THE GERMAN BARQUE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19142, 7 October 1925, Page 12

THE GERMAN BARQUE.

LOW RATE OF WAGES PAID. i STRIKERS NOT RESENTFUL. VARIOUS EXPLANATIONS. A curious commentary on the shipping strike is offered by the German barque El fried a,., which is now lying in the stream in readiness for sea, while British steamers are held up. As everyone knows foreign competition bulks large in the dispute. The shipowners say they cannot go on paying the old rate of wages because Scandinavian, German and other vessels, with crews earning half as much as British seamen, are cutting heavily into their trade. In spite of this the strikers' quarrel appears to be solely with their employers. They have made no move against such foreign competitors as they meet in colonial ports. The Elfrieda's crew, it is stated on good authority, are paid £4 10s a month, or half the wage which the British strikers have refused, but no demonstration has been made against them. Apparently they received no black looks while the barque was at the King's Wharf. The watersiders made no bones about unloading the cargo of Surprise Island guano, and did not object to the crew rebagging loose fertiliser for about a quarter of the payment that local labour would have received for the same work. As a matter of fact the disparity between British and German wages is even greater if, as is stated, the Germans have 5 or 10, per cent, of their pay deducted as a tax payable to the German Government. The crew are nearly all young fellows serving the required time before the mast in order to qualify later as officers. One Auckland shipping man who mentioned the matter to a Herald reporter was very emphatic that there was only one inference to be drawn from the strikers;' silence; —that the strike had been fomented by German interests, operating through Russia, in order to capture British trade. A more likely explanation was put forward by another shipping man. "The seamen are looking to the shipowners and the Imperial Government to deal with foreign competition," he remarked. " They know they cannot meet it themselves. The employer, they say, should bear the responsibility." MR. COATES AND STRIKERS. CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS. MEN'S DELEGATES SILENT. [By TELEGRAPH. OWN CORRESPONDENT. ] TATJPIEI, Tuesday. The Minister for Internal Affairs, Hon. R. F. Bollard, in his political address at Taupiri this evening, said the seamen themselves were not responsible for the strike. When the Tainui came into Wellington the othe:' day the men elected to accept only 10s or £1 on the wages due to them when they went ashore. The balance was left in the ship's custody to send to the men's dependants. If the men had intended to go on strike it was certain they would have collected ail their pay, because they knew they would be liable to a loss if they struck. It was not until the men came ashore that they went on strike Continuing, ho said Mr. Coates met the shipowners and then the seamen yesterday in an effort to settle the_ trouble. Mr. Coates, in his characteristic style, asked the men what it was all about. The men, however, would not speak, and one said that, they had been told to say nothing but to hear what the Prime Minister had to say. They asked Mr. Coates what he thought of the matter. Mr. Coates told them in prettv plain language what his opinion was. He spent, hours with the men, trying to bring about a settlement, but the effort was abortive Continuing,, Mr. Bollard said the seamen could not be allowed to hold ur> the produce of the country. He would support the Prime Minister m any action he took, and he knew the Prime Minister would have the whole country behind him. Mr. Bollard added that he felt tho seamen were being misguided by a few agitators. If the people had to man the ships they would do that rather than see the produce held up. He expected to be called to Wellington to attend a Cabinet meeting at any time to consider proposals for settling the trouble.

ABSENT WITHOUT LEAVE.

PLEA BY SHIP'S DELEGATE. RETURN TO VESSEL ORDERED. " I am the ship's delegate and must remain ashore in the interests of the men," stated John McDonough, a fireman from the Devon, who pleaded guilty in the Police Court yesterday to absenting himself from duty without leave. Mr. Haigh, for the New Zealand Shipping Company, said accused was before the Court lust week on a similar charge and was placed on board the ship last Friday. However, he promptly left again. The position was that the men were taken cut in the police launch to their ship in the stream. No sooner was the gangway up than a Seamen's Union launch came off and the men slid down the ropes and thus got away. In this way tbe ship's complement was always being depleted. Ijnder the Merchant Shipping Act, persons who aided seamen to desert from their ship were liable to a fine not exceeding £lO for each offence. The shipping company intended to take action ii the offences were persisted in. Accused asked for a remand until next Monday. The magistrate, Mr. Cutten, said he could not see his way to grant the remand and ordered accused to forfeit 10s m wages and to return to the ship. Accused was also ordered to pay £1 8s costs. T. Doogan, an elderly seaman from the Zinal, also admitted being absent without leave from his ship. Mr. Haigh, who appeared for the Zina! Steamship Company, said accused had been away from the ship since September 28. The magistrate ordered accused to forfeit £2 5s and to return to his ship. He was also ordered to pay £1 8s costs.

AUSTRALIAN CONDITIONS.

BUSINESS NOT AFFECTED. PROSPECTS FOR SETTLEMENT. The seamen's strike in Australia is having no appreciable effect on business, iij Sydney and Melbourne at least, according to Mr. I), F. Dennehy, of Christchurch. who arrived by the Ulimaroa yesterday. A visitor from New Zealand, he said, could not fail to bo impressed with die apparent prosperity and the amount of money being spent in Sydney arid Melbourne. In his opinion this state of affairs was due to the large amount of £67,009,000 received for last season's wool clip, which was now helping to "keep things going. The prospects for the future, apart from the possible effects of the strike, were held to be distinctly good, and the grower,! were wall satisfied with the opening prices at the wool sales this season. In discussing the prospects for termination of the strike in Australia, Mr. Dennehy said that now the secretary for the waterside workers had declared against the present strike there was no other conclusion than that the seamen would hare to return to work.