THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, MARCH 4, 1912. HON. A. FISHER'S ATTITUDE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10574, 4 March 1912, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, MARCH 4, 1912. HON. A. FISHER'S ATTITUDE.

-Much angry ink has been expended on Mi- Fisher because he refused the application of the Queensland Government for the assistance of the Comiinomvealth forces in maintaining or. dor, and because he publicly declared he "was delighted with the way in which the men in Brisbane behaved." But the newspaper press (says "Life") ha,s uot been quite fair to Mr Fisher. If, indeed, civil order in (Brisbane had actually 'broken down, or was in visible and imminent danger of breaking down, and Mr Fisher, the (Prime Minister of the Commonwealth, had refused hi.s assistance, he •would have violated the Constitution, and been disloyal to his great office. When the States surrendered their military forces to the Federal Government it was never intended that .should have no better defence against civil violence than their police. The Constitution requires the Federal Government to use its mil; tary .forces for tho maintenance of civil order in any State on appeal from the Government of that State. Mr Fisher judged that the aid of Federal troops was not necessary in Queensland; the authorities would be able to suppress violence by thoir ..,.,1 ...111-. ! 1

own resources; and facts have justified Mr Fisher's judgment. It is true Mr Fisher announced his "delight" with "the way in winch the men are (behaving," but it is clear that in his own mind he was distinguishing betwixt the men who had actually gone on strike and the crowds of larrikins -who seized the opportunity of a strike to fill the streets of Brisbane with tumult. Mr Fisher could not possibly have meant that lie was "delighted" with the howling mobs who broke shop windows, upset carts carrying goods, and made it impossible for law-abiding citizens to carry on their daily •business. It is true that these mobs, while not strikers themselves, were playing the game of the strikers. A general strike, to be effective, must be "general," and it yas for the purpose of making the arrest of business complete that those bands of hooligans tried to establish a reign of terror in Brisbane. The unionists, oif course, did not invito the assistance of these allies, but they profited by it, and,, as far as public opinion goes, they pay the price of that alliance. Honest opinion hardens j against a cause served by such agents. Mr Fisher would have been wise to have distinguished betwixt the unionists who had left their work and the crowds of shouting larrikins who made the streets of 'Brisbane unsafe. ' The larrikins and their .performances (twill probably cost the Labour party thousands of votes in the next election. It may be added that, if Mr Filler had been asked if he was "delighted" with members of a union who, having appealed to the Arbitration Court, went on strike before that appeal was heard, he must have replied "no," for he is the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth, the representative and guardian of its law.