SHIPPING STRIKE

Evening Star, Issue 19063, 5 October 1925, Page 5

SHIPPING STRIKE

QUIET IN AUSTRALIA POSITION IN SOUTH AFRICA. fress Association —By Telegraph—Copyright. Australian and N.Z. Press Association. SYDNEY, October 4. (Received October 5, at 1.30 a.m.) The strike position is quiet. The striking seamen will participate in the eight-hour-day procession to-morrow. ASKING FOR ADYICJE. LONDON, October 3 The Marine Workers’ Union has received a cable from the strikers in South Africa asking if it is advisable for the strikers in South Africa to accept the following terms:—‘‘No prosecution of the men; no victimisation; no pay until the men resume work; the Cape and South African Governments to urge the Imperial Government to hold an impartial inquiry. Forty-eight hours are given to us to reply. The’ men at Durban are solid. If the Marine Workers’ Union considers the strike should continue, reply giving us your absolute confidence.” A special- meeting of the union was called to consider the matter, and a cable will be sent immediately a decision is readied.—Renter. MR HAVELOCK WILSON'S MESSAGE. TESTING DONA FIDES. LONDON, October 4. (Received October 5, at 9.5 a.m.) Mr Havelock Wilson lias sent _messages to the president of the Waterside Workers’ Federation at Sydney ns follows:—“I am much impressed with your statement advising the strikers to return to fight out the trouble in England. If you desire, to test the bona Tides of the minority conducting this strike demand the inspection of their union hooks. You will discover who and what they are. If they say that they left their books at Homo, do not be bluffed. Tell us the number of their books and we will cable their financial position. If this course _is _ adopted I believe that the trade unionists of Australia will get a terrific shock. YVo have inspected the names and addresses of 1,000 men in six ships on the South African coast, and can only discover twelve members. The truth is that many men on those liners have been a drawback to ns for the last live/years. Demand a show of books and yon will know the true position.” —A. and N.Z. Cable. TERMS UNAUTHORISED. CAPE TOWN, October 3. YVith reference to the cable sent by the strikers to the Marino Workers’ Union in England the steamship owners state that the terms mentioned in the message, aro quite unauthorised so far as they are concerned. They point out that whatever the reply may be the fact remains that there will be no detention of outward sailings from Groat Britain. The only effect of the agitation of the Atarine Workers’ Union is that willing workers have intimidated non-unionists into securing jobs. Nine hundred of the Ballarat’s passengers for Australia, who have been in Cape Town .for six weeks have no official assurance as regards resuming the journey. They demand that something be done to end the position, laying stress on the hardships which women and children aro compelled to undergo. -—Reuter.

UNION OFFICIAL'S INVECTJ VE. BRISBANE, October 5. (Received October 5. at 10.5 a.m.) Mr Carrigan, the Queensland president of tlie Australian Seamen's Lnion, said that he had no doubt that a move was going to be made to create a stampede among the British seamen. Referring to the steamer Port Hardy,_ whoso linos, he said, had been cut, and the vessel taken out of the harbor and anchored fourteen miles away in Whit Sunday passage, Mr Carrigan said that efforts* bad been made to ship coal to her from Brisbane and Maryborough, to keep the relrigorators going, but no vessels should take coal to her. Any vessel that did so would be declared “ black.” Air Carrigan said that if he had bis way the Port Hardy would be towed back to the wharf with her cargo rotten, lie hoped that the cargo would go bad, and the “scab" engineers get fever, and fall over the side and die. After referring to the steamer Port Auckland, Air Carrigan said that they were determined to put the serow on, and see that no vessel went out of the river. Congestion was part ol the game they were playing. HEW ZEALAND DEVELOPMENTS THE PRfAIK MINISTER'S CONFERENCE. [Per United Press Association.] AUCKLAND, October 3. A deputation representing the Seamen’s Strike Cnmmittee > is going to Wellington to take part in the conference with the Prime Minister. The strikers in England are being provided for by levies or contributions from the workers of tho various unions. The members of the Seamen's Union are being levied at the rate of 2s fid a month, while the waterside workers contribute 2] per cent, of their earnings. The other unions are to contribute voluntarily. RELEGATES LI BERATED. [Pee United Press Association.] CHRISTCHURCH, October 4. Two of the seamen’s delegates from the Horornta were liberated from Papain a Prison yesterday, and went to the north to attend tho conference convened by the Prime Minister. FARMERS PERTURBED. [Per United Press Association.] HASTINGS, October 3. The executive of the Farmers’ Union wired tho Prime Alinister strongly urging tho Government to take immediate steps to have tho ships manned and despatched. HA WEB A, October 3. A meeting of dairy farmers and representatives of business interests convened by the federated Taranaki cooperative dairy companies, was bold here to-day. A resolution was adopted supporting the Government in its efforts to obtain a settlement of the strike and undertaking in the event of no settlement being reached to organise the district in support of whatever action the Government mav consider necessary to enable the shinment of produce and the ordinary tra’de of the dominion to be resumed.* The meeting pet up aii Organisation Committee representative of the dairy factories. Chamber of Commerce, and other bodies.

OUR PRIMARY INDUSTRIES . A GRAVE POSITION [Per United Press Association.] AUCKLAND, October 5. Sir James Parr, in the course of a speech to bis constituents, said that in Auckland alone nine overseas ships were bold up by the seamen’s strike. New Zealand had never been faced with a more serious situation. The inward and outward cargoes involved over £2,850,000 in value. Probably threequarters qf the outward cargo consisted of primary products destined for England, while the inward merchandise was urgently required by importers and the public. Ho estimated that New Zealand dairy produce and meat to the value of £4,500,000 was held up. If the strike continued into the summer onr exports, 96 per cent, of which were primary products, would not bo forwarded, and the conntiy would lose over £50,000,000. "The strikers had got the whole community by the throat, and its continuance would mean the closing down of every industry, office, and business in Now 7 Zealand. The Government realised the gravity of the situation, and could not stand idly by, and see the country ruined. DAIRY COMPANY’S REQUEST. WATMATE, October 5. The Co-operative Dairy Company, Ltd., passed a resolution urging the Government to take immediate stops to have ocean steamers proceed overseas immediately with dairy produce, as the stoppage was having a, detrimental effect on the dairy industry. KUROW HELD UP. [Per United Press Association.] AUCKLAND, October 4. The Knrow’s erew has gone on strike because the vessel lias cargo on board from the steamer Kent. The Knrow completed loading on Saturday evening for Gisborne, Wellington, Lyttelton, and Dunedin, but owing to the men refusing to_ take the ship to sea she anchored in the stream to await a settlement of the trouble.

DIFFICULTY OVERCOME THE KUROW SAILS. AUCKLAND, October 5. Tho objections by the crew of tho steamer Knrow to the transhipment of cargo from the steamer Kent and the refusal to go to sea wore overcome. Tho officials of tho Union Company and the Seamen's Union advised the men to resume duly; otherwise they would be acting illegally. Tho crew demanded that the cargo from tho Kent should bo first unloaded from the Knrow. The men, alter discussion last night, decided to take the Knrow to sea, and she sailed at 11.50 on Sunday night. INCIDENT AT WELLINGTON LOYAL SEAMEN ATTACKED. WELLINGTON, October 5. About 100 men, said to bo strikers, assembled on tho wharf on Saturday night and attacked some loyal seamen, who were about to bo taken out in' a tug to a steamer in tho stream. Policesergeant Melville and Constable Cleverly, by tactful handling, prevented the trouble'from becoming serious. For a while the crowd’s hustling tactics seemed likely to make things awkward for tho loyalists, one of whom had a rough experience at the strikers’ hands, but lie was rescued from a warm corner by Constable Cleverly. Eventually two firemen strikers were arrested, and the crowd dispersed after the tug got away.

RARANGA HELD UP CHEW WILL NOT TAKE HER OUT WORK CEASED THIS MORNING. At last tbe big strike which everywhere is holding up thousands of tons of shipping has extended to Dunedin. This morning the men of the Shaw, Savill and Albion liner Raranga approached Captain R. H. Gordon in a body, and intimated that they would not take tho ship to son. The Raranga, which came from London via Panama and Suva, reached Otago Heads at 11 o’clock on the morning of September 25, and berthed at the Victoria wharf at 10.30 a.m. next day. On September 28 tbe stokehold crew ceased work, and left the vessel. The captain had, however, said that it was usual for tho men to have a day off after a long voyage such ns the vessel had just completed. Whether or not tho men regarded this as tho holiday, they returned to work next morning, and any apprehension that was felt died down in tho meantime. Since then the work has boon going on satisfactorily, and discharge has been proceeding all tho time. This morning the ship was loading cargo for the United Kingdom, and it was expected to clear her of her Dunedin inward freight to-morrow. Tho company’s intention was to send the vessel to Lyttelton and Tiinaru. Her other loading ports wore not known.

In any case, she is held up now indefinitely. _ The captain has given the men permission to sleep aboard in the meantime.

A glance at tho Raranga soon after midday, where she kiy in drizzling rain at the end of tho Rattray street wharf, revealed nothing untoward about her. Tho midday meal was going on,’and the big 8,000-tonncr had naturally a silent and deserted appearance. A few of the crew were moving about forward. One of them told a 1 Star ’ reporter that the men were quite unanimous about their action. They had, ho said, all gone to the captain to apprise him of tho situation. Tho crew were quite linn in their intention not to take the ship about. A statement made earlier in tho week that in tho event of trouble tho ship would bo laid up at Port Chalmers was mentioned. The quiet reply was; “This crew will not take her to Port Chalmers.” That was afi. Work ceased to-day, and it is : impossible to say what will como afterwards.