"WILD WOLVES."

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1104, 18 April 1911, Page 4

"WILD WOLVES."

UPROAR AT PORT MELBOURNE. ' At Port Melbourne on Saturday night, April 3, some rowdy supporters of the Labour party did their best to howl down the State Treasurer (Mr. Walt) and Mr. Paris Ncsbit, K.C., oi South Australia. Mr. Watt shouted over their heads, and took nonotico oi the senseless uproar. Mr. Nesbit endeavoured to snenco the disturbers by badinage, by sarcastic retorts, and Ijy allusions to tlio constitutional erudition, and tlie gentlemanly behaviour of the audience. Mr. !■'.> M. B. Fisher (a member of the Now Zealand Parliament) was refused a hearing and told to go home. He Struggled for a lew minutes. "l'ou have no right to speak here," called out some of the crowd. . . Mr. I'isher retorted that he had as much right to speak in Australia as a Labour man had to talk politics in England. When Mr. Fisher had, perforce, retired, Mr. Watt asked those who believed in voting "Vcs" to hold no their'hands. About half the meeting did so, amid loud cheering. • Jle next asked those who believed in hearing arguments to hold up their hands. A majority of tho meeting did so. That showed, said Mr. Watt, that the bulk of the meeting, though it might bo opposed to the speakers' views, was prepared to hear thorn. When he introduced Mr. Nc;bit there was a tumult of cheers and groans. "Now then, boys," shouted Mr. Ncsbit—a howl of derision greeted the remark. "What aro you getting for this?" Mr. Ncsbit was asked. "Only the glory of speaking to such an audience," lie answered. "This polite, manly, intelligent audience." Tho irony infuriated the disturbers. A man callell out, "You're a renegade." "Am 1 really?" replied Mr. Ncsbit. "Thank you very much. It's extremely kind of you to say so." In spile of tho uproar, Mr. Ncsbit went on to explain that he had stood by tho Labour party till it tool; up Socialism, and then ho left it. This explanation was met- with cries of "Shuffler," accompanied by loud hooting and scuffling, which lasted tor several minutes. "I.et me tell you what you fellows are," continued Mr. Ncsbit,* as- soon as ho got a chance. "A man may work or fight for you, as I have done, and sacrifice his professional prosnccts, as everyone knows in Adelaide, but the worst of you fellows " "Don't call us fellows," yelled those who were making tho noise. "We're men." "My dear fellows," went on Mr. Ncsbit, amid more violent uproar, "God bless you all. (Laughter, cheers and hoots.) The worst of you dear follows—(howls)— is that a man may do all he can for you, and when his conscience coivmols 'him to see differently from you, you have no word bad enough for him. In such a case the disgrace is not his, but yours. (I'pronr.) Why, you cannot boar a word from the other side without howling like, wild wolves." The uproar continued. "Would yon," shouted Mr. Ncsbit "rather be bigu.er fools than you look, or look bigger fools than you are?" There seemed to bo no resnorse to this conundrum, and soon after" Mr. Nesbit took his seat.—Sydney "Daily Telegraph." *