TROUBLE AT LYTTELTON.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 276, 19 November 1913, Page 7

TROUBLE AT LYTTELTON.

THE WHAHF BUSHED. ALL WORK STOPPED. SPECIALS TO THE RESCUE. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) CHRISTCHURCH. Tuesday. The strikers at Lyttelton adopted militant tactics this afternoon, and caused the cessation of work. The action of the watersiders is regarded at the port as a direct challenge to the employers to bring in the special constables and arbitration labour to work the ships. The Strike Committee only three days ago gave an assurance publicly that their attitude would be one of purely passive resistance, •and their representatives at the City Council repeated this last night. There was no warning of any kind that militant tactics had been decided on, and those concerned in shipping were trusting entirely to the men's word. Mr P. C. Webb's meeting finished just before noon, and after lunch work was resumed on the Northern and the Melbourne, and was started on the C'anopus, where a gang of the Westport Coal Company's permanent men were engaged, and in ihe schooner Eunice, whose crew made up the slings on board, the railway men receiving the timber on the wharf. At the Maori fifteen racehorses were shipped without any trouble, and it was then decided to load about 25 tons of general cargo. Four trucks were shunted alongside, and -a start was made to take in at the forward hatch. Meanwhile a large crowd of strikers, out-of-work firemen and others, had gathered at the Post Olßce corner. Suddenly there was a rush to the wharf, and about 200 of the crowd, with much shouting, rushed the trucks and pushed them up the line on to the sidetrack, clear of the wharf. The crowd was very excited, and there was much talk that no cargo must be allowed to go into the ship. At this time there were no police present. The station-mister appeared on the scene, and ordered the shunting engine to push the trucks back to the Maori. A large number of strikers vainly attempted to stop the trucks by jambing on the brakes, but the engine was too strong for them. In the first truck there were a number of railwaymen. They were ordered to come out by the strikers, but tbey refused to leave the trucks. A TRUCK' SIDE-TRACKED. Then the large crowd uncoupled the truck in which these men were still standing and pushed it right up the line towards the end of the wharf, shouting out that it must go over the end into the harbour. It was brought up, however, by an empty truck whicli yvas standing close to the stop-block. The strikers switched over the points and ran the truck on to a different line of rails, and then attempted to repeat the performance with the next truck, but the engine moved and prevented this being done. POLICE WARNING DISREGARDED. By this time about eight or ten policemen, under Sergeant Ryan, arrived on the scene, induced the strikers to desist, and warned them that if they attempted to put the truck over the wharf there would be trouble. The strikers loudly demanded that the cargo should be taken off the wharf, and this was finally done, amidst loud cheering from the strikers. The crowd then shouted that the other ships must be stopped, too. and it was suggested that a move be made to the Oanopus. Some of the men hesitated, but about half their number rushed along the wharf, and poured on to the jetty at which the Canopus was lying. Many of them rushed on board, and ordered the permanent men to come out. Each man. as he obeyed the command, was loudly cheered. Having stopped the Canopus, the excited mob rushed on to the next wharf, and shoved the trucks away from the Northern, and also from the Melbourne, which lay at the other side of the wharf. The crew of the Northern, who had been working the cargo, were called upon by the strikers to knock off work, and, seeing that the mob would rush on board, the master had the gangway hauled up. A large crowd collected alongside the Melbourne, whose crew had also been working, and -excitedly explained the position. One man, evidently a seaman, went on board the Melbourne and had a quiet talk with the crew. By this time the strikers had succeeded in stopping all the cargo work. "ENOUGH FOR ONE DAY." The president, Mr F. Lurch, who lrad been an unconcerned spectator until then, mounted a truck and addressed the men. He said, "You have done sufficient for one day. and all that is necessary. Leave the -wharf now. Whatever may take place later on. I advise you to "get off the wharf." The men then "went quietly away. A large camp of spex-ial constables i 3 now being organised it the show grounds at Addington. Jicn from all parts of the country started to conic in to-night, and more are arriving to-morrow. Probably the total force available will be over 1.000 men. Colonel Charley is iv charge of the camp.