TRADES AND LABOUR.

Otago Witness, Issue 2051, 15 June 1893, Page 16

TRADES AND LABOUR.

(Per Press Association.) London, June 7. The Poplar (Middlesex) Branch has receded from tbe Seamen's and Firemen's Union, beiDg dissatisfied with the management of Mr J. H. Wilson, the secretary. June 9. A renewal of the dc ckers' sttike at Hull is feared, as it is alleged that shipowners are giving preferer.es to freemen in the employment of men. Washington, June 11. , The white men on strike at Lamont, in Illinois, persisting in an assault on the negro free labourers, the latter fired on their assailants, and nine were killed and 17 captured by the negroes. Melbourne, June 7. The Seamen's Union have decided not to accept the reductions announced by Messrs M'llwraitb, M'Eachern, and Co., but admit the necessity for a revised scale of wages. They suggest that members of the union should accept the following rates :— Sailors, L 6 per month ; firemen, L 8 per month. * June 8. The Victorian steamship owners are conferring with the New South Wales owners relative to the proposed reductions in the rates of wages. June 9. Several assaults have been committed on seamen who have joined vessels at the reduced rate of wages. The chief officer of the Tagleaf errao was brutally assaulted by a band of 15 roughs. Sydney, June 8. At meetings of the Amalgamated Engineers resolutions were passed refusing to accede to the reductions proposed at Mort's Dock. It is hardly likely that a strike will ensue, as, owing to the depression, it is thought probable that the dock company will pay off the bulk of the hands. The men working in fcix of tbe western collieries have now gtruok work. The reductions imposed by owners amount to about 13 per cent., while the men wore willing to accept 10 per cent. A number of nonunionists are being engaged to work the mines. June 10. There are no fresh developments in the shipping difficulty. As far as owners here are' concerned, it is very unlikely that steps will be taken to secure combined action for the present. June 12. The miners in the We:- tarn collieries have accepted the masters' terms, and were expected to resume work to-day. At a meeting of miners at Newcastle ife was resolved to oppose the scheme for working the Northern Colliery on the co-opera-tive principle, as it would mean reduction in wages. THE UNEMPLOYED. Wellington, June 13. The Lands department intend to place 20 of the Dunedin unemployed on railway formation work upon the Otago Central line, and as soon as further road works on the Cheviot estato are ready for letting 20 men will be drafted there from Oamaru and 20 moro from Christchurch. Christchuroh, June 13. A deputation waited on the mayor yesterday and represented that great hardships were experienced by a number of men with families who were unable to eet work. The mayor at once telegraphed to the Minister for Labour asking if anything could be done for the men. Wellington, June 7. The Trades and Labour Council have sent a letter to the Labour party in Queensland congratulating them on electing 16 members at the recent polling, and urge them to destroy plural voting and substitute the one-man-one-vote, which has been the makiDg of the party in New Zealand. The writer shows that the time will come when the portfolio of Labour will be sufficient for one Minister, and pays a high tribute to the Hon. W. P. Reeves. He says if the two portfolios now held by him were to be separated, he would undoubtedly be chosen by workers as Minister for Labour. The Otago Trades and Labour Council brought under the notice of the Wellington Council on June 9 a complaint that sweating had been revived in the shiit-making busi-

ness. A dozen shirts, which should be paid for at 53 93, according to the tailoresses' " loe " were sublet by certain manufacturers at 2s 9d a dozen. The Wellington Council asked for further information before taking action. A case of boycotting by a sweater in Melbourne, brought to light by the Rev. A. R Edgar, shows how a man with a wife and eight children worked 18 hours a day in a house in Fitzroy, and when in full employment the whole family earned but 7s 6d per day between them by making large sized double-breasted coats at lOd each. They paid 15s a week rent. Their work was not got direct from a warehouse, but from a sweater who rode about m his buggy. As the result of the exposure, the sweater in question has Itoycotted the family, giving them no more work to do, and they have now to be relieved by charitable people. On April 17 the Court of Appeal decided a case of great importance to tradeunions. Mr Temperton, a contractor for building materials at Hull, had sued the officers of three trade unions connected with building in that town for injuries to his business, caused^ by their action in conspiring to coerce certain master builders to break existing contracts, or to refuse to enter into fresh contracts with the plaintiff. Mr Temperton obtained a verdict with £50 damages in respect to the breaking of existing contracts, and £200 in respect of prospective contracts. The defendants now asked for judgment or a new trial, but the court dismissed their appeal, with costs, holding that the combination into which they had entered was an illegal one, that they had been guilty of an actionable wrong agaiost the plaintiff, and were properly mulcted in damages. Their Lordships refused to grant a stay of execution pending an appeal to the House of Lords.