REASON OR FORCE?

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 56, 13 April 1914, Page 3

REASON OR FORCE?

SOCIAL-DEMOCRATIC MEETING.

ADDBESS BY MB B. SEMPLE.

A largely-attended meeting was held in the Colosseum'last evening under the auspices of the Social-Democratic Party, when an address was delivered by Mr Robert Semple, who made his first appearance since his return from Australia.

Mr Hiram Hunter presided. He said that the Social-Democrats would be running a candidate at the Mayoral election, and asked all workers to vote for him, so that they could be certain that they would be governed by their own elected representatives, the City Council, and not by a secret body known as the Citizens' Committee.

Mr Semple, whose subject was "Are We to be Ruled by Reason or by Force?", said that he had to extend to the workers of Christchurch the fraternal greetings of the workers of Australia. His visit to Australia had resulted in the removal of a great deal of misapprehension on the other side, and the position of the New Zealand workers was now better understood there than it ever was. Not only had he received sympathy, but he had got the '' wherewithal.'' He was assured that if ever they wanted money for a fight, all they had to do was to send a cablegram to Australia, and they could get thousands. Dealing with his main subject, Mr Semple asked whether the workers were to be ruled by reason or by the sword. He contended that last year's strike had not been brought about by the workers, but had been engineered by the monopolists, backed up by one of the most despotic Governments New Zealand had ever known. The forces of monopoly had been organised months before the strike, with the full knowledge of the Government, and as soon as everything was ready the streets of the cities were invaded by a mob of armed bushrangers. It had been in the power of the Prime Minister to settle the strike at the very beginning, but he had chosen to wait until the employers had made up their minds as to what they wanted. When a real fight became inevitable, the Government put the speaker and others in the ' { cooler.''

A Voice: They had a right to do so. Mr Semple: It's a pity you're not there. But they wouldn't put such miserable creatures in gaol; you never find crawlers there.

The men who should have been imprisoned, the speaker continued, were Pryor and the other representatives of the employers. Instead of that, the men who went to gaol were men like Holland, a man practically on the edge of the grave, who was liable to get any sentence from 18 months to two years next week. Holland's only offence had been to advise the bluejackets of H.M.S. Psyche not to fire on their fellow-wprk-ers, but on the cowards who gave them the order, to shoot. The fact was that New Zealand was being governed with batons and revolvers by a gang of political bushrangers, who should be removed from the Treasury benches at next election by the combined vote of the workers.

A resolution, moved by Mr E. J. Howard, was carried, affirming the proposal that the Social-Democrats should nominate a candidate for the Mayoralty. Mr J. Glover, of Wellington, delivered a short address, in which he stated that the Social-Democrats must stand on their own. No coalition with any other party was possible.