CAPTAIN FOX ON THE UNION COMPANY.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2112, 16 October 1890, Page 4

CAPTAIN FOX ON THE UNION COMPANY.

The following letter contributed to the Globe by Captain Pox requires no comment.

Sir, —I see that George McLean states that the directors of the Union Steam Ship Company are big-hearted and generous men. Now, Mr Editor, with your permission, I will give you a sample of the big-heartedness and generosity of the Union Steam Ship Company.

In January, 1889, I was in Australia and made arrangements.for large shipments of coal to arrive, and 10 March, 1880, I had about 1500 tons in Dunedin, and I was not able to sell them to the merchants on account of the above Company having all the merchants under their thumb, although I was only asking 19s 6d per ton for the coals ex-ahip. The consequence was that I had to buy horses and drays and go into the retail market to sell the coal. The coal merchants’ selling price at this time was 35s per ton, and I put the price down to 26a. The generosity of the Company then came in, and they gave all the local merchants a bonus of 6s per ton on all the coals that they had in stock to put the price under 26s‘ to try and run me out of the trade. The merchants then retailed coals at 24s for about one month, and they and the Company all got sick and found it would not answer. They then put the Westport coal down to 14s per ton ex-ship to run the Newcastle coal out of the market; and I may tell you that the Company, in conjunction witn the Westport Company, got sick of this also, and they gradually raised the price of the coal up to the rates before strike.

In May, 1889, the steamer Centennial came to Dunedin, and then the generous George became generous again. The company’s satellites made it so warm for me that I could not get labor to work the steamer. Men were given to understand that if they worked for the Centennial they would be debarred from obtaining work from the company. These are facts, and I can bring men to prove the above. I may state that I was fairly successful in obtaining cargo for the steamer, but the shippers were boycotted and were given to understand by the company that if they shipped any more cargo in the Centennial they (the company) would not take any cargo for them to ports at which the Centennial did not call, so, if it is any satisfaction to generous George, I may tell him that I lost these men’s business through his generosity. And now what did this generous George do next ? He put a .steamer alongside of her to see that we did not ask the public too much as passenger fares, but the company would not fix their rates until they knew at what rate the Centennial was taking them ; then it was all plain sailing to fix them at 10s and 5s under tho Centennial’s rates There was still a lot of generosity left in George, and be put two boats on to look after the Centennial' and the Dupleix, but in the meantime the Centennial was sunk and you would 'have thought that George’s generosity went down with her; but not so, for he kept two boats to run with the Jubilee to see that the public did not pay too much in the shape of high fares. The rates charged by the company before the Centennial started to run were from Dunedin to Sydney, saloon £ll, steerage £5 10s. The Centennial reduced them down to £7 and £3 10s, but George was not satisfied with this He brought down to £1 5s saloon and 15s steerage, and he still bad some generosity left, for he then put three boats on to look after the Jubilee, and to make sure that we did not overload her he brought the rates for cargo down to 4d per sack to Sydney. Tou would have thought this would have exhausted all the generosity of a large company even, but such was not the ease, for he then put four boats to look after her, and then began to run winter excursions for the benefit of the public —not to stop the Jubilee from getting passengers; the Company’s hearts are all too big for that. Generositv and big-heartedness came to the again when I got the agency of the 8.8. Basks Peninsula. I got so much of the Company’s trade that they gave some of the brewers to understand that if they shipped any _ more beer in the Jubilee or Banks Peninsula the Company would not bring back the empty hogsheads from the ports we did not touch. Am* there is some generosity and big-heart?^ ll ® 33 for I find that the Company have go* rates up to the old figures again—saloon, £11; steerage, £5 10s. I am wondering if the Company will continue these rates when the Company, the steamship owners, and coal mine proprietors of Australia hare taken the boycott off the Jubilee. The Company and the steamship companies of Australia agreed to work their boats with union men, and did so until such time as it suited them. They then threw them overboard and boycotted the Jubilee because her owner had granted the requests of the officers and men, The mining proprietors have now boycotted the Jubilee, and will not let her have coal, although the miners are willing to mine the coal for the above steamer ; uf course, generous George has nothing to do with this. Now, most people would call the above proceedings by the name of boycott, but I prefer to run in the wake of generous George and call it bigheartedness and generosity.