TROUBLE EASY TO START

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8331, 17 January 1913, Page 7

TROUBLE EASY TO START

IRRITATION OX INTERCOLONIAL LINER MANUKA. ENGINEERS BLAMED. Trouble with ships’ firemen has been ;o frequent of late that almost every iittlo stokehold difficulty is regarded as being full of grave possibilities. Ihus a hint that there has been some friction in the stokehold of the intercolonial liner Manuka was responsible lor tho circulation of a rumour that all her firemen and trimmers intended to leave her on arrival at Duucdiu and that sho would bo hold up at that port. “All bunkum! nothing in it! was tho remark raado by tho secretary of tho Seamen’s Union, Mr Young, when a representative of tho “New Zealand Times” questioned him yesterday respecting tho rumour. Ho pointed out that the ship’s articles are taken out in Sydney under tho Commonwealth law and consequently Sydney is tho only nort at which the men can demand to leave her. Ho had heard that six or seven of tho firemen intended to leave bho vessel at Dunedin, but had no definite information. A FEUD GOING ON. Mr Young said ho understood, however, that there had been a good deal of trouble in tho Manuka’s stokehold, in consequence, mainly, of tho attitude of the junior engineers towards the firemen. There seemed to bo some kind of feud in progress between the engineers generally and the Seamen’s Union members, and’ho was inclined to think that tho engineers’ proceedings for improved conditions had gob something to do with it, inasmuch as they hoped, if they were not successful in friendly negotiations, to involve tho firemen in their support. “But if they think that is going to be the case,” said Mr Young, “they are making a very big mistake, because wo have not forgotten the maritime strike of 1890 and what the engineers did then. Insteald of going out in suport of our members and the marine officers, they stuck to their jobs in the ships. Whore shipowners could not get firemen or greasers to man the ships the engineers did the work, and where owners were able to pick up a few scabs tbo engineer was the man who taught tho scabs how to firo the ships against ns. Wo have got to thank tho marine engineer.' for the loss of tho strike, and as far as I am concerned I would not loWor myself by being associated with thorn in any organisation or movement.” BAD LANGUAGE CAUSES ANNOYANCE. It was alleged by Mr Young that disgusting language had been used by some of the Manuka’s junior engineers to tbo firemen, who were in consequence greatly annoyed and irritated. He also said that yesterday the Manuka’s engineers sent to him for enrolment as a union member a German who could hardly speak a word of English, while there were plenty of Englishmen ready to take a job. It had been stated to him that ono English applicant had been tumeid away from tho Manuka on tho ground that he was one of the men who helped to block the Mapourika. Later on, said Mr Young, he would endeavour to explain to the travelling public why tho Union Company had not bothered to rtm the Mapourika in order to meet their convenience, and also how the company had charged the men of To Anara sixpence a time for meals and beds on board the vessel after she returned from her run to Lyttelton in place of the Maori.