THE SHIPPING STRIKE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19141, 6 October 1925, Page 7

THE SHIPPING STRIKE.

Sir, —As the existence of the British Nation depends on the mercantile' marine, it is imperative that some better means to insure continuity of service should be devised than the more or less haphazard agreement between the shipping combinations and seamen. The nation's commerce is too important to be hung up while owners and (men wrangle about a paltry eightpence a day. It is the people who have to foot the bill. The tact remains that the ships mast ran and the men be paid a living wage. No settlement will remove the chance of a stoppage, but the Governments concerned could devise some system of superannuation with occasional free trips for seamen's wives and families, similar to the New Zealand railway service. Seamen deserve these concessions quite as much as trainmen. There could also be a contributing system of seamen's purchase of shares, such as we use to buy homes or farms by instalments. This would root out all undesirables and make for a good class of men. Indeed, it is high time the British took steps to protect -heir industry. It is the nation's heath of life. " We should absolutely forbid foreign ships to carry freight between British ports; we have too much idle tonnage already. Cheap foreign freighting is dear at any price when ifc puts British ships to anchor and British seamen on the dole. Let our vaunted British preference be action, not words. W. D. Mkiklejouk. Sir,—l have seen a statement on the seamen's strike purporting to be a reply to the farmers on behalf of the strike committee and I would like to tell the strikers a few home' truths. First Jet me say that I am a Labour man and I will always vote for a Labour M.P. when he proves that he is out for a sane Labour movement and is not a traitor to his country or a parasite living on honest men by fomenting strife and injuring the whole community. Now it seems' that these striking seamen are not concerned about the farmers* produce, bat want to know how a sailor can live on £9 a month and found. Let me tell them that handreds of men are working on farms for £8 a month and they do more work in three days than these sailors do in a week, for these farm hands work anything from 12 to 16 hours a day. I might also state that there are a few thousand farmers np this way who helped to produce some of that £4,000,000 worth of produce by the sweat of the brow and the" help of their wives and children,* and they are going to see that the ships are moved and the wharves manned. We are not going to stand for any communisticstuff" in "this country. We are prepared to run every Bolshie out of this fair land, and the sooner these deluded seamen gist to work and take themselves and their quarrel Home where it belongs and get it settled in a constitutional manner the better it will be for themselves. If the matter is not soon ended the farmers will ask the Government to cable Home for naval ratings to handle the ships, or those of them that cannot get free labour here, and we will see that they are loaded and despatched. It is said that the ship owners have gulled us into believing th.it this hold up is dictated from Moscow. Well we prefer to take the word o! Havelock Wilson who has done more for British seamen than ever Tom Walsh, Johnson, or other leaders of this strike are ever likely to do. Moreover, as taxpayers, we are not going to stand for feeding a lot of striking seamen even ia gaol and we will see that they go back where they belong, willing or not. Men who are willing to start trouble at the bidding' of any foreign agitator 'are: not desirable in this country. I have indulged in plain speaking in this letter, but it is |ast as well for strike leaders and also seamen to know just where they are heading. When any class of worker has a grievance and fights along constitutional lines to get it. rectified they will have the sympathy of every decent man in New Zealand. But if any body of union leaders, or foreign agitators, imagine they are going :o pick ap a quarrel started 12,000 miles away and hold up the industry of this country and run things at their sweet will to the ruination of hundreds of struggling farmers and others, then they are going to have more trouble than they will care about. We will never stand for such a state of affairs as obtains in Australia. NBW ZEALAND®®.

BIBLE LESSONS IN SCHOOLS. Sir, —Mr. da la Mara How thai: 1 teacher- has ''complete freedom" in dealing with theologies) rnJUtt*l*<"es in Milton. :Dees he' mean to' say""that whan slilton refers to'' God, : or to. t&p Atone-. - anent," a teacher would ■ be at'llberty to express doubt as to God's existence or to argue in favour oi «vay particular theory : of .the Atonement.?' TJie exercise of »och "complete freedom'' would seen get him into trouble. But every competent teacher knows that ho can teach Milton intelligently without "complete freedom" of doctrii'al comment. It is not necessary, nor is it necessary in the : Sible ■ lesson. In neither case has the teacher "complete freedom," but in eaoh : cate he can have all '.he freedom remiijred in ouler to give th<- lesson intelligently. Nobmas E. BTOTON.