KENNEDY IN THE COURT AT WAIHI

Maoriland Worker, Volume 3, Issue 90, 6 December 1912, Page 1

KENNEDY IN THE COURT AT WAIHI

A Witness on Trial

Remarkable Attitude of the Prosecution—Cotter Aggressive

Other Cases and Police Procedure

BY H. E. HOLLAND

When the Waihi Court opened on Tuesday morning with S. M. Burgess presiding, it was announced that a number of cases would be withdrawn. Xo explanation was offered for their withdrawal, notwtihsiandiug that the charged men and women had been put to the expense of travelling from Auckland and other centres with their witnesses. Henry Bostock and Henry Gray were charged with having assaulted Herbert Kennedy on November 12. Mr. Selwyn Mays (from the Crown Law Office) was supposed to be appearing for the Crown to prosecute, while Mr. Cotter. X.C defended. WHY CASE INSTITUTED. As soon as the case wns opened, a most extraordinary position was revealed. Mr. Mays proceeded to say that the charge arose out of conditions that were typical of everything that had taken place since the commencement oi I'he strike, and ho (Mr. Mays) then proceeded to make the remarkable announcement that this prosecution was virtually instituted because "the police hau boon vilified," and because is was "particularly wished to refute the diabolical statements made by Fedorationists as to the condition of things in Waihi." He protested that whenever the police had seen assaults they had interfered without respect to individuals. A scab at the back of the court loudly interjected "Hear, hear!" and although

there were police all around him, they made no attempt to shift him. WHY KENNEDY CALLED. Continuing, Mays declared that 'The affair had been magnified into a. riot, although it was only a series of small lights," and ho asserted that "the Federationists had brought the trouble on "uhemselves." -He made it clear that the calling of Kennedy as a witness was not so much for the purpose of securing a conviction against his assailants as to endeavor to wring from him a refutation of "the wild statements he had been making outside." « Mr. Mays, in concluding his remarks, asserted tiiat the police had., "after considerable difficulty/ succeeded in getting Mr Kennedy to Waihi as a witness. At the conclusion of his evidence Mr. Kennedy gave this statement! the lie direct. He explained that uiien he got the subpoena he at first told the police they'd have to arrest him if they wanted him. and then told them he would attend at Waihi, but the police department would be held responsible if he were injured. SUPREME COMEDY. Never before in Australasia was such a comedy in t'he conduct of a court case witnessed. The exiunination-in-chief of Mr. Kennedy was brief indeed; but when Mr. Cotter—heatedly blustering and furi-ously-offensive—entered upon his crossexamination, oven the representatives I of the capitalist papers opened their I eyes in astonishment when they beheld the alleged prosecutor coolly instructing the cross-examiner, and finally himself entering upon a hostile and savage cross-examination of his own witness, with threats as to perjury, etc., when the witness still maintained that every statement made by him in The Maok'-. land Worker interview was substantially correct. ' CULLEM IN COURT. \\'hlie i'a'j cast- Was being heard, Commissioner Cullen (whose conduct is involved.) sat in court and interjected for the assistance of counsel for the scab side. Barry, the mine superintend- I ent, had a chair behind the accused strike-breakers, and laughed loudly and triumphantly whenever it appeared to hnil that a point had been scored by tl c fluttering K.C. against the unionists. A police sergeant deliberately stepped up to the witness-box and whispered in tiiH ear of a constable who was floundeiing through his evidence. And, to cap the whole screaming farce, three policemen volunteered the information that the} - had been employed as drivers on the company's brakes when no Waihi man could be found to drive the scabs to and from the mine. The policeman as a scab driver i 3, of course, not a new institution, .'nit a • lot of people will certainly want to j j know how much the company paid ibe ! j Government for the falling-out of those "John Hops." The incident recalls the fact that the State troops of Colorado were farmed out to the western mine-

owners in the American ruining wars of a few years ago. MAYS THE NON-RESISTENT. Mr. Mays' exaroination-in-chief of Mr. Kennedy was extraordinarily superficial. Every opening \va? k-t't for counsel for the defendants. All that Mr. Mays asked the witness to say was that he had been acting-presidenu of the Miners' Union up to the 12th inst.; that on the morning of that day shooting took place at the Miners' Hall: that, he was personally attacked and took refuge iv Thompson's house in Moresby avenue ; that a number of constables escorted him to the railway station; that he was struck heavily from behind while proceeding to the station, but could not indicate his assailant. COTTER DONS WAR-PAINT, Thomas Cotter, K.C., who appeared to fight the scab side of the case, at once assumed the aggressive, and wanted to know all about witness' connection with the Miners' Union. Mr. Kennedy deposed that he became president nine or ten weeks ago, and that prior to this he had been an ordinary member. Mr. Mays interjected that he had been a committeeman also. Mr. Cotter demanded to know if the

strike did not occur because the miners refused to work with other unionists. THE MAGISTRATE ANGRY. Mr. Kennedy asked the magistrate to say whether this question was permissible. He pointed to the fact that all the court was concerned about at this juncture was the alleged assault on himself. The Magistrate (angrily): "You are a witness aren't you? Why, then, are you interfering in the conduct of the case? The question must be answered." WHY THE STRIKE. Mr. Kennedy said the strike was the result of a refusal 0,11 the part of the miners to work with men belonging to the so-called Engine-drivers' Union, which was a scab organisation. They did not refuse to work with other unionists; they worked along with members of the Amalgamated Engineers. He had been on the committee three months, and did not seek re-elec-tion when his term of office expired by effluxion of time. He contested the secretaryship, and was defeated. He certainly had strong feelings in favor of the Federation, and did not believe in the system of arbitration—the bosses' method.

"Do you remember the last election? Did you not then tell Bostock that ho was a scab and always w ; ould be a scab?" demanded Cotter, almost hysterically. "Xo; certainly not," was the reply, and the ''eminent K.C." promptly steeror.l another course. The witness admitted that there were strong objections to the men who were scabbing by accepting work in the mine during the strike. Naturally that feeling was very bitter, and they follow-ed the scabbing engine-drivers, and told them they were traitors to their class. The word "scab" had undoubtedly been used by Federationists to the blacklegs, but he certainly did not know that "absolute personal violence" had been resorted to as suggested by counsel. Cotter suggested—almost asserted— that absolute personal violence was part of the union tactics. This the witness emphatically denied. KENNEDY'S ANSWERS. After Waikino started with scab labor, Mr. Kennedy kept the books of the union store, receiving strike pay only for that work, and was therefore scarcely ever upon the street. He did not join in following up the scabs, although he held the unionists had every right to persuade the scabs to recognise the error of their ways.

Kennedy's answers were not at all satisfactory to the K.C., who resorted to that species of police court bullying that is peculiar to Australia. Whenever ho eaid something particularly offensive to the witness, the scabs at the back of the court laughed uproariously without restraint. Mr. Cotter next proceeded to make still more extraordinary demands —demands not for facts, but for Mr. Kennedy's personal opinions concerning unproved allegations. "SCAB"—AND CRAY'S REMONSTRANCE. * The best that could be wrung rrom the witness was that so far as be knew only, reasonable tactics were employed. Ho knew that additional police had been brought to Waihi, and had heard that certain business people had petitioned for them, but at the same time he held that there had been no necessity whatever for their presence in Waihi so far as the unionists were concerned. He would not admit that the scabs were prevented from going to work in the usual way; ho knew that some of them were taken in drags, while a few walked. He had certainly heard the word "scab" used on the streets. Gray, he said, had complained to tlie union about the use of the word "scab," and he had advised against employing it against Gray. He dicr not know whether that advice was accepted. Pickets had been appointed to watch the various entrances to the mine, but he did not admit that a' picket was appointed to watch Delaney. The picket was stationed on the roadway leading to the mine. He did not know that interference, accompanied by personal violence, had taken place. The pickets submitted written reports to the union, but he could not say where these were. The hall had since been raided, and they were probably stolen. It was not a fact that because of the objectionable tactics of the Federation police had to be stationed in people's houses. Hβ had never previously heard that police were stationed in private houses in either Waihi or Waikino. Hβ believed strike pay had been stopped in the case of one man who had failed to go on picket duty. "Mr. Gray actually tells mc he saw you outside his house when about 400 people were yelling and screeching like escapees from a lunatic asylum," shouted counsel. "I positively swear Gray never saw mc at his place then or at any other time," emphatically declared the witness, and onco more the "eminent K.C." bolted from the track. COUNSEL'S EFFORTS. An effort on counsel's part to show that Delaney (dubbed by the Auckland weekly, "the principal strike-breaker") and Gray were regarded as "leaders" of tli,e scabs—lie called them "workers"—failed. The witness said there was no more antipathy to one man than to another. He had heard that egg-throwing had taken place at Waikino as some of the scabs were going to or leaving the mine, and he mentioned the fact at a public meeting addressed by him, but no special report was made to him in connection with that incident. The witness was repeatedly interrupted by the barrister with interjections of: "Will you tell the truth, Mr. Kennedy?" and with offensive taunts and repeated sneers. FORCED OR STOLEN? Mr. Kennedy said it was true that he had declared that he did not want police protection. If the law had been broken, there was a Jjßgal remedy, and he was certain the extra police were not wanted in Waihi. He gave no instructions to his fellow-unionists concerning what counsel referred to as "their objectionable practices." He had certainly taken no steps to prevent

"this lawless behaviour." After the outrage of Tuesday he had said tibat if it were not for the assistance of Massey's police the Federationista could have wiped the scabe off the face of the earth. Counsel read from an alleged copy of a letter from the Waihi Union to tie Secretary of the Federation, of Labor, and asked if witness had seen that communication. The writer's name was not given, and the letter was either stolen or it was a forgery. Mr. Kennedy said ho knew nothing of it. Then counsel sought to show that it was the duty of the president to at- ) tend to outgoing correspondence—an attitude which made every unionist smile. Apparently losing control of himself, counsel shouted something concerning "your deluded fellow-unionists." THE WOMEN AND THE FRAY. Witness stoutly maintained that, even if Delaney were in danger on a certain Saturday as alleged, the polipe could have seen to him without brutally riding down women and children on the footpath. In answer to a sneering observation that the women ought to have been in their own homes, witness said that every industrial battle was as much the women's as the men's. But the union had never stipulated that the wives of the men who had gone to jail must go out and among the scabs. Of course, he knew certain tactics to be illegal, but he also knew that the members who adopted these did so because they felt they were the correct tactics to use. The bailiff McWilliams had made a complaint to the union about his house being serenaded, and an officer of the union had been told off to investigate the matter. What the result of the investigation was he did not know, because he was engaged on other more important business. Hβ understood that the hostility shown to Mrs. McWilliams was due to the fact that she had assailed the Federationists with epithets, the latter retaliating. He considered the whole thing a trivial matter. USE OF BRAKES. Counsel assumed a virtuously-indig-nant attitude, and sought to make a point out of the illness of McWilliams, who at that time was suffering from influenza or Borne similar complaint. Asked as to why the scabs had to be driven to work in brakes, he said he had no doubt whatever that they were too much ashamed of their ecabbery, to walk through the streets and face the unionists. Possibly they ako feared that they might be interfered with aifd possibly also had they walked the unionists might have called "scab" to them. "And you call that telling the whole truth?" "Will you tell the whole truth?" were characteristic offensive remarks that fell from the K.O. when the witness' answers did not please him. AS TO MAORIS. After the adjournment for lunch, counsel unsuccessfully sought to draw from witness an admission that Mr. Wesley had served on local storekeepers a list of scabs who were not to be served. Then Mr. Cotter broke loose on Thb Worker special issue. His cross-exam-ination of Mr. Kennedy became almost frenzied. First of all he referred to the statement that two-thirds of the scabs wert half-caste Maoris.

Mine Superintendent Barry, from the body of the court, and without being checked, interjected that there were no 20 Maoris at the mine.

Mr. Kennedy eaid he was confident h« was not mistaken. Hβ had seeu the sdabs going to work oh a certain day, afid even if a mind official said otherwise he would pledge his oath against the official's statement; Hβ was also still satisfied that many of the remaindei , of the scabs wero toughs and hooligans fro'Ui the' cities. He had personally seen on* of the circulars sent to the , Maori jahs around the Thames oallirtg for scabs, and he personally knew that scabs w&re smuggled into Wsihi with the , connivance , of the police and the railway people. He was proceeding to state two specitic cases, when Mr. Cotter cut him short. The smugglingin Was, of course, done to prevent the nftii-uftionists being interviewed by the pickets. The event's of Saturday, Monday and Tuesday he had stated to bo undoubtedly systematically planned rifcfti tfe sanction- of tho Government ettd eaiTidd out by the 7 police, and he etdtfti to" that statement. Everything indicated and he had every reason to beItevft , that the statement was substantially true". ''Iβ that the way you are going to thelter yourself?" roared counsel. KtfNWDY STANdS HIS GROUND. Mr. Cotter next proceeded to question witness concerning his statement re the assault on Con-rick, but counsel carefully abided all inference to the revolver incident. Mr. Kennedy said his ■tAteaaent re Conrick held good. -C&iieeet w#at off at ft tangent on what Kennedy knew on the rules of evidence. Cullen, without rebuke, interjected that K«nn«diT had been in the police force and bad been through the depot. His statenw-ttt that a general melee had taken place, and that scabs and toughs had operated under police control the witness refused to retract or modify. "Ydti'haVe mad© that statement to go all over New Zealand," shrieked the K.C., Who thtts paid a tribute to the wide circulation of The Worker. "Vet- . hip's ?oli think the police should have been defefjdanijs hdre instead of these men?" "I think both the police and scabs Should b# defendants," ttas the disconcerting reply. "THUGI" "THUC!" "Thtig! Thug! your Worship," bellowed coutisel, when he reached that part of T#E Worker statement in which the word "thug" occurred. "What is a thug?" Kennedy explained the meaning of the word when need in industrial conflicts. "It nteana & religious garrotef," volunteered Mr. Mays, who was supposed to be appearing for Mr. Kennedy. "Stfftb wasn't a vile enough word for you to uee." Later on the Barrister Cotter sneeringly remarked: ' 'Oh, dear! Ob, dear! Let tie hope that some day you will be engaged in getting your living decently." Those who remembered that it Was a lawyer (and who ever heard of r lawyer getting his living decently) rh'o . SJJdke couldn't help laughing. COTTER'S TACTICS AGAIN. The next effort was to make Kennedy say that he was personally responsible for Ncakis' statement, but this failed, afld- the magistrate suddenly felt tolled upon to bring Cotter up with a jerk. When coiiiisel failed to get the an•wers he desired, he repeatedly adopted an offensive attitude towards the witness', and every time some sneering jibe* fell ffo'tn fiia lipc the scabs in court laughed almost uproariously; but no one interfered, and ihe court was not cleared. 6heof the silly jokes coarsely attempted by Cotter was in connection with the fcetdliM: "Herb. Kennedy's) narrative," when the highly "educated" man asked: "Is this your patent heffc?" CULLEN WATCHFUL. A feature of the case was the fact that Commissioner Cullen sat at the table figlit through the case, arid appeared to be' there to aid the defence. Cotter next moved along to the suhheadlino: "Murder done by thugs and police. ,, "Where was murder done;'" he remarked. "When Evans was killed," came the reply. ,

Then followed a lengthy disquisition on what is murder, and an indignant statement* by counsel (who really ought to .Biive gone into fhe v,itne(3s-box to make it) that Evans had fired a revolver at the policeman before he was batoned.

In spite Hi fibuilSel's legal Hysteria, the witness maintained that his statement was justified by the farts; and he maintained that upon oath. TRYINC TO SIDE-TRACK. When that portion of The Worker statement' re people being driven into the bush was reached, the witness was not given an opportunity to enter into details. It seemed as if the purpose of the cross-examination was to sidetrack the witness and make him say something, he.wasn't prepared to say. Every form of legal bluster and bullying was resorted to 3 and the witness was asked: "Are you romancing?" ''Are you trifling with" your oath?" "Didn't you run away?" This latter jibe, notwithstanding that everybody, including the, questioner, knew hoY vilely untrue it was. THE CROWN LAWYER. All this time the Crown lawyer, who Vtf Supposed to be representing Kennedy, was prompting Cotter and aiding him in Mi remarkable cross-pxaminn-tion. Indeed th? paradoxical spectacle was presented of the lawyer for the. prosecution instructirip; the huVyer far the accused dgairist the nominal plaintiff. LAWLESS LAW. The headline "Lawless law" wan to Mr. Cotter as a red rap; is to a silly old bull or a copy of fine Wokkeh to a scab "unionist, ,, and his snorting and jibinps and sustained and unsuccessful endeavors to got the witness to retract the statements lip had madt» bocamo worse than wearisome in their iteration And reiteration. Asked what he meant by Government Corruption, Mr. Kennedy said he meant; the manner in which the Government had undertaken to assist the mine-own-ers against the miners. TV who!* , thing undoubtedly revealed Government corruption and police criminality. "And this about Labor Party treach6ry?" luoried Mr. Cotter. ''Kofcrs to £ho Labor Party and Profeseor Mills and Walsh, who took

Other Cases

sides against the. miners," said the witness. ! The witness pointed out that there hadn't been a solitary court case against any miner until after AY aihi had been flooded with police. j When counsel became more than usually exasperated, and asked, "Did you get half you deserved f" Barry and the scabs laughed uproariously. THE ASTOUNDING MAYS. j When Mr. Cotter sat dotrn, another j most ludicrous spectacle was presented.: Mr. Mays arose and at once entered upon a hostile cross-examination of his own witness, without- even asking the' court's sanction for such an extraordin-j ary proceeding. He even threatened Mr. Kennedy with the consequences of perjury if ho failed to reply "satisfactorily," and in this way endeavored to get from witness the retiraction of his, "Wonit-Bit statement that Mr. Cotter had! unsuccessfully stormed to get. Mr.; Kennedy insisted that he personally; saw one constable strike 1 his whip down j on Mr. Burke j "Do you know that Burke has since j been to'the hospital to tee the people, who were supposed to be injured and do j [ jou know that he has denounced your j Federation and has given his opinion of I your crowd and denounced the lies you | have been telling?" thundered the lawyer. > "No; I do not," said the witness. (Later on, Hit. Burke told the writer | that Mays' statement was altogether incorrect.) MAYS UP ACAINST THE FEDERA-| TION. Mr. Mays traversed much ground in his endeavor to get an admission that Kennedy's statements were incorrect, and volunteered indirectly the some-; what startling information that "that; was all we brought you here for." j Mr. Kennedy maintained that when j Commissioner Cullen came to the hall and demanded an apology from Mr. Noakes, the latter maintained that hej r was right in saying that Cullen struck, him, and he refused to retract. He j nied that he had had a revolver. ! Cullen lwre interjected that Kennedy musk have known that other men had revolvers, and onco again Mr. j Mays demonstrated which side he was on by recklessly asserting (what he would not have, dared to say on oath): "If you had spoken the truth, Con-; stable Wade would never have been ; shot, and Evans would lm-e been alive to-day. You can take that to your; Federation from mc!" I The witness stated that Constable! Skinner rode on to the footpath among the women and children and women ; were knocked down. • MORE SNEERS. Mr. Mays once again sneered about! "cowardly meh"—he meant the strik-j ters, of course, not the< police—and af-; ter having unsuccessfully endeavored to show that Mr. Semple was on the ' street when on© attack was made on the j unionists, and having learned that he i was inside the hall transacting union; business, Mr. Mays then in < a wild and whirling sort of way: "Well, Semple should have been outside." (Of 1 Course, he should. It's most inconsid-; crate of Semple not to be in exactly | the place where his enemies want him.)! Mr. Kennedy concluded by giving an| emphatic denials to the unsupported! statement of Mays that they had "had considerable difficulty to get him as a I witnessi" He characterised this state-! ment as quite without foundation. j THE SCENE CHANGES. Constable "Williamson Was the next witness, and the two lawyers assumed an almost ludicrous change of attitude. From the extreme of bluff and bounce. and bluster in Kennedy's case, they be- 1 came softly purring. Williamson, gently led along by Mays, described how Ken-1 nedy had taken refuge in Thompson's house in Moresby avenue, how Kennedy ' had said the workers were beaten by j their own class, and also how one of the' scabs had retorted: "I wouldn't be in i your class, you scoundrel." Ho also ; told how the scabs had endeavored to! assault Kennedy, Bostock and Gray \ hitting out and endeavoring to strike him. but he declared all the same that Kennedy couldn't possibly have been rtruek. Then he proceeded to state the case against the' strikers. Prior to tho strike things were exceptionally ', quiet. After the swiko occurred, the; conduct of strikers was only indifferent. The "workers" (scabs) tried to go to their work in the ordinary way, but they were followed up and annoyed and, called scabs. It w-as found by the police authorities that the scabs could not he protected if they walked to work. He' (Williamson) '.vns the driver of one of the brakes. In addition to brakes, mounted conrtables had to h° employed, i two on each r.inV, besides two consta- < bles inside of each brnke. Between 200' and 300 strikers would congregate, and; he gave s. list of words' he alleged both men and women used. He had driven | one of the brakes —the regular drivers would not take, on the work. ! VILE WOSIDS. By the witness and those who followed, vile words were alleged to have . used by both men and v/onlen on the ' unionists' side, but in not a single curse was the name of the person nsine the words «iven. neither was any explanation offered as to why the guilty pors:ous were riot prosrcutorl—and it is too late; in the day to ask us to believe that the i police would have missed such an excel-j lent chance agarns't the strikers. i HAD DRIVE?! BRAKE. A constable who hails from Aphbur-t-on declared that there was only "a little bit of pushing arid shoving" on the part, of the scrihs. in which the defendmts took no active part. When asked to state what he knew against, the unionists it was a different tale he had to tell. He had seen the unionists howling, hooting and yelling. He wondered what had struck him. Ho also had driven a scab b/ake, and lie also repeated the charges against the Waihi women of having used unprintable lai> j gunge. Gray was a model of propriety j and still a constable had bad to sleep I at his house to nrotect it. Insults were j thrown, at Grny's wife., who was asked , "Who slept with tho long constable?" He alleged lie bad heard the unionists i declare they would give the scabs all they wanted when the police were gone. Eggs and ston<=s were thrown, and the scabs were aiinosi- nri-soners in their j own home. He bad seen them actually, shaking with fe-ar as they came to thei brake. As a result of the Federation j tactics, the police had to innko counter- 1 plans. Th" scabs could not safoly go j

along the streets, and a reign of terrorism existed in Waihi. To Mr. Mays: Denied that the police used their riding crops on the strikers on the 11th. THE CONSTABLE FROM SYDENHAM. Constable O'Connor, of Sydenham, j who had driven one of the scab brakes, I rolled off an aggregation of choice epithets which he alleged the union women were in Uie habit of using But he could give no names of the women alleged to have used the words complain-ed-of. He said he had heard children two years of ago in go-carts call out "scab." "It was really a perfect nuisance trying to get past those creatures," said the constable from Syden- | ham. i OTHER CHARCES. ; At this stage, W. J. Swears and Thos. Tobin were charged with "threatening behaviour" in Seddon , street on November 9. Constable Pen don gave evidence as to a fight having occurred. Sergt. MfiKinnon gave lengthy evidence, reported below, which had no bearing whatever on these cases, and which would not have been admitted had the ordinary rules of evidence been applied. MOKINNON'S VERSION. Sergt. McKinnon asserted that ihe scabs wero not able to go about the streets free from insult. Things quietened down a little prior to October '2, but became worse when the mine opened. The scabs tried to go quietly to their work, but, the strikers' pickets were out watching for them, and calied out "scab" and ''mongrel" after them. When returning from work they were also followed by this mob, booing and scabbing at them, calling them mongrels, and kicking at them. In fact, he received a couple of kicks himself. This continued unto the Central Hotel, where a number of ths scabs were housed. There a rush was made for the - door by the women. A stone was thrown by one of the strikers, whom the Commissioner caught. Police had to remain to guard the scabs there, while other police had to guard the remainder of the> scabs on their way home. He came to the conclusion that the company would have to do something to assist them in protecting "these men" from being injured by the mob. This was the reason the brakes were employed. Afterwards police wero detailed for special duty around the homes of the scabs to protect i-hem from thestrikers. (What about strikers' homes ?) About 80 extra constables had been brought in to Waibi. Even then they were not able to give adequate pro-! tection to the scabs. In fact, he even put men on duty at the. romes of the scabs. The common cry against the arbitrationists was " Traitors! " "Scabs!" etc. This conduct was in the. i public, streets, and the police were unable in any way to control this language. A large number had been drag- j ged before the court, but they went to i jail rather than obey the law, notwithstanding that Mr. Fraser, the magistrate, warned the strikers. Indeed, they were still continuing to prosecute the j strikers. The women were just as bad;, iihe strikers even asked little children to call out "scab." The scab's were that frightened they begged for police to protect them. Missiles were thrown, such as rotten eggs and stones.

"Were the police themselves threatened by these people?" said Cotter.

"I was hit on the head with a stone the size of my fist," said the witness.

The witness continued that the scabs could not appear in the streets without being subjected to epithets. He remonstrated with some of the strikers, and the reply was: "Well, take them off the street. They have no right to be among men and women." He knew Delaney, who was a man of excellent character. The police, on the Saturday in connection with which Mr. Kennedy charged them with riding down women find children, had done nothing more than they had a right to do, and would have shown weakness had they done anything less. He had seen Delaney and his wife followed by a howling mob --■indeed, "we" bad to block the mob twice on that night. Delaney had given no provocation whatever. He detailed a constable to sleep at Gray's home. He bad spoken to "them" several times, but it, was no use speaking to them; "they would rush about like a lot of madmen." No attempt was made by the "leaders" to restrain these people; in fact, after the leaders of the Federation arrived hero, the strikers became more aggrersive. He meant Srnnple and Webb. No assistance was given to the police, by the leaders. Indeed, after they came- men and women commenced going round with titfee sticks. A man showed him that, and paid he had picked it up. It was surprising to him that the scabs stood this treatment- so lone BRIHGSMG !N WEBB AMD SEMPLE. The trend of evidence at this stage seemed to be to justify the violence of November ft, 11, 12, and the outrages that followed. Evidence continued that Delaney had prosecuted s. girl who threatened him with a hatpin, and also against a striker. Had been 32 years in the police, ami never saw such conduct. He. had done service at Deriuiston during the strike of 1800. Gently cross-examined by Mays, witness said: The police inteiiVror] on every occasion on November 11- After the police scattered crowd on tinstreets, it became a hunt. Once fh« scabs broke away, after what they^ad been subjected to. no one knew where th-ev were goma; to stop. Semple and Webb **:•■? there on the 2nd. Mays endeavored to show tnat Messrs. Semple and Webb wem oii the street when the assault was made, but the witness said he only knew thov were in the. town. Counsel then endeavored to get wit-nef.-s to sffy" what be saw Webb and Semple do when the "stampede" took place but. he said he had only heard what others had told him. In reply to the Magistrate, witness seemed over anxious in his evidence, especially concerning Tobin. REV. CLEARY. Rev. Cleary. of the Church of England, next took the stand in favor of tho scab side of the contest. His story was, in effect, that up ro the time of the resumption of work at Waikinn the conduct of the unionists was good except when scabs appoarrd on fhc streets. Then demonstrations were made. After work was started, th" unionists became more restless, and many went to Waikino to participate in demonstrations against the scabs. On October 2 be was at the top of Seddon street- and saw a crowd, and on that occasion the town seemed turned into .1 bedlam—--"men. women find children used the vilest epithets'' against the blacklegs and also against their friends and supporters. That con-

duct continued daily up to tho recent trouble. He visited homos of the men who hud returned to work : they were j members of Ins church. Tho women were afraid of their lives. Saw some demonstrations, but avoided them generally because he didn't want to be caught in the crowd. The follower of the "mcpk and lowly" then went into a generalisation, of things ho alleged hn had seen. In some reases he had felt it his duty i>o inform i the police arninft the strikers and to demand their dispersnl. He declared the scabs could not possibly have rt-nod this conduct without retaliation, and said there were a dozen women on w!-om he cntild inform aivl whose names he could give to the atithI orities in connection with the use of vile language. He assured the court that' the visits to the homes of the scabs were the result of organisation. A COMMENT. It may be as well to remark here that the writer, during the first month of his stay in New Zealand, met most of the men and very n>any of_ the women of the Minors' Union at Waihi. and those, who know these men and women will require much stronger evidence than the sworn word of a biassed nx-priest-parson and the evidence of a few uniformed policemen given with Commissioner Cullen sitting in the front of the witness-box, before they will believe the charges of those who have chosen to slander the unionists i'rom the side of scabbery. It must be remembered that all evidence consernlng the burglary at the hall, all evidence concerning the theft at Mc stores, all evidence concerning the murder of Evan3, all evidence concerning the action of the toughs and thugs (including many of the police and scab Crown witnesses in these cases) in ordering citizens to leave the town under threat of personal violence and death, has been debarred; and the cases from the Crown side have been the veriest farce. They have amounted t-o nothing more than a scandalous frame-up at the public expense for the purpose of procuring a fabricated vindication of a certain police officer, and a spurious "refutation" of Federation charges. However, the "evidence" remains to" be recorded. Henry Gray, now of the scab "union," said he was a member of the Miners' Union when the strike was entered Upon. At first Ih> told the court he voted for the strike; then he corrected himself and declared he was not present at the meeting at which the vote was taken. He said there was no personal feeling between himself and Mr. Kennedy. When he returned to work t'he unionists resented his action, and men and ivotn«n used to congregate outside his house and call him scab and other names. Once they told nim to go inside and say his prayers, as he was to be blown up. They also told him he was bound for hell. He had had a brother killed in the mine, and he was charged with scabbing for the company that had murdered his brother. Conrick was one of those who sang out at him. A constable slept in his house tor four or five nights, and one person would call out. "Who slept with the bobby'"" and the others would answer, "Mother Gray" Stones and eggs were thrown at him, but "beyond going to work," he had given them no provocation. On the day of the riot, he had said to Kennedy, "You're trying to get out of this town, and you have no right to be allowed to go—you ought to be jailed." Kennedy said: "Get out of the way, you blackleg." He (Gray) then Went and called some of the other scabs together, and. told them "Kennedy was trying to get out of the town," and Urged' them not to let him leave the house. Several policemen came and protected the house Kennedy was in from the scabs. Later he saw Kennedy going down to the railway, with several policemen, and ran and caught up to him in front of the stables, and there heard him say the workers were beaten by their own class. He (Gray) said: ''Don't you class mc in your class,' , and rushed at Kennedy and tried to assault him. A number of other scabs were present at this time.

Gray admitted that all th© scabs were very excited that morning. It Was sought to show that the scabs thought Kennedy was in the hall when the shooting took place, but as soon as it was observed that reference to anything that took place after a certain time would subject to review the scabs' houscbrenking and looting outbreak, the item was dropped sudden like.

Gray admitted that he had never heard Kennedy calling "scab," nor ret had he swn him at the demonstrations; still he was led on to say that he "suspected that Kennedy inspired from . within the things that were done outside." And all the rules of evidence were apparently suspended to permit of extraordinary items like this going down z-e ''evidence. ,, J MRS. KEENE. I After luncheon on Wednesday, Sergt. Miller was heard directing a constable to "get Mrs. Keene's statement" I from another police officer, as Mr. I Mays wanted it. Mr. Mays, it will be remembered, was supposed to be prospeuting. When the rourt opened, Mrs. Keen* s , a- striker's wife, was called and at once, J taken in hand, not by Mr. Mays, out Iby Mr. Cotter. Counsel for the prohad apparently secured the evirienc" frir emm-el for the defence. j Mr. Cotter at once asked: "If anyone, has .raid that your child was beaten black mid blue, v.'ould that ctn lament be untrue:' - ' S! !0 replied that her child hid not been so beaten. "FJ:)t. ' she 3f]fl<-<!, "f know that one child r,-a.i be.itpn. and I ;nr sure that all that has happened is that a misHk- has been made in the child's name." The prosecutor ('.NOT Mr. Cotter) at once turned on Mrs. Kecne. and demanded to know if <he hv] been <-on- . vorsiuz wit.li any ; -»f the s-triirers as to the evidence she was to give. Of course she had not. LaW on, the Crown lawyer, having unsuccessfully called Mrs.' Keone to disprove the statement of Mr. Kennedy—a Crown witness—called the local schoolmaster to disprove the statement of the second Crown witness, Mrs. Keene. And the schoolmaster declared the child had not been beat-, en. But the child was not produced, nor yet were its parents. 7ME BAILIFF. Hailiff MeWilliams volunteered some extraordinary allegations against the. union women, whom he described as "screeching, howling, unspeakable," etc. Fie made the somewhat amusing assertion that the only reason the unionists were hostile to him was becnusr-. he i.vss a loyal Britisher and flew 111f> Union Jack. ('MeWilliams is a colored man. J

BOSTOCK. Henry Bosiock, who also wore the fcab badge, said that diirim: last election, when the union decided to run Mr. Hickey as a parliamentary candidate, he had refused 1o go the way the majority decided, and had supported Mr. Poland. Because of this, Mr. Kennedy had tnM him he was a scab. This was in the presence of H. Parry and others. Poland was elected and the men in tho contractors' party refused to work with him. They treated him as a political scab, and ho had lo Uβ away and l<wk for work. Ho came back later and got a job on wages from the company. He was at ihe meet in , .: when il'. , strike was declared, and voted against it. Only three men voted against the strike. Ono of them, Harvey, had since suicided. Sleep was the other. He asserted he had been called scab and various other names, but, like the other Crown witnesses, gave no names. He had tried''to hit Kennedy. The police only pushed him off. Then the reckless witness proceeded to say he "blamed Kennedy for the shooting, because ho allowed men to sleep in the hall for two nights with firearms, and' he had no right to do it." Ke also provided some evidence as to whose "man" he is by volunteering the information that he "had been up to the mine and had made inquiries as t.o how many Maoris were HOW working there, and he found there were only ten Maoris and seven half-castes." Mr. Barry interjected from the body of the court that this could be officially supported, Tho witness didn't say why the scab union didn't supply the information to him, seeing that every man who now goes to work is compelled by the company to join the scab union, which also includes in its ranks all the scab sympathisers among the business men. Thk Worker representative counted 25 Maoris, mostly half-breeds, in the vicinity of the court, at a time when about a hundred persons in all were present. DELANEY AND CONRICK. James Alfred Dela«ey appeared launting the scab badge. Cotter appeared for his defence. Mays stated two police witnesses saw Delaney strike Conrick, "but whether he had provocation, I do not know," significantly added counsel.

James Alfred Delaney told how he had been used by strikers. On Saturday afternoon, November 0, the scabs went into the streets in a body, and an attack was made. If the strikers had desisted from calling them scabs, nothing would have happened on Monday, the. 11th. It l was only since then that the scabs had had the free, use of the streets of Wnihi. On that Monday morning he didn't see the actual commencement of the attack on the unionists. The word "scab" was used, and it came from the direction of Conrick, at whom he rushed. Conrick ran down the street and as he ran he (Delaney) struck him. Conrick fell on his knees, and then got up, and he (Delaney) chased him. Conrick seemed frightened. When he got to the Rob Ro3' corner the police stopped him. All the scabs, he admitted, were pretty excited that morning.

To Mr. Mays: There were a number of fights that morning. The scabs' sudden "reversion of form" was due to the fact that a number of them had made it up to make an attack on unionists if the hooting continued. PolJco were scattered about when the assault took place, but they could hardly have prevented it.

Constable Gcdsden said he saw Conrick standing on the footpath, talking, and just after the trouble occurred with Noakes, someone sangoilt, "Here's Conrick!" Saw Delaney rush across the road towards Conrick, with a number of otiher scabs. Conrick ran down the footpath towards the Miners' Union Hall. When he got down as far as O'Brien's shop, he. was caught, a big crowd gathered round, including some foot constables. There was some jostling, but didn't notice any fighting. Cross-examined: The town had been unsettled for 12 months. Immediately after the strike began a change took place. Members of th© newly-formed "union" would come out on the street, and would be hooted by mobs. They continued this hooting for some time. A man named King came, to the town, and always had a number of these, congregated in the hall, sooling them on. The men then got to following up the scabs. A week later the women with perambulators started following up. This seemed to be designed. Men who lived in the west end followed up to east end. The police were following the unionists on horseback. Sheard's case came on, but that didn't stop them ; they continued to do wrong, although ihey knoiv it, was wrong. He had urged them to desist, but they asserted they were doing right. After the r-enbs started work, tlui strikers' conduct became worse. On the day the scabs started a mob of men and women, about 300, hooted them, and called them "scabs," "traitors to their class," "crawlers," and trod on their heels and jostled them. "In fact," enthusiastically said the extraordinary witness for the. prosecution, "they were like mad things — anyone would be surprised at them!" When mounted pickets appeared the police blocked them. The police were also abused by the unionists: they were called "Massey's bulldogs," "scab protectors," Cullen's pimps." "scum of the earth," and "a disgrace to the country." At Gardner's the strikers used to hide in the ti-trce to avoid the police. One morning, about 7, as soon as Gardner showed out, a number of women—-about 30 --rushed him with sticks, and when his Wife came out she was told to go in and hide her scabby face. One woman. with, a stick, struck at Gardner, and broke a bottle of tea which ho had in his pocket. "Mr. Gardner became enraged at this," and police prevented further trouble by taking him along to the brake. The way in which the witness said "Mr. Gardner," "Mr. Hansen," "Mr. Gray," etc., amused many people in court. Counsel told witness he wanted only general statements, and no specific evidence was given. The witness, who apparently knew everything, went on to say that one man's house had been pelted with eggs, and his wife was in a state of collapse and wns frightened to go to bed. He had asked several strikers why they followed the scabs—he could name the men he had spoken to. The reply he got. wn* that they didn't care for the law ; they were prepared to go In jail. The Government would have to keep them if they put them there, and that they were going to makf it too hot for the Kr-abs to live in th* , town, and if they Wt this town the Federation Mould blacklist their names all over New Zealand. This conduct continued

from October 2 till November 12, when Che shooting occurred. There were certain days when no boo-hooing took place. The strikers then only "gig-gl-d," while some held their noses as the fxabs went by. All the efforts of the police, and the jailing of the strikers, and the attitude of the Government failed to stop this. "They continued this, although they knew it was wrong and unlawful," said the enthusiastic witness; "they really would go out and again call 'scab' as soon as they were warned by Magistrate Frascr." He actually heard a singly girl csll ottli, "Dirty, D-otten, maggoty scabs!" "A single girl," your Worship," said the policeman. "A single girl!" echoed Cotter, who then proceeded to ask if it was a fact that "these women" had unsexed themselves.

"Certainly, they had lost all sense of decency," said the exuberant man in the bos. "They lost all sense of shame," said the too-willing witness.

The policeman, in answer to counsel, said he was surprised the scabs stood t/iings so long—he knew he couldn't (which sounded like a direct justification of the scabs' law-break-ing). Delaney's and Gray's conduct was good. He knew Conrick, who was a prominent striker—ono of the leading men in the crowd who called "scab" at the scabs. MILLERS EVIDENCE. Sergeant Miller said he saw Conrick running down tho street, followed by a crowd of scabs (he called them "workers"). Cdnrick was struck, but it was hard to say who struck him. Delaney was telling Conrick to run faster, and Conrick was saying, "I'm doing my best, Delaney." Conrick fell when he was struck and said: "For God's sake don't kill mc, Delaney." He cut the crowd off, and got Conrick into the stables safely, and as he went through the door he thanked tho constable for so doing. "This is the man," said Mays "that The Maortland Worker says was kicked in the ribs as he regained consciousness. Is there any truth in tttiat?" "No," said the policeman. This witness was taken over the sam© wearisome ground, and with the same parrot-like precision, that the other police witnesses had traversed, and as the comedy proceeded its farcical climax became a foregone conclusion. No specific casps were asked for from the witness, but) he was permitted to generalise widely and wildly just as the others had done. The oases were so arranged that no opportunity was afforded to permit an answer from the Federation side. No effort was spared to blacken the wives and daughters of the miners. Miller asserted that women called the scabs "lousy, dirty scabs," and called their wives prostitutes, but he gave no name whatever of any woman who had done this, nor was be asked to say why he failed to prosecute in such cases. The same witness declared that the hooting was certainly organised. He had "heard" that gelignite had been thrown at Waikino. He had appealed to Mr. Fraser, of the Federation executive, to withdraw the women from the streets,and Fraser refused, and when witness said that they would be arrested if they continued the witness asserted Fraser Eaid ■(hat was what he wanted: they would then get the sympathy of the workers, and soon fix the Massev Government up." The witness's evidence was generally strongly against Conrick in favor of his assailants. DELANEY V. CONRICK. Although Delaney was charged with assaulting Conrick, Conrick was not subpoenaed to give evidence! Who will explain why? PREFERENCE TO THE "SNAKE_ CHARMER." When the court opened on Wednesday the big Maori who carries the nickname of the "Snake Charmer" occupied a chair inside the railing, and near him sat Mr. Barry, the mine superintendent. The big Maori held a big pipe in his hand and wore a big scab badge in the lapel of his coat. On the previous day, when the union vice-president, McLennan, fat inside the rail, he was ordered out by the. police, who even refused to let him stand outside the rail near the union's solicitor.