N.S.W. STRIKES.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 733, 4 February 1910, Page 5

N.S.W. STRIKES.

WHARF, LABOURERS' SPISMODIC ' EFFORTS. , UNION COMPANY"AFFECTED.: 1 ■ By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyrieht Sydney, .February 3. . In common' with other, companies, -the Union' Company's steamers employed ;in the ; Australian service are •' being v hampered! by ..'tha vagaries ; ( of •' the' -'.wharf' labourers.,' ThePaloo'na and .the Wakatipn have goffered: delay owing to the vessels using New Zealand coal.! ENGLISH COAL FOR ADELAIDE. ■ : .t , Adelaide, February 8. '•''.;A;'<^6l'.;bf..'sis ;ii tiotißaiid , >tons.,'of'.;Lan:i casliiro , coal. has arrived here, . consigned, to tho Government. ' ' '

COAL IMPORTS FROM . INDIA. . i (Bee. February 4, 0.25 a.m.) : ' Sydney ( February 8. Steamers-laden with coal for the Government are arriving -. almost daily from Calcutta.- ' 1 ;- .: v Vj'- -.;. . UNION DISCIPLINE SET ASIDE. The, action, of; tho ;'whan labourers in deciding at a', meeting ' to set- aside; the result of their > provious ballot was detailed in yesterdart issue. .The ballot was, in favour of working, non-union, coal,- but. the .men have now decided not to work it, and' it seems.that-each:wharf will judge' the . position' for itself. This ; is against ,the : advice, of Mr. W. M.Hughes, who, according to Sydney, press ; : reports,. ad- : dressed, a meeting of the men in: tho following strain:— ' '■ ■■

"Mr. Hughes took a." sensible line of argument, which had its diie : weight, with the . major, part'.'of . the gathering. /He pointed out how the union' is holding, up its . weakness ; and disorganisation, by one lot of men' determining one thing on one wharf, while another elsewhere does something . different. 'He . poured ridicule on. their heads for their readiness to fall over each other in getting awaj; from supposed non-union coal without waiting to find out if it'is actually so. Ton can't go on like' that,' he told them. ' ."You must go on; working until the officers you have apSointed to Hook after such matters have ecided whether you should work, or not.' Their vravoring minds, he influenced to the best- of his ability ■ in . upholding.the need for discipline, within .the ranks. 'If your . officials tell. you to go on working after they have decided a case, why-should you take it into your' hands when, you haven't. the means of knowing as' much as they do?*' he ' asked them. .TVhat makes you blacklegsP Disobedience' to your union,' at which the moderates cheered, '; while the irreconcilables yelled thoir dipsesnt. ' "Whether they . seriously heeded his warning that .they. were running -themselves into' disaster- by- forcing the om-' ploy'ers-to take the mort feasible, means ,of coping irith a strike—namely, replacingthem with free labour—is open; to conjecture. Strikers always ■ act .on' the assumption that; no. matter - how a union behaves, the unionists must always prevail over non-unionists. Experiencesbitter experiences—go for nothing. 'What did we:gain by the '90 strike?' they were asked; .'was ever anything gained by; a strike ?' and there was no ■ answer." .