Agent General and Correspondents

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XXXXVII, Issue 11948, 18 May 1903, Page 2

Agent General and Correspondents

The following correspondence has been forwarded to us for publication:— .The following are the telegrams from the Wellington correspondeat oi the London "Times" alluded to in the Agent-General s letter below: — Alleged dissatisfaction with the New Zealand Arbitration Act. ("Times" Telegram.) WELLINGTON, February 27. ■ DisßatisfjMjtion with -ac Arbitration Act is evidently increasing. At a meeting of Socialists and Trade Unionists here, a speaker strongly condemned its working. Unionist'offioials admitted the Act to be a failure, and stated that, militant unionist had been killed by it. They would not •recommend other countries to adopt the Act.

Labour.JTroubles in New Zealand. . ("Times" Telegram.) WELLINGTON, March 3. 'AH the Auckland cabinetmakers have been locked out in consequence of a decision of the Arbitration Court, raising wages to fifteen pence an hour. The masters are determined to employ no cabinetmakers on these terms, and will import all the furniture required for their business. The firemen and seamen of the Union liners left the shipjpdnig office in a body because the owners declined to dismiss one of the cooks. The seamen returned later, but the firemen state that they are deter-" mined to strike.

'("Times" Telegram.) WELLINGTON, March 10.

Meetings of workers at various places have expressed sympathy with the lockedout Auckland cabinetmakers. A Dunedin meeting urged the latter to start a cooperative factory in competition with the employers, and ipromised financial assistance. The head of the Labour Department has gone to Auckland to endeavour to settle the dispute. The firemen of the Union liner Manapouri have persisted in their refusal to return to work. Other men have been secured. '

("Times" Telegram.) WELLINGTON, March 13.

The head of the New Zealand Labour Department states that, after exhaustive argument and entreaty, he has failed to bring about a settlement of the Auckland dispute; the lock-out of the cabinetmakers continues.

The Government .has definitely determined upon legislation granting preference to trade unionists, '

WELLINGTON, March 17.

The developments in the lock-out ,of Auckland cabinetmaker^ are causingl unusual interest. The position is regarded as the most important that has arisen since the Arbitration Act was passed, the action of the employers in this case, and in that of the firemen'of the Union steamships indicating that strikes and looks-out are still possible. The Government has decided to (prosecute the Auckland employers for breach of the award.

Mr Seddon has expressed the opinion that the Government should find employment for the men who have been locked out.

New Zealand Labour Disputes. (From Our Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, March 20. Several leading New Zealand newspapers, haying been shown copies of the telegrafns which I have sent to the "Times," vouch for their accuracy and strongly deprecate the exaggerated contradictions of the Premier and the Agent-General. The Wellington "Post" states that the Agent-General's example of alleged inaccuracy is unfortunate, as the union representative in Monday' 9 deputation to the Premier stated that there will he between 75 and 100 men locked out. It adds that the union interested is more likely to know than the Agent-General.

New Zealand Labour Troubles. To the Editor of the "Times."

__ Sir,—l cannot congratulate your Wellington correspondent U;pon his vindication of himself in your issue of Saturday. The position is now simple. Early this month your correspondent telegraphed to you indicating that a strike of greater or less extent had broken out among the firemen attached to the liners of the Union Steamship Company. I showed that this strike was a trumpery squabble with one little knot of men, an affair so ludicrously petty as to be utterly unworthy of your attention. To this 'matter our correspondent discreetly makes no specific reference in his Saturday's telegram. So much for that. On March 5 he telegraphed explicitly stating -»«it all the cabinetmakers in Auckland had been locked out. To this I replied that the number of hands in the trade referred to in Auckland was 366; that only 75 of them had been discharged and that of these ten had been taken back. What is his answer to this? To prove me guilty of exaggeration he quotes a newspaper which quoted ai remark of a New Zealand union leader predicting that from 75 to 100 men "will be" locked out. In other words, your correspondent! proves his' own serious exaggeration out of the mouths of the allies whom he cites. The extract from the Wellington "Evening Post" is indeed a very pretty example of the danger of contradicting letters before you have seen fcfyem. It is perfectly evident that the "Post" was quite ignorant of the text of mr letter to your columns which it denounces, yet substantially bear« out. As for the several respectable (Opposition ?) editors who "strongly deprecate" mv deplorable exaggeration, those gentlemen and I are very old friends. They thought it their business when I was in New Zealand politics to charge me with most of the crimes' in the political calendar, and I can quite understand how it is that they still regard their own intuitions aa quite Buffioient evidence that whatever I may have written here is certain to be wrong. Why should they wait to see what I write before contradictingl it? will become of £he enterprising journalist if he may not intelligently anticipate that anything an old enemy says will be contrary to fact? I am, Sir, your obedient servant, ..,.*. W. P. REEVES. Westminster Chambers, 13, Victoria Street, S.W., March 23.