MARCH TO ORIENTAL BAY.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1919, 29 November 1913, Page 7

MARCH TO ORIENTAL BAY.

SPEECH TO THE MEN. HINTS OF AMERICAN METHODS. Strikers, numbering about 200, assembled at Oriental Bay last evening. A procession, headed by the Waterside Band, left Courtenay Placo at about 7.30. Proceedings wero for the most part lifeless, but, occasionally, came bursts of song, intimating that someono or other was to be hanged "on a sour applo tree." At length oven these, snatches of melody died away, and tho procession wouud silently aiiil ghostlike round tho baj Mr. Ohand delivered tho opening address. Their winning card, ho said, was the coal. Tho hulks out in tho harbour wero all high out of tho water, betraying tho fact that thoy wero empty. Thoy had had a fino example, ho went on. to say, of what a collection of looked-doivn-upon men, such as tho firemen wero, could do. Just as their vessel was leaving they had struck, rfnd the ship was held up. Tho speaker did not attempt to describo tho sequel to tho firemen's action. Ho just said that they had been "put back" on tho ship, and that ho "did not think" that the mails were on board cither. Only twenty craven men, ho continued, had gone back out of tho 1600 on strike, and lie "did not think" that any more would go back. The. speaker went on to say that ho. had Iron talking to a friend, and tho friend had told him that, in an industrial trouble in America, whore special men had been brought down to subduo them, 'threo strikers had been killed as a result, Tho men on striko resolved that tlirco of their oppressors must bo accounted for to make up for the three men killed. Next day three constables were lying dead, said Mr. Cliand. They could see. from this that forco must be used against force,. Of courso, stated tho speaker, he did not mean them to rush into an armed forco on tho wharves, but there was "n way out." Hundreds of "scab specials" had been brought here in tlio dead of night. Thoro was a way to combat these "specials," and that way, said tlio speaker in conclusion. "I will bavo it to you to find out." Other fpeakers addressed a crowd of rapidly-diminishing listeners.