WORE AND WAGES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4577, 23 February 1893, Page 1

WORE AND WAGES.

A meeting of wharf labourers atTimaru was held on Tuesday evening, at which a Committee was appointed to draft a petition, to be signed by all the wharf hands, asking the stevedores to accept, aa a " rule of the port," the principle that wharf labourers will not work in the same gang with seamen on articles on foreign-going ships. A good deal of interest has been manifested in the retiring speech of Mr Josiah Thomae, who, as President of the Australian Miners' Association, is giving place to Mr George Hum, recently acquitted of conspiracy in connection with the late strike. Mr Thomas said—" Never can I believe that the repulse we have received, heavy, terrible and tremendous aB it has been, is to prove final. I cannot but believe that the men of Australia will never re&t until the maritime, tbe shearers, and and the Broken Hill defeats have been converted into triumphs. That the men of Broken Hill, will ever attempt to assist themselves or to regain their lost position

through strikes I do not for a moment believe. If the Broken Hill strike haß taught us anything, it has taught us this : The useleßßneßß and futility of strikes, though we can claim, and not without reason, that we bad the power of stoppage of a vast dividend as a help to compel the shareholders to listen to reason. Splendid and magnificent snppdrt was accorded to us by all the Unions of Australasia. . The support was unique as far as Australia was concerned, and the chances of winning were euch as rarely, if ever, have occurred before. Yet we were unable to win. Mere justice pitted againat vested interest and wealth is of no avail. I cannot but express my deep Borrow that, through that travesty of justice, the Deniliquin farce, Ferguson, Sleath, Hewitt, Heberle and Polkinghorne, instead of being with us, are in prison; but we rejoice that their imprisonment is no disgrace to them or to the cause they represent ; but rather it is a lasting disgrace to the annals of New South Wales history. The vindictive sentences passed upon them will bear their own fruit." r