Untitled

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 6077, 18 February 1891, Page 2

The news from Brisbane will be anxiously looked for during the next few days to see whether the wild excitement of the union shearers will develop itself to the extent in. dicated at their meetings. The situation is evidently serious enough for the Government of Queensland to take precautions for preserving the peace. The enrolment of special constables, and the arming of the police, show that if the shearers attempt to carry out their threats they must be prepared to fight lawful authority. In their madness at being thwarted by the flockowners, the shearers have threatened to introduce tho rabbit plague., to burn down the stations, and destroy tho livo stock. This shows to what lengths these men are propared to go to serve their own selfish ends. The creed, of the new unionism is, indeed, self—self with a view to the creation of an aristocracy of labor, which shall dominate capital, and starve all outsido tho unions. Unionism, as it shows itself to-day, is a monstrous growth which challenges its own tlorftruotion oven as did the tyranny of kings in tho olden days. Man havo fought and died in the cause of freedom beforo now against no such diabolical injustice as that which unionism would inflict on the world, and they will have to do it again from all appearances. The ideu of fighting the world for tho supremacy of unionism originated in Australia, and has found its way to England. At the moment when (he men on strike at Cardiff were preparing to come to terms with tbe Shipping Federation, that peatileut agitator, Tom Mann, declared that if tho Federation continued to ooerce unionism, every union in England would go out on strike. The coercion com- j plained of is tho employment of fee labor, j Happily the Federation is not likoly to be coerced by a, threat of this kind, and in its manifesto has boldly asserted that it will employ no union men unless they plodge themselves to work with free men. Wo havo Been within the last day or two that tho Union Steamship Company of New Zealand has boon compelled to take almost similar action as that of tho Shipping Federation in England. Tbe insolence aud intolerance of union men huvo become simply unbearable, and the time seems almost lipe fur dealing v crushing blow to unionism by tho proousH of starvation, and by armed force vvhou it dovelops into violence as it promises to do in Quoeii aland.

The result of the Eginonfc election will take no one by surprise. Tho constituency of Egtnout is sandwich;:! between New Plymouth and Waitotani, ai , ** Mr McQuire will be iittiugly seated betwwen "r .15. M. Smith and Mr G. Hutchison. The secret of Mr MoGuive'e sucosee is not far to eeek.

Hβ is what some people call a rough diamond; and just now diamonds in the rough, and the rougher the better, are at a premium. During the election contest Mr McGuire was wise enough not to make a speech ; but he invited the electors to meet him at the different centres of the district where they could have a friendly chat. Wo can imagine what those little tociablo gatherings must have been like, and we have no doubt that when they broke up Mr McGuire was voted a jolly good fellow. When we say that the successful candidate has had the support of the Governmetit, our readers will be able to judge for themselves the manner of man the new member must be. Mr McGuire was formerly in the Armed Constabulary ; afterwards he opened a store about the time of the Parihaka troubles, and has acquired some considerable amount of landed property in the Hawera district.