PORT LYTTELTON OPENED.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 18 November 1913, Page 5

PORT LYTTELTON OPENED.

CHEW WORKING A SHIP. SPECIAL CONSTA BLES PREPARING. NEW UNIONS TO BID FORMED. ¥ .. . , OHRISTCHURCII. Last Night. Lyttelton became a,a open port again at 1.25 p.m. to-day, when the first sling of cargo *-n-3 brought up from the forward haVl of the Northern, and safely deposited in a truck alongside. It was generally known at port this morning that the Northern working with her own crew, ~xe<>pt the Chinamen in the stokehold, would start unloading at 1 p.m., but there was no rush of strikers to No. 4 wharf in consequence. At 1 p.m. one representative of the Strike Committee visited +lie wharf. He encountered a few railway men making their way to Ward's wharf, where the Northern was, and asked them if they were going to work her cargo. "Yes, we are," said one of the men. "Have you any comment?" "No," was the reply, "you cha,ps are members of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, and you must obey orders; we have no quarrel with you at all." The railwaymen filed on to the wharf, and at about 1.15 were followed hy a small group of watersiders and townspeople.

One of the watersiders .addressed the members of the crew on the Northern deck in a loud voice. "If you fellows handle that cargo," he shouted, "you're doing something d©-, trimental toi your own interests. They can't gaol you for refusing to work cargo!" The deck hands paid no reply. Later on the same speaker. addressed them again to the same effect. One of the seamen then went to the rail and said, "We're not scabs, and we're not working with scabs. We can't break our articles!" It should be . explained that the articles,require them to. work the cargo if called upon to do so. At •this stage a solitary policeman appeared on the wharf, tand quietly requested. everybody to retire to the shore-end of the wharf. He was obeyed immediately, and th».discharging of the cargo was begun at once. ißmall knots of sightseers and others wiaited fofr a time at the end of the wharf,' Watching the "unloading, "but they isoon became tired of that, and walked away. The opening of the port had been accomplished without anybody speaking crossly. The decision to open the pdrt of Lyttelton this week and to employ Arbitration Unionists to work the cargoes has necessitated provision being made for wolrkers. As a consequence, a number of special constables have been sworn in, and their services will be available if occasion should arise.

It is reported that the special constables will go into camp at the Canterbury A. and P. Association's show grolund at Addington to-morrow. One effect of the- strike has been to out off the farmers and freezing companies in the North Island from their supplies of bags, the factories that make them being situated in the South Island. In Christcliurch at present one facr tory lias accumulated a large quantity of bags, which, owing to the dislocation in the sea transport, cannot be forwarded to the north. The Chris tchurcli wool sale, set. down'for Friday, .November 21st, has been abandoned, and the first" sale will be held on December 10th.

The shortage of sugar and the absence of supplies of sugar, conse-, quent on the continuance of the strike, have resulted in the closing down of another Christchurch factory —The Atlas confectionery and biscuit works. This means that between eighty and one hundred men and girls have been thrown out of work. The past month isone of the busiest of the year, and one in which the factory always work* overtime. "We are full df orders," said the proprietor, N "but from present indications we skill be unable to complete sthem this year. This means a loss of many hundreds of poamds, in addition to the wages lost by employees." A number of men, anxious to obtain work on the wharves at Lyttelton, are taking steps to form a watersiderg' union under the Arbitration Act.

' It is understood, that, in view of the attitude taken up by the drivers in Auckland aria" Wellington in the matter of handling cargo not shipped by union labour, Q- number of drivers in Christchurch who do not approve 1 of the attitude referred to are tak-ing-steps to register under the Arbitration Act. A local firm of agricultural implement manufacturers has a shipment valued at £4OO .waiting transport to Australia, but unless the strike ends soon, it is quite likely that the orders may be cancelled.