MAORI & FIREMEN.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1642, 8 January 1913, Page 8

MAORI & FIREMEN.

COMPANY MAYING.

Whole crew to be paid off. f : DECK HANDS DISGRUNTLEDCHANCES OF A FIZZLE OUT. All ships'.soheduled to. sail from the port of Wellington were dispatohed yesterday, and the number included two steamers: going to Lyttelton, the /Mokoia- and the Moraroa;' both/in their ordinary trades. Other ships which left;were the Mapourika and the Flora, for 7 Greyraouth, and the Monowai,: for /Auckland and East Coast ports. The- Maori is still at tho Clyde Quay,wharf. ' To say/that there was no difficulty about getting these steamers off. would .bo to state something less than the truth. Diffi : culty- was '.experienced in getting a, complement of firemen'in some cases, and in overy -ease there was anxiety.'.The Monowai;was two firemen.;short:early iri tho day,/afid/three. times', during'tho day. were procured who. professed to 'be ready to serye'/on' her: ..'Before'.signing ...on-they ■weat:'ashbre;fnr'their clothes', and not one of,theralreturne'd:/Tor "most of the'after- ' noon Scouts/were/'ejut'looking.fWfiremtn,' Tjut although the ship ;was' not ready to sail until 6 /o'clock,-, an /hour after, schedule tl.time, there still two firemen lycssslTgot away eyentiially A_few minutes before'j^'.'m:'"".'///,:. ''.]':'■, ContraJry^.to,expectations, less trouble Eeema.'to:have'/been'experienced on tho' Mararoo, .'than'oil'any •"other/ship I .V'Two stokehold- men,;a .fireman and a trimmer, left when;the,'staimor arrived'.from.Lyt-' telton/ in'- ihp M m.orniiiff..jTheir leaving .was jOuitojTegular, and-, the -placeshad;.to. L .be filled;-altogether eight men''.''offered themselves for:the vacant/berths, and-the two ■taken on"were a fireman,from the Maori j and a trimmer,:; who ■ had' just joined ..the 'union that morning."' With these men and I the rest of her own "crew- she'le'ft punctually: at 8 p.m.' l '-; '/•''.:*•',;\ •:•';:-;■ '■ •• 1 The.'officers^of,the Mokoia'did inbtah--jnV.the! end .'a',fir*; men'vhad ;to be engaged at the last mo-' . nieiit,'','She left/the' Wharf at"s.]s p.m.'-The: Mapourika men looked "like leaving'■ the, ship in the' morning, but those; who did leave.wcro'brought back/by the second ;of-. ficer.'/ahd'/kebt on' board until the.sail-; ang hour:';She,sailed with her full complement of'men.' The Karamea, for Westport, was-also .delayed .for. a; time, ;shbrt of two firemen, but "ultimately men'were found .'to replace 'them,. and 'the : little * 6teamer;left at.,4io p.tu.'/,.:;; ■'■ '•'•' A-AFull' .Ships Out. J;'■ . : Both ..tit> Mokoia,and the Mararoa were veryifull ships when,they'left,here.:. Tho Mararoa 'oarried'-upwanls : :of• 550. passeh- , jfers, and'the;Mpkoia ; about.'4so, whioh,'is rather, more than cpnld '-be very comfortably accommodated oh either of the steamers. So far as could' bajlearned.. , how;over*'no ''ohe^was'refused,a.'passage.'' The. Mararoa 'brought ,430 rpassshgers from LytJ ! telton yesterday morning. <'■■■■■)■...'■-'. .j. '[':■'■■ .'\ No : Apology: Likely. .'"„• '•:•■'.'..:;C The dispute which Maori men. have' with some person or persons unknown iti not. settled,:'anil ,it ;is not'.likely to 'be Bcttled [on their, terms., They still .want that' ap6lojy:' They didln'ot get- it yesterday," and there is - no' likelihood ' of; their getting 'itito-day. ". ;. v .:',;,;' :: " -;; '-U.S.S.-CO. Begin to' Act. , In the meantime the "Union Company has 'begun to act., The Wellington man•ftger,,,(M,r..,W,v 'informed : a DoJinnoK reporter thafche. had given inetriictions for, the crew, now on ,the Maori j officerA'^etihien/and'fite^nrds,'to be'paid .off, thls>aftern66n. j The' To' Anau was - paid'offvyesterday. afternoon.' v .;•.', '■■ Mr. P. Hally, Conciliation Commissioner, intexested.himself: in 'tho case ;yesterj, day,;rbut 'hie :had. 'no :,opportunity .■'•''.of . meeting the men concerned. ,■'■ '■■•' .; ,■ Slander Action Talked ;Df,, ■ ;i ti Just how the union'as' a body; feels , about the action of tho 27-of its members' ~ who refuse ;to. work, .it 'isdmpossiblo'.to discover: , Early yesterday" afternoon the secretary'/.of -'.the bunion : said ' to ,a Dominion reporter:'.'"l am.just goingio wait until 12. o'clock to-morrow,'and then I will.; take steps to parry; out the resolu- ,• tionof the union.",' '• ■~ ■'■■•'• .i' ' What-is ,that?; was : asked... .'■:,•' ''; "To instruct the .'solicitors' to, take ac-. •'' tion 'of slander against the Press Associa-' tion,".:he .replied.. Ho did' : hot'.state'how : much damages ; would'be,sned'for,;nor.did he say'wfio would'allege' that he,had been riandefed.'; - .'■:-'.;.'•• }"-'i- : - /'-•■.'■ o:';- \. Deck!Hands_Quite,Tired: 'of/It.r - / , Later in the day Mr.- Young sa'id: '"The thing jis; fizzling out,"; and ■ he. pointed out that two of. the men,from the Maori had 'taken employment ,'on iother vessels. Still' later,, he :said: ; "You'll i sce,,,a-,row about, this.'before"it;i3 finished.";l'should not 'be .surprised. to seo;the"deck' hands- , thTow .'over the firemen /altogether.,. There , aro':3o. : or.'!'4o ,men",in : : the Maori'.thrown ■ out oh employment'-'.by thel action,of 27 firemen,' and some of ftho firemen' are actually takins work in other ships.", The : men of;'. the ..Maori 1 , who are'now; out of , work "may ~passibly,.'a5 i Mr: .Young suggost j, be very:' strongly /opposed ■'• to': the action-'of th'e"fircmen,.'ahd:they-will have on opportunity of..'saying so at a meeting of the union, .to .be called "to-day. It is stated very •'freely- that -there is /even now: a prospect of a .crew, being found for tho Maori -.to-night". :, .'. V '.i;'' ♦ : ;', No/Steamer To-night, . If'the Maori "does.not sail there will probably bo no steamer for the south night:' The Talnne was" to. leave Xyttclton last.night at:8.30 after the arrival of the second express from. Invercnrgill. She will bring all the' jJasserigSfs and, mails,'; nnd she should,-arrive.hero'/about ; v .:. ■:'■'■. ■ ■:A Defect;in the A The officers and engineers on the'coastal Vessels now are Tesentfiil, 'despairing, or merdy' amnscd;'raceording'to 'their'''.'je'm-; perament, by-.thorecehtabtion of the firemen. ,They..;Vre no''strangers'.to trouble 1 about firemen..who:leave a ship in port' and forget to come back, and soma.of the officersare net atall'Sdtry.that ;tho Ken-; eral public/liave. 4 bpeh ; mado'to"realise noyr. eerious ond /irksome 'their*'difßcult.ies';are.. On one point all'of'theni; have theiY.ininds : made up-rthat;it will/be/impossible.to'im--provß'-th'o'cla*3,'(!f::ifl'eri' : no'wVin'.!fhe',stpke-' holds of'vessels on the New Zealand coast, and .thereby to remove the caiiso of the frequent vexatious, deJavs, until tho Shipping and. Seamen's Act is omende'd. ; They fay that it is;nltogether wrong that officers or" engineers should be compclledj s in order to get their ships away ".to, go ;to neighbouring public liousts in,search,of firemen in very nearly cfery ? p6rt, and yet this is tho task which falls to tho "lot .of many of them.'. The section of which " they think should !be amended- is that which provides that no man shall bo employed as a fireman until hn has served three months as a trimmer.: The effect of this has bean-to limit theavailablo supply of men. If aimatter of, finding men, a crew, could have bcn'fouhd foT the Maori and for all tho other vessels in port .without much trouble, but it was impossible to get. men with the 110063fary experience// And;the engineers say that any able-bodied man can fire boilers' under tho direction of an engineer. , In any case, engineers."have/ to bo in the stokehold all the time .now, and not infrequently they./have to servo fires and trim coal, because the "firemen are unable to do the work. : THREAT BY MR. BELCHER. IP THE GOYEENMENT ACTS—!. , (By Telegraph— Press Aesociation.) Dunedin, January 7. Mr. Belcher, secretary of tho Seamen's Union, speaking to a 'Star" reporter on tho causes leading up to tho holding-up of tho ferry service boats, stated that .the firemen had reached the limit of endurance in/the matter of suffering punishments meted out/by magistrates, masters, and.the pres3 for misconduct, which.is considered more or less,trivial in other industries. As regards the "demand for tho publication of the name of the Press Association agent at .Wgllingioa .who diSj_.

seminated the story, lie believed that nothing else than such publication ,would induco tho men to resume work. ; Regarding the suggestion that tho shipping, law should bo amended for the purpose of necessitating a week's notice in lieu of twenty-four hours , Mr. Belcher said tho Government would bo well por- . suaded to leave fair and .square conditions alone, otherwise there would be trouble in "the amen corner" for all the shipowners concerned. If tho Government contemplated or countenanced such an alteration, it' would be taken as a signal for the stoppage of every bit of transport work in the Dominion. These, . ho added, were not idle.'threats. J "NO NOTE OF WILD STATEMENTS." . Questioned last evening, theFrime Minister declined to make any general state-',-me'nt regarding the position created by the refusal of the firemen .to work their ships. When his attention was particularly drawn to the statement made at Dunedin by Mr. Belcher, the Prime Minister contented himself with tho remark: "We take no notice of either wild statements or insinuations. We will do what we believe to bo right." ' ' ~,LYTTELTON FEELING. ■■■■• "THINGS NOT YET REVEALED." ■ (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) • ..;'■, . Christchurch, January 7. The Union/Company- has put on ; tho Ta/lune for the Wellington run to-night. Nof trouble is anticipated at this end. ■The ho!d : iip in tho'North Island of foreign mails has caused a great deal of . inconvenience locally. Feeling in both business and labour circles is that there -is something behind the dispute .in Wellington which has not been revealed: ■ .-.-■■'<-, ' ' • \: -' FITTINGOUt'tALUNE. ' ;'; SMART WOKK AT LYTTEI.TON.; Lyttelfon, January 7; The. local .staff of tho. Union Co. had a/very strenuous time preparing the Talune.for.the ferry service and getting her away to'.time: The vessel had been de-. hudcd'bf practically .all her cabin bedding and her crockery in Auckland, and largo purchases'had :0 be made locally. Some: local establishments were almost denuded-of blankets and other bedding. There was a shortage of stewards, but a sufficient number of 'volunteers was obtained, including members of the Railway .Casual "Wharf Labourers' Union, and an ex-stewardess, who had been living ashore for some time,' was pressed into, the service;. It was even necessary to ship an extra lifeboat to comply with .the Department's, requirements; : Considering that the vessel was in'dock undergoing overhaul when/it was decided to use her,' the' fact .that she was ready when the passengers arrived by the train is'very creditable to.'the staff. ■-■'■:,■"' As might Tie expected there 1 were •rumours' of trouble in the stokehold, but Captain. Holmes-said that, his firemen were a good lot, and fio.they proved, the vessel, getting away -ps quietly'as if .she had been the regular steamer...," REALCiRUSE? TH EFE DE RATI ON'Sf'TR.O MP - CARD"? LABOUR MEN!SAY-"YES/' ' '. (By Telegraph.—Special Correspondent.) Christchurch. January 7. ■'! "The true'reason for the ridiculous stand take.n'bythe'-Maori's>firemen has still, to ;be made public/' 'said a gentle-, man who has been connected with labour matters for some;years to -a ■ 'Tress" .reporter to-day.. - •/... "To me," he continued, "the suggestion that an> agitator an the- vessel's crew is responsible for the fiasco appears altogether absurd, and it is just as doubtful whether the Press 'Association paragraph, has stirred up.the firemeri.Eo much as is made out. What are the supposed agitator's hidden reasons? Who is behind 'tho.ecenes''p'ull:ng thofstringsF.'.ls it an endeavour .to stir New -Zealand to its Very depths? Is the Federation of La'hour pfayinjg . its' loiuy-promised trump card ? Tho wholo thing 6avours' strongly of that Socialistic organisation. The plain hard facts of the wathi business' were properly made public, and the Reds—j antagonistic to capital as they-: are—are more antagonistic still to! the Dominion's daily press. Such. a deduction is,- of course, rather startling,, .but one can. hardly coin© to any other conclusion. Tho firemen, of course, have hard work to do, but now, in New Zealand waters, they I are receiving'very good treatment., Many lof them "(as Mr. Youn? 6dys) are married im'en,' and certainly they are not ■ likely to leave work .because an incorrect /state-, .m'ent was made in regard ..to. the .reasons, ■ for the vessel's not :; making a certain trip. In "addition to ;that they got the "apology which' they first asked'-for, but, after consideration, theydecidedthat that was hot'enough: If they get the authors name, .will they resume?■•• I don't'think so. One wonders if .they are getting any strike pay;'andif anybody is giving them, a helping i and while,they 'uphold their dignity.'" '',->■'/ - /.'.-.'- . ' ,'•'..; Aprominent Christohu'rch Labour'officml, said: "This is nothing more than a revolt against union authority—a/, movement 'that, present, tame,'is 'going ,od:aH';over the world. The,results for •the Labour cause cannot but be harmful.', Syndicalists have; been stirring •up the men everywhere, and they are now turninground on .the Trades Union leaders, and' the position is" a . serious ' one. Only a month.or two ago in England, a Labour leader, i who. is, held in .high respect,. even by his 'opponents,/ was aooted .in/the 1 streets..'Something'similar -is happening in New Zealand, at the present ..time." ■..,,'■'' ■. .. '■■ ■'.-..,' ■' .'- ;•/. .'.'.'