AT CHRISTCHURCH.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 5 November 1913, Page 5

AT CHRISTCHURCH.

TEE MAPOURIKA'S TRIP. CLERGYMAN ACTS AS FIREMAN. STRIKERS VERY ORDERLY. CHEISTCHURGH, Last Night. The Mapourika arrived at- Lyttelton at. 3.35 p.m., and was inet by two or,, three hundred of the strikers. There was hd trouble of ally kind. The vessel left Wellington one fireman short, the men having agreed to do so before they left. Oil the way down, the Rev. Mr Young, a clergyman, who was a passenger by the vessel, volunteered for duty in the stokehold. He was very seasick, but his services were accepted,' and ho showed himself quite capable to take his part. Although he was suffering a good deal from seasickness, he kept going till midnight. This morning he was in his bunk, still unwell, but he turned to again in response to a request by the firemen, and kept going till midday. ; The Mapourika began coaling immediately site discharged her passengers and their baggage. She was still a fireman short, and the strikers were making every effort to stop her from sailing, by getting others ashore; but Captain Cameron expected to get a man. '• The'crewa of the and Ra~ jijmu w;er,© paid off this afternoibii, and the Kljra'fi ctevr will be paid off twMrrqw* Pickets continue in front of th<l Employers' Association's offices in Gashel Street, bat their work does not seem to be very arduous. .Offensive inscriptions have been chalked on the interior walls of the building, advising those who read not to bo ".scabs," and intimating that the office is a "scab" agency. •' Similar notices aJ'e chalked on the footpath near the alleged that the inscriptions are the WQtk of the members of the picket, but they liavo been written evidently by' strike Despite these and other methods, the enrolment of free labourers goes on steadily. Leading grocera infoimed a reporter that there is' no present intention to increase the price of sugar or of any groceries. The demand for sugar is.'increasing, and all sorts of dodges are being resorted to by small shopkeepers to in-. ! crease their smpplies. One method is to send out ctfntingeh'ts of schoolboys? .to ,purchase sugar., It is likely that the price of kero- ! sene will be incrtwfeed by (kl per case, ! due action iiken by supplying authorities. I Even if IKe sir ike is settled this week, it is likely that sugar wilJ be j scarce for a week or no.

The fifth day Of the Lyttelton strike was marked by some dullness, which has characterised the situation all through. A mass meeting outside the Coronation Hall was the first open-air demonstration at the port since the start of the trouble. The meeting was very orderly, and the speakers wore given a- very attentive hear-

The daily roll-call was responded to by 400 men, but not more than half worn to be seen about the streets or on the waterfront an hour after the meeting. The. conduct of the strikers continues exemplary. The inner harbour this morning presented an even more deserted appearance than on the preceding days. The three little .steamers Opouri, Cygnet arid John Anderson, the harbour traders Monica, Purau and Canterbury, and the schooners! Annie Hill, Morning Light and Te Aroha, had the wharves all to themselves, except for the presence of half a ddteen forlornlooking ooal hulks lying idle at the jetties. Out in the stream there wa® the unusual sight to Lyttelton people of three colliers at anchor. They had been joined overnight and early this , morning .by three mcfre colliers from Greymouth. # :

The Kaitangata, Kinl, Karaum, Kowhai, Flora and Canopus all rested in orderly array. The Flora, Karamu and Kowhai were new arrivals, and brought full cargoes of coal, loaded just befotre the Grey watersiders went out.