STRIKE LEADERS IN COURT.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1905, 13 November 1913, Page 8

STRIKE LEADERS IN COURT.

BAIL REFUSED.

THE MEN LODGED IN PRISON,

COURTHOUSE PACKED, SPECIAL MEN ON GUARD DFI'V. One of the most remarkable spectacles ever witnessed in the Wellington .Magistrate's Court was seen yesterday. Realising that accommodation in tho Court building would be overtaxed, crowds of people flocked to the Court long before tlie hour of opening. By half past nine the auditorium was packed, and a little later tho whole Court- was filled right up to and surrounding the small space reserved for counsel and press. When the building became full, police stationed at the- door prevented a further influx. There was a considerable force of' police on duty, both inside and about the Courthouse. A large body of mounted special constables wero drawn up in tho street outside, and not far away another division of .horsemen was held in reserve. The footways near the Court were lined by crowds of people, a proportion of whom appeared to bo strikers. A marked quiet was upon the most of them. Onco, while the cases were proceeding in Court, those waiting outside raised a cheer for someone who passed along. Apart, from this all was quiet. Inside tho crowd right at the back wore once strongly called to order. They had raised a mild outburst of "OH" ■ when Sir. H. H. Ostler, counsel for the Crown, remarked that New Zeaknders were a law-loving people. It soon became known that, in addition to tho four arrested overnight, W. T. Young would also appear. Ho had been arrested early that morning. These Jive, and a number of others implicated in connection with strike riots, ctc., were before the Court, and the sitting lasted throughout tho day. Briefly, the outcome of the charges against tho leaders is that they are remanded for a week, and in the interim will remain in prison, as bail was refused. Semple, Eraser, Bailey, and Young were represented by Mr. I*. J. O'Kegan, but Holland, had lio coniisel. Mr. H. H. Ostler appeared for tho Crown.

W. T. Young in. the Dock. The last of the five leaders arrested was tho first called—William Thomas Young, who holds the offices of president of the New Zealand Federation of Labour and secretary of the "Wellington Branch of the Ser.men's Union. Wearing an overcoat, and looking pale, lie walked in erect and steady. As the cbargo was being read out to hitn he showed signs of the strain of the position, but controlled himself.

Young was charged'with (1) the use of seditious words, (2) having incited persons to commit a breach of tho peace, and (3) having wilfully incited divers unknown- persons to resist constables in the execution of their duty, all respecting the following speech made at tho Basin Reserve on October 26: —

"I want to say this, that if tho police force of this country are going to be utilised—l know the individual police don't wont to be used for the purpose—but if the authorities of the country are going to use them to suppress the working class, I will undertake — we will undertake —to mass iii this city of Wellington 10/JGQ or 15,000 armed men ready to protect themselves as armed men, If a police constable usos his baton to you give him one back, and if ,on« won't do make it a double-header. If wo have got to light the police force and tho military, it has got- to he done in style and -effectually. ' It Js a very easy matter indeed. There are ten or fifteen thousand men in support of you, and to protect you against the baton of the police authorities. . If the employers are not prepared to act iii a conciiistpry spirit, and if they put- on 'scabs' to work cargD, there will not be a wharf for 'scabs' to work on. Don't .you bo afraid of them. If I have got to incite the multitude I will incite them, and in a proper manner," or words lo like effect, Mr. P. J. O'Rcgan: I appear for Mr. Young. I liavo only just heard of the case; it was not- announced in the papers this morning. .- Young pleaded not guilty, and Mr. Ostler applied for a week's remand. No Bail for Mr. Young. Mr. O'Eegan: I ask fot bail. Mr. Young is tho secretary of the Seamen's Union, and has to sign a iramter of documents. If you see your way_ to grant bail, there are any mimbefc of reputable citizens willing to go surety. . Mr. Ostler: I must -oppose bail as strongly as it is possible to oppose it. On the indictable charge accused is bailable by right, but on. summary charges the granting of bail is a matter entirely in the discretion of Your "Worship. To arrive at a decision in an application for bail Your Worship must consider: (1) Tho nature of the offence, (2) the strength of the evidence, (3) tho character and behaviour of the accused, (4) the seriousness of the punishment, aud (o) whether it is probable that tho accused will appear. . . . It is hardly necessary to remind Your Worship of the seriousness of the crisis which has arisen in New Zealand at tho present time. Wo are. a law-loving people Half-suppressed "Ohs!" rose from the back of tho Court. "Silence!" cried the police, and all was gaiet again. Mr. Ostler (continuing): This is so not becausc of terror of tho law, but. bccausoof tho love of order inherent in tho British race. So that never before in the seventy-odd years' history of this colony have we seen such a spectacle as a mob taking possession of the waterfront of the city and practically paralysing tho trado of a province for the best part of a fortnight by violence, threats of violence, and assaulting {to intimidate) those who were waiting to do the work which tho strikers refused to do. i intend to say nothing of tho merits of this strike at alt. Every man in New Zealand has liberty under tho law to refuso to do work if lie does- not liko the conditions.

His Worship: I think it is unnecessary to say anything on that aspect of tlio question. Mr. Ostler: I am submitting reasons why bail should not be granted. , v . If Your Worship is satisfied with what I have said already, I will go 110 farther. Otherwise I must insist 0:11 my right to address the Court on the subject: Mr, O'Regan: Before Your Worship says whether you are. satisfied or not, I should like to say something. His Worship: I will say that I am satisfied with what Mr. Ostler haß said for the present.

Mr. O'Regan: I venture to say that Mr. Young is a- reputable citizen, notwithstanding what my friend may say to the contrary. He may have been indisereot, but his freedom would tend in the direction of preserving law and order. His Worship has discretionary power under Section 140 of the justice of the Peace Act to grant bail. It is important that Mr. toting should b© granted bail. Thcro are a large number of cheques to be signed to-day. A number of seamen are clamouring for the cheques. Of course, for that matter, he could sign them without bail. Mr. Ostler: Of course. His Worship; In the indictable offence ho is. entitled to bail as, a right.

Bail will bo granted in tho sum of £250, with two securities of £250. Respecting the other two effcnccs, the accuscd is bailable at the discretion of the Magistrate. In these offences bail will be refused.

Mr. O'Began: In that ease, your Worship, there is no use in my getting bail in the one case, I tnko itr His Worship: It would have no practicable effect.

Mr. O'lli'gun: There is one request I might make. Mr. Young has a number of keys. I -supposo the other officials of the union may got them. His Worship: Tho police will assist you ill any business you have to transact. Tfie Federation Organiser. Nest of the live came Robert Semple. He was charged firstly; . With having, on November 1, at Wellington, incited divers unknown persons to resist constables stationed in Wellington in the execution of their duty. The -second charge against Semple was that, on November 1 1-Ie incited persons to commit a breach of the. peace by uttering tho following words: "Since 1 have arrived ia Wellington I have received a- wiro- to say that Superintendent Mitchell has been withdrawn from the charge at Auckland. Cullen and Herdman are responsible for this-. Cullen is sheltering in an office, and will not be seen leading the men. I hope that there will he no shooting, but if any is done, and Cullen will come out, I undertake to shoot him first." Mr. Ostler: In this case, the seriousness of the thing is made apparentthree days afterwards a- deliberate attempt was made to shoot Commissioner Cullen. Mr. O'Regan; I object to my friend's going into this. It is ijiiite unnecessary. His Worship: Yes. Mr. Ofßegan: 1 simply rettow the application for bail, formally. Bail was refused. Pot.er fraser—Social Democratic Secretary. Peter Eraser, secretary of the Wellington Branch of tlie Social Democratic Party,' was charged with having, on October 29. at Wellington, incited persons to commit a breach of the peace by littering the following tvords:— "Our friend here says We arc not going.to be starved; but'the papers to-day have aniiotmccd in tho most cold-blooded manner possible that the employers have settled down . to a starving campaign., Now, in tho older countries of the world they play that game, only there the workers starve whether they are on ■strike or not. Sometimes they starve a little more, sometimes a little loss. At Dublin the other day they tried to starve them, but they, have not done it yet. AM here, in God's Own Country (God likes it so much that- Ho keeps .it all to

Himself and gives none of it to the ' workers') they are talking of it. In •this country there is any amount, of grain, and sheep, and food, -and the workers produced every ounce of it—(hear, heart —and if tho workers live by the great law known to Nature —the law of self* preservation, the law which must liave obedience- and transcends every law made by Iranian society— if it compels the workers to get food, then tho workers of "Wellington, and of Now Zealand, are going to get food, and if a few doors have to be burst, like the Basin Reserve gate, all the worse for the > doors." As in the other cases bail was refused.

Charge Against Bailey. George Bailey was charged with having, on October 29, incited, persons to commit a breach of the peace by uttering fhe following words:— "I read .that the grooms who aro attending the horses of the mounted constables' who are : distributed at

different parts of the city are, being

paid at the- rate of 10s. a day. Any persons who know the grooms should try to induce them to cease work,- You could drop a few matches .or indulge in a little sabotage which is the latest method! of industrial warfare." He, too, was refused bail. Sedition Alleged Against Holland,' Henry Holland, editor of tho "Maorilaud Worker," was charged with having (1) wilfully incited divers persons to resist, constables in tho execution of their duty ; (2) incited persons to commit a breach of the peace by uttering certain words; and (3) uttered seditious words, all respecting the following speech delivered at the Basin Iteaervo on the afternoon of- Sunday, October 26:—

"Tlio waterside agreement was broken when tho men were obliged to take a day off;, when Mr. Liverpool—Lord Liverpool—tho gilded popinjay, the figure-head of capitalism in New Zealand landed liere; and the same thing occurred when Sir Joseph Ward's Dreadnought called. 1 remind thorn (meaning tho police) of words used by mo at BrokeiJ Hill in> Australia, the occasion when I was sentenced to two

years' imprisonment on a charge of sodit-ion. I told the miners: 'If thoy hit you with a baton, hit them with a pick handle, and haw softieI thing at the end of it. 1 Here is your opportunity, you John Hops (meaning the police). They (tho

employers) want io give you a miserable eight- hob a day, and the soul and clothes of a slave, and want you to scab on Labour."

the Park Speech. Further sedition was charged against Holland re-spenting* the following utterance mado at Newtown IVr'c on Sunday, November 2: —

You have a Gstliiig gun on the wharf to-day, and there is one on the turret- of tfe Post Office, they tell us. •Vlien <Massey's Cossacks come down upon us—l was going to say 'men,' but I don't want- to bp guilty of libed " The 10DQ men offering in the Waikato were heroes, because they would eotne fully armed, Mr. Massey gave them full protection, (Laughter.) If free labourers were put on, "they would work with a revolver in their belts atld a bludgeon, alongside them, and anyone who attempted to interfere with thorn, could be shot by them. He advised the navals present to, when they were ordered to shoot, remember where their class interests lay, and point their guns accordingly. \ The railwayiHCi should not carry free labourers. Let the trains rot and rust, The strike was net made by the working classes, but by the master classes, who were pouring their armed hundreds into Wellington, not- in tho daylight, but like thieves in tho night, coining utterly ashamed of the work they were undertaking They sneaked in in the midnight hours, but old grey-haired women came out on the balconies to

jeer them as they passed. The railwayman ltad said that they were prepared to stop the trains. The drivers could stop the carts,- and the seamen the ships. The uniform ■ police could deal a staggering blow l>y tearing off their uniforms, atod standing witi tlie watmiders. "Wo are going to win, asjd, by ' God, we (U'« going to do it. no matter what means wo arc going to use,"

Holland, who is 45 .years of age, small, and ratber grey-haired, came in slowly and pointed inquiringly to the compartment, and, receiving an answering nod from a constable, stopped in. Mo looked a little worn, but displayed great

keenness and attentiveness when the charges wore being read put. "1 don't,propose to plead," lie said, when the clerk had concluded.

Mr. Ostler asked that the oases, should be remanded for a week.

Holland; "In that ease I wish to mako an application for bail, and I j list wish to point out that the main reason for requiring hail is to ensure attendance when tile caso is resumed." Ho went on to say that as lie was arrested at 11 o'clock the previous night lie luul not yet had ail opportunity of consulting counsel, If lie was refused bail ho would not be able to organise his defence-.

Bail (£250, and two sureties of £2o0) was allowed respecting the charges of sedition. On the other counts bail 'was refused. The Magistrate- said that whether bail was granted or not defendant would be a bio to have counsel to prepare liis cases. How Matters Stand. The position, therefore, is that Young, Semplo, Holland, Eraser, and Bailey, and Ifcomas Barker (tlie I.,WAV. propagandist who was arrestee! in Auckland yesterday) will reappear for the hearing of their cases on Wednesday nest. Meantime all except Barker, who was granted bail, will remain in prison.