I.W.W. PRISONERS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIX, Issue 148, 22 June 1918, Page 6

I.W.W. PRISONERS.

LABOUR CONFERENCE DISCUSSION. A discussion'at the Labour Conference in Sydney upon the question of the imprisonment of the I.W.W. men developed some. exciting moments. The matter was initiated by Mr. Buckley, M.L.A., who moved in the direction of efforts for their immediate release. He expressed the conviction that they had been wrongly convicted. The president (Mr. Lambert) explained that a committee had been appointed by the executive last year to go into the matter, and he asked Mr. S. A. Rosa to make a statement on its behalf.

Mr. Rosa delivered a diplomatic ad- 1 dress. He urged that the men had not had a fair trial, owing to certain remarks of Messrs. Holman, Hughes and Hall j having prejudiced their case. In his opinion a non-legal tribunal, such as a Royal -Commission, should be sought, in j order that the circumstances of the trials i could be investigated. He admitted that certain confidential matters had been J submitted to the committee, but these ho could not divulge. Trouble began when Mr \V. Morby, president of the Sydney Labour Council, I said be would oppose any move for a new ■ trial in the interests of the men themselves. In such a trial members of the j committee would have to appear in the I witness-box to state whether they had received certain information. The sentences, on the other hand, should be reduced. He did not say tbat the men were guilty, but he could not say that they were all innocent. • When he ceased, amid a number of expressions of dissent from delegates and the public, Mr. S. A. Rosa sprang to his feet and said that Mr. Morby had made so extraordinary a statement that it was imperatively necessary for him to reply. Mr. Morby had given the impression that the committee had found that the men were guilty. The committee knew nothing of the kind. It had no direct evidence against any man. What they had was merely hearsay. He was proceeding when the secretary (Mr. Evans) called out: "Speak for yourself." This drew forth an acrid protest from the speaker, who urged the delegates to suspend judgment in the matter. Finally an amendment to Mr. Buckley's motion was moved by Aid. O'Hara (Paddington), and carried. It declared in favour of the executive's desire for a Royal Commission.