A STRIKE, MEETING.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 204, 22 May 1908, Page 8

A STRIKE, MEETING.

■ "COVERED WITH CLORY." , ,IBY, TEtEOBiPIt.—j-EISS ASSOCIATION.) Auckland, May '21. This afternoon a mass meeting of members of the, Union was-hold. V Mr. Rosser,, tho ,Union's secretary;' said that tho Union and the iron associated with it had.-that day covered, themselves with glory. He, was. pleased to anriouncb .that the' firefaien at' thq powor-house had joined in. tho; strike.' They, had come' out in pathy with, the motormen and conductors; Half, .of ;them ~were, -not of the Union; ■ -Thoy . should therefiSro feel very much indebted to the firemen, who' had kept 'up. power for two hours to thus enable the cars-to be,taken back to the barns. Thoy hadthon ceased ..work.; •' A THUCE SUGGESTED. Continuing, Mr. Rossor said, he held he had no. right to keep back, anything, as ,had been alleged in the case of the Blackball miners, and for, .that; reason "he had made ■all the'information possible.public. He said he had 'had a with a loading townsman, and he had been informed by that gentleman >: that' if ■a' truce' was ' declared ■ lie thought, thoy would;,get everything they askod for. .. '■' ' '

-A. meeting' was then -held,'ydt.- which oyer sixty members of, the Union "were present. Ah -amehdmoht'ha3 been proposed that a truce be^calle'd 1 till 2'o'clock, Tbtit overruled ;by -43 to' 3. After the flag denoting, the'.'decision to strike had been put up, Mr. Baumo, M.P., had . come to him and said he would-like to see the matter settled. He, (Mr. Rosser), had. replied that they were willing for,, a. settlement, but it must . be brought abciuf€3ipnourably. Mr. Baume then said , that ho, would, be willing to assist ,'in any way. Mr. Baume had suggested a conference with the . general manager, arid the speakor had replied that the general manager should como to-them! ,- , - " A SERIOUS POSITIO°N. Mr. Rosser next. referred to tho serious position which they, were noiv forced to face. Many of them had- never before been in a strike. He said he' had heard tho Riot Act read on Circular Quay in; Sydney during tho maritime- striko,..by, order of Sir llenry Parkes. ' He urged them to conduct thomsolvos -as; men, to ' keep to themselves, and refrain from intoxicating liquors. By doing* this,-he-added,' they would continue to hola public sympathy. In conclusion, Mr. Rosser suggested that'the men should go to tho tramway office as usual to-morrow, and ask for last week's pay.

TELEGRAM TO THE MINISTER FOR 1 LABOUR. 'i A"-telegram was dispatched this morning to'the'Minister'for.'Labour as follows: — 1;■ ■" The Government not. being able to do' anything for'us'in .bringing to-book : the autocratic ■ goneral manager, my Union, in • self-defence, decided to leavo tho:.-.cars unless* our' stipulations were 'agftted to. Our'action is not against the--, '■Arbitration' Act/, but is a struggle for existence." ; v " VERY SILLY.'' ' Mr. ,P. M. Hansen, local. director of . tho company, expressed .the opinion, on being seen, that tho strokeVwas "very, silly." ' "It could have-been arranged easily enough," he declared.' "We offered arbitration.".■ .On the subject of-the men's contention, that the officials of the company should go to tho men,. Mr. Hansen, was firm in tho opinion that the ~ men. should go 'to the company. He feared that the strike was going to bo a much bigger thing than the last one. . 'No cars, he added, would be run with other labour." That would-only lead to " blackleg " trouble, which' the company was anxious to avoid. i ! STATEMENT BY THE MAYOR. ■Mr. Sha-naghan, ..officor in charge of the Labour Bureau, waited on the Mayor this morning and pointed out the seriousness of the ,tram crisis. Mr., Myers replied that he fully realised tho inconvenience to the public which'would result from a strike. If both sides , were agreeable, -'he was . wiping*, to mediate. He added that according* to tho deed of delegation, the Tram Company was not responsible for carrying on tho service in tho event of a strike. The men would be warned that if they left the .cars in the streets they would be liable to prosecution for;broach of t-he x by-laws. THE LATEST. On being asked to-night what steps the company proposed to take in regard to the strike, the general manager (Mr. Walklate) said: .' _ . . "It is difficult to say until we see what transpires to-morrow." ■ Beyond that ho would make no 'statement. Up to.a late hour to-night there were no signs of settlement of the trouble. Mr. Rossor and other union secretaries had a conforenco with the Mayor to-night, and suggestions were made, which, will be laid bofore a meeting of tho men to-morrow. (BY TELEGEATH.—SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.) Auckland, May 21. There is-stated to be -no prospect of tho men receding.- from their present attitude, and in tho event of the strike lasting over a few days notices are ready to send out to to the whole of the unions m the Dominion; asking for financial assistance. Soveral promises of help have already been , received from the South, and the men at present havo two weeks' pay duo to them, including ono week kopt in hand by the Company. The total number of men affected by the striko is 250. V .

MORAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE,

There could bo no two opinions about tho feeling or the delegates at last night's meeting of the WeUinfitoa Trades and Labour

Council regarding the present tramway crisis in Auckland. Many delegates said that, apart, from the pros and cons of the situation,, the mere fact that their fellowworkers were on striko was in itself sufficient reason for tho support of all the workers in the Dominion. Tho Council unanimously carried tho following motion:—

"That this Council pledges itself to give both moral and Jinancinl support to the Auckland' Tramway Employees' Union in its efforts to secure justice to its mcmbors, and considers that the time is ripo for tho nnmicinalisation of the Auckland tramway service." A delegato mentioned that there was a slight fear of tramway workors in other parts of tho Dominion going to Auckland. Tho Council requests that such workers shall refqiin from going to Auckland during the existence of tho present crisis.