SYDNEY TRAMWAY TROUBLE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9151, 25 July 1908, Page 5

SYDNEY TRAMWAY TROUBLE.

STRIKE COMMENCED. I Received July 24, 1.30 p.m. SYDNEY, July 24. 'The strike has commenced. jFinding that some of the men were "being relieved from duty as the cars reached the powerhouses, others immediately came out, leaving the trams standing in the streets. All the lines are idle, and the cars are being removed to the power>h rases. Large crowd 3 are watching the proceedings. BUSSES AND CABS REAPING A ._-•»-_ HARVEST. Received July 24, 3.40 p.m. SYDNEY, July 24. The decision to strike before the hour fixed (12 o'clock neon) was the outcome of the issue of departmental instructions that all cars were to be , returned to the depot 3 before eleven, :%&■) as to obviate the inconvenience of having them left standing in the . streets. The Union leader ordered tb.3 men uut forthwith. The inspectors took the abandoned cars back to the sheds and were hoottd and jeered a* they did. Otherwise everything is quiet. A meeting of the night-shift men unanimously endorsed the strike. The busses and cabs are reaping a great harvest and the ferry services in the suburbs are being increased.

HOSTILE DEMONSTRATIONS. ARKESTS FOR ASSAULT. RAILWAY MEN MAY STRIKE. Received July 25, 12.35 a.m. SYDNEY, July 24. The streets to-night were as •crowded as on election night with a large proportion of the rough ~element mingling with the merely curious. Since the morning the Sydneyite has been indulging in tlit novelty of walking, for there is no tram service. One or two spasmodic attempts were made to run c;.rj, but hostile demonstrations made it almost impossible for the most loyal employees to stick to their post. Five arrests for assault were made •during the afternoon, one or two victims being treated at the hospitals. At the power-house 250 men came out in sympathy with the conductors. Tha authorities state that in some nstancps the cars have been tamper- • ed with and parts removed. Although the department had no success in the work of running the trams today, it is stated that arrangements for tt-morrow will provide a modified service. There is a rumour current that the : railway men may strike in sympathy. In this case a curious position will be cheated, paralysing the trade. tram strike at its worst only tTOicts inconvenience on the individual living in the remote suburbs. ; A deputation from the Labour < Counulaske J the Premier for an independent board of inquiry into the tramway men's grievances, also for the re-instatement of Croucher, over whose dismissaf the trouble originated. The Premiei refused both requests, ■ and said that the men had broken the law, and would have to work before the Government's intentions became known or before any promises ~ were made. The tramway men at Broken Hill (Newcastle) have also struck work.