SEMPLE'S STORY

Maoriland Worker, Volume 3, Issue 88, 22 November 1912, Page 2

SEMPLE'S STORY

THE MISSION TO WAIHI AND THE CONCLUSIONS REACHED. SHADOWED BY POLICE AND PIMPS. TYPE OF PROFESSIONAL STRIKEBREAKERS. UNION SOLIDARITY. Interviewed by The 'Worker on Thursday morning, Mr. Semple said: After executive meeting .in Wellington on October 14, as instructed, Webb and myself proceeded to Huntly and next to" Waihi. We were met at the station by strikers and wives, and had a great reception. The bright appearance of the men and women, after six months' strenuous battling, surprised us considerably and gratified us, and to say the least was magnificent. There was a spirit not to be broken, even if finally hurt by organised despotism. We addressed a mass meeting at night, enthusiastic throughout. Our business in Waihi was'to find out the truth of affairs. We stayed long enough to do this work, several days in all. On the first day we saw the scabs escorted to work under police protection. We stood upon the outskirts away from crowd and police. The crowd, men and women, lined up on the footpath. Mounted police were guarding the brakes containing.the strikers.. We saw nothing in any way approaching the lurid pictures presented by the papers, but only superiority and arrogance by the police, brutishness and degradation by the scabs. During the time we were in Waihi we were shadowed all the time by plainclothes demons. ■ They had made the boast that we would never leave the place alive. One of our women ■ had heard the remark from one of them that they would "do" for us.. It was nothing 'for mounted police to ride among the people on the footpath, trying to intimidate them and threatening them and cursing them.

As far as the . strikers and women were concerned their only act was the act of giving the scabs a rally and treating them to their name, as is done everywhere in industrial trouble.

After careful observation, we were thoroughly satisfied that no unprejudiced person could decide other than that the police and blacklegs were the aggressors throughout and the strikers and women the insulted. .

We watched daily, talked daily, examined daily—and soon saw that Waihi wa3 under police domination, operated for the mine-owners and regardless of all civic rights and even industrial traditiona. Shadowed all the time by police, detectives and pimps, we yet accomplished our task. From our point of view, the type of man who was scabbing was most important. It was quite evident to us, after close examination, -that the same class of man was at Waihi who is used in all industrial upheavals to break the strike. This type was added to by halfbreed Maoris, who seemed to rejoioe in their devilish work. The 'alarming characteristic that struck ire was that at Waihi the scabs gloried in their shame. In Australia, in other wage wars, the scabs had hung their heads and looked the miserable things they were, yet ashamed of having yielded to the economic pressure that had degraded them. The scabs at Waihi were evidently professionals and looked the sort we read about in connection with American strike-breaking methods.

I also noticed for the first time in my experience the use of the.Union Jack by scabs to shield their villainous and dirty treachery.

With the Government, the police, the professional class and the press behind them, it seemed to satisfy the blackleg 3 that the betrayal of their class and the sacrifice of the peoples , homes and liberties was a glorious work. In his wildest drefttn-9 one could hardly have imagined that this was possible. We found but few miners at. work — some If or 18 who had "ratted" from the union, individuals always doubtful and whose baseness was feared from the jump. ■ There having been about 700 practical miners at work prior to the strike, the job of filling these men's places was found to be impossible by th« nineowners, and the project miserably failed.

They certainly had a number of men on the surface, mp.de up of half-breed Maoris, tho scrap-heaped and the ordinary sort of strike-breaking hooligan and derelict, including several alleged pugs. AT WAIKINO.

We proceeded next to Waikino, the stronghold of the scabs, most of the men working at Waihi going to and flora this practical scab depot. We addressed a good meeting, but had to leave early to keep au engagement with one of the victimised Huntiy executive, who vim on his way to Waihi, One of

the detectives stationed a.t Waikino on learning that I was coming there, said to the pickets: "If Semple comes to Waikino my boys will drown him in the river."

We quietly walked through the town to the station, about three-quarters of d mile. As we passed the bridge, we noticed a group of policemen, mounted iind oh foot. Most of the scabs have to cross this bridge on their way home. ■'I saw the police stop the scabs and keep them together. We noticed the police pointing us. out to the scabs. We walked on to the station, and on arriving there saw the company train, laden with scabs from Waihi. Two mounted constables rode up and inspected us, then seeing us waiting turned and rode back in the direction of Waikino. We next saw all the scabs marching in procession to the station, flying the Union Jack. No police were in evidence, all keeping well away. The pickets overheard the police say to the scabs as they lett Waikino: "Make a clean job of it. boys." The scabs marched to where we were standing and the cry went up from a crowd of scabs, "Where is he?" ;

I was pointed out, and they got round •mc like a mob of dingoes. I kept cool and took no notice of the insults and provocation. Asked ironically to address them, I said I did not talk to scabs and things. One to make a speech, and the statioiunaster told them they must get off the platform. Subsequently 'ihey used violent language to mc. As the train was about to leave a couple of police arrived jeering. The i-eabs also paid attention to Webb and Kennedy. The reports that I asked for police protection and that we had sought refuge id a railway carriage are false. Wo walked as ordinarily into the carriage. The scabs outnumbered us hugely.

While in Waihi I never spoke to one policeman and ni'ver failed to denounce them for their dirty work.

THE ATTEMPTED RIOT. We got back to Waihi and on Saturday night the unionists and wives had assembled in thtir hall to enjoy themselves, dancing and singing. Some, of course, were in the streets. Delaney, a noted blackleg, appeared and a crowd gathered. No blows were struck "or violence shown by .strikers. Suddenly the police whistles blew, and in less than three minutes six or eight mounted police were in the crowd, riding down the people. There were about 80 foot police. It was plain that the effort was to create a riot and thus make an excuse for arresting the Federation officers on the spot. Webb and I sstood on the hall steps, besought by numbers not tc stir away. ,

I was an eyewitness to the police charge. It was dastardly, the footpath being ussd and "prams" and persons scattered violently and indiscriminately. Policemen were heard to say: "Take those four-wheelers home and the mongrels in them," referring to the babies in the perambulators. Others were heard to say: "We'll stick the lead into them and make them bite the dust." For a few minutes it seemed as if bloodshed was unavoidable. The only thing that prevented it was that the rank and file kept their heads and refused to do violence.

Our impression generally was that the men and women were sound, solid and determined—that the gold kings were fighting a hopeless battle, and that they hadn't a chance of defeating the Waihi miners had they fought a clean fight. The happenings at Waihi since we left prove conclusively that 'the Waihi gold-owners and Government had realised this and resorted to the brutalest aud most treacherous tactics ever adopted in this country, which will leave a blot upon the administration never to be purged. It is to be emphasised that the goldowners and also Commissioner Cullen had arrived in Waihi a day or so before this outrageous programme had been put into execution.