"FIGHT? OF COURSE WE WILL!"

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1516, 12 August 1912, Page 4

"FIGHT? OF COURSE WE WILL!"

• . WARLIKE FEDERATION AGAIN. (By Telegraph.—Frew Association.) Auckland, August 11. Mr. J. E. Howard (of Christchurch), a member of tho Executive Committee of tho Federation of Labour, who has been paying a visit to Waihi, returned to Auckland last night, and left again for To ICuiti to-day in response to an invitation to address a meeting there. Prior to his departure Mr. Howard told a reporter that he had gone to Waihi unofficially in order to gather his own impressions as to tho condition of thins* there to-day compared with tho Waihi which ho know somo years ago. Mr. Howard was amused at the notion of disorder at Waihi. "You would wonder where the men wcro at all," he said, ''until you remembered that they were probably in bed. There was no' sign of tho slightest disorder of any kind. But, then, that had already been admitted even by tho Conciliation Commissioner." Questioned as to allegations concerning the carrying of revolvers, Mr. Howard said that he had not seen a revolver during thewholc of/his stay in Waihi. With regard to the suggestion that ho had led thenien at Waihi to bcliovo that the Federation was organising for a big fight, Mr. Howard was quite frank. Indicating his colleagues—Mesa's. Parry and Eraser—who also took part in tho conversation, ho asked; "What do you suppesa we are stumping tho country for if to are not organising? SDf course, wc arc going to put up a big fight. Wo ara\in fact putting up a big fight now." He went on to say that, during the past six weeks, delegates • from the Federation had addressed 150 meetings in various parts of New Zealand, and requests wore coining in constantly from Cerent districts asking that a man should bo sent along to explain the position, and (Mr. Howard pointed out) not ono of these delegates was being paid for the work either.