THE AUSTRALIAN SHEARERS' STRIKE.

North Otago Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8080, 19 September 1894, Page 3

THE AUSTRALIAN SHEARERS' STRIKE.

•iO THE EDITOR. Sik,— 'Juab another letter to show that thoro is ft possibility of tho shearers winning, notwithstanding your opinion to tho contrary. Nob long since tho Town and Country Journal, a paper not at all in sympathy with tho aims and aspirations of the workers on tho other Hide, Btated that " tho supply of froo laborers will not be sufficient to make a victory for the 1894- agreement possible ;" also, thai •' tho unionists wore numerous, and defcerminod to win." The Australian Star, a paper notoriously agninsfc the workers, abates that " Another victory for tho Pastoralists' Union, like thoWagga one and Whitoly King's occupation will bo gone." If tho free laborers now engaged by tho Pastoral ials' Union wero (.hearers possibly your opinion might turn out to bo tho correct ono. But what does tho truth of tho matter declare, viz., not two out of every ton froo laborers know anything about shearing. Tho Sydney Morning Herald recently stated that it took tho weragofreo laborer GO minutes to do what a shearer could do in about throe minutoi. Wo also learn from another journal thut tho New Zealand backlogs who crossed in tho Waihora wore not shearers, but aftor landing they wero sent to the Burrawang sUtion, and after commonning work all hands wore sacked and replaced by unionists under conference agreement. At Tindnry tho bonrd was filled with inmates from tho P>irramatta Benevolent Asylum, many of them actually woaring tho livery of that institution when they arrived «b tho station. Mr J. R. M'Donald, who is well known to many New Zealandors, wrileo from Now South Wtlos -stating that * 4 A crowd of ' scabs ' was distributed botween Burrabie, Yamma, and North Yrinlco. Those wero found to bo such in-, corrigible muff" that 75 per cent of them had to bo discharged, Many of them wore city larrikins, who enlisted with the P-as'oralists' Union in order to get a freo ride up." fn a letter of a later dato ho oays ; "Bhoiring mat'ora are progressing voiy well in this district, AH froo laborers havo voluntarily oomo out and joined tho men on strike. Toogambio, Warrillah, Oanoon, Mo<-glol, Ticehursf, Oxley, Mariield, Kilfoera, and Alma havo not got a man on tho board. Benduok, Kerurbury, and sevcal others have given way during tho past few days, and a number are on the point of sacking their teams and filling with unionists, as the sonbs cannot get on at all. In a letter which I received from Mr W. <J. Spence, datod September 8, he says : "News from all branches in daily more favorable. The PastoialiHts' Union is getting the worst of tho fight, and are Borry they over entered into'it, |n more tha.n onp district the P^storalis^ Union has had to practicably give up the fight, and bquatters who wanted to introduce the now agreoment havo been forced to give in to their terms. Oponamblo branch faiily annihilated the Pasloralitjts' liftion, Scono branch is \\\ for an eas^ ftin, as V<'ry fe>y freo laborers aro'aboitt there. The Forbes district boys have got the uppor hand completely, and severftl equation* there hccedod from the PtistoralisiH 1 Union, othorwiso they could not havo got their (-heuring done. Victoria etarts noxt week, but as the Pastoralists' Union cannot get sufßoienl free laborers for New South Wales ] don't boo where they can be obtained foi tho former colony. Another thing, th( New Koaland shfaring will soon start which ought to check the flow from there although, to tell th« truth, tho Now Zea land ncubs ate doing but -little harm, vi th'eygct packed *Koobl as soon "ny reach a shi'd.' T||o foregqioß v\]\ giyo i fair idea of t'foe gmftll shpw tho padtoral isto' Union has of winning, The fact are these t Moat of tho Australia! uhoarers are well organised, and tho fre< laborers obtainable to tako their place arc comparatively few, and in most case totally inexperienced. Tho squatters so the warm weather coming on and rccog nise that they are a month or more be hind time with their shearing. There tore, deponfl opw ft that tho wbl

mosangea for the future will record the fact that sheds are giving way nearly everywhere. Up to date the offioials of the Australian Shearers' Union deserve great praiso for tho manner in which they havo offioerod the dispute^ whereas the strongest partisan of the Paßtoralißts' Union cannot but viow tho action of tho litter as being in tho utmost degree reprehensible* Respeo'ing tho outrages mentioned, I shuil, with your permission, havo another letter in whioh 1 will niontion a fow matters not generally known on this side of tho Pcioiiio, and which I think will tond to provo thab many of Whitoly King's proteges have more Jo do in tho matter than moat people suspect. — £ am, etc, J. OBiubn. [If our correspondent is batietiod with the extracts ho has mado we have no reason to fool annoyed at the opinion ho his formod. It is simply a question of time, and a little patience on tho part of our correspondent will show him that tho stations he has mentioned and tho quotations ho iuvs mado do not apply to tho wholo of Australia. For instance, wo might profter a quotation from a pupor vt ith a decided loaning to unionism, which says that •• tho chance of tho men winning is about as good as tho chanco of putting back fcho univorso, and that tho odds are so enormous that the result) is hardly in doubt even for an instant." Time will toll. — Kd.]