THE CHINESE QUESTION. The Mariposa Difficulty.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 289, 11 August 1888, Page 5

THE CHINESE QUESTION. The Mariposa Difficulty.

MrG. W. Giiflin, U.S. Consul, called a meeting of consignees o£ cargo ex the steamer lUaiiposa. .Several firms weie represented. Mr Griffin occupied the chair, and slated that he had called the meeting to ascertain what steps the consignees of the caigo now on boaid theMaripoha might be inclined to take, as the captain of the f-hip appeared to have received a notice that he would not receive any help from the union men in discharging the cargo of the shi t v Captain Hay ward then explained the position of affairs, and read a notice from the Secretary of the Maritime Labour Council, requesting him to stop discharging cargo either with the crew or by ' ' blackleg" labour, or the unions would have nothing further to do with the ship now or in the future. Captain Hay ward said he had done all in his power to bring about a settlement of the difficulty. He had requested time to communicate with hi 3 owners, and had asked the Council to allow him to go on discharging cargo in the meantime. He had also ieque.sted to be allowed to go to San Francisco and there discharge his Chinese ciew, giving the Council his assurance that this would be done, but the Council would not agree to this. In reply to Mr Coffee, Captain Hay ward &aid the telegram stating that similar action had been taken in the case of the Alameda, arrived from Captain Moiso in 'Frisco on a Sunday, and the Muriposa sailed on the following Thursday. Mr Spreckles, was away from 'Frisco at the time, and a crew had been shipped, which, according to the United States law, could not be discharged until the voyage was made or the men paid for the term. He thought his owners would submit to the demand &o far as the Chinese were concerned only, but no further. He had requested the Council's president, if Mr Speckles wired a guarantee not bo employ any moie Chinamen, to discharge the ship and tend her away ; but they were not satisfied with this, and wanted to place a body of Australians on boaid, as had been done in the case of the Alameda. He was quite sure if Mr Spreckles were here and understood the situation, he would fight the battle &o far as forcing upon him a particular crew was concerned. A desultory discussion followed and it was finally agreed.— "That the members of this meeting pledge themselves to assist, in every possible way, Captain Hay ward to get his ship off to time."