WATERSIDERS STOP

Grey River Argus, 19 August 1937, Page 5

WATERSIDERS STOP

, AT WELLINGTON Delay Over Bureau HOPE OF SETTLEMENT. > [Per Press Association]. WELLINGTON. August 18. ■ No labour offered for ships arriving at Wellington, to-day, and the only ships working are those on which labour was engaged prior to to-day. A conference is being held, with a view to a settlement of the dispute. WELLINGTON, August 18. Trouble has arisen on the Wellington waterfront regarding the terms of employment under the proposed Bureau System. The dispute advanced another stage to-day, when avail--able men declined to respond to calls for labour to work ships, which had arrived or were due during the morning. The men’s attitude was dictated by the decision they reached at. a stop work meeting last week not to accept engagement unless, the Bureau System of engaging and . employing water labour was put into operation. (This has been delayed by the shipping companies.) The only ships to-day working in port were those which had arrived prior to this morning, All of the other ships were idle throughout the day. The inter-island steamers Rangatira,, Arahura, and Kaitoa landed their passengers, baggage and mails with their own men, but they worked no cargo. The Kaiwarra and Wingatui, which arrived from Westport with over 500 tons of much-needed coal, wore unable to start discharging. The overseas liner Port Gisborne also remained idle. Frozen meat, which arrived from the works to be loaded into the Port Gisborne, reached the wharf, hut it was not touched. The sailing of the Kaitoa for Nelson was cancelled. She wil miss one round trip to Nelson. The Matangi is expected to sail for Nelson, as usual to-morrow night. She will carry passengers who had I booked by the Kaitoa to-night. A conference of representatives of the shipowners and the waterside workers was held at Parliament Buildings this morning. The Minis- , ter of Marine, Hon P. Fraser, and the Acting-Minister of Labour, Hon. ( P. C. Webb were present. | During the afternoon, a further . meeting was held by the shipowners 3 representatives and Ministers. 1 "The Dominion” was informed to- , night that a stop work meeting of } waterside workers would be held tomorrow morning to discuss the situation. No other official statement was available, but it was stated that there was good prospect of a settlement of ' the trouble.

cruiser Suffolk, in the vicinity of Saddle Island; the light cruiser Danae; the destroyer-leader Duncan, the destroyed Duchess and the escort vessel Falmouth. At Tsingtao: The air-craft-carrier Eagle, and the destroyers Decoy, Dainty and Delight. At Ching Wangtao: The minelayer Adventure and the destroyer Defender. At Nanking: The cruiser Capetown. At Chefoo: The destroyer Diana. New Zealanders in China AUCKLAND MESSAGES. [Per Press Association]. AUCKLAND, August 17. Although there are about 100 New Zealanders in Shanghai, and numbers of others are stationed in various parts of the China war zone, only a few have cabled information of their experiences to friends or relatives in the Dominion during the past few days. Messages received have in each case given assurances of the senders’ safety. A number of New Zealanders are engaged in the work of the China Inland Mission at various centres within fairly close reach of Shanghai and Peking. These include Mrs. F. Worley (formerly of Nelson), sister of Drs. W. H. and T. H. Pettit, and sister-in-law of Professor Worley, all of Auckland; who is stationed at Wenchow, in Checkiang Province, south of Shanghai. At Whangyen (Checkiang), are Mr. and Mrs Joseph Thompson, who left Auckland about 20 years ago on mission work. Miss Maud Hullah, of Kingsland, and Miss Marion Powell, ot Hikurangi, are in Hopei Province, near Peking. Dr. Phyllis Haddow, of Epsom, is on the staff of a mission hospital at Hangchow, 120 miles south of Shanghai, a fellow worker being Dr. E. L. Sergeant, brother of Captain Sergeant, Harbour Master at Auckland. The experience of two Auckland residents, which occurred in China last month, is related in a letter from a New Zealander in Shanghai, which was received in the city to-day. Mrs. W. R. Wilson, of Remuera, and her daughter, Mrs. N. L. Macky, who have been visiting the East, left Peking for Shanghai by aeroplane shortly after noon on July 7. Although they were not aware of it until next day, they made their departure only a few hours before fighting with the Japanese broke out, "the telegraph lines were cut,” the writer added, “and we might easily have been stranded up North.”

TELEGRAMS FOR SHANGHAI. The P. and T. (Department advises that telegrams for Shanghai are being accepted only at the sender’s risk. POWDER FACTORY. BLOWN UP IN JAPAN. [Aust. & N.Z. Cable Assn.l TOKIO, August 17. A War Office communique reports that the gunpowder factory at Uji in the Kyoto Prefecture, exploded yesterday night. Twenty-two were injured. One workshop, nine warehouses and three houses were destroyed.