Nelson Evening Mail THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1919. THE SHIPPING TROUBLE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LIII, Issue LIII, 30 October 1919, Page 4

Nelson Evening Mail THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1919. THE SHIPPING TROUBLE.

RESUMPTION of work on the Wellington waterfront this morning may bo the end of the trouble or it may not. .It is. impossible to believe that the Wellington watersides in previously failing to respond to the call for men to unload coal from Newcastle did not realise .the serious nature of their conduct. They brought about a position that no democratic people could tolerate. It is to be hoped it is tho . good sense of watersiders that has prevailed. It is well to consider what such tactics on the part of a small minority of the people really mean. They challenge th e system of democratic government at its very foundations. The question is no longer who is right or wrong in a particular dispute, hut who is to control tho country, the elected* representatives of tho people or a handful of men in a particular calling. No Government worthy of the name could for one moment allow itself to bo deprived of tho power placed in its hands by the people and if tho watersiders had persisted in their action in refusing to handl© coal from overseas it would have been a fight to a finish, for- no other course would have been possible. The great majority of tho people arc anxious to deal fairly and act justly towards all sections ,u! tho community, but they will not tolerate domination’ by a' small body of men, nor will they allow them to bring ruin and sufferingto thousands of others by adopting reckless methods in settling disputes, no matter how justified they may bo in seeking redress.: The rights, and interests of th e community as a whole must bo considered. In depriving the country of coal, the minors to some extent hit their employers with whom th 0 dispute lies, but they hit far more seriously thousands of those engaged in .other industries with whom they have no quarrel. Why should the public be forced to live in dread of trouble of this nature 1 Why should Nelson producers, for instance, have to fear that tho result of their year’s work may be lost to sthom because a section of the community in some other part has a dispute with employers? Nothing is more damaging to the progress and prosperity of the country, and therefore to the workers as well as to the rest of the community, than insecurity of industry. All legitimate grievances should bo redressed, bpt no Government worthy o? the name can tolerate Direct Actiqn, which is cruel, unjust and destructive. >, *