POSITION AT WELLINGTON.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 7 November 1913, Page 5

POSITION AT WELLINGTON.

DEFENCE COMMITTEE FORMED. A NEW UNION REGISTERED. WORK ON THE ATHENIC. TRIBUTES TO THE SPECIALS.

WELLINGTON, Last Night. With a view to finding.a way out of the troublous situation arising; lrom tho strike, and to maintain the public safety in the meantime, a Wellington Citizens' Defence Committee was formed to-day. The first ' body was composed of shipowners, j the next was a committee composed j in the main of members of the Wei- I lingtoijt. employers and industrial associations, the' Chamber of Commerce, | Farmers' Union, merchants and kin-J dred associations, together with the ' shipowners. The federation was duly j formed and sat daily, and took tne initiative in matters connected the employing interests. Now, the professional element has been intioduced, and the committee was to-day materially strengthened by the addition of a large number of local professional men, Miose interests are in no way directly affected by or with the _ present dispute, but who :>re deeply concerned at the serious disturbances and street fighting that are now of almost daily occurrence, and also at the critical passwhich the trade of the port and city' has been brought by the action, 'of the strikers and their friends and sympathisers. A NEW UNION. A nes Wellington Waterside Workers' Union has been formed, and was regislered at noon .-under the Arbitration' Act. The workers employed on the wharf in loading the Athenic will thus be not free labourers, but legally union labourers and Arbitration unionists, i A meeting of the special constables in the Garrison Hall last night was addressed by Mr G. R. Sykee, M.P and afterwards it was decided that a new union should be formed and registered under the Arbitration Act. Many of the men from the country are quite willing to work on the wharves, and there are a number ot others not sworn in as specials: Vr'nu will become initial members of the new organisation. The TTOl'ktllg of till 1 cargo is i.:> bo strictly confined to members of tho. organisation, so legally no-"free labour" will.be employed. None of the men who are strict! v I 'special constables" will be engaged in handling the cargo. A STIR OF EXCITEMENT.

All the forenoon Post Office square liai been peaceful, and then, just after midday, a stir of excitement was aroused by the announcement that "The specials are coming." ; Immediately there was a rush for the roadway. Far along Jervois quay coulcl be seen the advance guard of a caval cade of horses keeping close in to the harbour side of the quay. In a moment or two a large crowd of strikers and others had assembled in the square. An imposing display tliey made as file after lile went past, most of the men keeping a weather eye open for. any troubles that might be brewing. In the vicinity of Queen's Chambers one of the throng created a disturbance, but was quickly hustled away by half-a-dozen policemen and was lost in the crowd. There was a little boohooing by some spectators, but there was no enthusiasm behind it. Down Jervois quay to Waterloo quay the squadron marched five and six hundred strong. The crowd followed in the rear but | there was a noticeable absence of disorder. The larger portion of the onlookers appeared to be business people, who had taken advantage of the lunch hour to watch tlw proceedings. Displaying a rudimentary knowledge of squad formation, the mounteds manoeuvred info' - position along the quay to afford clore - protection foi. the Glasgow wharf. ' Across from the Customs buildings to the other side of the roadway was a line of foot policemen. Behind was stationed a number oi regular mounted men, and jit.the rear oi thein was a strong force of mounted specials extending right along to Pipitea point. Meanwhile another detachment ot specials, marching on foot, had arrived via Jervoic quay, accompanied bv the members of the newlv-formed Waterside Workers' Union, registered under the Arbitration Act. Like the other men, they all carried batons, and woro the badge "specialconstable." Their duty was to load tlie cargo which .had been drawn up i" railway trucks along the Glasgow wharf.

an unique spectacle. As the berthing of the Athenie was awaited. a spectacle unique in the history of any waterfront in the I)o- j minion was witnessed. Bronzed and sturdy-looking, most ot them had taken, position, and another thirty members ot the new Arbitration Union had also arrived. At 1.15 p.m. the Athonie moved oil' from the stream and by 1.40 p.m. wa>s moored alongside. WORKING THE SHIP. With a cheer, willing hands worked the crane into position, and a gangway was placed aboard. A deluge of rain, which had been heralded ""by a dark bank of clouds, commenced to descend, but it was .not long before the blue sky once more gained the mastery. Up tho gangway swept a. crowd oi special*, until the deck ol the vessel

was completely overrun with them. In groups they were sprinkled oyer tho wharf and its environs—specials everywhere. At 3.30 p.m. all was quiet, both outside the mounted cordon, and, inside on the wharves. Specials guarded the eiitraneo as far as the Customs building. So far as can be ascertained, there has been no trouble with the firemen, and the crews are all aboard the vessel. The work of loading the produce on the Athenic proceeded without interference. TRIBUTES TO THE SPECIALS. On all sides, one hears tributes to the splendid discipline displayed by the men yesterday. They had been instructed to stand as much as possible, and more than one person in authority has expressed the opinion that they stood too much. The men were told not to use their batons except under extreme provocation, or under orders from their troop leaders. Some of them, when the storming was very serve, asked permission to .go back and deal with the rioters, but the men in command kept the ranks closed until a concerted movement was made. Individual specials wlio were asked their opinion of yesterday's affray, remarked laconically, that it was "pretty ho't." When one sees tho cuts and bruises inflicted by some of the missiles, one can only remark that the men displayed selfcontrol that could hardly have been bettered" by regular troops.