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Star (Christchurch), Issue 4575, 21 February 1893, Page 4

A meeting ia to b 8 held in Timaru this evening, at the instance of some of the wharf hands, to protest against the prac- | tice of employing sailors in the discharge of vessels instead of wharf labourers only. One of the largest labour meetings ever held in Waimate took place on Saturday night, the Foresters' Hall being densely packed and many standing outside. Mr T. -Brown was y<Jjed l tH>, '*^e chair,, and ex» ; ! plained the objeot of !the meeting, which was to consider matters in connection with the- wages paid to threshing-maohine handß. Mr J. O'Brien, Secretary of the Amalgamated Shearers and Labourers' Union, gave as account of all that had been done by the Union for the purpose of trying to better the condition o? those who followed threshing maohines. Messrs Bircbfield, W. Lundon, Parnell, Kennedy, Minogue and others spoke on behalf of the labourers, and Messrs M'Clintock, Hawkins Bros., C. V. Clarke and Mr Quinn'e representative addressed the meeting as to the position of the millownera. After a considerable amount of discussion, it was proposed and carried — " That the rate of pay hould be 10s per 1000 bushels for oats and 12a for wheat." An amendment that the rate should be 9s for oats and 11s for wheat, this being an all-round rise of Is per 1000, was lost. Subsequently, however, the Union meeting decided—" That taking into consideration the present price of grain, the millowners be met half-way this treason, and the shilling all-round rise be accepted. At the same time the opinion is expressed that the work is honestlyworth 10a and 125." At the conclusion of the public meeting a large sum was collected for the Queensland Flood Relief Fund. A request that the co-operative system i of the employment of men on Government works, such as in vogue in this Colony, should be adopted in Victoria, was made on Feb. 8 by a deputation of representatives of the Trades Hall Council, who waited on the Minister for Public Works (Mr Webb) in Melbourne. It was explained that the system differed from the buttygang system, inasmuch as, in addition to [ the ordinary payment to men of schedule rates for the work, a Bum equivalent to the amount of profit which a contractor would have probably made had the work been let on contract, was set aside for the I purchase of tools and plant, and if any Burphis remained it was divided pro rata among the men. Mr Webb replied that j the butty-gang system had given satisfac- j tory results in connection with the construction of the mallee railways and the reclamation of awamps. He thought, however, that it would be unadviaable at present to extend that system, which answered admirably in regard to earthworks, to the erection • of bridges and buildings. The Government would shortly ask Parliament to authorise the construction of three or four railwaya, and they would be carried out on the butty-gang principle./