THE LYTTELTON BYE-ELECTION.

Wanganui Chronicle, Issue 19961, 15 December 1913, Page 4

THE LYTTELTON BYE-ELECTION.

HON. FISHER ON THE PLATFORM.

(por Prr>ss A ssnns ' ion .)

OHRJSTCHURCH, I>ec. 14. The-Hon. F. M. B. Fisher addressed' a noisy meeting at Woolston last night in support of tho candidature of Sir. Miller for tho second .ballot of the Lyttelton by-election. In the midst of a constant hurricane of interjections, Mr Fisher said he proposed to speak of the action of ithe present adihinistnatioi* with regard' to the existing industrial troubles.. The wofkers themselves complained of monopolies, yet the Federation of Labour was controlled by sevenmen. On October 28th a proposal was •made that the-matter in dispute should be referred to an arbitrator, but tho Federation of Labour turned it down, their explanation being that such a proposal could not be accepted' without reference to the other unions. That being so, where did the Federation get the power strike without reference to the other unions? After prolonged interruptions, Mr Fisher said that it was a new feature in politics in this country •when a certain section of public ooinion claimed that no public men should have the right to speak except in. their behalf. While he, a Ne*w Zealander, was prevented fro in a naturalised American could get a good hearing. Mr Fisher offered to let anybody come on the platform and speak alternately with him. The offer was not accepted. Continuing, he said) that if the waterside workers had struck on a matter of wages the. strike would have been over in a few days. He detailed the present conditions, under which many men were kept waiting for work, and said the Government bad convened a conference to prepare a scheme, which would ultimately secure permanent enil'!ny;iient to the wholes of tho waterside labourers.

In reply to a question re the second ballot repeal, the reason why it was repealed was because in. his opinion there was no other statute yet devised that wont so far to rouse ill-feeling, malice, and viiulictivenoss. The Government did r.'.vay with it because if a Government was to be put v) pow-er that was going to allow tho wJknLc- of the State to bo paralysed by the position of the comninnity, that Government was not fife to represent the people.