PANDEMONIUM.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1304, 6 December 1911, Page 7

PANDEMONIUM.

AT TOWN HALL. SCENE AT NO-LICENSE MEETING CROWD TAKE CHARGE.

,t- T^ 0 "i dest meeting ever held in Wellington is the description given by •oino to tho No-Lioenso meeting held ii, no Concert Chamber of the Town Hall last evening. . Thero is no gainsaying that tho gathering was wild from end to end. Tor twii hours tue speakers endeavoured to .iddress the crowded building, but wero baroly s-uccessful in securing a. hearing. A majority of thosa present, ono would gather, were supporters of No-License but it seemed that opponents of the movement were in very strong force also. Prohibitionist enthusiasts and policemen "°° d , on guard in tho aisles, but their watchful presence deterred the interrupters but little. Repeated threats of ejection and prosecution were ignored and, time after time, the meeting was completely out of hand. Tho speakers were counted out," and one of them (the Rev J J. North) was hooted. He retired to his seat, and the Rev. Mr. Ward appealed for a hearing for him. •sir. then recommenced, and was again hooted.

For some tirao after tho meeting a crowd of over ? thousand waited outside the Town Ha I singing anti-No-License parodies on ■ "Yip-i-addy-i-ay." A Salvation Army man came in for some vigorous handling by a portion ' of tho crowd. He was jostled about in all manner of directions, and a missilo struck him on the head. One of his Army colleagues came to his rescue, but tue only visible defence was tho brandishing of an umbrella. Then the polico arrived. Subsequently a crowd numbering hundreds paraded the streets, singing tliat they would bang certain people "on a sour apple tree."

Pandemonium Begins, The Rfcv. W, J. Comrie Mas the first speaker. Interruption greeted him almost from the start. "I see before me "he was remarking. A voioo: A long beer. . jiev. Comrie: There are two parties —the No-License party and the Many voices: Wowsers. , "The wowsers," re-echoed Mr. Comrio; tho wowsers on the one side and tho bfozers ou tho other, aro going to stand divided. I want to charge tho liquor party with a campaign of - falsehood. (."No! No!") Of falsehood and misrepresentation. (Cries of "No! No!" and uproar.) Of deliberate misrepresentation of tbo facts. ("No! No!"). Many voices: "One—two—three—four— jive— six—seven—eight—nine—OUT!" The speaker waited avhile, and then proceeded. "You remember last election —what they said about General Booth."

A squeaky voice: "Kapai, the Red Indian." (Laughter.) Rev. Comne: The name of General Booth Imitation of a woman's voico: "Did they say that?" Another voice: "Three cheers for beer!" Loud cheers was tho response. "And one for the referee,' cried a wag. Another lusty cheer echoed the building. Here the speaker was again "counted out."

Kev. Mr. Comrie: Very well, you can inako a fine lot of noise. Prolonged uproar followed. Rev. Mr. Comrie: Now then, I have a request to make of my friends-— (Another prolonged uproar.) ... If tho iioisb proceeds beyond what is decent, we are prepared to name tho parties, and prosecutions will follow. Another big uproar, above wluch a voice was audible, calling: "Slice him up! Slice him up!" The majority ol the people, had been standing during the most uproarious periods of tho proceedings, and Mr. Comrio asked all who wished the meeting to proceed to keep,their seats. Tte,, wh>r stood, ho said, were opposed to fair play. Tho request wont unheeded. Mr. Comrie began to speak of Masteiton and again he was "counted out. Ho accused the Trade of .misrepresentation regarding Masterloti. ."Fortunately, ho said, "theso attempts of the liquor traflic havo been seen through—One of the' audience: Wo see through voico; You're feen through. Kev Mr. Comrie: If this is too best the. Trado can do, God help tho Trade. A voice: "Oh, you. sworol". Ironical laughter, and ejaculations of Ob, really! The Rev. C. H. Old was then «tro ; duced to epoalt. "Ladies and gentlemen, ho began, "I want to spook ot something I know something about." (Hear, hear, and loud, long, and ironical laughter.) Hooting and groaning interrupted tho meeting for onother small space- ot time. I The Second Speaker.

Tho Rev. Mr. Old proceeded, amid frequent interruptions, interjections, tho baaing of lambs the barking of dogs, and the screeching of whistles. He stated that ho had gone, along the streets of Mastorton on last Christmas Eve. There had been no sign of drunkenness, and tie women had been able to go about the streets without molestation and without imving seen anything to shock their senses. Ulootin? and groaning from the reor.) ' The Rev. Mr. Comrie, who. was presiding,'came forward. "Order, pleaso. ho shouted. . Tho noise continued unabated. Rev. Mr. Comrie: Order, please] Order! The chairman stood, waiting for tho noise to cease, but still tho disturbance went on, Rev. Mr. Old took advantage of his temporary retirement to pour out a .glass of water to drink. This set the crowd laughing uproariously and ironically. After some time, Mr. Old-endeav-oured to mako himself beard above tho din of the tramping that was coming from tho rear and one side of the building The entry of two Salvation Army women was as a signal for a great burst of cheering, and,. once again, the .voice of Mr. Old was drowned. Then the tramping began to grow louder. There was an attempt to quell this, and a section of the crowd began to hum. Tho hall seemed filled with thousands of bees. The Rev. Mr. Ward went down from the platform towards the crowd. Voices: Hero he comes! Rev. Mr. Comrie: Before I call upon the next speaker, I want to make a declaration. ... I want to say to my friends, who' aro so itchy about ..he knees and so restive about the feet, that the more they disturb the meeting the more they do for us. Every disturbance means votes for No-License. . . . Don t help us by this disorder. (Laughter.) And if tho small boy who is whistling will come up to the front I will give him a penny to go out and get eome lollies "immediately a young man came forward and held out his baud for the pennv. The Rev. Mr. Comrie paid up, and the man had hardly got to tho side door wheu another young man appeared and asked for a penny, too. Tho chairman did not respond to this request, but one of the others on the platform handed over tho amount requested. The Rev. C. A. Sims then came forward to address the meeting. Ho taxed the meeting with unfair play. He wanted to illustrate this by a story relating to a Kussian-Japancso battle, ine Russian onrush had been checked. In the advance thero wero only two lett —- A voice; You and another. (Loud laughter ) The Rev. Mr. Sims went on with his storv, and tho illustration evoked a vigorous outburst of clapping from an elderly ladv in the gallery, an incident which sent the crowd into another lapse of mcrnmftnt. . . , Kev Mr Sim: Now, are you going to hear mo?' ("No! No!") . . . I did not take tho platform in Ashburtou; I weut from door to door \u interjection, and 6hnnks of laughter. Vain tho "counting out" was applied; 'the boos returned, and tlio humming filled th(. hall again; the crowd grew, restive, and the tramping rocominopced. The chairman announced the collection. While it was being taken up the man who had got the penny from the chairman reappeared holding aloft several sticks of lollies winch he had purchased. "Here, boys, have a lolly!" he shouted, and tho crowd roared again. "Yip-i-addy-i-ay" was in evidence a couple of times, and then tho chairman rose. "There arc two vacant seats he said, pointing to a front row. ' If the indie* who are standing at the back of tho hall will come forward " Two women in Salvation Army uniform started up the aisle, and straight away i the crowd broke out into "Glory, clory, ■ Hallelujah"! : The Rev. J, J. North, • ' The Rev. J, J. North was announced to tpeak The anaouacement diew foith

loud hooting, which continued for soinn time. Then I hero went up from scores of voices n well-known luni , , accompanied )iy tlio words: "We will hang ' on a sour apple tree." The Kcv. Mr. North: 1 want to tell you first what a wowser is—■." Voices: A. wowser! "A wowser is a man who has waits on his chest through leaning up against an hotel bar, calling bow-wow-wow-wow." The voices: Jjow-wow-wow-wow-wow!

An auditor: Havo you got a. wart? Itev. Mr. North: Tho man who spoke has a wart I want to tell you nbout a prize fight— Thore was renewed hooting, which, continued till Mr. North retired (o his sr>at. Then a voice observed that 110 h.Td "thrown in tho towel."

The chairman asked if they wanted to hear tho liov. Mr. North, and there was a chorus: "No!" "Wo want Ward" followed.

Tho chairman: "You will hear Mr. North if you are prepared to give him a hearing." Voices: No; wo aro not. The chairman: Very well, it will go over New Zealand that you were not prepared to hear a. man explain the thing. "lie ,Kov. Mr. Ward then camo Torward, and was accorded three cheers. Mr. Ward said that it was he who had asked Mr. North to speak. Ho hoijeci that they would hoar Mr. North. (No! No!)

Rov. Mr. Ward: Mr. North, I hope you will como forward. Mr. North canio forward, and was again erected with long, loud hooting, lie endeavoured to mako himself heard. A yoico ulyivo the diu: Drop dead! Voices: Yes, d>-op dead. Tramping was coi/.n'oneed once more, and the chairman appealed for order. Mr. North wont on to r»fer to Abraham Lincoln's fight against the slavo traffic. Liko tho movemont for (lie abolition of slavery, the No-License movement had its opponents. "Wo have not got manj Bishops nn our sido, and wo havo not got an Archbishop." - (Uproar.) A voice: You are gotliug on to religion. Hov. Mr. Jvorth: Yra, I mean tho Catholic?. (More uproar, and hooting the speaker.)

Loud "shouting: You lcavo him alono. He's a good man. He's a bettor nnn than you. (Tremendous hooting of tho speaker.) Rev. Mr, North: Ho is an old man.

A voice: He is a sport. Rev. Mr.. North: J venture to say th-it if it had been the Bishop of Auckland there would, havo been a different tale. Mr. North was again vigorously hooted. Yells of "Get off!' "Clear out!" filled tho air. He was "counted out" and hooted again. Miniature bombs began to come in through open windows and explode in tho hall, and the uproar was frightful. Mr. North retired, and soon afterwards left the stage. Voices: Next wowser I

Tho Rev. John Dawson camo forward amidst clapping and somo groaning. He had spoken a little- when the windows had to bo closed owing to tho uoiso niado by the bombs. The speaker went on to relate tho testimony of men in No-License districts. He was saying that the sergeant of police in Oamaru had spoken in favour of No-License—

: A burst of song: "Beer, beor, glorious beerj till yourself right up to here."

Final Scenes, Mr. Dawson soon.had to retire, and tho chairman appealed for "live more minutes of restraint." Mr. Dawson had just recommenced, amidst cries of "wowser," when further uproar stopped him. "Yip-i-addy-i-ay" was sung several times. Most of hundreds of people present were standing, and many were retreating from the vicinity of some odorous chemical preparation which had boon- introduced. Chaos reigned. The chairman said that those who did not sit down would ba ejected by the police. Scores of people rose and sang "Yip-i-addi-i-ay" and "Beer, beer, glorious beer." Aftc- a whilo Mr. Edward Tregear was presented. A voice: Are you a wowser? Mr. Tregear: I want to ask niysolf one question before I start—a question I have heard asked very.often to-night: "Am I n wowser?" ' Tho crowd: "No."

Uproar followed uproar. Mr. Tregear: "Whilo thanking you for your patient hearing Shall I go on? (Yes!) Mr. Tregear tried to proceed. Tho crowd counted him out twico, and there was tremendous- pandemonium/ Then: "One, two, three, Trcgear's up a troo; four, five, six, wowser's in a fix; seven, eight, nice, beer evory lime."

Mr. Tregear left tho stage shouting several times: ""We will givo you our answer on Thursday."

There was pandemonium to the end, which cnino with tho proposing of a motion by tho Rev. E. 0. Blarutres (who was received with a, mixture of cheers and hoots) that tho speakers and tho chairman should bo thanked. The response to the pnttin? of tho question was a. great deal of clapping and much hooting.