Hawke's Bay Herald. MONDAY, MAY 4, 1891. THE SCOTTISH RAILWAY STRIKE.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXVI, Issue 8963, 4 May 1891, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Herald. MONDAY, MAY 4, 1891. THE SCOTTISH RAILWAY STRIKE.

In n very readable article In the Nineteenth Century tor February Sir Herbert Maxwell, M.P. for Wigtownshire, gWos some interesting particulars respecting the recent strike on the Scottish railways. After some introductory renmrks respecting other strikes, Sir Herbert refers to the suddenness which characterised tho ruove_ ment miulo by the Scottish railway em. ploye's. It was not only that tho public were taken by eurprise, but none of tho directors of the companies conccrned-were aware what was imminent until it was actually taking place. Yet, for more than a year the managers of the Scottish lines had been receiving letters from Mr Henry Tait, secretary to the Amalgamated Society of Scottish Railway Servants, setting forth certain grievances of the men, and claiming to be heard in oonferenco on thoir behalf. The replies receivod were not deemed satisfactory because the directors of the different companies wore indisposed to conferring with representatives of a combination of railway servants, though willing to inquire into complaints made by the employes to the directors of the different lines on which such employe's were working. Thereupon it was resolved in November last to test the feeling of the railway servants on the question of n strike on Christmas Eve ; but at n meeting of the union held in tlm beginning of December it was found that only a small minority of tho men >vero in favor of going out, and it was couscqucDtlj believod that the movement had been abandoned. Subsequent events, however, showed that so far from being given up the movement was being secretly pushed with groat vigour, though no outw.wd sign whatever was given of what was comiug. "On Monday, the 22nd of December," continues Sir Herbert, " there fell a bolt from the blue ; the morning j) ipern announced that tho met were out, The movement set on foot by Mr Tnit •md hU colleagues seemed to have escaped from their control. It was, at«H events, contrary to the advico »'«nt Mr Tail was reported in have given that more than hall tho railway servants of Scotland deserted their duty on that and tho following day. Bub it is impossible to believe that he was not aware of the mine that was to be sprung upon the managers. Without evou a show of hesitation he endorsed this gigantic breach of contract, and threw himself into the task of bringing the whole traffic of the country to * standstill. Strong pickets were told off to guard approaches to engine sheds cud signal cabins ; others wcro despatched by ench trains as could still be run ti call out the men in country district*. Many of the companies' servants who had no intention of striking were surrounded, as they went singly or in twos or threes to their work, by strong pickets, and ware intimidated into returning t» their homes. Tbeso measures were so far successful that on Christmas Day Mr Tait was ablo to announce that four fifths of the men employed on tho Scottish lines had joined tho strike. The immediate effects will not soon be forgotten, by those who experienced them. Tho passenger service was dislocated ; trains were despatched at long an. l irregular intervals ; the block syßtom, on the working of which tlio safely of travellers so much depends, had perforce to be given up, and the general difficulty and discomfort was intensified by t lie heavy fog and intense cold which prevailed. The mineral and goods traflie was completely stopped ; for tho first time in her history Glasgow was brought to the brink of a coal famine, and ocean goiug steamers were unable to put to sea for want of fuel." As soon as tho strike became generally known the railway managers were inundated with applications for the vacancies, but two coiibidera tions prevented their being filled at onceone that the applicants were untrained in the ser /ice, and the other that the managers were unwilling to close tho doors against the return of their old servants. However, as the strike continued its effects because bo serious that all consideration for tho strikers had to be put aside, and every possible moans taken to fill their places, so as to continue the service as well a.s possible under the circumstances. Tho strikers, on their part, endeavored us far as they could to mar the efforts of the railway directions to work tho lines. " In the early days of thu strike" says Sir Herbert, " pickets of twenty or thirty men might have been seen surrounding an engine— coaxing, urging, threatening the driver and iiromen, They visited the houses of meu who remained at work, and terrified tho wives with descriptions of the treatment awarded to ' blacklegs' till the poor women added their entreaties to the inllncnco of the picketers ; and it required both moral and physical courago of no mean order to withstaud such a combination. Meetings were held nightly in (ilasgow and Edinburgh, and retnltr tions were passed pledging tho strikers not to return to work as long as a singlo ■blackleg' was retained in tho service of tho companies. The spirits of the strikers present at Iheeo meetings were .sustained by telegrams read to them by Mr Tait and his collogues, often in flagrant contradiction to the real facts of the case — such, for instance, as that 70,000 or 80,000 English railway men wero going to strike in sympathy with their Scottish fellow-workmen, whereas at that very moment the strike was practically at an end on one of tho companies' lines." Sir Herbert, while admitting that at lirsl the behaviour of the strikers was cenerally peaccablp, except the intimidation practised by the pickets, mentions a number of overt acts of violence that occurred subsequently, principally induced by the advico of Mr John Runiß " to put moro devil into the strike," and by such bints from other leaders as that thu men should " wear thick boots when on |>ickot duty." In concluding his article Sir Herbert iccommends the railway companies to Adopt a system of superannuation for their servants, pointing out that "if prnsitiii forms part of the terms of service it is natural that a mau will hesitato to sacrifice it by disagreeing with his employer."

nominated for Beata i on the board of directors is published in another column. One of the firemen of the Poherua m«t with an accident on Saturday night. lie was engaged in getting ashes up from the stokehole with the hand windlass when he slipped, and let go the bundle, which How back and struck him a severe blow on tho face, breaking the brWgo of his uose. The usual half-yearly meeting of the Bank of Now South Wales was hold in Sydney on tho 30th April. The report wns adopted, and the usual dividend of 15 per cent declared, with a bonus of 2J per cent. The sum of £10,000 was carried forward to the reserve fund, which now stands at £970,000, Napier Borough has made an addition to tho population of 601 persons since the census wna taken in 1886, tho recent census piviug a total of 8278 persons as against 7677 in 18SC. The number of inhabited houses has inorensed in tho same period horn 1372 to 1568, and tho number of uninhabited honaes from 67 to 140, so that, in buildinsr 196 additional houses, we went ahead too fast by over 70 honso3. A committee meeting of the Napier Choral nnd Orchestral Society was held on Saturday evening, when it was decided to commence practice ou the evening of Tuesday, Mny 12th, and that " Athalie" bo the iirat wotk undertaken. Tbis is in consequence of the society beinc unable to procure tho " Ancient Mariner " at present. It was also decided that the offer of the Gaiety Theatre as a practice room be accepted with thanks. A committee meeting of tho Hawke's Iky Gun Club was held at the Ciiterion Hotel on Saturday afternoon, when the president, Mr J. P. Hamliu, presented to the club a very handsome silver cup to be shot for by the members os the committeo may decide. The handsome present should tend to still further popularise the club's shooting contests, and should evoke keen competition, as well as induce many new members to join. The program me for the June meeting is under consideration, and will appear iv tho course of ft fow days. Uy the Tatawera yealerday there left for Dnnedin a Mr Beattie, n patient in the early stage of consumption, who is about to submit himself to be experimented upon in the Dunedin hospital with Dr. Koch's lymph. Before leavine Mr Beattie desired us to couvey his thanks to Dean Hovell, the Rev. Mr Patkiupon, Dr. de Lisle, Mr D. N. Adams, and others, for kindness shown to him while he was in Napior. He expressed himself epemally thankful for a saloon passage tuken for him by Dean Hovell. We are instructed to wiito this paragraph " more in sorrow than iv anger," although tlioso who instruct us are afraid that what they complain of has given them a compound "grippe" and rheumatism. They say that the ventilating contrivances in the Cathedral were left open last night on the wroujj side of tho buildiug, and that the Inline: southeasterly wiud consequently had a good t'uno inside, freezing tho marrow of worshippers, making them snffor pangs innumerable, and to lose the chance of edification. That is all. A well attemled meeting of tho con> initteft of management of the winter evening clashes was held in ths tooms of tho Philosophical Society on Saturday night. The syllabus anil time table wer-i drawn up, us far as possible puttied, nnd will ho advertised in due course. Tho lady members of committee ate to meet shortly to arrange for classes in cookery nud dressmaking. In this connection it may be mentioned, to avoid any misunderstanding, that all the classes urn open to both sexes. Tho rogister which has been opened under the care of Mrs Webor, librarian to the AthennMim, is gradually iilling up It ought to bo understood that if snflicient names nro not entered in any class to make it worth the teacher's while to attend, that class will not result, so intending members should enter their names as soon as possible. Yesterday afternoon the Roy. 11. T. itobjohns, M.A., addressed a crowded audience ct yountj people in the Gaiety Theatre. Tbo Hishop of Waiapu, the president of the Napier Auxiliary of tho Hi bio Society, was in tho olnir, and the Revs. J. Parkinson aud Penney took purt iv the meeting. Sheets of hymns were provided, and nn eilicicnt choir led tho singing. A collection was taken for the soeioty. Mr Robjnhns described from basement to topmost story tho Bible House, which is the centre of Bible work throughout the world. At night he preached in the Methodist Church from Kzekiel xvii., 2-" And tho glory of the God of Isrnol came from the way of tho East"— on the unique unity of the Bible. This evening he will speak at the aunnal meetiug of the Auxiliary, at which we believe will be presented a report of substantial progress. The repjpsentutive ol tho society will give eomo idea of the relation of modern criticism to the Hiblc, as illustrated hy tlio recent history ot the Gospel of St, John. He will describe the revival of religion In the universities, which will have so important an effect on missions in the near future, and in this connection give some personal reminiscences nt Professor Drummond. As is lih want, he will touch on some recent specialties of Bible work, nnd il last rate the onward Bible movement by some detail of the heroic efforts of Messrs Lawes and Chalmers, missionaries in New Guinea. The meeting is sure to be otic of very special interest. Mr Bo9co Wilson arrived on Saturday to make tho necessary arrangements for Miss Jennie Lee's Napier season, which commences with " Jo," at the Theatre Royal on Saturday next. "J3," as tho majority of playgoers are doubtless awaru, is a dramatisation by Mr J. P. Burnett of Charles Dickens.' "Bleak House." In a published sketch of tho career of Miss Jennie Leo it is stated that while Miss Lee was playing at Sao Francisco Madame Janauschek introduced a dramatised version of " Blenk House " named "Chcsney Wold." Miss Lee was cast for the subordinate part of " Jo,' 1 and in her impersonation of the part achieved such wonderful success that Mr IJjon Boucinault, who witnessed it, oalled upon Mr J. P. Burnett and strongly advised him to draniatiso the novel, making "Jo" the principal part, Mr Burnett at once adopted tho suggestion of the veteran actor and dramatist, and M't to work to put it into execution. He encountered in.ivy ditlicultioi, but mas t cit'd all, with a result creditable in the highest degree to his skill aud judgment. To tho story of " Jo " the whole action ot the drama v ■mbo.-dinated : Mr Guppy's advances to Esther, the murder of Mr Tulkinghorne, the disappearance aud death of Lady Deadlock, the anot of Kortcnse, and the other incidents of the novel which are introduced, all seem to increase the iutereet in the central tigurc Jo, Iv thui subordinating all tho parts to the ono object, Mr Burnett acted with a judgment worthy of au experienced nnthor. "Jo" will be played for two nights ouly, and will be followed by a now comedy drama entitled " Run Wild." During the season "Jack in the Box," tbo " Grasshopper," and the " Ticket of Leave Man " will bo staged. The box plan will bo opeu at Chissoll Bros. Nominations for seats on the Free Association's Board of Conciliation closed on Saturday. For employert' delegates the following gentlemen have been elected : — Mcasis R. Pnflett, J. V. Brown, F. W. Williams, J. Beatson, William Nelson, A. M'Hardy, John Bennett, K. D. D. M'Lean, J. H. Coleman, and Henry Gaistord. Mr Upsall Gray being the only one nominated for the Hastings borough as a workmen's delegate, has been elected. For tho Napier borough, for which two delegates aro required, cix havo been nominated— Messrs G. Robsnu, J. W. Smith, R. Lyilford, James M'Ewan, W. Hartley, and T. B. Harding. Mr Richard Wood was also nominated for Napier, hut as he is a resident of Tomoana, he was not eligible, und so hns been nominated for the Hawku'a Bay county. Two representatives are required for n seat on the board for the Waipawa county, nnd tho nominations are Messrs R. Hill, J. Sharpin, J. Wilks, J. O'Leary, A. J. Hayward, R. Peckett, T. Brigh'twell, G. 11. Gillaiu, William M'Douald, and W. Pilcher. For the Hawke's Bay county for two seats the nominations are Messrs W. V. Highly, T. Ramage, R. Wood, G. Kirk, W. B. Hill, D. S. Kinross, J. C. Williams, nnd W. Davidson. The Patangata county is also entitled to two members. The nominations are Messrs Frank Lamb, William M'Neilis, John Adarui, and W, Storah, For tho one seat, Wairoa nominations aro Messrs G, Pilie, D. Curtis, and J. Steer. Voting papers will be sent out during the coming week, returnable on or before Monday, Ist June, to Mr E. Black, secretary to the association.