THE LABOUR WAR.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 10235, 18 August 1911, Page 1

THE LABOUR WAR.

RAILWAYMEN AND MR BUXTON. United Press Association— By Electrio Telegraph—Copyright. LONDON, August 17. The strike is not likely to be commenced to-day. , , , Mt Buxton, following up yesterday s conference, desired to meet the railwaymen's executives. The latter acquiesced and are coming to London to confer. Meanwhile sectional meetings of railway employees have agreed, to obey a call. DEBATE IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. 'ATTITUDE OF THE GOVERNMENT. In the House of Commons Labour tnembers denounced the brutality o fcmploving soldiers. . Mr Ramsay Mac Donald criticised Mr Winston Churchill's attitude. He said that his "blood boiled at the conduct ot ■ the police. If it were true that an officer shot a man through the head he ought to be tried for murder. . Mr Lloyd George deprecated making Mr Churchill's and Mr Buxton's tasks harder. He considered that twentyfour hours notice was a mistake, making negotiations impossible. He appealed to the men to withhold their threat till the Board of Trade s machinery could come, into operation, otherwise they would alienate Public sympathy. The Government would at 'all cost protect the railway food supF\r Winston Churchill declared that Vhile the Government would not sup'port the companies Against the men, or yioe versa, it would see that no disaster happened to the community s food •apply. i. The London newspapers are organising motor deliveries in the event of the failure of the railways. . i Five hundred and fifty troops have fceen sent to Cardiff.

ALL AVAILABLE MILITARY ■ UNDER ORDERS.

V RAILWAYMEN'S MANIFESTO. LONDON, August 17. ' Every available soldier at Aldershot 4s under orders for service on the railways. Men will be stationed along the line, and the cavalry will be utilised at large stations to patrol the lines. Twenty-five thousand are ready _to move in a few hours. Similar orders have been issued at other military stations in England and Scotland, beveral detachments have arrived m Lond°Only one-fourth of the railwaymen are members of trades unions. The railwaymen have issued a manifesto demanding the same opportunities for combination as other workers; blso to have wages and hours settled by their own Union. It has been determined to accept nothing less, and to settle the job now once for all. The " Daily Mailstates that at the bonference Mr Buxton asked the companies to meet the Union officials half -way> but they refused.

CORD HALDANE'S DECLARATION. Viscount Haldane, in the House of Lords, declared that the Government - Would nee all the force necessary to re£ress unruly turbulent violence, as at liverpool. He deplored the use of military, but there-might be no other York railwaymen decline to fondle trains for the conveyance of soldiers and polioe.

UNREST IN NORTH-EAST ENGLAND. . "Widespread unrest exists on the .north-east ooast among colliers, stevedores, boilermakers and shipyard labourers. MR MANN ON THE NEW UNIONISM. LONDON, August 17. .Mr Tom Mann, in an article in the Daily Mail," states that the present are a move in the direction of industrial solidarity as opposed to sectional trade unionism. The outlook promises gloriously for the workers. (There was no real neoessity for anyone, •£ven a labourer, working under forty shillings weekly. The new unionists .would take special pains to prevent artificial prices by launching co-operative production and distribution. FURTHER RIOTS IN LIVERPOOL. ARMOURED MOTOR WAGGON FOR POLICE. Further rioting has occurred at Liverpool. The mob em ashed windows of tramcars and took no notice of a display of force until the military knelt in the attitude of firing. Then they hurriedly left. Scattered assemblages were dispersed by baton charges in .Various parts of the city. The tramway men threaten to strike to-day. The police have secured the services »f an armoured motor waggon. The brewery workers are striking. CHILDREN DEPRIVED OF SUSTENANCE. Owing to the shortage of coal the Liverpool Corporation's humanised milk depots are closing, depriving seven hundred of the poorest cnildren of all sustenance. POSITION AT MANCHESTER. BUSINESS "DEMORALISED. Business in Manchester is demoralised. The bulb of the transport workers are idle. The strikers have given notice to the Post Office not to permit postmen to 3' ant railway workers in unloading The ranks of the strikers are swelling hourly. The police arresting a striker were attacked with stones, bottles and pieces of iron. Five were severely injured. I'he prisoner escaped. The railway services have been reduced 60 per cent. Information received in Christchurch from London goes to show that the trouble amongst transport workers was apparently anticipated some weeks before it actually arose. It appears that on July 3 about 3s 6d per cent was being charged for insurance against strike or riot, whilst a private cable message received yesterday states that the same class of insurance is 10s per cent in London and one per cent in Liverpool for thirteen days. Last quoted rates are no't as astonishing as is the fact that the rate of 3s 6d per cent was charged early in July, when, as far as the cable news from England was concerned, there was no indication given that the present trouble was imminent. The July rate seems to suggest that some people in London at that time were expecting serious trouble. It is also noteworthy, as indicating the seriousness of the position of affairs in London, that the war rate charged during the recent uncertainty in connection with the affairs in Morocco was only 2s 6d per cent.

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