THE STRIKE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3603, 4 September 1890, Page 2

THE STRIKE.

f: RAILWAY EMPLOYEES.

BAILWAY BALLOT. H

STATEMENT OF THE UNION COY, l : '

\';' : ;:::; : "..Wmu?bi9!r,''Sept.emberßi ••>. ■'■: It is atated that the result of the ballot of tlie railway employees will be in.favour ot the men going out on strike. It is also said thai the ffisfi on |the Manawalu line .are .unanimoiisly out; A '"!jV The jMraisteMif Publio' Works gave a short' sharp 'answer to Mr as to whether it ;that; the ; ; railway authoritiea;at;l)jiriedin were utilising onejof tbeinifeds as a coal store for the jUnion Steamship Company, Mr Fergus simply replied that it was not a fact. !■.,.' ■•..';•. :■.'■'

Theltailway Commissioners ; . are ; understood to be well prepared for a general strike, and haye so laid.their plans that they cannot be taken--by surprise In the event of. all the employes goinguufc, the services will, probably be at once reduced as far as possible.compatible with pubHo-.cpn.-venieuce, and on that basis the line's [oeuldbe iept open for a considerable time, ■ ■ v X : ' :•■<

, Weswort, September 8. '•' Nine of the railway onipbye). lately suspended are others, 52 in number, haye|receiyed written notice to 24 hours. . &;|:|Kii :-,..:. . Donedin, "' The result of the r'aiVtf&yjfbjfflolt .has been telegraphed tive at Okristckuroh, but hasiiot'beefr divuiged.here. jr .. ; '";' A large and enthußiasti6~raVeHhg' of railway men to-night passed a resolution regretting that tlie Commissioners are forcing the : men into taking steps whioti may probably end in a genenljstrike, by-taking the platelayers M pilfers from their ordinary work, and coercing- them into doing-wharf "labourers' work, The meeting expressed unqualified 1 approval and admiration of the manner in which the men'on strike here and at Westport responded

to the call of the Executive, ,and pledged .themselves to come out to a mau if called upon, eita to assist in

terminating the present struggle or

to force the reinstatement of the men out; Several speakers expressed a wish that the struggle might be settled by arbitration, t Mr "Pearce (President of the Chamber of Commerce), the Hon J, T. Peacock, Messrs P. Cunningham, A. C. Fergusson, John Anderson, senior and junior, and \V...'.'Marsh, man have wired to the Railway Commissioners requesting the reinstatement of the platelayers, etc, dismissed here, The railway ! men's meeting passed them a vote of thanks for the action. It is improbable that there will be a general strike just yet.

Auokund, September 8. When tho ArawaU arrived from Fiji yesterday the crew, who had loft Auokland before the present complications occurred, and are Union meu, held a consultation, when they decided that as the cargo was of a perishable nature they would discharge the steamer if no free labour-was employed with them. They put out a large quantity of bananas during the firenoon, but in the afternoon some nonUnionlumperswere sent-down to hasten-tho work. - The crew thereupon struck 'and left the vessel, The officers left this afternoon.

Dunedin, September 8. - The Union Company publish a statement about the strike in Australia, They say that when the Corunna incident occurred'''they telegraphed their Sydney manager and the Aus- 1 tralian' ownei'B interested that the matter should be left to their decision, warning them that the Union Company were anxious ••not to got i involved in the struggle. On August 16th they were informed that Mr Millar had wired the Maritime Council,' Sydney—", You may ; rely upon support'when required," The Company.then lost hope that the, Seamen's Union would withdraw from affiliation, although the Maritime Council had tried to prevent the embroilment of New Zealand, When work on the Waihora was stopped they cabled their Sydney manager; "Youtake nq promjnent position'. Labor organisations here cabled Sydney urging continue work." Alter, this the s,s Taieri was delayed, also the Oha'u, On August 24th the Sydney agent was cabled that the Union Company were prepared to fall in absolutely, with the Shipowners' Association and nonunion labour was used to discharge the Tarawera, So far we have simply detailed the facts, but it may be proper that we should say here that we believe, because several of them have told us so, that our oMrs were in ' reality driven to' affiliate with the Maritime Council because of their unbearable position with the orewW They felt that they ware at the meroy of the Seamen's Union, whioh had far more weight with us than they could have, and in this they were right, ■ . . . We,, have had lengthened relations with the various Unions/ and have nothing serious against them to complain .of, but when'we are not only denied the labour we require, but prevented from employing freo labour, of ..which ..abundance is offering/and are threatened, with the ■'eijiep boycott' ! ori (ill hUnd"!, we tolder it : to ignore 1 tug Unions 'altogether 'and niake" a vigorpuß,aUel»pi, to .'carry on, our business-as' best we can indepeii' denj}y'flf fherp. Wehaveonlytoadd, in' cbnoluajou," that untjl we'heard it from''themsplyes''we'')ieyer bomuoh as thought' of 'the *ornsbing pf the Pnjbnß,' ol whioh tljey are disposed to make somucli,"'' " .'"- ."