The Portland daily press., 1878-11-27

TROUBLED STEvEDORES.-The following
petition is in circulation and will be presented
to the City Council at the next regular monthly
meeting, which occurs on Monday evening:
To the Honors BILE Mayor and Board of Alder
men for the City Of Portland, State of Maine:
We, the undersigned, residents and taxpayers
OF our said city of Portland, and deDendent on
our daily labor for support, respectfully Tepr =
sent to your honorable body that duriog winter
months foreign steveoores from different parts
of the world, but more especially from Canada,
are accustomed to come TO said Portland, and
for the said winter months are employed to the
exclusion Of Portland help, the question CT
wages not entering into consideration, 10 any
way whatever thereby depriving n,any of GU r
citizens for the said months OF their only
means of support.
In c0nsequen of these facts, and in view OF
the attitude assumed By other cities in our
Union, under similar circumstances as well
as the position taken by the foreign Settles
whence these stevedores with their assistants
come, we would humbly petition your honora-
Ole body that In some proper manner, as is
best known to your honorable body, you may
lay these facts bsfore your Legislature tor cur
eaid State of Name, next Assem- bling, to the
end that some provision may be made or some
Statute enacted, wherr By no person shall act or
employ help as stevedOre, in our said city or
State, without special license; and that no
license for such purpose shall bs granted to any
or State.
A meeting Of the Workingmen and MI chan
les Association was held last evening VIM
B. Darragh acted as chairman. He presented
to the meeting the necessity If having some-
thing done in order to secure to the laborers of
this city the preference of having the work Of
unloading and loading the English steamers
that come to this port during the winter
months.
The Secretary of the meeting, j. 81. Monroe,
then read to the large numb,r present a petit
ton already signed by 107-Which will be pre-
scented to the City Council-to have something
done for the working class in the respect above
indicated.
They say the work at present. is eniitely
given to men from Montreal.
Another meeting will be held this evening,
at o'clock, for the purpose of electing officer
and Transact ng such other b1siness as may be
brought before it.
Mr.. Scanlon, agent of the Donioion line of
steamers, at this port, says that the statement
published in the last issue Of the Sunday Times
In regard to the importation of lAbore-s from
Montreal by that line to do their work in Port
land, il, in a great measure incorrect. He says
the truth of the matter is this: This line had ,on
Saturday, when they discharged the cargo of
the Mississippi, thir5y.four laborers employed,
nine Of whom came from Montreal, and the
larger. part of these are, aud have been for
years, residents Of Portland. The y worked for
this line in Portland, last wiater, and then
went from here to Montreal, where they work.
ed for this line during the summer season: :
they retaining their residence in Portland all
the while. The line gave these men the pref.
erence from the fact Of their understanding the
handling of the cargo-the ships Of the line
Carrying cattle, being top weight, it is absolute
ly necessary to have men That are accustomed
to the manner of loading them. The balance
Of the men were Unfortunately picked up on
the wharf here.
Mr.-Scanlon says that the Dominion line do
Lot imI ort anything, but buy all their supplies,
without exception, here. The line last winter
spent about $4,000 in Portland, AID expect
that the amount expended here this season will
exceed that.