THE PROTRACTED STRIKE.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XL, Issue 13251, 9 December 1913, Page 4

THE PROTRACTED STRIKE.

RED FEDS. SAID TO HAVE COMMITTED HARIKARI. MESSAGE FROM " AUSTRALIA. (Per Press Association.) WELLINGTON, last night, The following cablegram was received by the Employers', F.arjners', and Citizens r Defence Committee to-day :— "Red Feds, have; committed harikari m New Zealand. ' Now send .a shipload of Arbitrat|qi\ unionists to Sydney to moor m the harbor and handle New Zealand, cargo again. Well done, New Zealand!" 'The. sender -is a prominent Australian pastoralist of New South Wales. In reply the committee cabled as follows: — 1 'Tliank you for your cable and your suggestions re Arbitration unionists. Can New South Wales guarantee protection of ,;New Zealand, workers and that New Zealand transhipments and other cargo be. placed alongside New Zealand steamers' for loading?"' '■ , At the Magistrate's Court to-day, Robert James Seal, who was charged last week, with other offences connected with the' strike, pleaded guilty to a charge of threatening behaviour on the King's wharf on the occasion when the barricade- was demolished and the; steamer Rimutaka rushed. Seal was. fined £5, m default '6ne month, and ordered to find a bond of £50 and two sureties of £25 each to keesp the peace for six months. " ' : Richard Prince admitted . assaulting an employee of. the New Zealand Express Co. Prince is a carter formerly employed by the Express Co., but now oh strike. He tried to dissuade a man frbm assisting a carter at the company's depot. Words failed, and Prince struck the~ hian, who turned and gave him a thrashing. Prince was 'fined 40s or seven days' imprisonment. The Maunganui is due here on Wednesday from Sydney. She has 410 passengers and 213 tons of general cargo, including a quantity of dried fruits. Heavy rain to-day stopped nearly all the work on the wharves, one or two colliers being the only ships to tr^r to ' chip a little cargo. As a consequence thfe Nerehana, loading for London, will nqt.be ready to' sail to-morrow, aS was hoped.- Practically all.to-day's projected sailings have been postponed till to-mor-row. AUCKLAND, last night. -Work i» proceeding < steadily on the vessels alongside. "Tt is hoped to despatch the Tongariro for Wellington and Nelson to-morrow morning ■' and the White Star steamer Zealandic about the middle of the week. The attitude i taken up by members of vthe. new union m "blackballing" all watersiders whb went on strike is the subject of some discussion among ship-, ping people. The^/opinion generally expressed is that the .position- ■ will gradually right itself. There are a large number of men who do not intend to, remain ort 'the wharves 'permanetly, ; rtnd when they go if is thought that the old watersides whose references , are satisfactory will be admitted, without any trouble. • The Cofinthic, due' here to-morrow morning, will- lift large consignments of butter which 1 have accumulated during the last few weeks. She is to ]<<ad about 60,000 bote.? , , .„. . „., HOKITIKA, last night. As a l'esult of the closing of the Grey port local shipping has been busier than for years" past. ' Hokitika port is the only one open on the West Coast, and supplies for Greymouth and even Westport and district have been landed here. Most of the vessels have brought full cargoes, which ' have been handled m refeord time at a minimum cost. It is considered that the strike will have the . effect of inducing permanent shipping here, -as cargoes are said to be handled with more expedition than at adjacent ports; ; and the improvement of the entrance to the harbor as the result of the extension of tke training walls is so- very marked' as to allow of vessels of fair draught working the bar. , There is an abundance of 'bunker coal coal available for steamers for some months to : come; STEADY WORK AT OTHER PORTS. bUNEDIN/W night., ■ The ' membership of the new wateraiders' union is now close on 200, although a number of men have been released to return to the country. There were 183 at work this morning, and 78 of tiese were operating on the Kaiapoi. The Wanaka, which arrived yesterday from the north, has brought 100 tons • of : sugar, 3000 cases of bananas, 1000 bags .of new potatoes,, and miscellaneous cargo. \ A proportion of the bananas is rather ripe, but oh the whole the fruit 3ias arrived m good condition. Only four arbitrationists are working this ship.. , but. the fruit companies have their own 1 staffs to lift' the consignments. \ The Dorset, Tursikina, Storm, and % Marere are : also ".< being -worked. The Dorset is loading 1200 tons of frozen rabbits at. Dunedin, anil a special train < will arrive m the morning from • Bluff '; with 6000' cases" of rabbits for the same "'. yessel.' ' • • - The remainder of the men at Tahuna Paric were paid off to-day. They are still s jspecial constables, ; however, and Superintendent Dwyer has, drawn up a jnobilissti&a scheme "by means- of which a force of *over 100 strong could be asse'nibled for" duty at an , hour's, notice or' "• less. 1 '"" In. the 'present .state of affairs it is 'not considered • necessary to keep the mounted men' on .service. At Port Chalmers this morning Messrs Mijler Bros, "made a^start at getting tike launching, ways ready^f or the : new tvg — v/df k" that was suspend^ when the shipwrights • struck. ••• ,■ '■ ■•-• - At a meeting of strikers, it is under- ' stood, they decided that the strike' pay would be paid. - , .■ v The adjourned ordinary meeting of the SeamenV'tJnion wap held this afternoon. '■<. There ' wag '& good 'attendance, and, so ■ lar-as can l>fi gathered, the best of ntfr- { jajony<did vnoC'- prevail at ■■ times/ due % ;mfljn]y to the 'preseniJe of a small but inoisy section of -firemen and men from A "down under." ' .-' ; i' ' One result of the meeting was that a committee vivas appointed to' deal with V ihji' 'question of : relief pay,\ and members, of -this c'dmmittee .conferredHp^night with Ihfev Strike ' Committfß.'and two represenfcati^es of the Carpenteyg' Union. The subject) of the conference was to decide \ as "to the disposal of " the rejt^f funds, '. .but" the outcome of the meeting H not . Ikriown. 4 '-/. : CfHRISTCHURCH, last night. , . AM outwdrd indications point to things -, generally having 1 reached riormal conditidnsiiri Chmtchurc-h. AJI business acti.vities are-beiiig carried on as usual. , At L^tte^lton this morning the only arrival was (be Opduri, from New Plymoteth, Terakohe, And Nydia Bay. The vessdi,/ which was »Jot fully loaded, is expected to complete <lj«charge to-day, and, to sail to-night^for' Timaru, after replenishing her coal bunkera. •■ f The cruiser Pyramus having saijed yesterday for N«>v Hebrides, via Wellington, her berth, afc the Gladstone pier was taken up this morning by the American four-masted schooner Bainbridge, which arrived m the stream on Friday with a, cargo of Oregon timber from Puget Sound. - y The Kittawa is loading a' large cargo will 'sail tomorrow morning for the s«uth. She will return on Friday to loaß for Nelson and New Plymouth. Tftc Kaitangataj whiejj has for some •week* Jieen at anchor m the £6ream, was iberthed • Jtbis morning to. commence the •discharged her cargo of coal from Newcastle. ! ; ■■.■••■■ Towards the end of the week the Norwegian steamers Hercules and Titania are expected; to'pompjete the discharge of. their cargoes of jariraji from Bunbury. To-morrow the little steamer Wtfotton is due from Picton to load produce -for Wellington, and the Kairaki is also due &rorA Hokitika with timber. The latter veMelwill 'sail on • Thursday for New Plynibuth and Foxton. ' The departure at the week-end of the liners Ootfrnthic and tßemuera naturally made a gap m the berthage accommodation, but the arrival m a few days' time >ol the Arawa and Turakina should see tttvs wharves occupied again for s'ome «day«, , . NBSL6ON, last night. „ jybbiDt 80 mcii were worf^ng on the wharf to-day!. ■ : A statement that strikers are * stunning to work shortly, failing abatis ifactbry assurance from the Federation,

is denied by the secretary of the old union. . Mr S. G. Kirker. manager of the Golden Bay Shipping Company, to-day received the following letter: "Kirker. — We are well aware that you are the man who is writing to the papers pricking up the union and causing trouble at the port. You will have your day shortly. I'll drop Mr Me Arthur a note if you don't keep your mouth shut. — Bed Fed." Mr McArthur is managing director of the company., The handwriting indicates that several people had a hand m the concoction of the letter. The 1 strikers ; at the 1 Puponga mine are very sore over the removal of the coal stored m the bins by the scow Pearl Kaspar. The skipper outwitted the pickets by slipping m at 2 a.m. when only a policeman Was visible, the pickets having gone to bed about an hour previously, satisfied that no attempt would be made to take the coal. , The Pearl 1 Kaspar. 's crew loaded the 70 tons available, and was ready to sail when the strikers made their appearance at the wharf and forcibly expressed their indignation. TIMARU, last night. The Union S.S. Co.'s collier Waitemata got. a fresh crew and left this evening, for Hobart for orders. The Waitomo from the south arrived to-day, and loads 40,000 sacks for Auckland. Work is going on quietly and expeditiously. WESTPOBT, last night. At a large and representative meeting of the Westport Chamber of Commerce to-day, over 60 members being present, it was resolved to ask the Union Company to send a boat with merchandise to Westport, and to ask the Prime Minister to use his influence with the company to this end. the citizens guaranteeing the labor required. It is understood that the watersiders will be given an opportunity to handle tvie cargo, and failing their agreeing to do so, the importers,, themselves will handle the cargo. ' • Everyone is feeling the position very badly. Business people are out of sugar, and there is a shortage m many other directions.