WATERSIDE WORKERS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 109, 31 January 1908, Page 8

WATERSIDE WORKERS.

REPORT TO THE HARBOUR BOARD.

.WAITING-ROOMS- AND BATHS,

'■' At ' yesterday 's' meeting. of' the Wellington Harbour Board .tlie engineer (Mr. AV. Ferguson) presented f a 'report: on the question whether more- suitable waiting-rooms could be provided for wharf employees on the ground floor, and' oh 'the proposed provision of hot, and cbld water baths , for the waterside workers. : i . The report stated thsjt one objection: to tlie upstairs 'room' could be got over by the employees combining to place, a representative thero.'for ongoing men on receipt of telephonic instructions.' In regard to' the desire for separate rooms for different classes of labour,-ho was of opinion that the greatest safety against malpractices and abuses lay in having the places■ of' engagement as large and open as possible. In regard to'alleged gambling ■ in the roorii, the engineer held tljat the waterside workers:had. the question of gambling en : tirely under their own control, ' .if a majority were in favour of its suppression it would be put down with comparative case. After considering and dismissing other suggestions, the report continues: "Oil the landward sido of Custom House and Waterloo Quays there are two sites that might, be considered as'' suitablo for waiting-rooms v and .attached baths: (a) A vacant.' piece of ground in the' hands of. private -owners, . facing Waterloo Quay at. ita v junction with Custom House; Quay at -the corner of Ballance Street and adjacent to the premises of Messrs. Levin and Co., Ltd;; (bj the 'southern end of the railway land fronting ;Waterloo Quay,, now occupied by Messrs. Cable and. Co. as part of their foundry. It is understood that this

irea will not bo required by the Khilway department- iis p.art of tlioir final station cheme It is not clear to the engineer that the Hoard has the statutory lower to provide -hath accommodation for iven its own employees, much less for the rliole of the waterside' workers, and he repectfnlly points out that under Section lit.' if.tho ilunicipal Corporations Act, 1900, tho Jity Council are authorised to erect baths and, wash-houses. - ]f the Hoard doom that it is desirablo that the objects tin which it's Harbour Fund can ho expended should be extended to include bath appliances for waterside- workers, then it will bo desirable to consult its solicitors as to whether such an extension is necessary, and, if so, to approach Parliament either to give it special, or' all Harbour ; Boards general, powers in this direction." Finally, the matter, is summed up as follows;—" The ongineer has not, at the present' stage, made plans or estimates, desiring some more specific instructions as to tho magnitude ond'scope' of the baths scheme. He is of Opinion; that baths, to he of any real ; service to tho buile of the working men, cannot bo installed at or near the present waiting-room. Ho is nimbi eto suggest any better feasible site for waiting-room or rooms arid • for baths-'-'than 'thoso outlined above, nearer to the present- wharves and centres of work, than Taranaki Street on tho ono hand and Waterloo Quay on the other. Ho is of opinion that if special conveniences are to .be provided for waterside workers, all employers of labour, and not merely the Harbour Board,: should contribute to their cost, both of installation-and, of upkeep. ' That if• baths are to he installed, the Board and other employers should go further, and provide men's institute's. That any baths or men's .institutes must, to be any'' real service," b« open continuously' oyer very long hours'from early morning'at least until tho departure of tho last tram at night.' . That tlio Harbour Board and other employers should consider, in connection with any schemes of waiting-rooms as places of engagement, the question—at. present'serious, and likely to become moro serious—of the loss of time and payment therefor by men and foreiiien iii'transit'to the place of work. That before' long it will be necessary to continue the tramway service round Waterloo Quay so as to give speedy access from one part, to another of the Iwater front, with a continuously running .service., thereon," ' Some time was. spent in disctissiiip- the question whether the report should Im considered forthwith or held ovor. Finally,'it was ordered to lie on the. table, after' 'tho chairman had given an assurance that it would not ho lost sight of.

l'rom tko'high reputation acliicvcd elsewhere by the now comedy,. -"Brewster's Millions." groat intorost is oviqeed b,v playgoers in its first production hero. oil..Thursday evening by Mr. .1. C. Williamson's company. The new play is said to be as «Jolipriitful)y refreshing as il is wholesome. II is said to be full of situations and excitcmcnl, and its interest, never for a moment. - flags. The story of the play is a very diverting one, telling as it. does of the efforts .of a millionaire to get rid of his money. Montgomery Brewster is the possessor of a r|uarter of a million of money, which he has to spend in a stated lime i'll order to cntitlo him lo a still larger fortune of two millions. Ris friends are unaware of the situation, and do everything to prevent his seemingly headlong rush to ruin and misfortune. His efforts Co get rid of his money are said to be full of intensely humorous incidents. Tho great yacht scheme is asserted to bo a triumph of stage craft. It presents a yacht floundering helplessly iu Ihe trough of a huge sea, and its final rescue by a largo steamer, which looms up in the distance. Mr. Thomas Kingston, who, it will be remembered, was here supporting Miss Tittoil Bruno, will appear as tlie- spendthrift millionaire! Additional interest will be lent to the production by the reappearance of Mrs. Robert Brougli. Tho box plans for tho seven performances will bo opened at tho Dresden on Monday at 0 .o'clock. The Working Men's Club Library will be closcd from February II to February 8 ■ for renovations and alterations. The Aorere Steam Shipping Company and the Patea Shipping Company advertiso that, owing to the increased cost of running between and Patea, the freight on general cargo on, and after February 1 will l)c 12s. Cki. per ton. The Tramways Band, under Lieut. Herd will play, at Island, Bay to-night ai 8 o'clock! The weekly concert at the Wesley .Mission Hall, Tory Street, last night was opened by Mr. Green with two piano solos;' lator 110 contributed two songs. Miss Lennox recited "Bairnie Cuddle Boon" and Bracken's "Not Understood." Sister Isabel sang "Annie Laurie" and "On the banks of Allan Water" to her own guitar accompaniment, I