[Editor: This article, regarding dissatisfaction over pay in Australian military units, was published in The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.), 27 April 1901.]
Threatened military “strike.”
The question of pay.
So strong is the feeling of dissatisfaction among the men of the various metropolitan branches of the naval and military forces, who are to parade on various days in the approaching festivities, with the proffered pay of 4/6 per day, with 2/ luncheon allowance, that the success of all those ceremonies in which the forces are to take part is seriously threatened.
The men unanimously state that it is with them not a matter of the exact amount of pay for these days, but a question of general principle for all parades. They regard the alteration from the regular payment of 8/ a day for parades as the first step — the thin end of the wedge, as it were — towards a permanent reduction by the new administration of the forces.
The men freely admit that on these coming parade days, which will be holidays, most of them will either still be paid by their employers, or those who are on day work will in any case be able to earn no private pay. But the firm conviction in their minds is that this temporary reduction will be made a precedent overrides that concession.
To the rejoinder of the authorities, “Oh, you went to Sydney for that pay, and the visiting troops from other states are coming here for that pay,” they answer, “Of course we did, and of course they are. But there is all the pleasure of a free trip, the travel, and the sight-seeing in those cases. If they called for offers to-morrow for men to go on such a trip on those terms they would get hundreds of volunteers from among those of us who will not parade this time under 8/ a day.”
They venture to say that at Sydney at the Commonwealth celebrations the New South Wales troops were paid the full rates without demur, and the present suggested reduction they strongly condemn as unworthy of the occasion. Had they been asked, many of them emphatically declare, to volunteer to parade in honour of the Duke’s visit, fully 90 per cent. of them would have stepped forward without any promise of pay. They would have so volunteered to show that the feeling in this matter came from no lack of loyalty. But they were not so asked.
The men of various companies of various branches of the service state that they were ordered not to hold meetings among themselves to discuss the question of pay, and that none of them was to dare to give information to the press about their doings.
Their officers have now, they add, attempted to make the question one of military discipline, that the men shall not dictate to their superiors. They disclaim any such intention. They want just treatment, and no permanent reductions smuggled in under pretext of too heavy a total expenditure on the whole celebrations. The concession of 2/ per day for meals, made subsequent to the first order fixing 4/6 per day for parades, the men regard as a sop grudgingly thrown to them.
The whole of the 1st and 2nd Battalions of Infantry, the A, B, and C Batteries of Field Artillery, the Garrison Artillery, the Engineers, and the Naval Brigade are concerned in this matter. Statements were made last night that nearly the whole of the men in the 1st Battalion Infantry would refuse to parade, and that about half of the 2nd Battalion Infantry would do the same. A and C Batteries of Field Artillery almost unanimously had agreed not to parade. B Battery will parade under special circumstances on one day at least. The members of the Garrison Artillery and the Engineers are so strongly against the reduction that it is feared only a few of them will parade; and the Naval Brigade, almost to a man, will not turn out.
The feeling in the 1st Battalion Infantry was indicated at a parade of D Company at the Albert-park Orderly-rooms during the week. Those willing to turn out during the Duke’s visit were asked to shoulder arms. A large majority remained with their arms grounded. The men state that that feeling is shared by the other companies in the battalion, and that they will not give way.
In the 2nd Battalion about half the men are wavering. This is due to the fact that their colonel has at parade this week assured them that he will arrange for a caterer for the men’s food, so that they will be able to retain the 2/ luncheon allowance. That will make 6/6 per day, and many feel inclined to take that. At the same time, many others stand firm against the reduction, and, although they are forbidden to hold meetings, personal arguments and loyalty to comrades will probably bring the majority to the side of those who will not parade.
After parade last night the men of the B Battery Field Artillery held a meeting to consider a letter from A and C batteries, who stated therein that they would not parade and asked the Battery to support them. After long argument, the fact that B Battery was, on the day of the Duke’s landing, to form the artillery escort — a position of honour — together with the fact that to most of the members of this battery parade pay is a minor consideration, brought the majority to a decision to parade, at any rate, on the first day, when the Duke arrives. The battery, therefore, will abide by the decision of its majority for that day. The question of parading on other days was not discussed.
This battery also was influenced by the consideration that the meals on those parade days will, as usual, be provided for out of the battery’s canteen fund, and the 2/ per head per day will bring the pay in the case also up to 6/6 per day. How far the decision of B Battery will affect the others remains to be seen.
The men point out that they can be visited with absolutely no penalty for not parading if they simply stay away from parade as is the intention of the great majority. They have by the regulations to attend a certain number of parades in the year, and so long as they put in their number nothing can be done to them. They cannot be forced to attend this parade in preference to any other.
This serious question affects the attendance of over 1,000 men of the Melbourne forces at the celebrations. So far as is known, the country men are satisfied with the pay, as they get to Melbourne and see the sights at the same time.
Source:
The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.), 27 April 1901, p. 13
Editor’s notes:
/ = a “shilling mark”, also known as a “shilling stroke”; a forward slash: when immediately placed after a number, a forward slash is a reference to a shilling; the slash may appear with a number after it, being a number of pence in addition to a shilling; or the slash may have a dash after it, to indicate that there are no additional pence (e.g. 1/ = 1 shilling; 1/- = 1 shilling; 1/9 = 1 shilling and nine pence; 4/6 = 4 shillings and six pence)
arms = armaments, firearms, weapons
Commonwealth = of or relating to the Commonwealth of Australia
Duke = (in the context of the vice-regal visit to Australia in 1901) Prince George (King George V, 1910 to 1936), who was the Duke of York (May 1892 to 1910), and became the Duke of Cornwall (January 1901, when his father ascended to the British throne as King Edward VII, to 1910), and who was (mainly during 1901) commonly referred to as the Duke of York and Cornwall
See: 1) “George V”, Wikipedia
2) “Duke of Cornwall ”, Wikipedia
3) “Duke of York”, Wikipedia
per cent. = an abbreviation of “per centum” (Latin, meaning “by a hundred”), i.e. an amount, number, or ratio expressed as a fraction of 100; also rendered as “per cent” (without a full stop), “percent”, “pct”, “pc”, “p/c”, or “%” (per cent sign)
press = the print-based media, especially newspapers (can be spelt with or without a capital letter: Press, press)
proffer = offer; a proposal; to hold out an item to someone for acceptance; put something before someone for acceptance
[Editor: The original text has been separated into paragraphs.]
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