THE WAIHI STRIKE.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1555, 26 September 1912, Page 5

THE WAIHI STRIKE.

DISCUSSION IN PARLIAMENT. LABOUR CRITICS. THE GOVERNMENT VIEW: LAW TO BE MAINTAINED. A discussion on affairs at Waihi was commenced in the House of Representatives yesterday afternoon by Mr. John Payne, Labour member fur Grey Lynn. Mr. J. Payne said the men at: Waihi had, for daring to walk down a street and look at some curious objects they were pleased to term "scabs," been sent to gaol for a year, when the same men could have stolen a wa'ieh and chain, and be imprisoned for only three months. Mr. Bell: Did you send that wire? Mr. l'ayne: That's got nothing to do with my address just now. (Laughter.) The motive actuating the mine-owners and the employing class generally was to undermine industrial unionism, to cut tho ground from beneath the feet of the' workers. He said that this Government was vindictive; the magistrate would not linvo imposed such severe penalties if ho had not hail his secret instructions to impose tho heaviest possible j tenuities. Mr. Fisher: They can get out now if they like. Mr. l'nyno said that if the companies could get .100 or 190 they would bo, merely scratching the surface at Waihi. And the free labourers would find that unionism would be necessary to get living conditions. The miners there now would bo withdrawn from Waihi, and the place would be left "high and dry and derelict." —a monument to the best fight ever put up in tho Labour interests in this country. The Government's Duty. The Hon. F. M. B. Fisher (Minister for Customs) said that when tho Government came into power they found a fight going on. not between capital 'and labour, but between labour and labour. They found a prosperous town depopulated; they found a prosperous borough bankrupt; they found that great suffering had been imposed on women and children. Mr. Payne; They glory in it. Mr. Fisher said thev found one section of the community breaking a law which had to he observed by every oilier member of the community. The honourable member had placed it on record that the men had lieon sentenced tn imprisonment for twelve months, but did lie not know that there was not a single man in gaol that could not be free at 10 o'clock the next morning if he wished? The member for Grey Lynn had even, olfereil to go bail for them. Mr. Payne: They won't accept it. . Mr. Fisher: I am glad the honourable member made that suggestion. Mr. Payne: They won't put themselves under notice surveillance. Mr. Fisher: lie has offered bail, and they won't accept it. Then the men are in gaol by their own free will, liie men in gaol, he continued, were deliberately and voluntarily breaking a law which everybody else had to observe, and tho Government had !io see that the law uas carried out. If the members of the Labour party in the House thought the Minority was right, and all the rest of the community wrong, it was their duty to see that tho law was altered. But it was tho duty of the Administration to see that tho law as it stands was observed. The carrying out of the law on this occasion gave the Government no satisfaction whatever. Mr. Payne (ironically): Doesn't it? Mr. Fisher said it was a matter for regret to the Government that a town was depopulated owing to tho quarrel of two sections of tho Labour party. He had been twitted with getting into Pailiament on the Labour vote. Ho had certainly received Labour votes at last election, and he hoped to get them again. At tho fame time, lie was fully sensible , of Jus , re?po|isil)jjity l ,,to...tJ)C lieople he vo•presenletlMo 'recogniso that, the law must be observed. But it would be well if those sections of the Labour party at issuo would not conduct their struggle at tho expense of the community. The Strike a Blunder. Mr. ,T. Robertson (Otnki) said he did not think the Minister had quite correctly represented tho position. His own attitude was that the strike was a blunder. He was not there to defend it. In saying tlint he considered that tho strikers had blundered from a tactical point of view. It was not correct to say that the dispute was bitwosu two sections of Labour. When the miners sought an agreement, the employers insisted that they should be asked to deal only with one union. Wlij- had the_ employers changed ' front? Tho Waihi Workers' Union had taken a legitimate course in its antagonism to tho other union. He considered that tho conduct of the strikers at Waihi did mt justify the great influx of police into Waihi. It was admitted on all hands that the conduct of the strikers up to the time when the police entered Waihi was good. Evidence in the police cases had only brought nut tho fact that there had been some "booing and hissing" by the strikers. Mr. Bell: They were terrorising a cripple. Mr. Robertson said that he was not prepared to say that they were. He admitted that it was the duty of the Government to see that no section of the community broke tho law. But this end could have been obtained by other means. At the beginning of the strike, and during its progress, the union undertook to proservo order. If 100 of the members of the union had been sworn in as special eonstables,'there would have been 1.e.-s trouble iu Waihi to-day. and the country would linvo been spared the spectacle of 15 men going to prison because, they snid. the alternative was to become subject fn polico surveillance and to forfeit their bonds when any slight trouble occurred. Tho men's point of view was that the police had come in to break (he strike, and to pavo:tlie way for the introduction of free labour. Ho believed that the Government had blundered in sending tho police to Waihi. A Salutary Lesson. Mr. G. Laurenson. (Lyttelton) said ho was very pleased—well, not very pleased, but well satisfied—that things hail turned out as they had. II: would* lie a salutary lesson to the Prime Minister, who had blamed the late Government for not ending the strike after it had been in existence for twh v weeks. And now it had been in existence for three months, and flic Government had- not ended it, but only aggravated it. It was impossible, to arrest the labour movement, or anygreat social movement with policemen and soldiers. He was- not defending the strike at Waihi; lie was afraid it had been a. blunder. But lie did object tn the capitalist newspapers persisting in holding no to public obloquy Mr. Semple and Mr. Webb, nnd everything connected with the Federation of Labour. Personally he had been unable to do anything to prevent the strike. He had been advised when lie was Minister for Labour that ho had had no power even to refuse registration to the new union. But in all the time of the strike, when feeling ran high, there had not been a single ca=e of assault, not a single act, of brutality, not a single window smashed, and' not a single breach of the law until the recent cases. To send down a body of uolice to Waihi was not a wise move under the circumstances, no was not blaming the Prim" Minister for not ending the strike—that was imiwssible—but if should be a lesson to him not: to criticise others harshly. Mr. Isltl's Advice. Mr. L. M. Isitl (Chrislehureh North) commended the member for Otaki on his balanced, temperate, nnd sane . speech, with which ho was in entire accord. The statement by tho Minister that the struggle was one between Labour and, Labour was only a half-truth. On the face of it, the struggle was between Labour and Labour, but a struggle fomented and engendered by Capital. The companies had encouraged tho formation of a new union, had championed the case of the fifteen men, willi the distinct intention of weakening the forces of Labour, and serving their own ends. He did not sympathise with the later tactics of the strikers, nor did he believe the Government had done wrong in sending police there. He wisliI ed to dissociate, himself entirely wiih the view expressed by the member Tir Grey . I,ynn that the nmciMrntc had lien instruct :d to impose certain penalties, On Lthc contrary, tho mniaiiU».U bid httm

tactful awl merciful, but lie bad made a ini=(alm in choosing the expedient of binding the 111011 over to keep the ponce, lie dill licit believe for a moment Hint (lie men well' in giinl bi-cause llley objic.e.l to be at liberty under (lie surveillance of Mm police. That: was not (.lie ronl reason. Their going tu prison was simply tactics, and justifiable luetics from their point oil view, to arouse public, sympathy. It would put the (loverninent 'n a manifestly dillicult position. There was a magnified!) chance for thfc Government to show that tlicy bad vision and prescience, and ability. The right thing to do now i was to say to these men: "We are not . going to keep you in gaol." Already the men had hail sufficient evidence pro-' duced to tliciii that lliev must obey the . law. Mr. I'. 11. Smilh (Wailaki) said that the police had been sent to Waihi nt Iho request of n number of residents. The strikers believed ill following other men ' about and calling them "scab," "blackleg." and other names, but they did not . believe in Iho police i'ullowing tlicm about to maintain order. Sir. 11. Poland (Oliinemuri) said the men bad been guilty of conduct which no 1 one could defend, but no assaults bad ' been committed. Kxtra police should not. ■ have been soul until some offence had 1 been committed. ■ Mr. llerdman: Until somebody got •' killed?. Sir. Poland said that n great blunder : bail been made in asking these men to > find sureties la keep the peace, and lie • was nut sure that they were not justified in refusing to find them. r The Government Justified. ' The Hon. A. L, llerdman (Minister for [ .Tnslice) said he had no hesitation in saving I bat the Government were coniplclcly jnslilied in sending extra police to Waihi. If (lie honourable gentleman who had just 5 spoken knew the communications the Uov- ; eminent had received lie would have come to the conclusion that they had no other ' course open than to send police to ' protect tho people there. If law and order was not to bo preserved, then good-bye to any civilised society. The honourable - gentlemen bad suggested that the Govcrni. inent should wait until sonic nssanlt or , other breach of the law bail taken place, I or until soiiir riot had occurred. But what [ would have been said of the Government . if a riot, had occurred and there bad been . no police thero to protect the people? He ' felt certain the Government would take steps, whether in Waihi or elsewhere, to see if the law was broken justice would be properly administered. When men 1 were guilty of conduct calculated to pro- ' voko a breach of the peace, they brought " themselves within the pale of the law. ' it was suggested that exception should be made in favour of the minors at Waibi. Hut why make ail exception in favour of anybody? If exception was to be made, why not make au exception of the man who broke the law oil the Wellington " Wharf or on Lamblon Quay? Why make > any difference between him and tbo miners at Waihi ? Before the Government sent police to Waihi they bad the strongest possible evidence that additional police were needed to see that tbo .people s could go about their ordinary business without being molested. lie could not understand honourable gentlemen who ' wero concerned in making the laws of the . land getting up; iu the House and saying tbo Government was wrong in sending . police to Waihi to protect the peoplo who ) needed protection. This must be done, i and it was the dutv of the Government to ■ do it. So long as the present Primo 1 Sliuister occupied his position, bo would i see t|iat this duty was done and carried i out to the letter. Sir. J. H. Bradney (Auckland West) i said that if employers had treated La- ■ baur as Labour had inoffensive peoplo at ! Waihi, there would have been a bowl of indignation. Peoplo had no right to object to police being stationed at Waihi or anywhere else. As to tbo punish- • ment of strikers he believed that every [ intelligent worker was in favour of what : liad been done at Waihi in tbo interests . of law and order. Tho men who had torn up the TJnion Jack at Waihi were a [ disgrace to their country and tho sooner : lliev left it the better. Srr. A. 11.' Ilindninrsh '(Wellington 1 South) said that tho member for Auckland West was in favour of Arbitration. What had his leader done for those who ■ sutmortod Arbitration? Sir. Bradney: I don't, know anything i about the Prime Minister, I spoke for mvseif. Sir. Hindmarsh said that the Prime Minister had not yet produced tho promised Arbitration Amendment Bill. Kvidently he mean! to deliberately shirk this important question for the proposed Bill would necessarily be in the hands of a committee for nt least, a month and tiiey were told that the session would end in al'--"it a i"inthV Sfr. A. Harris (Waitemata) commended the action of tbo Government in dealing With tho strike. and described as "spineless" the attitude of the preceding Administration towards the strike. The Labour agitator, he said, was the curse of Now Zealand and of every other country in the world, so far as industrial affairs wero concerned. Sir. J. Vigor Brown: Didn't the Feneration of Labour help you to land in NewZealand? Sir. Harris: I am just reminded that I did not float in on beer! . WORK AT THE BATTERY. ' I , A MARS MEETING. (By Telctrrapb.—rrcss Association^ ■ Waihi, September 25. The running of fifty of the 200 stampers at the "Waihi Company's Wnikmo bat- [ tery, after being idle for over four ! months, was-.started Ibis mornin;. A mass meeting of members of the • Minors' Union was held to-day. Messrs. 11. Kennedy and Wesley Kichnrds wero 1 appointed president and vice-president pro tem respectively. It was decided that: n6 f onn should start work next Wednesday. An alleged a« e ault by an nrbitrationJ is!; named Heath on a woman named Margaret. Sell is being heard 10-dny. Tho ! prosecution explnined that the coso was an echo of recent strike eases. It presented peculiar factors, and a larro iiuni- ! ber of witnesses would bo called. The 1 complaint 'Was that Heath, in passing 1 through a crowd, bad jostled plaintiff and [ liad struck her severely with his elbow, indicting a bruise on her breast.