The Shearers' Strike at Mount Nicholas.

Otago Witness, Issue 2914, 19 January 1910, Page 10

The Shearers' Strike at Mount Nicholas.

TO THE EDITOR. Sn, —Will you kindly allow us a short space in your valuable paper to correct misleading' and erroneous statements whicn have appeared recently in several papers with reference to the shearers’ strike at Mount Nicholas. It has assorted that the wool was matted ana full of sand. That statement is maliciously false, and if our contradiction is challenged we are prepared to prove it, except, of course, in regard to an odd sheep which is found in every fleck. Regarding the Statement that the shearers were not able to make “ big tallies,” as a matter of fact two of the men were shearing over a hundred full-woolled merino wethera every full day on the board, and others wore close up. We leave it to any experienced person, to judge whether the tallies were big or otherwise. As neither ewes nor hoggets had been shorn by these men there is no doubt that their tallies must have been considerably in advance of that number' when they were shearing lighter sheep. Ev-ry shearer, unionist or otherwise, shearing in Otago and Southland is under the award, and the stand made by us was simply in adherence to the conditions sot down by the award. The men were aware of these conditions before starting, and wc consider that a distinct breach of the award, which it is now for the authorities to deal with, was committed. VVe know for a fact that two of the men are now shearing on an adjoining station at the .rate cf 18s per hundred. No doubt the men left quietly,, and we did our part to ensure their doing so, e mccially in view of the attitude of one of their numter, by having a police officer on the station when they were taking their departure. —We are, etc., H. Mackenzie and Sons. Mount Nicholas Station, Jan. 7.