NOT A VERY CLEVER THICK.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1914, 24 November 1913, Page 7

NOT A VERY CLEVER THICK.

(By Teleffrapli.—Special Correspondent.) , Christchurch, November 23. The so-called citizens' meeting held Victoria! Square on Saturday night Nvas a not very clever trick of the local strike leaders. The advertisement calling the meeting was,signed ..by-.. ono Woodward, of-the Strike Committee,, but ho did not indicate his position in the advertisement. Tho crowd was certainly very large—a naturaL result -of tho sudden development of the first, crisis in this city, but only a section of the audience was in favour of the strike. The Mayor consented to preside, on condition that he framed- the motion, and thai the speeches would bo "moderate and; temperate," The motion was, I understand,-framed by the member of the executive of the Federation of Labour, who moved it (Hiram Hunter), and its; effect was that the Government'. should immediately legislate to make it illegal for any. but "Red Feds" to work on tho wliarves 'and ships. The crowd, of course, did not realiso this, and the Mayor probably did not realise it either. <

The speeches were not so foul in expression as. the speeches of tho strikers' leaders usually are, but they were immoderate and intemperate to a degree— almost unusual even in this city of insane thought and expression. Mr. W. T. Mills screeched without ceasing for nn hour in denunciation of the "thieves" and "liars", and "scoundrels" who are opposing tho Federation. The most startling portion of his speech to thoso who know Mr. Mills was an impassioned defence of the British Constitution, .which he declared was in diro peril, and would be destroyed if its champions, tho "Red Feds," were not triumphant. During tho professor's harangue a crowd of strike sympathisers, nrmed witli money-boxes, took up a collection. It will bo seen that the "citizens' meeting" was merely a strikers' .meeting, and nothing else. It is felt here that unless the Mayor can satisfactorily explain the extraordinary motion, and his placid tolerance of the rampant rhotoric of tho Federation speakers he may look forward to tho early ending of his Mayoral career, and of his political hopes.