*THE
WORKER*
Brisbane,
March 16, 1895.
Mail
Bag.
WANTED –
(to prepare way for Socialism in our Time):
One adult
One Vote.
Land tax.
State
bank.
Shops and
Factories Act.
Eight
hours day where practicable.
Referendum
and Initiative.
Taxation
of every person according to ability to pay.
The State
to find work for unemployed.
The State
to fix a minimum wage.
Free
railways. Free administration of Justice.
The
WORKER does not hold itself responsible for the opinions of its
correspondents.
O.S.
- Will be attended to.
G.H.
- New Zealand - All right.
H.B.
- Have submitted to our censor. Many thanks.
GYMPIE
SUBSCRIBER – About 24 years of age; a cabinet maker by trade;
address, Leichhardt street, Sydney.
S.F.N.
- The point of the story a little obscure. Send us a note as to what
you are driving at. Then we think it possible to fix it up, as
otherwise good.
ED.
WORKER - I am aware that when Mr. Fisher, M.L.A. Proposed to reduce
the vote for the catering for the refreshment rooms I did not support
him, because it would have prevented the members from getting tea and
coffee with other refreshments, and would not have had the effect of
closing the refreshment bar. - SAMI GRIMES, COOMERA, March 6.
ED.
WORKER – Waroonge started shearing three weeks ago, signed as men
came, no roll call, '94 agreement. The shearers were a fortnight
before they knew the price of their rations which, instead of costing
10 per cent and carriage, were about 20 per cent. Cook discharged and
place taken by F. Simmons after being defeated for same at the start,
but camped for the death of his comrade. He says he is union but –
I leave anyone to judge. - J.
ED.
WORKER – After all the puffing, the alleged throwing open for
selection of the Boombah resumption ended in W. Ah Munro, the lessee,
buying at 10s. an acre, the eyes of the country, and the genuine
selectors were left to scramble for the balance. Some of them, when
the above fact was announced, tore up their applications in disgust.
Some of those who have applied for land on Boombah are McPherson,
manager for J. Ah Lomax, of Boatman Station, in this district, and a
brother-in-law of Munro's and Tooth, a scion of the decayed Clifton
family and jackaroos on Boombah. - U.C., St. George.
ED.
WORKER – The stars in their course are fighting against the
Government. Hear what a man after rambling Tommy's own heart says in
an article on “Agricultural Stagnation:” “The Government are
only the servants of the people,” &c. I have often heard Mr. W.
Kellet whistle a different tune. I wonder who has been jumping on his
chest, or giving him the cold shoulder to make him now so bitter
against the Government. He will soon rival or eclipse our worthy
member, Mat Ried, as being “agin the Government,” and it won't
surprise me in the least if by next election time he comes down to
the Trades Hall and signs the Labour platform, and think by so doing
he will be able to crawl into Parliament again. - A. TOOWONG ELECTOR.
ED.
WORKER – Just a line or two to point out to you that it is not all
truth that the squatters preach when they inform us that they do not
boycott members of the A.W.U. In the beginning of last month I rode
up to Boatman station and asked the manager if there was any chance
of obtaining a stand for the coming shearing. Without any hesitation
he informed me in the presence of a witness that he would give me a
stand, and put my name on the list. Being an hon. delegate of the
A.W.U. I had members' tickets in my possession, and after obtaining a
stand I thought I would pay a visit to the contractors camps on the
station and enroll members. I proceed to a contractor's camp –
named Week's – and myself and W. Breen held a meeting of the men
working in the camp, and they were unanimous in renewing their
tickets and joining the A.W.U. The overseer of Boatman happened to be
in the camp at the time, and accompanied by the contractor weeks,
came to where we were holding the meeting and informed us that they
would have no agitators on Boatmen, and informed us that if we did
not clear out he would impound our horses. I had to leave and, after
the overseer went into head station and informed M'Pherson (of Doondi
fame) who is the manager of Boatman, that I was an agitator. I
received a letter from him informing me that he had struck my off me
off the list of shearers. I enclose you a true copy of his letter. -
JOHN P. WOODS, Hon. delegate.
ED.
WORKER – Re the reliability
of lascar sailors-some years ago I was a passenger to London by the
B.I. Boat Merkarn. We experienced fine weather until within three
days' sail of Aden, when the S.W. Monsoon came on suddenly and we got
some very dirty weather. A sail was blown away and some blocks got
adrift up aloft and were doing considerable damage as they swung to
and fro with every roll, of the ship. The lascars had all gone below,
and neither the entreaties of their serang nor the threats of the
officers could induce one of these “cheap and nasty” fine weather
sailors to budge an inch. In consequence the quartermasters and the
third and fourth officers had to go aloft and make things secure. I
was afterwards assured by several of the officers that this was a
common occurrence and that lascers were utterly worthless in really
bad weather as, at the first advent of danger, they straight way went
below and stayed there until it had passed. This was my first
experience of lascers, but it made such an impression on me that I
determined I would never again voluntarily travel on any boat that
carried a black crew, and when I subsequently returned to Australia I
came back on the Orient liner Loguria. We encountered a terrific
cyclone in the Gulf of Aden in which the Speke Hall, Richmond Hill
and other vessels were lost, and I was afforded a good opportunity of
contrasting the behaviour of a white crew with that of the lascers
employed on the B.I. Boats. Our vessel was splendidly handled and the
crew, firemen and stokers, nobly did their duty, working heroically
to keep the fires alight, and it was nothing but good seamanship
backed up by the ready and cheerful obedience of a white crew that
brought us safely that terrible cyclone. - COSMOPOLITAN, Townsville.
˭˭˭˭˭˭˭˭˭˭˭˭˭˭˭˭˭˭˭˭˭˭˭
THE
North Brisbane Workers' Political Organisation commence their
Saturday night social on the 16th
at the Trades Hall.
THE
people of Arrilalah have a high opinion of the Labour members. They
consider if Mr. Kerr, member for the Barcoo, is a sample of the
Queensland Labour Party, those who secured the party's return have
good reason to congratulate each other on their good luck.
LABOUR
Member Rawlings has left Brisbane to address his Woothakata
constituents. “Niatruc” in the Wild
River Times, for
a few of the Fat Man's shillings and probably in anticipation of a
soft Government billet, tries to be funny at Rawlings' expense,
forgetting that Woothakata is now represented by a sober, honest, and
conscientious man.
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