carey stated that the Expeditionary Force was mainly rccr.:;.ted from the cities and towns, contr:::y to the general impression, and the reemployed supplied many of the recruits. Official figures were quoted To show that was the case in Austral:.-,

and the Defence authorities co II show that the same position obtained here. Ano'.'ier reason urged for thti repeal of the judgment was the in* creased cost of living, which always hit the worker the hardest. Even apr.r« from war prices, it was estimated thft in the four years prior to the war the cost of living to the worker in Wellington increased between 1\ per cent. and 10 per cent. In the five months of the war, to the end of 1914, there v, v-ss

an average increase of 8-1 per cent., and since .January Ist another increase of 4 per cent, had taken place. Tfu.i increased cost of living was very serious to the wage worker. The 48/- and 50/- wage fixed in many awards piratically represented less than 40/-.. ffc was only just that the conditions shov.M be discussed, ar.d it was in the public interest that the court should n--# cease operations. Mr. Carey went on to say that the judgment of August (sth, had not been received with bitterness by tlie workers because of the micew tainty of the future conditions of 'ha Dominion. It was understood I'lut tb<l judgment ws.s to last until nernicl conditions were resumed. If ih: Comi would hear the application, eonelud- 1 Mr. Carey, an application made in tti*s best interests of the Doraii: : on, t! <i awards could be easily ' safeguarded. The right to review could be reserved, or they could be made short-dated. What was wanted was constitut!-.;";: I

redress in constitutional, way for •* state of affairs that was creating gra*a discontent not merely in Wellington but throughout Now Zealand.

At the termination of Mr. Carey N address, the Court, deferred -furthff hearing of the application till to-mo-row morning, when Mr. Pryor will «] - pose the application.

EMPLOYERS' CONTENTIONS. * WELLINGTON, This Day, The employers reply to thj workers! contention that the Arbitration Court should resume the. bearing at industrial disputes was heard to-day. Mr Prior, secretary tc the Enrolcy"fs' Federation, said: Upon the da; •• sion cf the Court depended to a considerable extent the existence cf soma businesses. On th'e quest-lea &e to further increase of pricey in certain .lirec f )ions, and the employment cf. .'s. net inconsiderable numbev cf workers, the Court was really called upon t.i decide a momentous national question. Mr Justice Stringer, sthl 'av.l wsi o; sweeping a statement. T'n-.'. a:pl : - -alien, was enly to open 'ha &' i < t he Court. If industry would i' > s'ericudy affected as to close i:. up ; ' tu award were made, the 'C'int v, *u:-n ! je given credit for reeegtu-ing tart .cntingc-n r .v. Mr Pryor contended that the ;<'>pK« oation was not calculated to assist e::•'■ i>loyer s in th'eir endeavour to ir-ain; tain normal conditions. It was real-v an applieaticn to enable wc.2 ';or'V unions to prosecute their claims f; i' higher wages and shorter hours, and more restricted conditions cl vrcrlz. Workers desired the Court to infer Ihr. t because prices had Hsen in seme dire. - tiens employers were making enhanced profits. It must be obvious tust unless manufacturers and.traders \vsrs tai:ln.g advantrlje cf the needs of. tha people, since the demand fell as price* rose, they must ba doing less profitable business than before the war. Ha proposed to submit information which would show that employers wo)e not only earning smaller profits, but \\'are in many cases carrying on business absolutely at a loss. Argument h proceeding.