AT BROKEN HILL.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 403, 12 January 1909, Page 5

AT BROKEN HILL.

MORE TROUBLE.

POLICE DRAW THEIR BATONB. . COURT PROCEEDINGS. (Ht TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION—COriMOItT.) Sydney, January 11. An application was made to admit to bail Tom Mann and tho other persons arrested on Saturday, but it was refused. Another load of- provisions was taken to the mine yesterday. No attempt was made to block it. During Saturday's riot tho police captured a flag carried in, the procession., The strikers recaptured it, but tho police once again got possession of it. Several on both sides were wounded in the scutde, but none seriously.

A POSSIBLE SETTLEMENT. (Rec. January'l2, 1.15 a.m.) Molbournfy January 11. At a meeting in camera the Proprietarj directors discussed at length the questioi of submitting the trouble to tho Arbitratioi Court. It is understood that they are await ing further information from the genera manager of' the mine before coming ' to : decision. The Federal Postmaster-General (Mr Thomas) stated that to-night he had received from a reliable source' confidential news of a most reassuring character witl regard to the Barrier trouble. PRISONERS REMANDED. ' A SCENE AT THE COURTHOUSE, Sydney, January 11. [ At the Broken Hill Police Court Tom Manr and 27 others were charged with unhntfullj assembling together and taking part in e riot. They were remanded for a week, bai being allowed in each case in the sum oi £200. ' \ Thho Mayor of Broken Hill went bail foi Mr. Mann, and sureties were found for the others. On individual charges of stone-throw-ing, assaulting the police, and using indeceni language ■ all the accused were similarly remanded, bail being allowed in the sum oi £10 each. '• There , was an immense crowd, round the Courthouse, and the pressure broke down the gates. The police psed their batons to drive i the crowd back, and restore order. .'One arrest was made. ATTACK ON DEFENCELESS .OFFICIALS. Writing under date January 6, our Sydnej correspondent states:—The outlook is extremelj grave at Broken 1 Hill. At the moment of writing tho discontented unionists have, actuallj stoned the mine officials and the police, ana unless something happens to settle the difficulty the fight may be a very: bitter-one. The 'story ".of the trouble, is a-very long one, extending over months of Negotiations. The men claim an increase of wages, equal to in some cases 15 per cent, and in others to, ]J per cent., and. amended. rates for overtime, The mineowners cannot accept these demands, and accordingly the Proprietary mine has been shut down.. This,' in a few brief lines, is the cause of the trouble. . , Tho. .excitement,,began yesterday, when the men who had been working at fjio Proprietary mine during the holidays wero paid off. Scenes of rioting-, took place at Broken Bill. Tho men marched to the mines in a solid body from the Trades' Hail to -rcceive their pay, While ; a .tremendous crowd had gathered near the mine entranoe of thoi.worlcs. When the'business oi paying was over;.several of the officials loft for the city under* tho protection of, some-of',the unionist leaders.' They' got along alright until they,-passed '.the ; lino of.'pickets'; .after that the cro\ra .became rowdy,; and.the mine officials-were maltreated, : They . werehit, with 'sticks and stones, struck with fists, and badly cut. Three of them, Messrs.,Worsley, Siddall, and Stevens, in particular, Suffered sovcrely. The unionist loaders who.werei protecting the officials wero powerless,.-againsts'this: display of violence,'and had actually to look after, their own safety, whilst bruised and bleeding, and with torn clothes, the mino, officials fought their way through the mass.,., .Some gained shelter in the Broken Hill Club,, and others in ; tlie polico station. One iiiah.iii.the. fighting'-lost a portion of his oar. Mr. Stevens, when. he. Reached, the polico 'station, . was. completely exhausted. , ' "I s st°i7 °f this disgraceful riot, when defenceless men were attacked-, and beaten by an angry mob,'.the bravery;of a .woman .with a babe in arms is conspicuous.' Seeing Worsley, one .of tho officials, confronted .by this mob-ancl in danger, of . hip life, she .forced, her way through the excited'mass and shouted that she was not going to see them 1 beat a man like that.,_ At this unexpected intervention the rf.ob, astonished for the moment, fell back, and in the diversion thus created Worsley was enabled to get away. Undoubtedly the woman him from very serious injuries. ' '' . The soveirity of the fighting is shown by the fact that the superintendent of the zinc plant had his nose broken, and tho assistaut paymaster had his. face .cut open. Through the fact that many of the polico had. been withdrawn from the mine during th.e. morning; the few constables who were loft, were practically powerless. One policeman drew a revolver, but lie was speedily overcome, and the revolvor sent flying out of. his hand. The position of affairs being thus serious, the other police were oromptly brought buck, ivnd as they were marching up tho street stones were thrown, one of -which struck the superintendent. During the afternoon a doctor made an attempt to prive through tho crowd to attend an injured man at the mine, but was not-allowed ■to pass. Finally Tom Mann, who is taking a prominent part ■ in this trouble, jumped*into the trap and assisted the doctor to make his way through. The unionist leaders and Tom Mann'entiroly Jisavow any responsibility for the rioting, and state that it is not with their sanction or ccn:urrence. The feeling of the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Garvin, is that this rioting has aot been, induced, by the main body of the unionists at all. The miners will, in his opinion, observe law and order, and will not create, my. serious disturbance. However, 50 additional. policemen* were sent from Sydney'last light to Broken Hill.