TRADE AND LABOUR. NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVI, Issue 66, 18 March 1915, Page 8

TRADE AND LABOUR. NOTES.

(By INDUSTRIAL TRAJIP.) UNION ■MEETIMJS FOX THE WEEK. This Evening, March 18.—Boilermakers, ' Stonemasons, L..X. Committee ; Friday. March 10.—Bricklayers Quarterly). Saturday, March 20. —Fellmongers, Flourmillers. Monday. March 22.—Hairdressers, Painters;' ■Batchers (special). Tuesday. March 23.—Central Carpenters. ' Wednesday, March 24.—Bootmakers. The Arbitration Court is now sitting in Wellington, and there is quite a lengthy list of disputes to be heaTd, in addition to eases under the Workers' Compensation for Accidents; Act. The Court opened on Tuesday, with an application iby Mr. E. J. Carey, on behalf of the Wellington unions, to remove the embargo laid on the consideration of unsettled disputes before the Court last August. This application is in continuation of the application made on February 22nd to the Court in Auckland by Mr. Arthur Rosser, on behalf of the" local unions. 11 r. Carey 'te address was evidently rather a comprehensive review of the present position, for I notice that Mr. W. Pryor's reply on behalf of the Employers' Federation of New Zealand was fixed for Wednesday morning. After hearing both parties to the application, the Court will decide as to lifting the embargo, and resuming , of normal conditions under the Act. This will have to be done at once, ac several disputes that have been unsettled by the Conciliation Council have been filed, so ac to get a decision one way or the other. The ammial meeting of ths Auckland General Labourers' Union takes place on Wednesday evening next, and considerable interest je being taken in the electron of the officers and committee for the ensuing , twelve nronthis. Quite a number of nominations have been sent in for the respective positions, and a ballot < will he taken at the meeting. At the meeting of ths Laoour 'RepTeieentation Committee last week, the ballot for six Labour candidates for the Auckland City Council elections next month was dsdajred, and the following ware declared to be the selected ticket: Messrs. T. Bloodworth, W. E. Richards, 0. Mcßrine, C. A. Watts, T. Long, and M. J. Savage. For the Hospital and Charitable Aid Board, Dr. Florence Seller, Mrs. R. A. Bloodworth, and Mt. P. Richardson were appointed, these being itihe only nominations received. No nominations were received for the ' Harbour BoaTd etectioir. The number required for a full City Council •has now teen increased to twenty-one, and for the Hospital Board five. It will thus be seen that with the moderate number of six Labour candidates for the former, Labour should have a fair chance of being represented in the new Council if the workers are true to themselves, and vote solid for their ticket. The supplementary rolls close on March 30th, co that ttere is not much time left fox dilatory electors to make sure of being in a position to vote on the 2Stih April. Strong committees have been arranged for the different parts oi the city, which now includes Parnell, Grey Lynn, ATchill, and Remu*ira, and energetic ea>nrassing ■street by street has been started. 1 notice that the Wellington Labour Representation Committee has decided to run a candidate for the Mayoralty, in the person of Mr. C. H. Chapman, a prominent manfer of- tfre Typographical Union. At -a'lceating of the union held list week a resolution, of congratulation to Mr. Chapman on ibeing elected as a candidate for the Mayoralty, and wishing ■him every success, was unanimously carried. For the City Council eight were selected, including H. E. Holland, J. Glover, J. Read, and W. T. Young. Eight were also selected for the Hospital Board, including two ladies, Mesdames Donaldson and Snow. The former is well-known in Auckland, having acted for come months last year ac organiser for the local Housewives' Union. She is one of the "finest lady speakers that I •have heard in the Dominion, and hails "firae the Land o' Cakes" originally. The Harbour Board selection consists of Messrs. J. G. Bruce, A. PI. Hindmajsh, M.P., and W. T. Young. One of tbe union secretaries at the Trades Hall this week received an anonymous letter from some despairing individual, stating that he was .'unable to obtain work in Auckland, and that hie only chance to find work was "'to throw . 'hinfcelf over the GTafton Bridge." If this is intended as a joke it is a most gruesome one indeed, and to the writer I would give the Shakespearean dogma, "Ttear those ills we have, than fly to others that we know not of." No answer can be sent the letter as it wafc signed, "a friend." Work camfbe found for any person willing to work by applying to the City Council Relief Works foreman. The iresultof tbe conference between the General Manager of the Auckland Electric Tramways Company (Mr. J. J. Walklate) and the executive of the Tramways Union on the question of forming a National Reserve Corps amongst the employees, so that they could drill together on a suitable night, has been that on Monday evening last 02 members turned up to drill at the Epsom tramways depot. Last night at the Bonsonby depot 52 other employees numbered off for their first drill under Lieut. Baragwanath, but 15 or 20 late comers rolled into tbe barn, after the fitret numbering off, and the total for Poneonby depot present at the first muster would be nearer 70. This I shows tine wisdom of drilling the men in a corps to themselves. At the monthly meeting of the district council of the United Federation of Labour, held on Tuesday evening, an interesting debate took place at the conclusion of the ordinary business, on the question of whether the trades union members of the National Reserve should be encouraged to form themselves into TTades Union Corps, on the lines followed by the Auckland Farmers' Union Corps and Auckland Tramways Union Corps. No vote was taken on the result, as it wa s only intended as a debate for educational purposes, but the weight of argument was certainly in favour of the proposal, lit is intended to have these debates at each meeting, if business will allow, and the subject for discussion at next meeting is to be: "The best meane of educating the workers on the principle of State ownership, and how it can be brought about." Last week I mentioned th e rules of the Auckland Carpenters and Joiners' Union in 1890, since defunct,- and gave, in extenso, the working , rules of the union, before any award was thought of. In supplementing these comments I note two rules for the government of Aβ union that seem rather quaint to us in these modern times, but which would not ie out of place in some rules today. RuliV 8 provides: '-'That members are required to be sober at the union's meetings. Anyone proved to be in a state of intoxication, and misbehaving himself, shall be ordered to withdraw by the chairmen, and if he refuses to cent ply, he shall tie fined one efcUlUg lax.

each, offence; and anyone using bad .language, swearing or introducing party politics, casting unkind - reflections on country, or treating any religious persuasion with contempt,, shall be fined two shillings and sixpence for each offence." Rule' li- " Any members making known the discussions or any transaction of the union's meetings, so ac to cause angry feelings" (how would thie work now?)."or using any threats or intimi-' dation to employers or non-unionists calculated to bring the union into disrepute shall be fined or suspended at the discretion of the committee." I commend these two rules to the thoughtful consideration of any union members who desire to secure an amended eet of rules. "What it may cost to deal with a etrike is revealed by the accounts of the City of 'Leeds," says the " Westminster Gazette." "When there was a municipal etrike last year the maintenance of 600 special police absorbed £22.000, and the police seem to have been thirsty. 'Forty casks of beer, 25,700 bottles of mineral water, and about 5,000 pints of beer, nearly 800 pounds of tobacco, 1,100 cigars, and 13,473 pounds of beef and mutton all suggest that the police were well treated." The results of the investigations made by the Commonwealth Statistician as to variations in cost of living have been made available up to the end of 1914. Taking the average figures for that year, and comparing them with the averages for the preceding three years, cost of living in 1914 was 4 per cent higher than in 1911, and nearly 3§ per cent higher than in 1912 and 1913, when there was practically no change. Groceries were 6.2 per cent higher in 15)14 than 1911, dairy produce 10.8 per cent, meat 32.3 per cent, and house rent 13.5 per cent. Compared with the year 1313 groceries in 1914 were 1.8 per cent higher, dairy produce 2.6 per cent, meat 10.4 per cent, and house-rent 1.5 per cent higher. ■' the German Socialist organ, publishes an historic document which hardly requires comment. It was sent by the authorities to all guardians :of minors in the district of Oberstein, in iPrussia, and runs -as follows: — "You are urgently requested to make the minors under your care enter the special junior organisations formed to prepare for the army youne men of 16. and, if of good physique, of 13 years of age. If you fail to do so within a period of one month, without giving sufficient reason to the authorities, you will be fined £15." " Mr. Carmichael. Labour Minister for Education in Xew South Wales, was extremely angry when to a depuj tation" from Port Kembla. who wanted a school site on the Wentworth Restate. J Mr. Carmichael, speaking of the land company, said: " They have the infernal hide to ask us a price that works out at nearly £1,000 an acr P for land for school purposes, and I'll see them hanged before I'll give it." He would be no party to paying a- price like that, and at the same time adding to the value of the company's land. He did not believe the company had a spark of patrotiem in its constitution. It had not the ordinary patriotic instincts of citizens or it would have {riven the land free for school purposes. He had met that spirit sometimes among poor people in the community. WTiat raad» him tired were those laTae, rich corporations, who had done nothing but draw unearned increment, and who kept their money in their sotils. and it took more than a charge of hlnstins powder to net it out for any public purpose at all."