WAIHI—REVOLVERS, &C.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1515, 10 August 1912, Page 4

WAIHI—REVOLVERS, &C.

■—_—» - -...■ . FEDERATION MEN'S STATEMENT* (By Teloßraph.-PreES Association.) ' Auckland, August 9. Messrs. W. E. Parry, president of the Wnihi Minora , Union, and P. Frflsor, prosident of the Auckland Labourers Lmou, both members of the Executive Committeeof the Federation of Labour, are at prosent in Auckland- after a brief organising tour on the East' Coast district. Seen this morning with.reference to re marks made by Mr. A. Harris M.P., concerning an alleged Socialist Sunday school in Waihi and other matters, Messrs. Parry and leaser expressed themselves as being greatly tickled by tho "discovery" which Mr. Harris thought he had made. The reference to tho American" was, of cour*. to Mr. J. 13. King, a well-known I.W.W. advocate, and a very prominent open-air speaker about, Auckland. Aβ a matter of fact, King had novel conducted a Sunday school or any kind in Waihi, and (Mr. Frascr was emphatic about this) King,had nover been connected in any way with Hie Socialist party. King himself would be, the first to repudiate tho idea. Tho tactics whion ho had described were such as had been effectively used in certain Continental countries, and in America in places where the restrictive legislation was such that unionists were driven to euch methods OS Mr. Parry characterises the statement of the Conciliation- Commissioner (Mr. Hallv) concerning revolvers as a deliberate attempt lo incite the Waihi men.to violence. "To see exaggeration ot tins kind, after wo liAve kept peaceful w long," eaid Mr. Parry, "is most aggravate inc It is putting tho union officials m an impossible position. What have wo,to do? Wo would be blamed if wo were to conduct things so that fighting were tho order of tho day, and this is what wo get when we have conducted the struggle peacefully. If such a thing as tho outbreak of 'personal violence comos about, it will be directly duo to the aggravation caused by the prominence given ( lo the irritating remarks of Mr., Hally. Mr. Parry went on to sny that Mr. Hally a whole shitoment-a grudging acknowledgment of the correctness of Mr., Parry a first contoutions-was such tliat it wou d have been enly a fair thing for him to Bay that he had seen nothing at all to justify carrying of firearms.