MISCELLANEOUS.

Timaru Herald, Volume LII, Issue 5168, 15 June 1891, Page 3

MISCELLANEOUS.

1 j ticket itsolf, duly -stamped, will bo the insurance policy, and on it, probably, the holder will write to whom this mon«y ahall bo paid, si duplicate ticket boing kept at tho shipping office in case of need. If any Beaman or officer Bhould wish to be insured for a larger sum this can be arranged by the Federation ; but ha would be required to pay for any insurance over the £25, which — hut for the ordinary registration fee of a shilling — will be given gratuitously. The insuranoe money thus paid would be a direct charge upon the funds of the Federation, and calls would be made upon the members from time to time, as circumstances required ; but it is expected that, in return, the ship owners would establish more friendly relations between themselves and their men ; would secure a greater guarantee for the faithful and efficient performance of duty (since a man discharged for misoond uet or inoompeteney would lose alike his ticket and all benefits conferred by it) ; and would have a atill greater chance of securing the very best men, who, though remaining unionists (whioh the Federation would allow them to do), would boo an additional and very substantial reason for taking out a Federation ticket, pledging them to work with members of any or of no union at all. It is possible that some arrangement may bo made by which, if the holdor of a Federation tioket would prefer it, tho inßuranoe of £25 could be reduced so ns to allow of his receiving in addition, "sick pay" in case of disablement only, the whole to be equivalent to tho sum represented by £25 ; but this has not yet been decided upon. In any case, tho scheme is regarded as one that will greatly strengthen the hands of the shipowners in the struggle they have beon carrying on with the unionists, and at the same time lead to a conviction that they hava the interests of their men at heart. How far this (struggle with tho " new unionism " has already succeeded has beon shown by the eomplete collapse of tbe strike movement in tho shipping trade and the decided victory secured by the Shipping Federation. As regards the coat at which this victory was obtained, it may bo interesting to state that in tho Thameu district tho expenditure incurred up to 31st March represents only o£d. por ton on the shipping of members belonging to that distriot, and of tho sum total the greater proportion — over £12,000 — has beon puid away in wages to the free labouv mon, of whom 462 still remain on at the Albert Docks. But the Thames district oommittee think there is no doubt that, the formidable precautions they took at a most critical period had tho effect of averting — at least for a time — the threatened general strike of the whole of the riverside trades. Thoy have now opened a free labour office in the Albert Dock and are discussing a Bcheme for tho employment by the members of " freo" men indepondently of tho federation altogether, thus relieving tho federation, as such, of the expanse of free labour establishments, " while at tho aama time a nucleus would be preserved as a rallying point in the event of future troubles, which tho committee have roason to fear will break out agniu if tho precautions are relaxed." Ho much importance, indeed, is attached to the free labour movement, which the Shipping Federation, with it? £110,000,000 of capital, has done, and, as shown above, is stilt doing, so much to eucourugo, that thnre is a feeling of disappointment that freo labour interests aro not represented on tho royal commission. Free labour, it is declared, is not only an item, but a very large item, in tho subject into whioh the commission will inquire, and the representation only of capital on the or.e side and of trade unionism on the other is regarded as altogether inadequate. But although the further and, as is claimed, the quite distinct elemont of freo labour may not bo represented on the commission, it ia intended to prepare evidence with regard to it, and to ofEor it to the commission when they got to work.

"Atticua" in tbo Leader writes: — An enemy hath done this. (Such is certain to bo Mr Gillios' rofleotion when \\a roods tho account of him inserted in Iho now odition of " Men of tha Time," which now, by tho way, aasutnoo the broader title of " Men nnd Women of tho Timo." Many Australians figure in its cohimns, but nono am t.roati'd ao sourvily RB our ex-Premier. Half a dozen linoa aro devoted to tolling who ho is, and tho rest of tho notioo is made up of an extract, from a speeoh delivered by Mr Munro, in which his blundero as a Treasurer ore prolty Blronply underlined. We are told of the magnificent opportunity ho onjoyed nnd thn eney vi ay in which tho monoy flowed iuto hie hands ; nnd yet whon tho hour of his compulsory departure arrived he left to hio bucocssor a ctobit balanco to Blrugglo a»ainst, of £582,232. Tlhb is soraewlint rough on astuto Duncan, to have tho criticism of a rival put boforo tho world in a standard book of reference kb though it woro cntitlod to bo read ub history. '.tho Standard'* correspondent at Sofia has had an interview with M. Btambouloff, who gave an account of the assassination of his companion. "I happoned," he said, "to step back nnd leavo o gap betwoon myself and my companion at tho very moment when a pistol Hashed in my faeo, and the ball, whioh otherwiso would certainly havo ontcrod my body, hit M. Beltohoff. Tho report and the flash so close to mo, and in tho darknoss, nenred me for tho instunt, and shouting ' Run Bolhohefß 1' I dashed off myself. But fcho drat shot had partly stunned him, and ae ho raised hie «rm, which had deflected tho biiilot, ho receivod n eocond ball straight in tho breast. I stoppod ub onoo, and returned with some polioemon who camo up, in tho hopo of assisting my friond. Of eourso I ought to have eono straight on and raisod a hue and cry. I cannot, toll you how unutterably Bhoekod I ara at tho whole affair. I assure you that no outDido proosuro shall induce mo to allow- tho Blijjhtost clemency, or dissuudo mo from oxtorminaUnp nil who nro implicated in it. I luivo known of tho exinlenco of a plot of this kind for aamo time, ond one of tho men mixod up in i(, confessed to mo not long uro that ho hud actually lain wait; i'or tho I'rinoo, but at tho last moment had lost oourngo, nnd had not ventured to lire (ho fatal Bhot."