THE SHIPPING STRIKE IN AUSTRALIA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVII, Issue 8385, 13 October 1890, Page 5

THE SHIPPING STRIKE IN AUSTRALIA.

ACTION OF THE ENGLISH UNIONS.

THIC STRIKE FUND.

NEW SHIPPING UNION. [FKOM OUR LONDON OOKUKSPONDBKT.] London, September 6. What Mr. Gladstone terms " the classes" in this country are watching with somewhat cynical curiosity the upshot of the appeal which the Australian strikers have made for a practical exhibition of sympathy from the " toiling masses" of Great Britain during the acute struggle now raging in " the paradise of the working man" between capital and labour. As there is said to be something not disagreeable in witnessing the r,iisfoi tunes of even one's best friends, so many people on this aide are observing with complacency the repetition in Australia of the tactics which produced such important and, many believe, disastrous consequences in London last year. The appeal for help was neither unlooked for nor unwelcome, in a sense it was courted. Speaking at one of the Sunday mass meetings at Hyde Park recently Tom Mann, one ot the dockers' leaders, threw out a broad hint that should Australia require assistance, it would bo rendered ungrudgingly. The intelligence was flashed across the world, and in a very few days Mr. Shiptou, the secretary of the Trades Union Council, received a cablegram from .Sydney in the following terms :—" Acute struggle capital and labour ; Australia seeks support." The message was signed Edwards, and this name eeeined quite unknown to Mr. Shipton. He called to his aid Mann, the president of the Dock Workers' Union, and Mr, J. H. Wilson, of the Sailors and Firemen's Union,but as they were equally ignorant, the three came up to the oflioe of one of the colonial newspapers, and asked leave to search the Hies. Explanations ensued, and the unionists were delighted to find that the appeal for help was made in (food faith. A little later Mr. Murphy, of the Trades Hall, Melbourne, telegraphed:— " Money urgently required to tight against capital. ' The prompt response of the Dockers' Union was a cheque for £1,000, half of which was cabled to Sydney and the other moiety to Melbourne. The leaders at the .same time issued reminders to the unions of th«s noble gift of £,'{S,OOO received so opportunely by the dockers last autumn, and urged them to "shell out" regularly, and thus prove their gratitude for past services, and at tho same time help to cement the bonds of internatio til brotherhood. The appeal was cordially responded to. The dockers have readily agreed to contribute 3d per man per week while the struggle lasts, and many of the men who have fewest claims upon them, are contributing from Is to "is 6d per week. They are jubilant enough to profess themselves able to provide £15,000 or £20,000, while Ben Tillett, their energetic secretary, and who has been elected Chairman of the Australian Strike Fund Committee, predicts that the total contribution of the organised trades will not be less than £-10,000. As Mr. Burns somewhat grandiloquently remarked at the great Labour Congress now in session at Liverpool, it is in the interest of the international federation of labour, and for the international solidarity of labour that the help rendered to Australia should be cordial and sufficient. Burns' eloquence on such occasions is of a somewhat florid type, so you may be sure he did not minimise the gravity of the Australian strike. Indeed, he declared that the battle being fought in Australia was relatively more important than the one which took place in London, for the London musters did not dispute to the same extent as did those in Australia the right of the unions to combine. The colonial workmen were now in the throes of tho biggest struggle between organised labour and capital which the world had ever witnessed, and the battle was not for higher wages or for shorter hours, or for the abolition of piecework, but was being fought to compel the masters in the colonies to recognise the rights of bonn fide organisations of skilled and unskilled labourers. It was with arguments such as these that the Congress was induced to adopt amid ringing cheers the following motion, which was proposed by •Mr. Burns and, seconded by Mr. Mann : —" That this Congress hereby expresses its heartfelt and cordial sympathy with the workers in Australia now on strike in defence of the union principles, and pledges itself to use every effort to obtain immediate monetary help through the organisations represented at this Congress, and by a request from this Congress to each of our trade councils requesting them to call public attention to the pressing necessities of tho case for the collection and transmission of funds."

As was natural and appropriate, the Dock, Wharf,am! Riverside an.l General Labourers' Union have taken the most prominent part in organising the Australian .Strike Fund. Under their auspices, si large meeting ot delegates from various trade unions was hold in London on the '2nd instant, and it was addressed by Ben. 'i'illett, the secretary of the Dockers' Union, who came up from th*. Liverpool Labour Congress expressly for the purpose. He made an energetic appeal, declaring that the English unionists ought to be grateful beyond measure for the lavish assistance which Australian workmen had sent them last year, and without which ths dockers' strike would not have proved one of the most glorious of labour's battles. The world was astonished at the rapid spread of the strike in Australia, and at the strong bond of sympathy uniting workmen all over the world, for wherever the chord was touched it vibrated. The Australians were not on strike for larger wages or shorter hours, but to resist the underhanded work of a certain suction of employers, who were appealing to the meanest feelings of the workmen's character, and trying to induce them t<» desert their common cause. The resu't of Tillefct's fervent appeal was the establishment of a committee to organise tin! Australian strike fund, and Tillott was elected chairman, John Burns treasurer, and Tom Mann secretary. It is part of their duty to invite the co-operation of all the trade organisations throughout England, and to arrange for the holding of five mass meetings in dibcrent parts of London. A de-nonstra-tion in Hyde l'ark was mooted, but abandoned, the opinion being expressed that the men were getting tired of Sunday demon titrations. The Executive Committee of the Dockers' Union has issued the following manifesto to trade unionists : —" Fel-low-workers, — Our brother unionists in Australia are in the throes of the greatest labour battle that has ever been fought. The struggle is not of their own seeking, Out is brought about by their resisting the encroachment of employers. Capital has combined in an attempt to try and break down labour unions, and the struggle is acute. They seek our support. Recognising the great ami far-reaching advantages which last year's great dock strike has had upon labour in this country, and remembering that it was largely due to the generous aid of our brother unionists in Australia, let us help them in their hour of need. This must be done, not in empty words of sympathy, but in solid cash. They need money to tight their employers. This money we can send them if we will. Nearly all have gained by their help. Let all show their gratitude by contributing liberally to their support. We can save them from defeat, and, in our interests, this should be done. For labour to be defeated in Australia means a blow aimed at us. We must prevent this by sending money. We, then-fore, earnestly appeal to all trade unionists of this country to subscribe to the support of our brothers, and to use their influence with others to send substantial aid to those who helped us in our hour of need. Subscriptions to ba .sent to the treasurer, Australian Strike Imiikl, Assembly Hall. Mile End Road. London." Employers of labour have recognised the necessity of imitating the adroit tactics of their employes. The formation of the new shipping union is the first evidence that the need of combination has become apparent. One of the most important and influential meetings of the British shipowners —including many of the passenger lines, and piactically the whole ot the carrying-cargo trade, both steam and sailing ships, and representing upwards of £100,000.000 sterling capital —was held on September 12. Mr. 1. L. Devitt, president of the Chamber of Shipping of the United Kingdom, in the chair. Resolutions were unanimously passed to form a federation of the entire trade of the British Empire, for tho purpose of dealing with labour questions in all parts of the world, and particularly to resist, in a united manner, the tyrannous or unreasonable demands or actions of trade unions or their members; the protection of officers, crews, or servants of shipowners against tho compulsion or the intimidation ot trade organisations; the indemnilication of members making sacrifices for the common good; and the supervision or promotion of legislation affecting shipping interests. The scheino includes a thoroughly representative central council in London, and the formation of powerful distriot committees in the various shipping centres to deal promptly with any case arising in the outports or abroad. The central office of the federation will be in London, and Mr. T. A. Laws, of Ni'weastlc-on-Tyue, has been unanimously elected the manager of the federation. Immediate steps are being taken to perfect the organisation, and an influential committee is to sit daily for that purpose. There is every prospect of the organisation becoming the most powerful combination of the shipping trade which has been established. lietore separating, the moinhera of the conference unanimously { adopted a resolution heartily approving the

action of the Australian shipowners in refusing the unreasonable demands of the_ labour unions, as being utterly subversive of discipline. The meeting further pledged itself to do all it possibly could to support the Australian shipowners in their struggle, and it was agreed to transmit a copy of the resolution to Australia. According to Mr. Ben Tillett, the dockers strike was one of the most glorious of labour's battles. It is doubtful if he will hold that opinion ten years hence, for it is alleged by impartial observers that as one result of the great victory, the port of London is gradually but surely losing its position as the centre of the world's commerce. Tom Mann and the other dockers' leaders stoutly deny that the London dockers are giving a bad day's work for a good day's pay; but if so, how do they account for the fact that vessels are now taking far longer to load and unload in London than before the strike. It is not a question of a few hours but of days, and that even when the cargoes are fully 500 tons less than in 18S9. Other testa confirm the same view. In 1889, the average rate of discharge was 44 tons per hour, now it is only 34 tons, and in many cases only 29 tons per hour. The strain of the Australian strike is being severely felt in London by shippers, shipowners, and by stevedores. Usually the months of August, September, and October are the busiest of tlie year in the export trade. But now many berths are vacant in the South, West, and East India Docks, and ships which should have sailed three weeks ago are still lying half empty, unable to obtain cargo. In place of working four or five gangs to each vessel, one or two now suffice, and the export sheds, instead of being full of export cargo, look empty and desolate. This of necessity moans loss of employment to hundreds of dockers.