S. KENNKPY

25

I.—6a

condition than they were before the society started at all. That is a fact. In 1885 the enginedriver's maximum pay was 135., and in 1910 the maximum pay is 12s. 6d. In 1905 the minimum pay of a Stationmaster was £155 a year, including a house, and in 1910 it is £190—25. 3d. per day of a rise, and the engine-driver has gone back 6d. Is it any wonder that we are not satisfled with the Amalgamated Society? Is it any wonder that after a time we started a union of our own in order to do our own business with the management and Parliament? I think it is not. Now, our opponents like to bring up the Australian conditions. We have brought up nothing to-day about the Australian conditions —absolutely nothing First, I wish to say that when one commences to speak about conditions it is the most misleading thing possible. The Minister of Eailways in the House the other day inferred that the conditions in Australia were not as good as here, because he said that in a special State if a driver was away from his home in that State for twelve hours he got Is., and here we give our drivers ss. if they are away one night. Ido not think I have drawn one night's lodging-money for two years, and Ido not want to do so, but if I had drawn Is. for every time I was away for twelve hours I should have drawn a good many pounds. Ido not say that the conditions are better than here, but Ido not believe in saying that they are worse. Men are not very often away at night, and we do not wish to be. When a man talks about conditions it is most misleading, and he is apt to be led right away from the issue at stake. A great many people have asked us why we have left the Amalgamated Society of Railways Servants, and I think you gentlemen ought to have a pretty good idea why The best argument I can give is this—it is an old Scotch proverb ' The proof of the pudding is in the eating " The locomotive-men have remained members of the Amalgamated Society until two years ago, and they partook of that pudding, and after twenty years of it they made another pudding called the Locomotive-engine Drivers, Firemen, and Cleaners' Association. That pudding is to their relish now, and it rests with you gentlemen to say whether they are going to be allowed to partake of the pudding that is to their liking or be forced to partake of the one they do not relish. You will give us credit for being an intelligent body of men. Our men are thoroughly in earnest, and there is one thing we want to impress upon your minds, and that is, there is absolutely no possibility of the engine-drivers and firemen going back to the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants. They do not intend to go back after their representation—l was going to say " dodges," but I will not. I should not dare to go back to my fellow-workers if I entertained such a proposal. We are prepared to remain in our society oven if it is not recognized at all. I should like to say a word or two about the number of engine-drivers in the Amalgamated Society They claim 764, but we know perfectly well that is not correct, and I will tell you one reason why they show so many I myself sent in my resignation last year when the delegates were to be voted for, and at the last February Conference I received a voting-paper to vote, being proof positive that my resignation had not been recorded on their books. That was done all round. We found that to be a common thing in Dunedin a few days ago. One man received a notice from the secretary pointing out that his contributions were Very much behind, and asking him to pay up, and yet that man's resignation had been sent in with a lot of others seven months before. In Oamaru a number sent in their resignations a short time ago, and when the vote was being taken as to the direct-representation scheme they all received voting-papers, whereas if all the resignations had been duly recorded they would not have received the voting-papers. Sometimes resignations are sent back with a request for reconsideration, and if the Amalgamated Society continue to adopt the tactics they are adopting now you will find the locomotive-men on the books till the end of the chapter We maintain that the position of the engine-driver to-day proves not that the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants will not take up our grievances and put them before the Minister—we do not charge them with that —but we say that the society has grown to be such a cumbersome institution that it is incapable of putting the engine-driver in his proper position with regard to pay and other conditions. The Amalgamated Society h,as all along strenuously maintained, when opposing us, that our conditions were as good as in Australia , but when the Minister of went over there and pointed out certain things, we had ample proof of our argument being correct. Seeing that the only test that the president of the Amalgamated Society could put forward twelve months ago, that we should hold together for twelve months and maintain a membership of 1,000 members —seeing that we have passed that, it is proof that we are in earnest, and that we have men amongst us capable of managing our business and putting our case before the management in order that the members themselves will be able to derive the full benefit of the labour legislation of this country I think it is only right and just that you as a Committee should recommend that the Minister should recognize our association. It is a most remarkable thing that a union which has been registered for two years in a country like this, where a body of men according to the law can form a union, and once it is formed they can compel their employer to recognize it—that in a country like New Zealand, with a thousand members in a union which has been registered for two years —a union consisting of men doing the most important work—namely, the control of the motive power of our railways — is not recognized by the Minister Now, before I conclude I should like to say that there is only one way of settling the trouble amongst the railwaymen There is no gainsaying that there has been feeling in the matter, and very bitter feeling, which will continue while the Amalgamated Society desires to oppose our recognition. There is no other union in New Zealand that would attempt to prevent the Minister recognizing us several have wished us good luck since we came to Wellington, and they say we certainly ought to be recognized. Now, gentlemen, when considering this matter I wish you to remember that refusal of our recognition means that the Amalgamated Society will get their way It means the destruction of another union, and it means that the drivers and firemen are going to suffer by such refusal. Now, our union has a great deal higher percentage of members represented by its delegates than is the case with the representatives of the Amalgamated Society, and it would be a crying shame to break up our union This

4—l. 6a.