The Dominion MONDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1913, MOB RULE.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1890, 27 October 1913, Page 6

The Dominion MONDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1913, MOB RULE.

The goneral public must be filled .with amazement and indignation at the spectacle of lawlessness and mob rule which they are daily.witnessing in this usually law-abiding community. It is impossible to recall in this country any . occasion on which such utter contempt for law and order _has been shown .as is now being manifested in connection with (the utterly indefensible strike of waterside workers. It is not merely the fact that the strikers, spurred on by a band of roughs who may or may not bo members of the Union, have thrown out a challenge to tho law of tho land, deliberately overridden and defied those in authority, destroyed property, beaten and intimidated peaceful citizens, and assaulted officers and officials engaged in the performance of their duty. It is not merely these acts of lawlessness that are arousing tho deep anger of citizens, but adding fuel to tho fire of their indignation is tho seeming inability of tho authorities to protect individuals and property and suppress such outbreaks of mob violence. Injustice has been done tho police in this latter respect. Hero, and there thoy may have failed to meet the emergencies which have from time, to time arisen, but, on the other hand, especially amongst the older and moro expprienedd members of tho Force, there have been instances in which cool judgment and good-natured firmness have checked trouble in its early stages. Up to tho present it has not been possible for lack of numbers to make arrests, but tho polieo authorities have'been a good deal more alert, than either the law-breakers or the public imagine, and many of thoso who have broken the law will in due course appear before the Courts to answer for their " offences. The Police _ Department in the meantime is taking active steps to bring to Wellington from the country districts reinforcements of police, and, in addition, is swearing in special constables, who will be called on to assist •• in; the preservation of order.

It is the duty of all citizens physically capable of rendering aid to lend.their personal as well as their moral support, to stem the tide of lawlessness; which, if permitted to continue unchecked, may not only develop into still more serious outrages on persons and property, but may set an evil example, the fruits of whiclv may be expected to show themselves in the form of constant outbreaks of terrorism and mob violence. Lawlessness is an evil seed to permit to find root in any land, It is of slow' growlh, and may lie stamped out easily enough in any law-abiding country in its early stages; but the law cannot be permitted to be brought openly .into contempt and successfully set at defiance without shattering respect for the law. This is what is being attempted by the strikers, This .Union td ,W(itol'jdcM .Workers in

tho most. _ wanton fashion -have broken their agreement with their employers, have without the least justification gone on strike and held up the trade of the port; and, not content with the heavy losses they have thus recklessly brought on tho community and their fellow-workers, have openly and flagrantly challenged the whole country to dare to uphold the law against them. The members of this Union, have challenged the country to prevent them from assaulting and terrorising citizens, invading private _ premises, and wilfully aud maliciously destroying property. How they could bo so misguided as to think that they can help themselves or the cause of Labour by such conduct may !>« difficult to understand by those who have not heard the wild and inflammatory speeches of some of the more reckless and unscrupulous of their leaders. There can bo no doubt that tho seeming success of their initial attempts in the way of mob violence, clue to tho_ absence of adequate police protection to meet such an unlooked-for emergency, has had a bad effect in leading some of the moro foolish to think that they can continue with impunity such outrageous conduct; and there are somo even who may think Chat they are really assisting towards gaining concessions they went on strike to force from their employers. They must bo disillusioned, and in the interests of the peace and order of the whole community the sooner tlus Is done the' better.

In face of, what haa taken place, tho employers cannot now make any concession to the strikers without betrayal of tho public. There can be no yielding to the attempted intimidation ■ and terrorism of .mob rule without sacrificing and casting down the law of the land. That must be plain to everyone-who has given tho slightest thought to the question. If by means of threats and violence and the destruction of property organised hands of lawbreakers are to be permitted, in the name of Unionism, to eoerco and intimidate citizens, then it might as well he recognised that the law no longer affords any guarantee of protection against mob rule, and that what is tho lot of tho shipowners today _ ma,y be tho lot of any other section of the community to-morrow. The great bulk of the supporters of the Labour movement in New Zealand, we have no doubt, condemn the conduct of the Waterside Workers' Union quite as much as do those outside the ranks of Labour; and they realise also the menace to society which lies behind such unprovoked and wanton acts of lawlessness. ' It is their duty ; as it is tho duty of all good citizens, to openly repudiate such acts, and to assist the authorities in the maintenance of law and order.- Whcro and when the trouble will end cannot for the moment be foreseen; but one thing may be taken for granted, and that is that the people of New Zealand ■ are not going to be bludgeoned into 'submission to the dictates of mob rule by tho waterside workers of Wellington or by the Federation of Labour. 'Thoso thoughtless men who have been led astray by the inflammatory and' misleading speeches of some of their leaders may also rest assured that many of them will bo called upon to pay tho'price of their law-breaking.