MORE SHOTS AT ROTHBURY

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 849, 18 December 1929, Page 1

MORE SHOTS AT ROTHBURY

Miners Fire at Random SOME OMINOUS PORTENTS Bishop’s Address at Funeral United F.A.—By Telegraph—Copyright Reed. 10.35 a.m. SYDNEY, Today. AT Rothbury, after a day of rumours, incidents full of ominous portent occurred near the mine last night. The police who were guarding the colliery, reported that seven shots were fired into the grounds of the pit from lorries containing miners returning from the funeral o. Norman Brown. Reports of a rifle or a revolver were heard also earlier in the afternoon, as the lorries were passing on their way to the funeral.

There are persistent rumours in Braston and Greta that i£ the present effort at settlement in Sydney fails, there will he further intensive picketing. Here lies the seed of a new danger, as the temper of the men has been inflamed by the tragic happenings of Monday. The owners last night definitely rejected Judge Beeby’s proposals, on the ground that they were unacceptable to individual owners. It is not expected that the suggested terms will be accepted by the State Government. Substantially, the proposals are that the mines be opened as expeditiously as possible, on the w-ages and under the conditions prevailing before the mines were closed, and that the selling price of coal be reduced by 4s a ton, such reduction to be met by a temporary Federal subsidy of Is a ton, also Is a ton by the owners, and 2s a ton by the New South Wales Government by means of reductions on rail and wharf charges. With his voice vibrant with emotion, the Bishop of Newcastle, Dr. George M. Long, who officiated at Brown’s funeral, expressed a hope, in God’s name, that there might be no recrudescence of the anger which had caused death and suffering on Monday. In the course of his address, Dr. Long said: —“This brother who has so innocently fallen in strife was no aggressor. He was not engaged at the time of his death in any breach of the law.” MINE WORKED AT LAST YESTERDAY WAS QUIET AT ROTHBURY HUGE FUNERAL OF MINER x SYDNEY, Tuesday. All was quiet at Rothbury today, a complete calm after the storm. The colliery whistle blew for the first time for many months. The mine managers descended the mine and made a careful inspection. They found everything quite normal. The volunteers went to work and the first coal was hauled a few hours later. The Minister of Mines, Mr. R. W. Weaver, remained for a time, and then left in an enclosed car, escorted by police, for Sydney, in order to be present in Parliament this evening. Echoes of the sensational struggle round the Rothbury pit are reverberating through the whole of the South Maitland coalfields. Broken fences, dented white police helmets, and hefty sticks tell of the fury of the onslaught by the miners against the police. The funeral of Mr. Norman Brown, the victim of the shooting, was held this afternoon at Greta. There was a huge gathering. His comrades marched ahead of the hearse. Two other miners, David Brown and Walter Woods, are still in a critical condition, after operations for the extraction of the bullets. ’ All the other injured miners, as well as the wounded police, are making a speedy recovery. MINER DROPS DEAD Mr. Thomas Flannery, aged 57. one of the oldest employees at the Rothbury colliery, dropped dead while discussing the riots yesterday. The South Coast coal mines were idle today as a protest against the shooting of Brown. Feeling is running high, the opinion being that the miners must now fight to the bitter end. Reports from the southern and western coalfields, also from Wonthaggi, in Victoria, and Ipswich.

; Queensland, say the collieries were ! idle. The men met and passed a ! resolution deploring the shooting of ! the miners at Rothbury. , SYDNEY DEMONSTRATION POLICE AT PARLIAMENT REPULSE HOTHEADS BATONS USED ON CROWD Reed. 9 a.m. SYDNEY, Today. At the massed unionists’ demonstration last evening, in Hyde Park, inflammatory speeches were made by Communist leaders. There was a crowd of 20,000 onlookers, but only a small section of them cheered. The majority were present out of sheer curiosity, expecting rioting. Speakers blamed the Federal Labour Government for yesterday's shooting, and expressed a hope that the workers would now form their own defence force, since the workers could no longer rely on the Federal Government using the defence forces under its control for the protection of the workers. Five hundred uniformed and plain-clothes policemen guarded Parliament House. TENSE SITUATION The situation was tense. Largo crowds lined the footpaths, in the hope of witnessing a clash. A small number of hot-heads from the Hyde Park meeting, which was nearby, eventually tried to force their way into the Legislative Assembly, but they were quickly repulsed by the police, who used their batons and made some arrests. The injured were treated in Sydney Hospital, which adjoins Parliament House. The police then marched to Hyde Park and dispersed the idlers. Complete order was restored by 10.30 p.m. The atmosphere of Parliament was electrical when Mr. J. T. Lang, Leader of the Opposition, moved in the Assembly:—“That this House deplores the loss of life at Rothbury yesterday, and censures the Government for permitting the use of the State police in furthering the efforts of the mine-owners in their attitude of open defiance against the law.” STORMY DEBATE IN HOUSE The debate after that was stormy. It had not gone far when a member, on a point of order, declared that the motion could not be discussed pending the coroner’s inquiry concerning the death of Brown, as the matter was sub judice. The point was upheld. The Premier, Mr. T. R. Bavin, in the course of his statement, said it would be an abdication of the function of the Government if it were to be deflected by a policy of threats of violence. The Government was convinced that the vast majority of citizens had no sympathy with the methods of violence and revolution practised on Monday. The whole responsibility for the death of Norman Brown, and the injury to gallant policemen, rested xvith the men who encouraged and incited the miners to violence. But for the action of the police, the lives of the volunteer workers would nave been endangered. Mr. Bavin denied that the Government had acted in a provocative manner. He felt bound to say that the position had been made more difficult by irresponsible statements made by members of the Federal Government. GOVERNMENT BLAMED MR. SCULLIN ON TRAGEDY AT ROTHBURY “A GRAVE ERROR” Referring to the shooting at Rothbury, the Prime Minister, Mr. Scullin, said this unfortunate clash had been precipitated by the action of the New South Wales Government in attempting to open the mine at reduced wages. This had been followed by another grave error in the refusal of the Bavin Government to attend the arbitration conference.