Christchurch Holding the Fort

Maoriland Worker, Volume 3, Issue 87, 8 November 1912, Page 7

Christchurch Holding the Fort

THE PROFESSOR AND HIS

MEETING.

SOCIALIST DOINGS

LABOR DAY

What the papers described as a "rowdy" meeting was held here on Sunday week at the King's Theatre. "Professor" W. T. Mills was billed to speak on the Labor Party's attitude to the strike, and about 400 people assembled to hear him. This scribe thought there was something wrong, for on passing in he noticed there was very little in the plate, although there seemed to be a fairly good house.

Soon there appeared upon the platform a little coterie of would-be M.P's at-any-priee, and the fun started.

The audience rendered the "Red Flag," and sang in such a way that no one oould mistake who they were. They seemed to give special attention to the last verse: "With heads uncovered swear we all to bear it onward till we. fall." A sickly smile appeared on the face of the "only Labor newspaper" rep., but it was veTy evident that he was not enjoying himself. Probably he was thinking of the time when he, too, was a Socialist and could sing that verse with equal sincerity.

However, the little man from "Amurica" looked a bit savage, and we knew we were in for a circus. The "Professor" got up to speak, but someone asked him "who paid the £12 par week he was receiving in salary?" What, oh! there was a noise like a bundle of Chinese crackers going off for a few moments, and the little chap sat down and said he wouldn't speak until the interjector was removed. He screamed for the police, and a burly John went over and told the dear little chap that as Bill Massey had sent most of the police to protect the scabs at Waihi, he (the "Professor") had better go on with his address and try not to irritate the audience too much.

The "Professor" decided to speafc, the interjeotor decided to stay, and from then on it was as good as a play. Fast and furious came the interjections: "What about Waihi?" "Who advocated sending scabs there?" etc., etc. And so Walter, Thomas decided to play to the gallery a bit, and he poured this broadside into the Labor Party. He said the Arbitration Court never hadl given the workers anything, and even if it had the master-class had taken ifr away again in the increased cost of living.

Councillor Burgoyne (the chairman) nearly had a fit, hut the dear old "Prof." softened it down by proving his words were not to be taken too literally. Well, that meeting" was a good night's fun, and if Wellington can only spare that funny little man oftener I am sure it will do the Christchurch people good—that is, if it's true that a laugh is as good as a dose of medicine.

Over at the Socialist Hall was a full house listening to that fine old English gentleman, O'Bryan Hoare, giving an address on "The Church in Relation to Poverty." No clowning needed by this man to hold an audience, no interjections when he is speaking, but everyone interested from start to finish, eager not to lose a word, but applauding here and there some of the many fine points made by the speaker. Very large crowds was the order of the day in the Square and more and more are the people attracted to these meetings. Any amount.of literature is being sold and altogether things are looking healthy in the Flat City. It mustn't be thought, though, that we have got rid of tho freaks. We have still got one or two. One of them contributes a weakly column to the local paper and calls it a "Labor column." This column has been mostly used to write down, in the masters' interest, the Federation of Labor; finding that the trades unionist won't stand much more of that, the writer has now started to "smooge" and says if the Federation will only separate the two cases, Reefton and Waihi, he will help us.

Now, this person will persist in misrepresenting the position, but unfortunately for him, the majority of the workers know the truth now.

I wonder what would happen if a small minority of the Furniture Trade Union, say 15, were to decide to register under the Federation of Labor and to drag the. majority of the furniture trade in with them? Would they fight or would they take it lyins down? But. of course, that is another story.

The Federationists and the Socialists ran a very successful picnic on Labor Day at one of the little bays opposite Lyttelton. Beautiful weather had been ordered previously, there were plenty of toys for the kiddies, and a jolly good crowd. All hands agreed that Labor Day, 1912, was one of the happiest days they had spent. Then, in the evening, they returned to the Socialist Hall and ended the day with a dance. In the midst of the fun Comrade Holland arrived from the West, and the neighbors must have wondered what had happened when they heard the rousing three cheers that were given our friend Harry. Then came our only Socialist Mayor—Com. Coppersmith, the Mayor of Runanga—and again the cheers rang out. Oh, we had a good day and the only fly in the ointment was the fact that we could not help remembering that Bill Massey had so many of our comrades in jail at Mt. Eden because they would not how their necks to the master-class, and one at Lyttelton jail for daring to refuse to be bullied by the same class into soldiering.—THE VAG.