OUR SYDNEY LETTER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13727, 18 April 1908, Page 7

OUR SYDNEY LETTER.

■. _-_—*— — ■ ■ [FROM OCR OWN CORRESPONDENT.] Sydney, April 11. f .- EFFECT OF THE STRIKE. nttiXG to the recent strike an irregular " °;i has been maintained by the K ECrV Srs so that the food supW^. Ca ,f'tV poits where these coastal ' E'regularlv call hare not been so low lTs4tOtherwise have proved the case. fJLsage was received yesterday, however, torn tho lighthouse-keeper at Montague IsL whore vessels call with supplies, that he. and his family were in nr--■Hen 4 need """'' as since the strike no learner has been there for more than a '' ' • Ltoi-drt as the result, of the strike. Ihe •> s up? rmtemlert. of Navigation issued m--;V iStions that provisions should Ik, sent '-; Mediately from Narooma, the nearest ;?;•- township. In llke manner, supplies were '''■' sent a few days ago from Wol,ollon to ■ the keepers on Solitary Island, no boat I having called there for some time. r: . yesterday, at the Water Police (our,, another striker, who bad interfered with a ; free labourer, was »nt to prison for six •"*eeW. The magistrate. Mr. l'ayten. when : : it was suggested by the solicitor for the -"' accused that a wise leniency would be a ' charity towards the man. replied that '/? something wore Hum charity was required " in such cases where men trying to earn "their Jiving honestly were prevented from doing so by men of this stamp. THE WEARY ROAD OF THE HATTERS. . he .'three hatters" appear likely to be mffle iust as famous as the " six halters," : Xse experiences went perilously near to making Australia a laughing-stock mythe ££ of people on the other side of the globe. The three hatters have come out. as their £ celebrated comrades did a few years ago. Rom England under contract to work at the Sydney hat factory of Charles Anderson and £>, i Surry Hill* but they have not "mated to" like dutiful workmen On the «mntrary the* have fled from Sydney, and rTpresent In Melbourne, where they are Ijring at the expense of their union, whose Members are endeavouring to find out Aether the agreement is legal and are • complaining bitterly, it is »id of its term. Anderson and Co.. angry that the men have not fulfilled their part of the contract, proceeded against them in the Sydney Water Police Court the other day, upon an information alleging that, having contracted to serve the company for a period of five years, they bad absented themselves without reasonable cause There was no aupearance of the defendants, of course, and Mr. R. G. Anderson, who laid the information, wed for a war ■rant for Ibex arrrest, an application which Mr. Barnett, the magistrate, granted. -• The warrant was obtained under the Mastten and Servants Act, the three- men having disappeared after contracting With Anderson and Co. to serve for five years as felt hatfinishers: but there appears to be another " ,ide to the story. It is contended that Anderson and Co. have been guilty of an evasion of the Contract Immigrants Act. . 1905. in bringing these men out to Australia under contract at a time when an industrial dispute is in existence amongst the farm s employees -and without obtaining approval of the terms of the contract. Accordingly certain representations have been made by the Trades Hall authorities in Melbourne to the Prime Minister, who has referred tho matter to the Attorney-General. The hatters state that when they were engaged in England they were not told that there was a longstanding dispute between Anderson and Co. and their employees, and this news was conveyed to them 'in the most accidental way after they had arrived at the factory in Sydney. This is the story of one of the hatters, talking the matter over with a Melbourne trade unionist:—"When we arrived at Sydney, and were taken to the works, we had "not been inside the door more than a few hours before one of us heard the word * picket' dropped. He at once pricked up his ears, and asked whore the strike was on. ' Why, here.' answered my friend's informant, who looked astonished at our innocence of the stale of affairs. As soon as we could get outside that nay wo got into touch with the picket, and soon learnt from him something about, the long-standing strike. After some little delay, we heard all we wanted to knov, and-decided to come to Melbourne." According to the affidavits made by the men, Mr. William Anderson saw them at Stockport, in Ergland, and told them that his firm in Australia would engage them at 23 5s a week if they would go out. He paid their passages, paid. a sum of money to their wives, and gave the men £5 each to spend upon the voyage. They came to Hobart by the Mamari, and completed their voyage to Sydney by the Westralia, The Federal Government is now to decide whether the agreement comes within the scope of the Contract -Immigrants Act.

PROPRIETARY MEDICINES. ; Two delegates from the Proprietary Articles section, of the London Chamber of Commerce, Messrs. E. Glover and J. A. Kenninghum, are here to object to the proposal in the Commonwealth Commerce Act that the formulas of all proprietary medicines and goods should be disclosed. The manufacturers who are members of this body claim that such a law will involve the loss of their _trade mark rights, and rather than incur this loss they prefer to sacrifice their trade with Australia. There are, they admit, certain proprietary preparations of an objectionable nature in existence, and they are quite with the Australian authorities in their desire to keep worthless, fraudulent, or harmful medicines off the market; but this, they contend, can be adequately done without injury to the manufacture of genuine goods. Their suggestion is that the American system should be followed, by which a list of Alio drugs objected to is scheduled, and every proprietor called upon to guarantee that his goods do not contain these prohibited elements. : The delegates intend to visit New Zealand. AGAINST PROFESSIONALISM. A very clear indication of the view which the majority of the rep-esentatives of the athletic bodies take regarding the subject of professionalism ii: football was given at a conference in the Sports Club, convened to frame a uniform amateur definition for observance by all athletic bodies, the Rugby League having written asking »or permission for iU delegates to attend, amotion was proposed that that body should he requested to furnish evidence to the conference that it was entitled to/be considered aa amateur organisation. However, one of those present, Mr. Horniman, turned up the J fague rules, and when he found that these oeclared that players might receive 10s a % for actual loss of time while playing tootball. he promptly moved that the request 01 the league should not be granted, adding 'ho comment that it wa<i useless to commence the conference, with any humbug. It was contended by Mr. M. A. Noble, on the W'-er hand, that 10s was not too much to reimburse a player for expenses, and that it ■/"'as absurd to compel a man to participate "> a game at personal loss. The first motion, railing upon the league to show cause, hav«g been withdrawn, Mr. Noble proposed an amendment to Mr. Horniman's motion to WO effect that the Rugby League should be "Omitted to the conference, and have the Wine right to vote as the other organisations represented. After discussion this amendment was lost, the motion proposed by Mr. oonnman, for the exclusion of the league, <*}»g carried by 23 votes to 11. A sub-com-"tee has been appointed to prepare a series "'-resolutions for a future conference, this comprising: Messrs. Taylor swimming Association), Marks (Athletic !T a -\ n ° rriil "»n (Rowing), Colquhoun aenmsj. Arnold (University Sports Union), -'Wiahon (Rugby Union), and Green (Cricket Association).