THE WASH!'- |ELEL

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1598, 15 November 1912, Page 6

THE WASH!'- |ELEL

THE SHOOTING INCIDENT.

" : FATAL CONSEQUENCES.' DEATH OF ;QEORQE F. EVANSi .-■>; '-! REVOLVER V. BATON(By Telegraph.—Press .Association.) ■ : '■•' ;■'.'. Waihi, November 14. ';•■ The ; 'fatar sequel to the , ' disturbance /which" took place at the Miners' Union ■Hall .o'nVTuesda'yi'mbrning. occurred last - night''at' 10.30, when George Frederick -Evans,"; who'.'was struck with a baton by, ■■;Constable Wade,, when .the. latter, it; is. i.presumed, was shot by Evans, died. His ■Ijinjuriea'consisted'of laceration and con-JBus9ioil-of"the .brain.';''-;".; ,-'/ ~ !.- ..!•■•■:' From the time that Evans was taken ■to the. hospital' there;.was scarcely any -hope of his ■ recovery, as in sucli, cases 'death almost.invariably, results.■' He was •' taken'into; the'institutiou: in a semi-con-/scious "'condition,- and shortly afterwards :-he 'arid, remained in, this, condition'until he died. ■. , The 'account of the disturbance, including the shooting, of the constable and the 'batoning of'Evans. Iras' r-lready ■ been 'chronicled..'i',' Briefly,'., it.-.is .alleged ..that : .Constable Wade r ,wa? m following Evans, when the latter, suddenly shot him in the abdomen. The; constable immediately closed-with his assailant, and struck himon the lead with, his baton, felling him. to the 'ground. After this, ithe constable partially-collapsed.andwas taken to the ■- hospital'. Later, Evans. was. also taken to tho.same institution., -. . . • ■ ".. - De.ceased./'who'.'wa's 28. years..of. age, iras an Australian; he.was'married, and leaves'a'.widow,and.two young children. When- tixo, : 'strike,, occurred deceased was, ■employed ■ ■■as -an- ■ assistant. Stamper-man ■' at the G?and,'Junction battery. ;■ /constable wade interviewed. \what -happened at the hall. v (By TeJegTaph.—Speoi? l Correspondent.) ! i.'- :•.'■. "" Auckland, November U. .. Interviewed this morning at the Waihi • Hospital/Constable Wade, who,. although mending, is still very weak, but in good spirits/said: When the crowd got opposite the office'door of the Miners' Union Hall the workers', and some: strikers were haying hot words. A rush was made towards, the door. Ho.'heard a. shot fired, ana immediately ran.into the passageway, at the same : time 'telling- the' foremost of the workers to . stand back, -Constable Wade rushed through.towards the folding doors from which", he, states he saw; Evans • fire. Being under the impression thatthe shot was fired direct at him, Constable . Wade cliased-Evans but of the back ol ' the hall• on'tVa 'vacant allotment, ■ and. 1 was gaining'fast on thefugitivo when the ' latter swung-Tound,' and, the constable, asserts,'fired point black, 1 the bullet striking the abdomen.- Constable Wade ■continued ; ;thevchase, and drawing his ■baton-before Evans" could' startofi_again etruck him..on the head, Evans falling flat on his'faoe.- Then'the crowd took .■ ;harge. ■;■;., -v , ■;■'.. . .■ '":. . . ■ .- ;■ ,

: HOW■•"EVANS RECEIVED:HIS . ~-.;•■ ■ iNJUBiEs.,; , V The special reporter:of; the Auckland f 'Herald," mi/ting, on Tuesday,. describes the incident ;wMcV resulted in Evans s death n's-follows!— -,::■■ ■ ; '. ; ; T .j.";/); ~; . .; ■ A littlo ■■after- half-past seven-o clock this, •morning , 'the'.■■■workers in , the Waihi .mines|got out. of'the. brakes at Eosemont Boad, preparatory to walking .to the mines; . Some half-dozen" strikers and four women -were then; standing in front of the Miners'..Hall: Aβ the workers walked on the-footpath- in the direction of the-.hall; the:.women and all the men 'with the .exwptica.pl , .: two,- went, inside 'the bnildjnjj.-:'.llie/tw.o, men remained on the footpath- a: moment,-and then followed the others inside'. -,As ,thei. : last _ man, jnounteid.'theithree.oT fo.ur^teps,leading to - the door of the hall, he uttered the words, . "You lousy scabs;"-;-and;: slammed fhe door. .■-.: ■ ■ " . Thi9 remark wa3 too much, for the •workers,' whose cup;of indignation had ixaa. overflowing for some time past. Two of them rushed up the steps to follow .the man'who.-had insulted them.. Then the door .was.slightly opened,, a revolver shot <iang:~-out;--and a , bullet : whizzed beitweeh the' two workers. Just'then. three .: more shots. were • lieard , , and -a. worker oamed^'Johnston--was:carried' away- ;;dis- '. abled. . , . ■;■■'■■ } ■■--"■■;--->.^V-:- ! .--,. •-.. •':.-;!!,,,-,. i Constable--Wade, who was followed.'by .Walter Harvey and : Albert , .' Eitchie ■ \ (two; , workers), went into the hall, where-they saw federationists fleeing , '•j through;. :the-l back door. Rushing' through' the hall, and followed by the two hvorkens,' Constable Wade followed the federationists into the paddock at the bock of the hall. '.Here ii':'man 1 -turned, and, it is alleged/ deliberately fired' a shot' at >: short, range at Harvey and another at the constable. The first,' but stable 'Wsulo' : was'.struck in : the ■ abdomen •■ by a bullet.'. '■'' "' - - : ' ■"" " '. : : - Pressin;;' one hand ■ to- the injured spot, the constable drew, his- baton with the 'other hand, and struck. Evans a blow which felled him;to.;thp..'ground. . The constable staggered for. some paces . and then.dropped, while Harvey rae and wrenched the revolver from 'the hands of tlie fedejfa,tifttiist,, who.nmdo. no attempt to rise.'- "'■'■'■■: ;-■■'; . ' ~'." -: ,i :In an instant';;the're .was a. scene of -wild the .word eoon ' passed . round 'that.a : worker-'and a cons.taWo. liad been shot.. . Cne9''pf ( , 'Lyncli'him!'. 'Lynch .him!" were hearil on every side, and some of tho.5 i ;<)rifers"r'eacliied the prostrate Fed-' . erationist; and would - probably have made ■■short work of him there and then if it ( had not been for the timely arrival of a numbei' of policemen'. ( -The police h(id some.difficulty in .keeping the crowd the federation- ' ,ist, ami a short struggle; ensued for the [mastery. After a while the' crowd gave 'way, realising that thp inau : was in the ■ -lands of the 1\ J, ''-.;. '; : ■ ■' : The prisoner.wwhbse.name , is Oeorge Evans, was -searched, and several cartridges were fonndonhim. Hewasre;moved to tho police station, but as he (subsequently showed signs of . concussion s tof the brain he.was'takori to the hospital. A Struggle in a Bedroom. The incidonts already related happened 'Ulmost in a flash,-jand wbile.'the;wounded constable and' , Hie {disabled federationist .were being , taken" away a. hue and cry |Was raised after laßothcr federationist named-. George.;' Jones.' Tliis man ' had escaped from the'hall;; and he was.seen running away by angry workers, who .apparently believed that he fired one of 'the shots -through the door of tho hall. ■I The hunted iederationist' being hard pressed .sought r«fusb.in Br< Craig'B (house, a little distance away from tho .Miners' Hall. : 'A number of ; workers him into the house, and ono of ,ttem, named Pilsbury, discovered that ■Jones had locked' himself in ono of the jbedrooms. .:., .-..,-. ;'. , . . . Bursting in the door, Pilsbnry was confronted by Jones, who pointed at him a Tovolver cocked 'ready for use. -With great presence of niittd.Pilsbury promptly hit up tho revolver, and knocked Jones ■down upon a bed,'where tho two' , fitrugigled until the police entered.- . ; ■ The sight of . Jones,. as Jie was being -taken into tho Miners' Hall by the police, ■aroused tho fury of the crowd, nnd the police had all they could do to protect the man; , ...i Twice, the crowd nearly got to him, but 'on both occasions'tne .police succeeded in..stemming the angry • tide. ,;V. ; - •;■-.•' /' ■ . ! Eventually Jp'nes was got safely" within ithe hall, whero he was searched. The ■■revolver, which was taken "from him, fhad in it two.- live cartridges and fout spent ones. '..'■:■ ■'• , From tho ball he , was taken to tho lockTip, and later ho will appear at the Court on a charge of assault, in thai he pointed a loaded revolver .at one Pilsbury. ■"•■■■■'', ■ ' ' ■ FAIR PLAY. miDBEATIONISTS NOT TO BE MOLESTED. ; } ■■ (By Telegraph.—Press VAssoolatlon.) Waihi, November 14. A. deputation of members ' of th( Porcntgh Oouncil waited on the new unioi officers this morning, and pointed out th* as the now union commanded tho situn tion it should seo that fair play win given to federationista. A uniofl official replied that \t wm thei; In-toutioi to provoflt members in a.ny wa; fodorafcioMsts. giiuie-Jtweda^Dwrnjnj^iabouJk^jklin

leading federationists have left the town, some accompanied by their wives and families. Auckland, November 14. The Paeroai boat, which arrived in Auckland this Bionrinß, contained about thirty persons ,from Waihi. Several of these were women with small cliildren in their charge. As passengers, they were very quiet. It has been explained that many of those who have left Waihi havo taken iefuge in the meantime in Karangahako and Paieroa. - THE IMPRISONED STRIKERS, ALL EBLEASED. . . (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) Auckland, November 14. Six of the Waihi Miners' Union committee, were released from gaol on finding sureties to keep the.peace. Arrangements havo been made for releasing nil tho other imprisoned strikers. ■ Later. The whole of the imprisoned strikers have been released on bonds to keep the peace. . .- A TALE WITH MR. PAKRY. Auckland, November 14. When Jlr. Parry (vice-president of the Federation of Labour and president of the Waihi Workers' Union) was released from gaol yesterday, he was not aware, he told the reporter who met him, of the details of the position that had arisen at Waihi. Information regarding the outside world was not available inside tho gaol, and he was not in a position to say what his future movements would be; There was a possibility, however, that he would proceed at once to Wellington to confer with other members of the Federation executive. ,- . . Mr. Fraser (of the Federation executive) and Mr. Wesley ltiehards (acting vicepresident of the Waihi Workers'.Union and' a very prominent miner there) arranged the details of Mr. Parry's release. When he was seen again this morning, Mr. Parry was busy making arrangements for the release of the 60 or 80 strikers who were still in gaol. Preliminaries in connection with the finding of the necessary bondsmen were completed this morning. The release of tne union president was not brought about at the instigation of Mi. Parry himsslf. .The decision to tako the necessary steps to have him set free was arrived at by Messrs. Semple, Webb, Fraser, and.Eichards, in. conference at Huntly. 'lhe fact that three others were desirous, of being released yesterday was not known by the officials above referred, to until tliey visited the gaol. With regard to ; the release of . the remainder of the men in gaol, that was decided npon_ in view of recent developments at> Waihi. - "I have information," Mr. Parry said, "that the ■ wives and families of these men are being frightened and ill-treated in Waihi. They would never forgive us if we allowed them to remain in gaol while this, sort of thing is.going, on. ,Mr. Parry declared that he was confident he could cope with the position, and he proposed to see it through. He scornfully r»ected the suggestion that' he was about to leave for Sydney. "Give a man a fair ■deal," lie sajd, "and deny & cowardly statement of that kind. When it was sug.gested earlier in the strike that I intended to , go to Australia, I 6aid then that' I had no intention whatever, of leaving New Zealand.' I said that I, would.see the strike through, and, would be in New Zealand at the end of-it, and-I have never had any other thought." ' . . ' Continuing, Mr. Parry said he had not gone to Wellington last night because he thought'it was hie duty-to stay at this end and look after members of his union and their families. .They were being driven out of Waihi, and arrangementj would be ■made to .rally them in Auckland and' find accommodation for them. He commented •bitterly on the fact that while the police force in Waihi was publicly announced to be sufficient to cope with hve or sis hundred strikers, the police now declared that .they were powerless to maintain order among a couple of hundred workers. Asked as to .his .feelings towards life in gaol, Mr. Parry, admitted that many aspects of it were "interesting." . .The fare, .however?'did. not appeal to hiin as being :'epicurean. Twit!i ; " \,,,^. Yi ( l , vA -j\,. [(lo > "WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?" Auckland, November H. ■ It was just at nightfall that the prison door swung open, and 63 self-made "martyrs" marched- oiit of gaol two deep, and .stood against fhe wall '-until the final word for their freedomwas given by the chief gaoler. .Outside there were a , dozen women, forty of fifty children, and some sixty Federationisfe. Some of the,women were from' Waihi, eager to tell their husbands, brothers, and lovers of the great change in" the strike town: Some of. tho' men, too, , were fugitives, and they talked bitterly of their forced (light from the ;place which had been their home. Then canie greetings, .When the.-welcomes were . over the. question nrost, "Where are we going? What are wo doing to do?" Sixtythree men .needed .board, and ...lodging.. .They came out'from prison, but they had been fed well, and sheltered. They eaid themselves, without exception, that they ■had fceen;weHtrdated. The wardors were good fellows,, and the gaol' faro had been ■what gaol fare should be. But what were they going to'do? In ragged procession the released men. walked from the gaol with their friends. It was. then that they learned the.details of. what had happened in Waihi. The men cursed as the women told- their tales, and swore vengeance on everybody. But aftes a time (hey became quiet and dejected, and many were obviously depressed. "We'll > wait to hear what Parry says," they murmurpd. The procession made its way to the .Theosophical Societ/e rooms. Only the released men were-allowed to enter the '•hall. Thev went in (some cheerfully) :to hear "what Parry had to say." What he did say did not impress them that the strike had succeeded. It merely stirred- them to. bitter feelings ajainst the; workers, -whom they had ■ persecuted ■top':much.- They were as.far off as ever from a sblutionof their difficulty: "What are we going to do?" ' .■'.■■' .FEDERATION PAPERS. INTERESTING COEBESPONDENCB. (By Telegraph.—Special Correspondent.) November 14. Some ' interestailj; correspondence has been unearthed from amongst the Federation Union's papers at Waihi. A number of letters were found strewn about the hall .after it was entered.' They indicate [strongly tho line of thought of those supporting' the Federation of Labour. At the end of a long letter written at Melbourne on October 18 by Mr. P. H. .Hickcy, the following note appears (marked semi-private), and signed "P.H.H.":"I would suggest when next summons are issued against union officials ot members that every available man and woman, i to the number of hundreds, if possible, be subpoenaed for the defence. Make the trials last for days; pile on the a»ony; turn the Law Courts into a farce; make the whole show a laughing-stock. It can be done with hundreds ready to give evidence—men , , women, and children. Summonlthem all." "Here is a suggestion in a big strike of Welsh minors. The strikers, armed with Bibles, got hold of 'scabs' and, making them kiss the Book, declare they would cease from 'scabhery: . Out of several hundred 'scabs' only ono refused the oath. It.is worth thinking about." The following undated letter written by a Waikino woman was found among the debris:— ■. ! -"Tho free ■ labourers are going up today to hold a procession. You people are to be taken unawares. They aro going to do great things. Now I. think you ought to be prepared with eggs and things and allow me to suggest a few rotten tomatoes. They are splendid in cases like this. Pay .particular attention to enginedriver —, he!is very fond of egjjs, so you might oblige him with a few purebred Orpingtons. Please let Mrs. Parry know that.'scab':women are going up in quantitiea. by the 12 train. They may like' oggs. too." ' ; The recent rumour of a general striko may have had its origin in the following enclosure sent to the Federation of Labour and forwarded by that body to affiliated unions. The letter was signed by G.--K. Hunter, secretary of tlio State Millers' Union:— . "We, the committee, of the State Miners' Union, viewing the position of affairs at Waihi, especially the gaoling of our comrades, consider the time, iia? nrrived.for drastic-action. Wo therefore fiuggest.to you tho advisability of inaugurating the, irritation strike. (1) To pole.ct all primary industries that can be relied upon, and issue instructions fhat on and after a certain date the output be jrodii9od,]nii.jTtett;DQ)a«rtion» jaiu..^fianv

necessary. (2) That you stipulate a penalty'for disobeying the mandate-, as it is necessary that every..member shall re r main at his work, so as to prevent the other side from declaring a striko or lockout. (3) That you draw up a demand on the Government for tho release of our comrades, issue the same to all,unions in New Zealand, or what.you think best in that direction." . '■. In view of tho fact that federatiomsts both in New Zealand and Australia have been asserting that. tho origin of tho striko was not because of the formation and registration of tho Engine Drivers Union, the following extract from a letter dated Juiy 24, 1912, addressed by tho secretary of tho Waihi Union to the tecrotnry of the Millerton Union, in the South Island, is of interest-.— "Thoy (the engine-drivers) absolutely refuse to hear us, and when we came back to our union with their answer, the ball was bounded,'and where it is .likely, to lob lam unable to say. But I will venture this much, that thero is not much likelihood of one of our men being lowered into tho Waihi mines by any ot these individuals while thero is a loat oi bread available," POSITION AT HUNTLY, THE NEW UNION: (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) Auckland, November 14. The Huntly correspondent of an Auckland paper telegraphs that meetings of miners are being held here .every. night, and a very bitter feeling is btf.ng engendered. ■ ~ , , This morning, a considerable number of Waihi strikers' arrived hero. What tho Wailii strikers expect to gam by coming here is not apparent, as it understood that new men going on tho mines here havo to sign on under the Arbitration All the mines are now pretty well fully manned, and difficulty was experienced in getting trucks a few days ago. _ The organiser of the new union is expected from Waihi. on Friday or. Saturday, and the acting-secretary from Auckland on Friday. Next week a meeting will be held to elect the _ executive and arrange for a public meeting. Last night a heated exchange between Fcderatdonists and Arbitrationists led to fights in which two "Feds." were badly punished. The feeling 8 between tho two sections is daily growing more bitter. UNITED LABOUR PARTY. , A SPLIT POSSIBLE. (By Telegraph.—Special Correspondent*) Auckland, November 14. A split in the ranks of the United Labour party is said to be likely owing to tho rejection by the Auckland branch of a motion deploring the tactics of tho Waihi strikers. A member of the party told a' reporter to-day that the defeat of the motion was due to the presence of a number of Syndicalist sympathisers ns delegates from affiliated unions. Hβ also stated that only a very small minority of the local trades unions are represented on the oounffilvsonie halfdozen out of, the fifty or sixty trades unions in- Auckland, the great majority of the unions preferring to keep aloof from any • organisation. ' A special meeting of the executive of the original"Ne>v Zealand Labour party" is to Dβ held tomorrow night, whon, so it is stated, a resolution affecting, tho severance ol that body from the" United Labour party will be moved. Another view of the position taken up,by.tho majority of the members of the United Labour party present at last night's.meeting was given to a reporter by one of the delegates, who Toted against .the motion. Ho ' stated. that it was the form, in which.the motion was put that aroused It would be quite wrong, he said, to eupposo for ono moment that the delegates favoured' the Federation of Labour, but they did object to "kicking .a man when ho was, down." Tho chairman made it quite clear, he said, that by voting ngainst the motion we were simply recording our disapproval of. .the form-of it, and-were not expressing confidence in the Federation of Labour. They believed, ho went on to say," that the best'thing, to, :dp.wns. to let the federation : ttie" a natural death, ■•and to refrain, from anything; in the mature of malice in the meantime. .'..-■' OATH,OF ALLEGIANCE. '. FOR MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES. A circular from the- Waihi Borough Council was received by tho MiT&mar Borough Council last evening,, asking if the council would fall in with a. resolution, to the effect that they would require, their employees to tako an oath of alleffiance'to the King, the country, and tlw ilag. • . : ■ • ■ The counoil considered, the-resolution of the Waihi Borough Council too drastic. , Councillor Bell projwssd a motion: "That while the council is in sympathy with tho Waihi Council, the council does not feel disposed to impose such conditions upon its workers, working under the Arbitration Act." The motion was carried. "Town Clerk, Waihi,' forwarding resolution passed by the Waihi Borough Council."—This was an item on tho supplementary order paper at last niirht's meeting of the City Council. Councillors did not want the letter read, though the. Mayor explained that it asked the counoil to pass a resolution, requiring that those seeking employment from the council should take an oath of lo.yalty to the King, etc. The communication was received.

FEDERATION MOVEMENTS. •

CONDOLENCE TO MRS. EVANS. The following. items were supplied, last evening :by the local representatives of the liberation of Labour: — Under the auspices of the Federation of Labour mass meetings will-be-held in many centres on Sunday night. At Wellington Messrs. JEf. Kennedy (acting-prosi-dent of ttie Waihi Workers' Union) and H. B, Holland Ts-ill be the speakers. Mr. Webb will be at Timani and Mr. Seinple lit Christchurch. Messrs? Parry and Fraser will probably be at Auckland. The executive will assemble in Wellington nest Tuesday. • ■ The .following resolution was transmitted to Mrs.'Evans and others yesterday:— "That the executive and mcmbei'a of the Federation of Labour, sorrowfully condole with Mrs. Evans tmd her children in tho terrible bereavement that has befallenthem, and pledges the organisation to see Mrs. Evans and the children placed beyond the re.ich of . poverty. Tho Federation of Labour -reptards her husband, as a hero sacrificed < to the blood-hist of capitalism, and calls upon overy member of tho organisation to remember his fat* and honour his memory." The following telegram hns been sent to Waihi by the Federation Executive:— "To miners of Waihi Workers' Union.— You are urged not to seek employment at Waihi. Only scabs will irork at Waihi. Strike pay will be maintained. Executive busy and Retting ' into touoh with New Zealand and Australia. Police terrorism will be made known for the dastardly outrage on liberties it is, and facts rammed homo. Y<rar fight will live. Truth will triumph.—Glover. The following tetagram has been rant by Mr. , J. Glover, secretary'of the Federation of labour, to all bodies affiliatedto the federation, and to Sir. Hiekey for use in Australia: "Terrorism rei.sns at Waihi. -Strikers compelled to Juris in bush fenr of lives. -Police.assert they have free hand. Scabs, apparently ns ; sisted by police, broke into . Miners Hnll, and took possession.. Women and children- driven from home. Scabs breaking into homes and threatening their lives. Have bsen compelled to_ make arrangements withdraw women and children from Waihi. American methods adopted by police and employers. Scabs consist of half-bred Maoris and- toughs from cities, only thirty members of union scabbed. Post this in prominent position. Full facts by mail." THE ARBITRATIONISTS. The Waihi correspondent of the. Auckland "Star" states :-"Those outside Wjuhi have little idea -of tho strength;and physical appearance of the army of industrial nrbitrationisls now in charge of tho town. The maiority are clenn, healthy young fellows who have not been contaminated by pernicious teachings, and who are _ not amenable ,to arguments gf professional agitntora."