AN UNCONVINCING STATEMENT

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 147, 18 March 1937, Page 10

AN UNCONVINCING STATEMENT

Judged by the interjections of those who dissented on questions of fact, the statement made by the Minister of Labour to the Dairy Conference in Wellington yesterday in, defence of his actions in connection with the stay-in strike of the Auckland freezing workers could not have been very convincing. Mr. Armstrong declared that the statement that the police were asked not to interfere was “absolutely untrue”; that when the head of the Police Department rang him up and asked what action should be taken be had replied that “unless there was a demand by the freezing companies the police were not to interfere.” This does not square with the statement attributed to Mr A. G. Brown, general manager of the Auckland Farmers’ Freezing Company, in a Press Association message published on January 15 • “We got in touch with the police last evening and asked them to remove the men forcibly from the, works, but Superintendent Till advised us that instructions had been received from Wellington that they were not to interfere. The consequence is that the men are still there and have taken charge of the works, which are full of butter.” The point about the interjections at the conference yesterday is that they suggested an undercurrent of dissatisfaction with the Minister's handling of the whole affair. There is unquestionably a feeling of apprehension concerning what may happen in future industrial stoppages affecting the handling and shipment of our exports. Much more acceptable to the conference than Mr. Armstrong’s attempt to justify his actions would have been a frank and explicit assurance from him that the Government in future would stand no nonsense from law-breakers.