MORE DISORDER

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 61, 5 December 1919, Page 8

MORE DISORDER

MR. PIRANI'S MEETING

SOME INTERRUPTERS EJECTED

A PARTIAL HEARING SECURED

Mr;' P.' 1 Pirani, Liberal candidate for Wellington Central, had another stormy meeting in the Alexandra Hall, Abel Smith Street, last night. He had announced in advanco that ho intended to have order maintained at.this meeting, and several policemen were in tho hall. Mr. J; H. fuller presided. Tho hall was full, and soino people failed to gain admittance. Tho candidate was interrupted ' almost continuously for an hour, but he succeeded, after a number of men had been ejected by tho police, in making a portion of h;s spesch in. comparative qniet. A large section of the audience was evidently sympathetic with tho candidate, and resentod the noiso and disorder. Mr. PiTani, in opening, said he had been challenged at Aro Street regarding his statement that Labour members of tho House had not voted in the interests of ~tho soldiers on tho Expeditionary I'orces Bill. Interruption began at once, and Mr. I'irani said ho was going to ask the police to deal with any person who disturbed the meeting. (Uproar.) Tho.candidate walked down tho hall and personally warned one noisy clcctor. Returning to tho platform, ho said that any man who was ordered out would be arrested by tlto police and prosecuted in the "court, (Applause and uproar.) He was going to support the police in maintaining order, and lie did not care which sex the interruptions came'from. (Interrupt™.) Mr. Pirani: There is a lady down there I am going to caution next. (Dproar.) We will havo a -nico crop of cases in the Courts on Saturday morning. Make no mistake about'it, lam going through with this to the bitter end. A voice: If you know a better ole, go to it. (Laughter,) Tho interruptions were continuous, and a police sergeant warned somo of the offenders. . Mr. Pirani said lie had been . challenged to' prove that in December, 1918, Mr. Holland and Mr. Eraser voted iigainst giving tho soldiers pensions or gratuities. llio intoOTu'ptiions were Tesumed at once, and after some exchange of repartee Mr. Pirani cautioned some other men. Ho was not able to make in any eon-, secutive fashion his statement togirding the challenge, in . spite of occasional polico warnings. ; tie said that in Com-' mittee on tho Expeditionary Forccs Bill Mr. M'Combs had moved •■•n amendment' that would have removed the political disability from Mr. "Paddy" Webb. , • ' An interrupter, wlio had already been cautioned, objected to "Paddy." demanded the use of the name "Pat."

Mr. Pirani went down' tho hali and asked the police to remove this man. After a little argument the man left in company with a sergeant of police. A voice: All labour supporters leave the hall.' Come on! No scabbing!

A'section of the audience obeyed this call, ami'tlio back of the hall gradually cleared. Cheers anil hoots' could bo heard from the gathering crowd outside, and Mr. Pirani had to pause for several minutes.

When order had been restored, Mr. Pirani proceeded to address a much reduced meeting. He said it was a great pity that the real Labour Party had liot better representation in Parliament. But the Labour extremists, who called themselves the Labour Party, tvere disgracing the workers of the Dominion. The candidate was interrupted by the Teturn of the Labour supporters, who trooped noisily into the hall and resumed 'their interjections and demonstrations at once...

Mr. Pirani said -that the truth about the extremists could be found in the records of Parliament.

A voice: I move that this meeting do bow adjourn. Mr. Pirani: Tou may hide your head, but I can see you. (Laughter.) A voice: -What is wrong with you, Mr. Pirani, is that you were born twenty yeai'3 too'soon. - We all know you now. (laughter and interruption.) Mr. Pirani entered the body of the hall and singled out an interrupter, but the polico. were not in his neighbourhood. Tho chairman, tried to restore order and was told to "sit down." Several questions were shouted at Mr. Pirani. and lie said that lie would answer questions at the end of his address. An elector: You are at the end of your address now. Mr. Pirani said that wlien the Expeditionary' Forces Bill was before the Hons6 the Labour members could have divided the House on any particular clause in Committee. But tliev called for no division in Committee. They simply voted against the whole Bill, including tho soldiers' gratuities. That was his, answer to the challenge that had been" made. Voices: What about indentured labour? Who is backing you? The P.P.A.? An interrupter was ejected by the police amid uproar. Resuming after another pause due to continuous .interruption, Mr. Pirani said that a question that concerned all the people, was the high price of coal. A voice: Don't go clown the mine, daddy. There is plenty of work in Wellington Central. (Laughter.) Mr. Pirani: Tou have been put out once. Isn't that enough for you? A voice: Tou will bo put out for .ever. The candidate went down the hull nsain, but did not succecd in finding tho interrupter. As soon as he returned to the platform, a man moved that tho meeting should adjourn, and there were loud cries of "Aye." The audience had charge of the _ hall for several minutes after this incident. When Mr. Pirani was able to resume he said that all ho had to say would be heard before ho had done. (Interruption.) A voice: Now give him a fair go—for about ten minutes. Voices: Tell us whero you was in 1913. That is what wo Want to know. An elector: Have you got a political past, Mr. Pirani!? ■ Another elector: That is his troublo. The people read now, Mr. Pirani. Mr. Pirani: You have been put out once. If you go out again you will bo prosecuted, as 6uro as you aro alive. (Laughter and a "count out.")

A voice: If the police did their duty you would 1m put out for' deceiving tho people. The interruptions and interjections continued almost without a break, and Mr. Pirani was unable to proceed.

Mr. It. M'Kenzie, ex-member for Buller, mounted the platform and asked for a hearing for the candidate. Interjections camo thick and fast from tho audience.

Reaming after some order had been restored, Mr, Pirani said the coal shortage required to be taken in hand. Tho miners wore led by the noso by men who—(Uproar.) The miners had just asserted their independence by putting up one of their fellows to contest tho Buller Beat against Mr. Holland. (Cheers for Mt. Holland.) They would find after election day that Mr. O'Brien would bo member for Builer. Ho was a miner who had done his bit at tho front and. had come back to represent his- fellowworkers. Tho coal shortage would quickly end when sane men were at tho head of Labour and the party was no longer dragged at the heels of a Tabblo such as was represented in the hall that evening. (Uproar.) A voice: I move that this meeting bo adjourned. 1

Mr. Pirani said that the opening up of tho Buller Valley by railway and the use of State-owned steamers would cheapen coal very much. Voices: That is Labour policy. You are only bluffing. (Interruptions.) Mr. I'irani, advocated an improved system of road construction A proposa had been made that a roads Ward should be set up for the whole Dominion to construct good roads at the cheapest rates possible. He believed that it would be possible to give tho country good roads for less money than was-now spent. There were parts of America where every worker owned his _ own motor-car. (Laughter and interjections.) It'was impossiblo in New Zealand at present for most pooplo, except thoeo who

earned farg# wages on tho wharves, to ran motor-cars. (Interruption.) Mr. Pirani ivarned an interjector that if ho continued to interrupt lio would bo riven in chargo. Mr. Pirani thought that tho workers would bo assisted by the establishment of stores such as tho Americans had established at Panama, where workers could get supplies at cost prico. (Interruption.) Tho interruptions made it impossible fo;- tho candidate to speak in any connected fashion. Many interjections came from a man who had some 1 ventriloquial ability, and who spoke in tho tone usually associated with Mr. Punch. This interrupter was not easily located, _ and his intorjections kept the audience in a simmer of laughter. . After t'ho meeting had been proceeding for an hour, Mr. Pirani was still unablo to get along with his speech. He stood silent for sane time while flic interjectors amused thoinselves with an exchange of alleged witticisms. A section of the audience called for order without avail.

Mr. Pirani said he had como out as n supporter of Sir Joseph Ward. But ho would not support any party that depended on the support of tho revolutionary Socialists. (Applause and hoots). Ho did not believe that any of the revolutionaries would 'bo in the new Parliament. It would not be in tho interests of the country that the party which stood for confiscation and revolution should sit in Parliament.

A voice: Is this revolutionary liussia you are talking about? Mr. Pirani: "There is the revolutionary element. It has been carefully concealed, but it is there." He did not believe that even the interrupters would back tho policy of the labour extremists if they had not dust tljrown in their eyes. (Applause and interruption.) The extremists were trying now to get tho votes of returned soldiers. But if the soldiers knew what those extremists had said and done during tho war they would refuse to be seen in such company.

Mr. Pirnni said he was not to be frightened by ft noisy minority. He bad no doiibt what was going to happen on December 17. The question to-day was not one of personal fitness, but of supporting law and order against revolution. (Interruption.) The police cjected a man who had been interrupting persistently. Mr! Pirani: "ffliis is only a passing phase of lunacy that won't last long in a country like New Zealand. It is one of the bad spots on the sun. After December 17 we will havo a clear sky and a shining 6un. Why cannot sensible men and women take their voting privileges quietly and sensibly, and east their votes for the man they support without being bossed (as some of you are bossed at' the private meetings? Tou will find at the winning-post that nothing but votes will count. You gain nothing bv noise, You are merely antagonising tho decent workers in the communitv. I set out in this contest with verv little hope, but since these roway meetings I have received assurances of support from all sections of the community, even waterside workers." (Interruption.} ' New Zealand, said Mr. Pirani, was the freest country ip the world, and the people 'were not going to stand for revolutionary tactics. When the sensible workers realised what domination bv revolutionaries meant ,they would form a party of their own. The leaven was working already, and very many workimr wives were going to vote -against their husbands at this election. (Interruption.) The' time had come when there was going to be a cleavage in politics between the revolutionary elements anri tho forces of law and order. Some men had gone bock to the dark ages. Tliev thought that force would rule in a democratic community. They would iind they were wrong, and the men and women who were following the levolutionaries were going to find their mistake.

An interiector was put out by the police.

Mr. Pirani 6aid the revolutionaries were in a boneless minority. A few hundred people could disturb meetings. But there were 11,000 people on the .Wellington Central roll, ana' those people had been aroused by the attempt to suppress fyee speech. (Applause.) Thousands of people wlio might not have voted at all would go to the ballot in his favour because thev Tesented the rowdyism disnlayed bv .the supporters of Mr. Eraser. The forces of law and order, of British fair play were stronger in any British community than the forces of disorder, and persecution. In conclusion, Mr. Pirani. who was now getting a comparatively auiet. hearing, said lie was going to place his policy in the liana's of the electors in printed form. (Applause.) After answering. questions, the candidate was accorded a vote of thanks. Tho Labour section voted against the motion, and gave cheers for Mr. P. Eraser.