"You've got the law on your side," answered Ned. "You can send a man to prison, like a thief, if he has a row with a squatter after signing an agreement, but we can't send the squatter to prison if he's in fault. The Masters and Servants Act is all wrong and we'll alter it when we get a chance, I can assure you, but you're not content with the Masters and Servants Act. You want a private law all in your own hand." "We've had a very serious difficulty to meet," said the other. "Men go on strike on frivolous pretext and we must protect our interests. We've not cut down wages and we don't intend to." "You have cut down wages, labourers' wages," retorted Ned. "That has been charged," replied Strong, lifting his eyebrows. "But I can show you the list of wages paid on our stations during the last five years and you will see that the wages we now offer are fully up to the average." "That may be," said Ned. "But they are less than they were last year. I'm speaking now of what I know." "Oh! There may be a few instances in which the unions forced up wages unduly which have been rectified," said Mr. Strong. "But the general rate has not been touched." "The pastoralists wouldn't dare arbitrate on that," answered Ned. "In January, 1890, they tried to force down wages and we levelled them up. Now, they are forcing them down again. At least it seems that way to me." "That matter might be settled, I think," said Strong, dismissing it. "What other objections have you to the agreement?" "As an agreement I object to the whole thing, the way it's being worked. If it were a proposal I should want to know how about the Eight Hours and the Chinese." "We don't wish to alter existing hours," answered Strong. "Then why not put it down?" "And we don't wish to encourage aliens." "A good many pastoralists do and we are determined to try to stop them. It looks queer to us that nothing is said about it." "Some certainly did urge that Chinese should be allowed in tropical Queensland but our influence is against that and we hope to restrain the more impetuous and thus prevent friction." Ned shrugged his shoulders without answering. "We hope--" began Strong. Then he broke off, saying instead: "I do not see why the men should regard the pastoralists as necessarily inimical and as not desirous of doing what is fair." "Look here, Mr. Strong," said Ned leaning forward, as was his habit when in earnest. "We are beginning to understand things. We know that you people are after profits and nothing else, that to you we are like so many horses or sheep, only not so valuable because we're harder to break in and our carcasses aren't worth anything. We know that you don't care a curse whether we live or die and that you'd fill the bush with Chinese to-morrow if you could see your way to making an extra one per cent. by it."