THE SEAMEN'S STRIKE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19144, 9 October 1925, Page 7

THE SEAMEN'S STRIKE.

Sir,—The terms submitted by the British seamen to the owner's representatives at the conference in Wellington, can only be described as fantastical. They remind the writer of some of the burlesque demands jocularly made by the sailors of fifty years agoj such as .-"That the officer of the watch salute the man relieving the wheel, and that no man f>; required to go aloft in the dark without being provided with a lantern. That the men ever expected them to be accepted even as a basis for settlement is unbelievable. The conditions laid down by the owners, with a modification in the men's favour of Art. 4.—to receive compensation tor provisions not consumed—are, in my opinion, the utmost to be looked for and the men will be wise to accept them while the offer remains open. 'That-'the 'Seamen's Union of New Zealand should abet the British seamen in treating their articles of agreement as mere "scraps of paper," is astounding. Surely that union doesn't endorse that infamous phrase of 1913. "To. hell with agreements." The economic fabric of society is held together by the mutual agreement to be boand by the terms of a contract. Destroy that confidence and we revert to the jungle. One can imagine the howl of erwrat'inn from the men if the owners didn't abide by the terms of the articles. I venture to predict that if the men remain obdurate and the trade unionists of New Zealand oppose the use of non-union labour to ensure the normal flow of our overseas, trade, the result of this iniquitous strike will be worse than the "debacles" of 1890 and 1913: and, further, the practical extinction of labour representation in parliament. Alex Fbasee. Sir,—Allow me to endorse the staiiiments of " New Zoalander" with regard to the shipping strike. I, too, support the Labour platform but there are thousands like myself who will not support the labour candidates at the forthcoming election unless they can settle this strike satisfactorily. This is their opportunity. Here is a crisis in the affairs of the nation. How are they handling it? Are they capable of reaching a settlement ? Have they any influence over these men whose patriotism is questionable ? Let the Labour Party declare itself. Do its members uphold strikes as the- means of securing better wages and conditions for workmen throughout the world ? If so, as the representatives of Labour they become strike leaders. If not, then what is their attitude, what their remedy ? This one thing is certain; the general public will soon demand action to be taken Having heard both sides of the question, there is no doubt that the seamen are at fault. Then call in the volunteers. I venture to suggest that within a week there would be twice as many volunteers as were required.- There is an enemy in our midst. New Zealandars have dealt with enemies before in no uncertain manner. Another New Zealanokr Sir,—Mr. Coates has done well to publish the statements ol both sidiss In this matter, but what a lot of loss and trouble it would save if this was done always at the start of trouble. If, in the opinion of the Government, a strike is illegal or unconstitutional steps should be taken immediately to ensure that business should not lie dislocated. In the present instance there is no shadow of doubt as to' the wrongful behaviour of the strikers. Their own inconvenience is as nothing compared to the hardship already inflicted on the community. The effect os the country is hard to estimate, and is increasing like compound interest as time goes on. What an astounding thing it is that so many can be fou nd, imwJing men who aspire to be M.P.*s, to sympathise with these men as regard:s their £9 or £lO per month and found. I can assure you there are not many working farmers, including in the number the farm workers, who get the same wages, though they do twice the work the seamen do. and earn in many cases a good deal mere than the employer is able to nt* for himself. It is very evident that wages have nothing to do with the matter! The quicker the Government takes the necessary steps to bring thing-, back to normal, the better. E.UH. *' A Lover of the Art Gallery ** has neglected to send his name and address.