"UNIONS" v. STEAMSHIP OWNERSTO THE EDITOR.

Evening Post, Volume XXX, Issue 12, 14 July 1885, Page 3

"UNIONS" v. STEAMSHIP OWNERSTO THE EDITOR.

Sir— ln your lost two issues have appeared letters headed "Lumpers' Union," written evidently by Union men with a view to create public sympathy on behalf of their sooiety, and as your columns aro eVays open to ventilate every phase of a question, the Wowing remarks may not be out of place. Now, air, what is thia sooiety, and what are its objeota P On referring to their Look of rules, we find the oper'ng remarks commendably set toith, ana there is not one who could find fault with the principles; but when they travel beyond, and under guise of worthy motives attempt to pass obnoxious restrictions upon employers and tyrannical rules upon workmen of their own sphere of life, it ia time for tho employers to pause before quietly submitting to ooeroion, and for the publio to express an opinion as to what oourse 1b right in the general interests of the oolony and its entire working population. The point now at issue is a new by-law of the Lumpers' Sooiety, put down as coming into force on the Ist of this month, and which has been arbitrarily adopted without any previoua referenoe to, or conference with, the employers, and whioh the latter are aaked to blindly accept. It in as follows :— " That all members of the Union, are prohibited from working with nonmembers." • * * * Let it be thought out what ia the effect and tendenoy of such an acrion. Is it not undoubtedly an attempt to retain the entire shipping labour of our ports amongst & few men, who band themselves together, to dictate as to the number of working men that ehall be in the labour markets of onr chief shipping centres ? Are the employers justified, oven setting aside their own interests, iv being a party to a course curtailing the free rights of labour amongst; us? Let a practical oase be given. A man landß upon our shores from, say. Home or the other colonies. He wants work ; is willing, hardworking, and industrionsly inclined ; cannot straight off get a permanent situation, but Rocks day labour Co koep himself and his family in food. He applies on the wharf or aboard the steamers, and ia told by employers—"We dare not take you on; you are not a Union man." Now what oourso is opon to him if he wishes to join the Union ? He must firßt of all bo a botlafide resident of the plaoe for at least three weeks before he can bo balloted for eleotion, but would be allowed to go to work at onoe on payment of tliree guineas. Doea not this partake of protection with a vengenoe P Is it not hurtful exaction, and an approach to tyranny ? Let this question of unionism " be opened up further, and consider how it may affeot the oolony generally if permitted to go on unohcoked. Besides the Lumpers' Union, we have established in the colony an Engineers' Union, a Sailors' Union, embracing Bailors, firemen, and trimmers, a Cookß' and Stewards' Union, and a Federated Union of the lot, more or less, and these sooietiea are working together and adopting a system of coercion upon every steamship owner (whether individual or company) in the colony. The question is reasonably raised, Why should tho shipping industry of New Zealand, from the Moa and Mohaka up to the Aorangi, Tainui, and Kitnutaka, be undermined by auch a cancer aa tho present general union movement is inoculating into it? It 1b more or leaa crashing the individual owner, and the fear of the results of some iurther stringent actions of these societies has no doubt been one of the chief incentives to cause our enterprising oitizen, Captain Williams, to dear ont entirely from the risks and annoyances of the steamboat business. It cannot be put forth that large profits have been made in the steam trafflo of New Zealand to warrant it to stand up against these oheoks. It is admitted by all finanoial men that an enterprise embodying the risks of steam-trading warrants the looking for high rates of interest on capital so invested, and yet shareholders in any of our existing lines, Buoh aa the N.Z.S. Co., the B.S. and A. Co., the U.S.S. Co., will tell you that they have never received a rate equal to what the safest investments (mortgages) would have secured to them. In the telegraphio oolnmns the other day it was recorded that the Northern S.B. Company, of Auokland, not only paid no dividend, but made a loss. In "Lumper'a" letter the Union Steam Company is held up as a reproach for their alleged action in holding aloof from all the other shipping companies (but by a letter in your Saturday's issue I ace thia ia not the case), and it oauaes a remark to be made that the Wellington Lumpers' Sooiety are hitting the ataunoheit support that all the Unions previously named have had to their cause, even to acquiescence at different times iv resolutions oome to by the Seamen's Union to raise their own wages. It is well known that our local steam owners have on several occasions twitted and remonstrated with the Union Steam Company for their apparent _ adhesion to the Onions by so readily giving in to every periodical demand made upon them, and have aooused them of being equally to blame with the Unions for so doing. Employes and labonrers belonging to these Unions should consider whether it ia wise on thoir part to continue a system of irritation towards their employers. There are periods when reason is overstepped, and combinations, useful and worthy at the outset, are simply anioided by their own over-reaching movements. What happened the other day? A man here who had been a master and an officer' in his time, but who, through misfortune, was necessitated to take what he oould get, was told by the owner he could join one ot the looal steamers aa a sailor; but, because he was not a Union man, a threat was held ont by the Seamen's Union representative that either the man must go atihore or else the entire crew would be taken out of the vessel. Another instance— Two firemen went ashore at one of the ports, and not turning up by sailing time were left behind, and on the steamer's arrival in Sydney two other men were shipped in their place, but on the steamer's return to New Zealand tho representative of the Seamen's Union ordered them to bo discharged and the loft-behind men taken on again, failing which the entiro ore w would be taken out of tho vesbi)l. Another instance : After the calamitous disaster of the Tararua, one of the shipwreoked sailors, who preferred working on Bhoro, until labour got scarce, lately elected to seek employment sprain at sea. This he was refused by the "Union" until he paid up the wholo of tho back subscriptions from the date he loft the Tararua, amounting to £3 6s. The man succeeded in getting j63, but was still refused until he produced the 6s, which, after some difficulty, ho succeeded in borrowing, thus going to sea leaving his wife and family unprovided for, and solely dependent upon friends. Many other cases could be quoted oven to showing the baneful operation of their ballot, whereby the Bons pi looal settlors are blackballed when put up for election, thus denying employment to our }taw Zealand born oolonists. Many will exclaim, can such things be in a free colony? Truly one half of the world little knows the experiences of the other) These plain foots indioate not what the employes have to put up with, but tho hardships and restraints whioh one set of the working class force upon their leas fortunate brethren. " Lumper," in his letter, states the labour market has been overstocked in his particular work, and complains of so many men hanging about the wharves. In explanation of this, it is evident that lnmping work (like shearing) can only be of a fluctuating and periodical nature, being governed by the number of vessels at the wharf each day, especially when one or two Home steamers come in ; and the experience nf employers has been that in the bney titles sufficient

labouv is not to bo had, and during rushes men make a pound and thirty shillings a day, inoludintf overtime, and there are many who often make .£4 to £G a weok, and average at least £3 per week all the year round— at least this was slated in Court by men thornselves when giving evidence in the recent action Lovelace v. Union Steamship Company. The lumper here baa not much to complain about, neither ia theie any reason in bia attempt to oust others of hia fellows from earring a living. Employers pay the rates agreed upon, and surely they are entitled to choose mon in the open market withont fear or favour. However, the broad question is, are these Unions, taken as a whole, which are growing up amongst us oontribnting to the welfare and purity of the community at large P The position, to put it plainly, is this — Any new arrival on our shoros, whatever hia ability or capacity may be, desiring employment afloat in the grades of engineor, firemen, trimmers, Bailors, cooks, or stewards, cannot obtain same except at the will of the respective " Unions " governing these sources of employment, and any owner or company attempting to ship a non-Union man haa his vessel forthwith threatened with " boycotting ; " and the preaent aotion of the Lumpers' Union is to enforce the same principles amongst the labouring classes of our cities, and while these things are going on we hear criea re the " unemployed." la it to be wondered at ? If suoh systems are allowed to extend and permeate in our midst, may it not tend to New Zealand being looked upon in the Home Country and in our neighbouring oolonies as a spot hampered in its freedom, with its industries fettered, and where labour is shorn of its full rights by the tyranny of unionism as now conducted, not only against every steamship-owner and company in tho colony, but against the larger portion of the working classes and unemployed who are not, and porhaps cannot be, members of those Unions. Is not this, air, grave cause for consideration as to how far tho public should support these organisations, and whether the time has not arrived for a reconsideration of the provisions of the Trades Union Aot, 1878 P I am, &0., Observes.

In onr advertising columns to-night the WeDington-Manawatu Railway Company invites tenders for tbe formation of the last remaining uncontraoted for section of their line. The section in question iB that between Paikakarikiand Utaki. and itpreeentß no engineering difficulties. Tho time allowed by the specifications to complete the formation is ten months, and the permanent way wi". probably take three or four months more to lay down. Unless something unforeseen occurs, tho wholo line should be open for traffio witt"i 15 or 16 months from the present time. The final payments for the Wellington Handicap Steeplechase close to-morrow night. A troupe styling themselves " The MerryMakers will commence a season at the Theatre Boyal on Saturday night. The leading light of the show is Mr. Washington Norton, who visited Wellington some years ago as a member of a negro minstrel troupe, on whioh occasion he won golden opinions. The entertainraont is of a varied character, andean hardly failtopleaae. Mr. Norton plays on the banjo, Japanese fiddle, tambourine, and boneß with considerable ability; sings with good effect ; takes part in comediettas and faroeß in a very oreditable manner, and also eives an exhibition of lightning changes. Mr. Norman is another member of the company. He possoaseß a fine baritone voice, and contributes such songs as " The Wolf," " Friar of Orders Grey," &o Mrs. Washington Norton assists in the entertainment by taking part in the pieces played by her husband. The Southern press apeak in very high terms of the entertainment provided by "The Merry Makera," who will doubtless have a successful season in Wellington. A Message from Merrt England.— Mr. E. H. Mardon, of the firm of Mardon, Son and Hall, the eminent lithographers and printers, established over fifty yeara, Bristol, England, writes :— " Last year, when Buffering greatly from Neuralgia, I tried St. Jacobs Oil. I had before nsed it, when in Australia, for Rheumatism, with the greatest bonefit, but hardly thought it would be efficacious for Neuralgia, yet I certainly found, a wondertul relief from its application. So highly pleased was I with it that I obtained a case of one dozen bottles, for distribution amongst our work-poople, some of whom have told me it proved invaluable. I gavo a bottle to one of onr leading clergymen, who waa Buffering with Lumb go, and he waa delighted witn the speedy jure it effected "