A SECRETARY'S TRIALS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 132, 27 February 1908, Page 8

A SECRETARY'S TRIALS.

i SOME UNIQUE RESQLUTJONS. •If a-policeman's lot.is not a happy one; at-all events .'he is' not often • assailed by such ! missiles as have been flung .at the.rer tiring general • secretary, of the Amalgamated Society ofßailway, Servants (Mr. (\V.:. J. Edwards) by its Otago Branch. A few mem--bers 'of this branch, ; apparently, : have' taken delight in ' baiting -Mr. Edwards in resolutions which. -will.'impress most persons as fortunately unique.... Mr. - Edwards acquits the-branch as a- wholo of responsibility; the resolutions were passed, he has reason to believe, at sparsely-attended meetings, on tho recommendation ..of- a very few. Nominally and officially','" however,' they emanate from the Otago Branch. The following aro actual resolutions which have been addressed from time to time/to Mr. Edwards in his capacity of general secretary, and Which, ho has .had to: lay before the executivo:—

"That. if Executive, and • its qlEcers will kindly condescend to explore the rusty recesses' of the rick'etty tabernacle of • • their collective _, intelligence and reveal to'us ..what,has been done, in . '.tlie .case , of- Edward -—', tho particu-" lars-'of which, ,at . its own request, were.; supplied thorn about' twelve months' ago,.: we shall 'feel, exceedingly obliged;" ■ ... ''That'having nailed the spurious coin of the' written - untruths of tho' Council to' the counter we regret that instead of making reparation by apologising to tho -branch it should now slink away, and ." seek refuge behind • Rule 20;" . . "That.tho Council be informed this dis'-. cropancy of fourpenco :was due, to a cleri- , cal errorl-in. the branch report/for publication" in this ' Review,"-- that/' the . general secretary bo thanked for drawing our attention to' it, and that, wo accept it as a- small indication of that improvement in the .of his official dutios up to which wc have been for somo time endeavouring ,to educate him." -..-0 ';• . , •"..., /'-'That Messrs.. ———' must ho to the . general secretary as great, an affliction as a bad nightmare, seeing that lie.has dono ; them .tiio Vhonbur specially, mentioning, them, by name in a condom-' uatOry sense no less than four tinies in his • periodical :, communications to tho b'rahchV'and'that in this respect/ he forcibly reminds .of -a'certain .quadruped .of - tho genus canis, '.'which evinces a strong inclination', to ' return and feast upon the discharged contents of its stomach, and -further,' ihat '.if 'tho indulgonco of this - peculiar proclivity; gives tho "gen-. - ' oral secretary pleasure and soothes' his perturbed spirit,- wo give him free and' unrestricted' permission to feast to i repletion." ' "That, in the'fulness of. our sympathy the intellectually stunted of our kind,' we 'generously provided opportunity for ( the Executive-rand : its officers 'to recede with Comparative honour from what, seemed .to us a most disgraceful position into;;wliich it has been led by poverty :of wisdom and superabundance of'bias. That we now admit we}'erral 'in /our b'onevolent'. intention, inasmuch. as if.-:we had given the matter furtherconsideration:. we. \would ~ have realised • the-,utter impossibility of .'improving . tho crude, human -naturg of--those who constitute 'tho'"'personnel• of Executive. and-its officers;-as wolf as that our attempt to do so was of a verity flying in tho faco- of; Providence." • .

All of theso resolutions, except the last-- but/ one,- .were', .'printed "in the official Review of tho Society. The Re--1 the official Review of the Sooiety. The Reviow, Mr. Edwards states,' .under Mr. Hornsby's editorship, took up an attitude of strong opposition ito the General Manager for Railways, niul whon the Executivo and general secretary objected to that attitude, .as tending to upset . discipline in the. Department, they/ became 'included in its displeasure. Mr. Edwards feels that tho readiness of the.Review to print such resolutions, and its constantly-expressed hostility towards the Executivo and ".'himself, are responsible for tho, state of, mind ,which could dictato such communications. • . It is probable that something will he said about';,the resolutions at ,the biennial conference. of the Aihalgamted! Society of Railway Servants, . which'will commence its session in: the -Oddfellows', Hall to-day. -