WAIHI TERRORISM.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1608, 27 November 1912, Page 7

WAIHI TERRORISM.

TRUTH COMING OUT. STRIKE OFFICIAL IN THE BOX. WAIVE ADMISSION. SWEEPING CHAROES BASED ON HEARSAY. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) Waihi, November 26. At the Magistrate's Court this morning, before Mr. Burgess, 5.M.,, a number of; assault and threatening behaviour charges were dealt with. The cases were a sequel to the disturbances occasioned by clashes between the aribtration workers and the federation strikers on Saturday, November 9, ■ and the succeeding Monday and Tuesday. Mr. Cotter, K.C., appeared for the arbitration workers, and Mr. J. Lundon for the federation strikers, while Mr. Mays, acting for the Crown Prosecutor, appeared for the police. Henry Gray and Henry Bostock were charged with assaulting 11. M. Kennedy, acting-president of the Miners' Union. Mr. Mays made the point that the alleged assault on Kennedy was typical of the other cases. He briefly recounted the incidents leading up to the alleged assault. The police had been vilified a good deal, but whenever the police saw an assault they at once interfered. However, on tlie Monday morning, when the disturbance arose, it was impossible for the police to follow all the scattering individuals, -who ran in different directions. They (the police) particularly wished . to refute the diabolical statements made by the federationists as to the condition' of things in the Waihi affair; the circumstances had been magnified into a riot, whereas it was nothing more or less than a series of small fights. The fighters were dispersed. There was a good deal of chasing and hunting about. The evidence would show how far the federationists had brought the trouble on themselves. He would call Kennedy, and, although he was his own witness, and had heen saying a good deal- about what had happened in Waihi, he would have ample opportunity to state his views. He would refute the wild. statements he had been making outside that the police did not afford him protection.

Kennedy Put in the Box. Herbert M'Call Kennedy deposed that he had been ncting-president of the Miners' Union up till the morning the shooting took place at the Miriers' Union Hall. On that morning he took refuge in Thompson's house. Two .constables on either side of him, one immediately behind, and two further back, escorted hinl to the railway station. He was assaulted from behind by a heavy blow on the back with a fist..-' Ho was unable to identify the person who struck the blow. When he got to the station the police made a passagtf-way for him. That was the only assault made on him. . . \. Cross-examined- by Mr.. Cotter, ,he said that lie became president of the union nine or ten weeks ago in . place of Mr. Parry,- and was a member of the Strike Committee. The strike was occasioned by. the refusal of men to go to work with the engiiie-clrivers, who wer.e forming another union, unless the company refused to dispense with the engine-drivers. They would still not go to work; they refused to work with members of the new union. He was not aware that the. unionists had offered violence to the He did Tiuti know that that was the general report; neither did ho know that the workers were threatened with violence to prevent them going to work. Hfe believed in following men in order to try to convert theni, but would not continue to follow a man if; lie, thought he could not convert him. He could not say that ho ' took activo steps to stop members from following engine-drivers and other workers. The men were not under his direction; he was simply a figurehead while he was, actingpresident. He was there to carry out the mandates of the union. When ho said that he was merely a figurehead it was a slip. He had not the power-to instruct the men to cease following and annoying others. He believed that the conduct of his follow-unionists'was objectionable to the persons, followed,.

His Admission on the Terrorism. As! far. as- he saw, only reasonable taotics.:. were. used to prevent the men going to work'. He understood that a petition from business people had been sent to the authorities asking them to send more police .here. He understood that the ; arbitrationists were absolutely prevented from goiiig to work in the ordinary way owin» to the conduct of tlio, federationists. He believed solno of the men could not go to work in the ordinary way without interference from federa-. tionists. Ho had heard federationists call out "scab." Gray and Curric, prior to resuming work, complained to witness about the term "scab" being used to them. That night the witness asked members to desist from Using tho term to Gray arid Carrie and i< section of those present objected to his instructions.) He was present at "receptions" given to the workers. On . these occasions lie had heard the'term "scab" and "traitor to your class," but had not heard such terms as "rotten scabs," "filthy scabs," "cancerous scabs," "rotten, dirty scabs;" "crawling scabs," "scoundrels," "bastards," etc. He had not.heard theso expressions, but lie was not always about. The union pickets put their reports in writing, but he did no't know where their written reports were, as the hall had sine© been raided. He did not know, as a result of the objectionable conduct of the federationists that in two homes of workers policemen were stationed all night. He did not know that a constablo had to be stationed in Gray's house for five days, nor at the homes, of other workers.'. ~

He Approved Egg-Throwing, But "Did Not Approve of Violence." Witness knew of one case of'strike pay being stopped owing to. the man refusing picket duty. He would swear that he was not present at Gray's house when there were '100 people yelling like lunatics. Ho had heard of egg-throwing and othfer objectionable practices by federationists. He believed/ that eggß were thrown- by people on his side at the- workmen. Referring., to it, ho told a meeting that "scab?' had had eggs thrown at them. He usually used the term when speaking of the arbitrationists. Regarding the egg-throwing incident, lie' probably expressed approval of it. Ho did not approve of violence. He would say to the meeting that he approved of such conduct, but on his oath lie would disapprove of the throwing,of eggs. Ho had conie to the ' conclusion that such ooriduct was wrong. He had not taken any steps to inform his fellow-unionists of the alteration of his opinion. He could not say that ho had altered IJs opinion in other things. He once thought that he would Sooner dio than seek police protection; that was when the federationists were bosses. Ho would mind if a person in the street called out: "You married a prositituto!" There was a civil remedy in such cases. As acting-president he dirt not take any steps to prevent'.this lawless behaviour. Parry had gone to gaol for "following up." Witness took- no steps to prevent tho rank and filo from doing illegal aotions; they were well able to judgo for themselves. Mr. Cotter: As acting-president, did you think that the oonduct of the federationists toward the workers and their wives which!had been going on for tho past ten weeks could continue indefinitely without any retaliation? Witness: I thought tho arbitrationists would retaliate in time. .Witness admitted tlmt tho tactics objected to lied been indulged in by both the men and women. It Was nart nf the battle of the women. He did not take anv steps to prevent it. i It was never a stipulation l,y the union that the wives of tho men who had gone to trnol had to'go out mid 'annoy five workers in order to get their strike pay, He, however, took no nteps to advise lus fellow linlnniria or women to give un

their tactics, although' ho know thorn to be illegal. Members of the union had adopted these tactics merely because they considered that it was beneficial to tho union. He himself believed that these tactics were beneficial to members. Tho men knew what they were doing, anil were prepared to take the -results.

The Affair at the Bailiff's House. He knew M'Williams, bailiff of tho court. The latter had made a complaint to the union in regard to being annoyed. He 6hould think that M'Williams, as bailiff of tho Court, had nothing to do with arbihationists and federationists. He know that it was the latter section who had made the disturbance at M'Williams's. He believed that it was true that a federationist went to tho house of M'Williams to insult and annoy tho people in it, because Mr. and Mra. M'Williams sympathised with the arbitrationists. He knew that M'Williams was ill at home at tho time. He understood that Mrs. M'Williams had come, out of her house and "booed" some federationists, tho latter retaliating. He considered that this was a trivial matter. He did not consider, however, that- a man's life was a "trivial matter." The committee had received complaints from the doctor and from Mr. M'Williams, and the matter was placed in the hands of ono of their members to investigate, but ho himself did not take any steps, as he had had more important business on hand at the moment.

The re.ison, ho believed, why the men went and came back from thedr work in brakes was that they were ashamed to walk to their work. The workers may, however, also have thought that they would be interfered with. Ho believed that, had they walked, the workers would have been "booed" and "scabbed." He could not say that a notice had been served on tradesmen not to servo certain people with goods, but it was true that ho had heard a rumour to that effect.

Some of Kennedy's Allegations. After .the occurrence of Novomber 12 he went to Huntly, and then to Wellington. He made certain statements in tho latter place which were published in the "Maoriland Worker." These statements were, in his opinion, true. To the best of his belief his reference, that two-thirds of tho workers in tho mine were half-breed Maoris, and that the pas in the Thames had been circularised to obtain them, was correct. He had counted ,158 men going to work ou a certain day, and he estimated that over a hundred of them were half-castes. Mr. Cotter here pointed out that, at no time, had the company had in their employ more than tweuty Maoris, including half-castes.

' Witness said that, if an official went into the box and stated on oath that this was the number, of Maoris and half-castes employed, he would contradict the statement. In regard to his allegation that the rest of the men employed in the mine (outside a few union men) were "toughs" and "hooligans" from the cities, ha said that he had come to this conclusion, because of their subsequent bShaviour. He had seen a circular from one of the pas offering men work. He did not know the author of the circular. It was printed in the Maori tongue.. He. did not know Maori, but. it'was read out ! to him by a Maori. - '■ •'■-■ . He would swear that men were smuggled into Waihi with the connivance of the police and the company, and that two men had come in a guard's van. He .based this statement on solid information which he had received.: He had; however, no personal knowledge of these occurrences, but he believed them to be true. The condition of affairs was such as to cause the inon who wished to work iu Waihi to be smuggled "iii. • In regard to his statement that the evonts of Saturdny, Monday, and Tuesday last were systematically planned by the Government and carried into effect by the police, 'he had, ho'said, every , reason to believe that statements were correct. Ho did hot see the alleged assault on Conrick, but he had been informed by Conrick himself. He knew the difference .between direct evidence and hearsay, evidence, and lie 'did not designedly make this statement for publication to mislead the public. ' In regard to his allegations that the police had used riding crops and had stTuck unionists down, ho sawithese acts himself. He . charged the'' ' police with instigating and carrying out assaults on innocent federationists. That • was 1 not ~a . mere matter, of opinion—he saw it. To carry it to a logical conclusion, the police , and the workers should bo charged 'together. Ho had a strong .■"■ feeling against the" police, and he had had it ever since' the police came to Waihi and prevented the federaticnists froih -Having all their own way with the arbitrhtionists. The. meaning of the term "thug," according to witness, was identical, with that of "scab." To the magistrate: He had not heard' the term "thug" used in any Way other than that pertaining to "scabbery." He did not know that the term had any other meaning. • '

Ho Falls Back on Hearsay. Cross-examination was then' resumed ■ in connection with an alleged assault by Commissioner Cullen on Noakes. Witness said that he had repeated the 6tory because Noakes had told him. He admitted that Commissioner Cullen had denied the allegation in the presence of Noakes* He believed that iiyrder had been, done by "thugs" and the police. Frederick Evans had been .killed by. a policeman's baton. By the evidence that came out it was' clear that Evans had been struck, with a baton, but the. evidence .had also shown that Evans had fired a revolver at the constable before the latter struck Evans. He -would still call it murder. In regard to his other statements that men were driven to the bush, women outraged, and children \iolcntly treated, lie admitted that he did not know a single instance ,of a woman being outraged nor of children being hurt. The violence used was that of bad w.ords. , There was not a single casj of outrage or attemnted outrage oh women. In,regard to violence to children, he knew a case where the children of one' Thomas Keen were flogged on the, legs black and bltte. This statement was made in ji letter to the editor of the "-Maoriland Worker." but he had not made any investigation into this allegation.

His Idea of "Government Corruption." In his opinion, in other words, "scabbery —had for the time being triumphed, backed by Government corruption. Whatever was' done by tho' Government to prevent the union from getting what they, in their opinion, were entitled to, constituted Government corruntion. . - - In regard to / his allegation of police criminality, lie said that they looked on while assaults were being committed. Ho admitted that summonses had since been issued against these men, but still he believed that the police were criminals. If two men called each other names, the ordinary result would be a fight. In reply to Mr. Hays as to certain serious, allegations .made against the police regarding assaults on unionists,' witness said that ho did not know the name of a single constable who had Heed riding crops, but he said that a man named Thomas Burko was struck' by a mounted corrisfcable. He saw tho crop- come down, but did not see it actually strike Burke. Ho,was about 100 yqrds away. He could not tell who the constable was." This was the only incident of assault by a constablo on a unionist which -v:tually wen. The statement that they (the police) h-M used their riding crops "f.reely" have been a "slight, error." Ho saw Edwards ("Slim .Tim"). Barrett, and Thomas pushed off the footpath bv the police. He saw Oonrick being knoekfdabout by the crorfd while the/police looked on. It was true that tho polico had protected witness against the crowd, and lie had no comnlaint against the police on that score* He remembered tho Commissioner coming to tho Miners' Union Hall and asking a , party consisting of witness, Wesley, Richards, and another if they had any revolvers and, in reply, they had strenuously denied bavins: any, He was, however, then speaking for liimself. and if the Commissioner understood that he was speaking on behalf of tho union then there was some misunderstanding. Mr, Mays reminded witness that if the party in the hall on that Monday afternoon had not deceived ■ the Commissioner ■ on the question of firearms there would have been no shooting next day. The constable would not have been shot, and Evans would not have died, as tho men, ill all probability, would have been disarmed. The Reign of Terror. ". In the course of the polico evidence it was stated that, while Kennedy was being escorted to the train, defendants Bosfeck and Gray became incensed at Kennedy 1 * remark that he "had been dofeatod hr his own class." and £h«

jostled Kennedy. A blow was struck, but tho aggressor could not bo identified. ,': Kennedy was i -ultimately conducted in a cab to the railway station.. The employment of brakes to convey men to and from their work was necessary for tho ■ protection of the workers, ■ and ■ it was also necessary to have a mounted police: escort. Large crowds of men and women assemhled daily at tho homes of the workers, and constantly and persistently engaged in tho use of insulting epithets ; to both the workers and their wives and i families. Morning nnd night for weeks ' past language,, such- as "You dirty . scnbl" "Lousy scab!" "Scabby !" "You slimy, crawling scab I" was hurled: at the workers. On other occasions women : ■ foamed at the mouth as they yelled out insulting epithets. Since tho mine r*s-. sumed work on October 2 until the stampede of the federationists a fortnight ago there had been a reign of • terrorism. Workers' wives' and families had been practically kept prisoners in their own homes. ■■■;■ An engine-driver's wife said 6he hail' not been out of her homo for six months until a fortnight ago. 'In answer to a question, the witness, said that she had justification for her " fears. Threats had frequently been made by the strikers that when the police went away tho workers would have a hot time. They would have no "blue coats" to protect them then. Further hearing was adjourned till tow . morrow.