Strikes in Britain

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 52, 23 August 1911, Page 5

Strikes in Britain

POSITION ON RAILWAYS STILL SERIOUS. fe " HOME FROM THE HOLIDAYS. A PITIABLE PLIGHT. By Oftble—Press Association —Copyright. London, August 21. "Mr. Thomas, assistant-secretary of the Railway Servants' Society, states ithat if the companies do >not adhere to the terms regarding the reinstatement of men the men will be.again called out. The railway executive is again conferring with the Board of Trade. Mr. Ramsay iMacDonald states that there is a slight hitch, which lie is confident will be overcome. The lightermen finally agreed to refer future disputes to the masters' and associations, and, failing a settlement, to refer them to the Board of Trade. The position on the North Eastern Railway lines is still serious, as the strikers "will not return until their demands are granted. Leeds station has beeta barricaded attd guarded by troops. The men believe the company is attempting to give priority to noa-anionists. The Hull dockers have agreed to strike if the railwaymen desire them to <do so. One thousand troops have been dispatched to Darlington and BishopAuekland, where rioting is proceeding. The Midland men have notified the company that, unless all the men are reinstated to-night, the strike will be resumed. The conference at Liverpool regarding the lock-out resulted in an agreement to resume work. Twelve thousand Rhondda miners threaten an immediate strike regarding the minimum wage. The Daily Mail says that the best bulwark against a general strike is compulsory arbitration. The Daily News blames the Government for not, before summoning the troops, compelling the companies to meet the men's representatives. There were extraordinary scenes in Lancashire. Several thousands of the working classes and holiday makers who were stranded at Fleetwood, Morecambe and Blackpool, tramped towards Lancashire towns. Churches, chapels and theatres were thrown open to afford sleeping accommodation. Long processions of perambulators and luggage-laden persons walked thirty and forty miles. The plight of the women and children was pitiable. The local authorities, where possible, provided food. The leading men of Liverpool kept the electric light and tramways running. Merchants, barristers and clergymen acted as stokers at the powerhouse, under the direction of a captain of the merchant service, while skilled merchants attended the machinery, soldiers guarding them from the menacing crowd. Amateurs similarly acted as scavengers to conserve the health of the city. THE LLANELLY SHOOTING AFFAIR. THE SOLDIERS DARED TO FIRE. AND THE RESULT. London, August 21. The following are the details of the Llanelly riot: The crowd " booed " until the train approached the Union Bridge, where many had congregated. I Some jumped on the footplate and' struggled with the driver and fireman. The driver was badly hurt, the fire in the locomotive extinguished and the machinery thrown out of gear. The Worcester regiment had been previously withdrawn to the Great Western station, two hundred yards distant, but it returned at the double. The people ascended the slope and scaled the walls of back gardens, whence they threw stones and pieces of railings torn from the top of walls at the soldiers and the train. An officer and two soldiers went to the gardens, causing a temporary stoppage of the fusilade, the officer shaking hands and talking with 6ome of the aggressors. Meanwhile stones from other quarters were thrown, several soldiers being struck. Thereupon the military fixed bayonets and rushed towards the crowd. Some of the rioters shouted that the soldiers did not dare to go to extremes. One man bared his breast, challenging them to shoot. Finally Mr. Jones, a magistrate, read the Riot Act. The seriousness of the situation was still unrealised, and laughter and jeering followed the volley fired in the air, and shouts of, ''Only blank cartridges!" The crowd continued throwing stones and rushing at the soldiers from all directions. Further stray shots followed, and the belief that the shooting was a bluff appeared confirmed. Then two Llanelly youths, seated on a wall, fell backwards, shot dead. Then two fell injured in the same garden, and the horrified crowd fled. Leonard Worsey, the Londoner who was killed, merely went into the garden out of curiosity on seeing men coming over the wall. An indignation meeting of strikers and sympathisers vowed vengeance upon those responsible for reading the Riot Act. The mobs grew while the police and soldiers were engaged near the railway station. The crowds swarmed along the line, looted a stationary train, and seized liquor and ammunition intended for the soldiery. The vans were then set on fire, and the mobs marched to town to wreck the magistrate's premises! They smashed the windows of Mr. Jones' residence, and then proceeded to his business premises in Market street and broke the windows and looted liis provisions. They also wrecked an ironmongery shop belonging to Mr. Wilkins, another magistrate, and ftn-

other shop. Thereupon twenty con-, stables anil a hundred soldiers quitted the station and took possession of Market street. "Bat'on charges wore made, and the mob, repulsed in town, returned to the railway, burst into the Great Western goodshed, pilfering the warehouses and scattering the provisions. They burst casks and drank whisky and beer, ladling the liquor into pails. The Donelly shed was soon ablaze. Trucks in the siding were looted aiul fired. Some trucks loaded with cylinders of gunpowder, carbide and gelatine exploded, and portions of the blazing trucks a«d their contents were hurled through the air among the crowd. In the frantic efforts to escape which followed four persons were killed and a dozen injured, one fatally. A crowd of women and children were among the looters of the shops. Portions of the main up and down lines had previously been destroyed. Telephoning was difficult. The hotels were closed, and all business was suspended. The Worcester regiment made a bayonet charge near Heaton at midnight, and injured several persons. The riots lasted till news of the settlement arrived at three in the morning. One rioter died from suffocation due to excess of alcohol. A mass meeting in the afternoon protested against the importation of troops, and demanded a Government enquiry. Later reports state that seven are dead at Donelly and twenty-five injured, including soldiers and police, but not including the injured removed by the rioters. Seven are suffering from bayonet thrusts, one from a bullet wound, and the remainder from tke explosion. MIDLAND (MEN RETURNING TO WORK. London, August 21. The newspapers and the public generally approve the promptness and efficiency of the action of the War Office, without which the violence and sabotage would have been much greater. Troops are still guarding the goods depots at Manchester and Salford. Of 90,000 railwaymen, dockers, seamen and carters on strike in Liverpool, one-third resumed work to-day. The Midland Railway strikers at i Burton-on-Trent, on returning to work, were informed that they had lost seniority, those who replaced them receiving promotion. Thereupon the strike was resumed. Similar action took place at Carlisle. The Midland Railway guards at Cricklewood refused to resume work. SERIOUS DISORDERS OONTiV.E. ANTI-JEWISH RIOTS. SOLDIERS AND POLICE CLEAR THE • STREETS. Received 22, 10.55 p.m. London. August 22. Further anti-Jewish riots have occurred at Tregedar. Gangs of roughs threw stones and bottles at the police, and a fierce fight ensued, many being in- j jured in baton charges. A dozen were | taken to the hospital. The Riot Act was read. The soldiers fixed bayonets and marched through the principal thoroughfares. The rioters took refuge in the side streets, whence they stoned the military. Many left the town and crossed the mountain into Ebbwvalc. Here several large Jewish shops were wrecked and looted. The military arriving, the i plunderers hurriedly quitted the shops. The soldiers and police assembled outside the police station. The Riot Act was read, and the police and military charging, cleared the streets. Another section of the same gang looted nearly every shop in Rhymney. Order was finally restored everywhere. MESSAGES FROM KING GEORGE. TO STATESMEN AND SOLDIERS. Received 22, 10.55 p.m. London, August 22. The King has telegraphed to Mr. Lloyd-George: "Very glad to hear it was largely due to your energy and skill that a settlement was arranged. I heartily congratulate you. and feel, with the whole country, most grateful lo you for averting a most disastrous calamity. The strike has caused me the greatest possible anxiety." His Majesty also telegraphed to Mr. Asquith his congratulations. The King, in a message to the troops on strike duty, commends the forbearance and self-restraint shown by all Tanks. SETTLEMENT PROCEEDING. EARLY AND COMPLETE AGREEMENT lIOPRD FOR. Received 22, 10.55 p.m. London, August 22. An announcement was made at the Board of Trade that the difficulties in connection with Saturday's agreement, including the Midland men's trouble, were nearing a settlement. T he North-Eastern Railway directors have decided to permit resumption on th" basis nf Saturday's settlement. Tiie announcement was generally welcomed nt Leeds, but at York the men were hosi'le. the feeling being that the forthcoming commis-ion's findings would enable the company to abandon their existing conciliation 'hoard, which the men,- consider the most effective in Britain. Railwaymen at Hull. Middlesborougb. Newcastle and Darlington have deferred decision, but meanwhile redoubled their pickets. The railwaymen at Hull demand an eight hours' day and a two shillings increase for low-grade men. Traffic at Newcastle is almost at a deadlock. Many citizens, including solid! r rs, heads of firms, and clerks, acted as porters, at the Central Station, a

1 porter's'cap being the only t-omblancc of uniform. Mr. Bellamy states that the railwaymen's unions have received the companies' guarantees respecting certain cases under discussion. Many points have arisen, but the settlement is proceeding with considerably less friction than was expected. All concerned are hopeful of an early and complete agreement. Five hundred Midland Railway men, in the Kentishtown goods station, have struck. RAILWAYMEN AGAIN CALLED OUT. MEN ARE IN A BAD TEMPER. AN OMINOUS PREDICTION. ] Received 22, 9.25 p.m. London, August 22. Two charges arising out of Saturday's rioting at Chesterfield Station were withdrawn, and five others dismissed. Fifteen were committed for trial. No railwaymen were involved. Mr. Asquith met the representatives of the Tramway Owners' Association and the United Carters' Association at Manchester, but the conference was fruitless. The strike of four thousand carters at Sheffield has been settled on the basis of a substantial advance. The Strike Committee has again called out the railwaymen, owing to the Midland Railway trouble. It is officially stated that the men are in a bad temper, and all will strike. The Tyne dockers remain out. Disturbances have occurred at Darlington and Bishop-Auckland. The subsidised railwaymen at Liverpool have decided not to resume unless the tramwaymen who struck out of sympathy are reinstated. Owing to the tram way men's non-reinstatement the Strike Committee i has ordered the transport workers not to resume, including sailors, firemen and dockers. THE POSITION AT LIVERPOOL. Received 22, 9.25 p.m. London, August 22. The Executive Committee of Justices at Liverpool has urged Mr. Churchill not to relax police and military precautions there. They protested against the methods of the so-called peaceful picketing, and hoped that Parliament would not adjourn without conferring upon the justices additional powers to prevent intimidation, which has heretofore Seen almost the sole factor in preventing a universal settlement of the existing difficulties.