A ROWDY MEETING.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 507, 14 May 1909, Page 5

A ROWDY MEETING.

COMPULSORY TRAINING MOVEMENT,

SOCIALISTS DISTURB PROCEEDING . NO RESOLUTION CARRIED. Last; night's mooting in tho Conwrt Cham- y. bor at tho Town Hall to oonsidor tho for oompulfiory military training will not' readily bo forgotten, Twenty minutes before] the proceedings commenced the building was packcd, and many had to return homo. There were, comparatively speaking,- very few. ladies among the audionce, but those who did attend evinced tho keenest interest, i Tho proceedings had not long commenced before it was apparent that the Socialists and other opponents of tho movement were strongly represented. As transpired' later, however, thoy were in a decided minority—perhaps in the proportion of five to two. . That the police authorities had anticipated that the meeting might bo a rowdy one' was shown by the fact that constables, some in uniform, were stationed at various points 'among the auditors. Interruptions and : disorder occurred constantly throughout the mooting, and' ulth mately, \vlion the proposer.of an-amendment to a resolution in favour of the movomont. was stoutly refused a hearing, it; was doomod. advisablo to abruptly terminate tho proceedings. Tho Mayor (Dr. Nowman) occupied the chair, and among those who occupied seats on the platform wore: Mr. R. MTsfab, ox-Minis-ter for Dofenoe,_j Dr.- P. W; Mackenzie, Messrs. A. R. Atkinson, E.;Hulbort. G. Shirtcliff e, E. J. Lo Grove, E. Arnold, J.P., J. B. Harcourt. R. i Darroch, J. M. Butt, J. M.' . Richmond, and Capt. W. do R. Barclay.. Apo- ' togies from Dr. Gibb,'Colonel Campboll, Mr. Ksher, If.P., and Mr, J. P. Firth wore reed. '! Tho Mayor Opens. Dr. Nowman, in fho coureo of a brisf, introductory 'spooch, said that it was extremely satisfactory to note that bo much interest, was'being taken in-the subject of the defence of tho Dominion. Tho object of tho meeting was to oonsidor whether tihe Government mould be recommended to introduoo a ; of oompulsory military trainingin!, liou of the present voluntary Bystem.' (Applause' and cries bf "Novorl") MuucK good would result if the viowß of thoso who oould speak with authority on the subject of dofenoe were mad© known. Mr, M'Nab,. who would be the .chief speaker, had boen so impressed with tho gravity of. the question that, ho was going to stump the country. .From Auckland ho had received a most cordial invitation to,deliver a series of;addresses. Ho, for one, believed that thero'should bo universal peace, and no such, thing as Dreadnoughts.. (Applause.) Tho- Pacific was now becoming the,homo of;portions of tfao navies of various oountries, i and'it was nooessary that Now Zealand should bo properly dofended. _ How would they, like, say, a Japanese admiral to.have chargo of their city? Ha hopod f/hat Wio meeting would; pass somo ro- . solution whioh would have for its object the protection of , the. people of Now Zoaland, as tho Maori said, "for ever and over andiovor." (Loud applause.) First Noto of Dfsoord. / Mr. R. Hogg at this stage 1 complained that policemon wbro present in uniform among tho audience., - Dr. Nowman:..As.]ong as anyone is do- • oently dressed ho has. a right to be here. Mr. Hogg: They-are hero to intimidate tho : mooting, or. elso thoro must be roguos hero. Mr. R. C. Kirk, who roso to movo the • •first resolution; said that it would bo a good l , thing if 1 a plebiscite could be taken on the question, of defence. It was not proposed to 'arjgue with those who said that this country was not worth defending. (Applause.) Thoy would take it for , grantod that tho country was worth defending—— . A, Voice: This countrybelongs to the landfiords. - Resuming, Mr; Kirk Baid that if thoso who had been in power had not found a satisfactory system-of dofonding the country it was for the people to find one. He would like to point out that, among thoso who favoured Universal training, was Colonel Davies, whoso opinion carried , a great deal of weight. The volunteer system had failed to produce tho good results expected. Thoso who wero in a position to give an opinion said that that was duo to some' inherent defect in tho present system. He' Would like to soe tho volunteer BVstom extended to all able-bodied men in tno country. Thoro was n difference '■ between compulsory training and conscription.' ' .. - ■' : A Voico: Don't say no more. (Much laughter.) ■ ■ - r ; . Present Dofonco; inadequate. • i Mr. Kirk, continuing,, said that tho men in every country wero in tho last resort bound 'to .defend it. Tho x resolution .which ho was about to move would, ho hoped, rocoive tho ; warm support which it desorved. It was as; follows ; , -!.: , ■■ - " Rooognising that (I) despite tho en- - . thusiasm and self-sacriaco displayed by ■ the oilicors 'and men of tho volunteer .. force of Now Zealand, and the largo,sums ' , of public money annually devoted to tho purpose, the,inadequacy of our dofonco is a source of danger to ourselves and of : : weakness : to .tho Empire; and .that (2) ; thero is no reasonable hope of any perm&n-' . .eutly satisfactory result under, existing -.- conditions, -this meeting considers that a : ... system : of '.universal • military training should bo established forthwith in order ' to qualify oiir young men for tlio dofonoo" .' of Now Zealand in time of need. "■ Tho resolution was reooivod ;:.witTi loud applause, mingled : with hooting. A fow of the auditors •'commenced./" to-v sing- "Rulo Britannia," but their /voices bccamo inaudible when a score or two Socialists sang, a few lines of "Tho Red Flaa." : - , ' ' 'VBewaro of Chinamen!' ' Mr; R. M'Kenzio, of; Newtown, who seconded. the resolution, said it ; was possible pay too dearly for peace. The best guarantee a nation could, have that it wouid not bo attacked, was that it was in. a position to defend itself. What "ivas tho good oC saying that wo would hot allow Asiatics to laud hero if we could not back .up ''.our . wish? What if a boat-load of Chineso ca.mo I'OTO. - ' ! ; ■;-■ - . ' . ~- ' A Voico : Send Joo Ward to shoot them. ' Mr. M.'Kenzio, resuming, 'said thai there was one thing which he admired tho Prime Minister; for, and that .was that, in season and out of season, ho had prcaohed tho doc-; trino of purity ; of race. Replying to the Socialists, he; would say that no did not boo why everj' Socialist couldnot support compulsory training heart and soul. Was it - not. a fact tiat evory man over tho ago of twenty-one years had ah equal voico in tho government of the country?" v Voices: Not at' all. ■■■■ ; . , Resuming, Mr. M'Kcnzio said . that tho present voluntoer system was totally inadequate. Training in drill halls would not stand tho volunteers in Rood stead if the country worfc attacked. Tho defelico of tho country was-a' question.not for'tho Govern-' nient, but for the pooplo ns a whole. Horr Bobel, tho Socialist leader, had said that homo defence was ilie duty of all who wero capable of fulfilling it. Chorus of Voiccs: But we' haven't got any homes. When tho speaker eiulqavoui'otl to resumo ho was mot with cries of: Wo want M'N.ihl Mr. ■ M'Kenr.ie, tontinuinn;, said tho. pi-c-------sonc movement was the very antithesis, of conscription. It was the'.duty of all to siml»rt the movement. The,questions were: Is this country worth dofonding? and: Whoso, duty 13 it to defend it ? ■ . As the interruption .'continued, Mr: M'Kcn>,ic, after another -attempt', to proceed, fi.ivo up amid further cries of "We wunt St'NahtV and "Vou want a wash!" 1 ' , A- Mr. ;M'Nab Begins. .-. Mr. M'Nab said that he was very ploaf.p;! tb bo given ah opportunity to say a few words. iu ; support of tho compulsory: training movonient. Its object • was.: to' -scottro tho training of nil able-bodied mc» in the use of tho rifio and in-military drill, so that their rcryicos might bo of value,.'" A Voico: What iboiit Mataura? • Mr. M'Nab: At tho r.cxt general election it will be at a premium. (L&uphtor.) Resuming, Mr. M'Nab Baid tliat over sinco the country was established it had relied on a voluntary > dofonco Bystem. . Now was a fitting opportunity toMook back and seo what

snccc63 ;had nocrnod. There wero, at tho proscnt - timo, > something liko 19,000 <mon who ; camo under tho designation of tho Now Zea- ; land Dafonco Foroe. Among these were a . largo nnmbor who could not be looked upon: ; : oa effective instruments of .defence, r . :: A-Voico: What about yourself? . Mr. M'Nab! >T inoludo myself among--in-efficienta. Resuming, Mr.. M'Nab said that, of tho number which ho had quoted, 3158.-. wero dofonco cadets, and 3369 belonged to rifle clubs. : Now'it was.a fact that New Zealand spent £250,000 annually under tho present; system, which nioant that the training dealt with only • 14,420 men.' Then tho question aroso, Wero all those men available it callcd upon? Upon ■ visiting all the corps from North Capo to tho ..Bluff ? tho Inspector-General of Forces had i found; that'.only 7107 men paraded. Whore . wo'ro tho rest of tho men? . Voices: Oat carrying their, swags, looking for work. A Fracas. At thia stago there was. great commotion. It appeared that two or moro men - in : tho '..'v*.'lront'of'the.iiaU.'waro"lia7uig<a"lieated argunent, which threatened to lead to blows. Almost everyone roso to his or her feet, and the chairman's efforts to restore order wore quite futile. • Several constables went to the tcene,' and eventually quietness was again temporarily rostored. : ?{■? Continuing, Mr. M'Nab. said' that great difficulty was found'in getting men to forego / 'their work to attend tho annual; courso of i .- training spocifiod. Only 5935 had taken part at_ tho recent manoeuvres. In these, tunes ' ' men could not bo got to loavo their work—A Lady: Y<>u won't got my sons. Mr. M'Nab proceeded to say that that difficulty was one of tho matters which had caused tho comparative failure of tho present volunteer system; Men who had . to struggle, ■; for - a'-livelihood; for thetnselves and families : had found that they could not afford to go into training. ■■ Voioos: iThoy are too hard-up.\ ■ - The Speaker -Turns On tho Socialists. Mr. M'Nab proceeded to say that, if tho Socialists could bring about a better state of things," ho'would :. say,, "More power to them.'V' (Applause.) v Military manoeuvres, ••.v. the-sciencoof warfare, were now so compli--v - catod that, no matter what timo a man could give to the dofenco.of his country, tho maxi- 1 ; - miimHhat'hei '.'waivable;' to accomplish' was not equal to tho minimum required of him. ' Tho poople should no longor look-to a few ; on- i thusiasts, .who'had only ■ a.little, spare' time, to :defen<l the country.- Thero was a limit to tho:.time during which Now Zealand could I look to the Mother Country for tho whole of ■■■■■:■ tho protection. _ In reply to interrupters, Mr. I r: Jllfab here said-that it would be infinitely . ; b6tteir' for: believers in ; ; Socialism to attempt 1 :•.. to lirmg about.their' system. uncTer the British j flag than, under any other-flag. TVhat had | : ' . ; been'.the 'experience'.of . the "Mother. Country with regard to tho volunteer system ? It • was reported by\ a commission, as late as v, 1904, that / the militia - was, unable '■ to take ' , the fiejd for tho defence of England, and must bo::.incapable of taking the field abroad. ■ Everybody would support him when ho said it was a dreadful thing for a country to bo unprepared to dofend itself. Personally, ho ■ did not believe in oonscription, because ho did" .. not think it was necessary. When men, who had undergone training, came forward' and offored their, services, the people could rely, . upon it that those men wore able to do and would do what they offered to do. ■■ Then ; again Lord Roberts had:said in: 1906 that it, would .be ;the height offolly for-England'to" ■ enter into a 'campaign ;with another civilised . country. as long aB tho defenco - force? was based .on..the footing of that time. ..Mr. M'Nab next said that tho Mother Country .- vwas abandoning tho volunteer system, .and was adopting tho territorial system- as a stepping-stone to'-. univorsay i graining.. Hewent on a tributo to the Prime Minister of tho Commonwealth for tho! capable m'anner in which ho .was dealing with-tho ..question.'To tho extent'that New'-Zealand was ,behind i Australia in that matter,: her'; judgment and vision were blinded ;imd, warped. : 'I'hoso who were opposed 't6..-the v :mdvement' '.( would know what unpreparedness meant if a. : -Foreign -Power, attacked'. the colonies., More than legislation might be'. found; : toi bo, neoes-* v.-sary. to.keep Asiatics out of those lands; : ■■■;,: If Mr. Fisher . had been in oontrol in tho . Transvaal at tho time there would have been ;,v;': mighty few _.Chinese' allowed. into, tho coun-• '.... try.', MrV. Fisher was going to ,show that,' if- ; tho Asiatic nations wore insistent on their. '. Vy: claim to. enter' Australia, .they woiild bo met ,: by t tho groat power of the Australian army.; . Ho had : said .that, if ho could discontinue , , advocatingthe'compulsory system ho; would■ do it, but all-,tho authorities • wero agreed that tho voluntary systerti was unsuccessful. :Ho wished to roiid tho opinion of a' local citizen, Mr. M/Laron-^ —. A Voice Yes, the officers should bo selected. Mr. M'Nab - went on■;to say that probably tho volunteer.,system would.bo improved if tlio' offioerswere' selected instead. of ''being ■ elected. , But', ho . might point out that tho system of election, was .quite democratic. iv-vThat-Jwaajn^vtßev^sanwhy : . system' wa3 'a-' failure.. If Mr. M'Laren becamo a member of corps for a year or two . . ; his ,opinion ,on tho would then be much more valuable. Mr. Blatchford Cited. ■ : , -Mr. M'Nab then -.read; an. article written by :: ;: ::llT:,Blatohford;; v That'article. would, ho said, do a great deal to awaken tho people of England. to tho danger, .which Britain- and her ;' dependencies ~wero_ 'in. at. -tho. -present ; ;timo. Portion of tho article was .as-follows"We aro full of. v/ords. X?nt.vy-e"hiivo yet"to-learn that 'Words 3.rG: not <leQdfi and that; figures of the ■ movement, said' wasj ,that; the: only-; remedy ~ . Present eyil-.was compulsory, training,. neeiled ,to- bo defond«l at any . time;, the :,people ..would iiave the ' satisfaction of knowing that: every man ; . lied to do so. The object of tho.movement was not to securo.the adoption of consorip-i tion at all, but , compulsory ; training, ■, Voices: You will never got it..-' ■■:-■ ■- '.::: • Proceeding, Mr. M'Nab said that statistics : V Bhowed that every-j ear thero wero something uko 10,000 young-men coming up to th Q a«o . v ot ,18; and 19. , Three' years would -bo ■ a siiS- r -.pent .space of timo to. provide New Zealand With an adequato defence force Chonia: Who will pay for it? ■ '- ;: ■' ' ",■ Mr,. M'Nab - The country, of course. Voices: The workers. " - Mr..M'Nab replied that tho incidence ofJa^ation; had ■ nothing' to do with ■' the . question of. tho defence of the country. Ho •■;; i was:- gratified;iwith :the,, reception which ,had ; I beep accorded him.. They, wero, he ' felt, - landing round the open gravo of tho volunsystem.- In conclusion,: he would .say ,that the ,reason why, the people: wero asked' to support,,tho'principle of -compulsory training was to carry put tho words which con-. ;eluded- Mr. Blatchford's , articlo: ."Let as -'-v - T# fire 3 to-night,: and take care that they shall not go out if it-is .in .our'power to i .do So." , (Loud applauso and cheers.) ■ Tho Disorder Increases. ■ ;- Mr. A, U. Atkinson, tho next spoaker, was Bnbiectod. to interruptions, 110 that he did not think eithor. tho singloTaxors or tho' Socialists were, .responsible for, tho attempt which had been inaae to wreck • tho meeting.' But tho meeting had not boon. , i ; spoiled; it had been a great success. What . , it looked liko was -that a large number of onimals had got loose from the "zoo " (Hoots.) , . i' : v. ■ - ; During a lull in the uproar which followed, '-Mr., Atkinson' said;that it. appeared to him ;-.tliat there w-ero hvo person's who could run ■ . - tho ; country xwithout defence, viz., "Bill • , 'Adams" and Patrick O'Ecgan. (Furthor hooting.) _- .. v At this stago Mr. O'Began gathered tho aamcs of a fow persons in his locality who Uppnared to bo annoying him. Mr. R. Hogg, who had intimated that he , • tetonded to, .move : an' : amendment,-, .now mounted: the platform, but Mr. Atkinson re-", {used to give way to him.. Ultimately Mr. Atkinson was not allowed to proceed, despite £lio: chairman's appeal on his behalf. ■ , Mr. Hogg had a very clamorous reception. . . - His remarks wero barely audible even to thoso alongside him. . Dr. Slaclsenzio went to. tho assistanco of tbotchairman, but ho was howled down. •: Concerted shouts of "Sit down, Hogg!" had no effect, tho bearer ,'of_ that name announcing his intention to,,wait until he did get a hearing., 'Nest followcd,the singing of "The . Bed Flag," which, however, was soon to be drowned by the strains of '(Rule Britannia." - ; A furthor appeal by tho chairman was now

partially successful, and Mr. Hogg could be neard during tho noxt minute or two, : He wanted to know who tho people of Now Zealand had most to fear. ..It'.was, he said, the enemy who was at present plundering their homes. (Applause;) Ho could remember when thero was a groat cry out for a largo army and . navy, : because Britishers wero afraid of the Russians. Well, only a year or two 1 ago little Japan had alone knocked Russia out. . Then again, why .'.was. it that the British ships were manned with Lascars, and British seamen had to seek work on the wharves or anywhero thoy could get it? He had son's in. tho volunteers, and that was moro than Mr. M'Nab could say. • (Laughter and applause.) ■. v A Hostllo Amontlaicnt. , The amendment which Mr. Hogg was prevented by the din and hubbub from reading was as under:— "Whereas in tho struggle for economic ■. freedom the interests "of the workers of all nations aro identical—tho struggle . . being not only national but international ' —theroforo any effort put'forward by'the ' employing, and exploiting classes to fan the'dying embers of national, racial, and ; .religious hatred, with a view to the frustrating or hindering of the consummation of the establishment of international solidarity of Labour,, we declare our determination to oppose to the utmost.of our - power, and wo send our assurance to the.:, : workers of Groat Britain and Germany of' : our sincere 1 sympathy with' them .during • the present trying period of their history, . of the capitalistic class are .leaving no stone unturned to. bring about a conflict between the . two . . .nations'in .which many, thousands of the working class—sons arid-'fathors—will be '; ruthlessly sacrificed; and, further, we re- • - new , our. affirmation that war ,;Was never in tho interests of the workers as a class, , and we also send fraternal greeting to the proletariats of both countries, and assure thenkof our resolve at all times, and in every crisis; to stand hy the principles of international solidarity of, Labour and also of international peace.". ■ Chaos. Seeing that there was no prospect of quietness being' restored :for a 1 sufficient length of time to. enable the resolutions',to be put, tho promoters of, the meeting commenced to sing the National Anthem, and were joined by all -present. ". Whilst: the crowd was dispersing, the-Socialists lustily, sane ;a verse or .two of "The._ Red Flag," but, when they found that the lights wero being lowered, they began to make their, way on .to the streets. One of the closing incidenta was formed by Mr. M'Nab ah(TMr. Hogg good-naturedly; shaking their fists at one. another. . Although, tho hour was late, .10.45 o'clock, small parties of tho auditors gathered hero,and there outside the hall to further discuss thoi-movement. and the .meeting. ' And so ended "one of; the most noisy' meetings' ever "hyd' in Wellington. INVITATION FROM WANOANUI. . . . 181 TXLEQaArn—PHESS ASSOCIATION.) ■ Wanganul.May 13. Mr." M'Nab hu .accepted '.an.' invitation from the local branch of tho National Defonce League to address" a public meeting on tho subject, of universal training during the first woeik in Juno... , ~

r ■ PROPOSED FEILDING MEETING.

(NT I'SLBQttAPnr-BPZCUL CORRRSroNDBNT.) . ' Fcilding, May 13. ; Mr. Robert M'Nab,'who has accepted an invitation, from the Feilding Borough Gonn-' cil to givo a; lecture in Feilding on the 'subject ,of ,'oompulspry military'. training, wired 'yesterday-' askiiig ,if '.'Wednesday/- : -Juno '3/ would be'a suitable day for the lecture. The telegram • further stated 'that Mr. M'Nab would be able.;to .give',any,,day,: later in the week -if desired. On tho motion of Coun--ciUor Atkinson,;. at a special meeting of tlie council, it was decided to ask Mr. M'Nab to lecture here on'the. evening of Friday, June 4. -,