'MIGHT IS RIGHT"

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 144, 15 December 1913, Page 3

'MIGHT IS RIGHT"

WHAT A WEST COAST DELEGATE SAYS STRIKE MEETINGS SPEECHES AT NEWTOWN PARK. The strikers held another open-air meeting at Newtown Park yesterday \afternoon, when there was an attendance of about 800 or 900, including a large section of the outside public. Mr. G. G. Farland, secretary of the old Waterside Workers' Union, presided, and the speakers included some of the delegates to the Federation's Conference. The first speaker was the chairman, who raised the slogan of " solidarity," and said the struggle would continue until their end was achieved. Mr. T. Armstrong, of the West Coast Workers* Union, said that the " folded arms " policy was of no use against Massey and his specials, for while the latter were here there could be no law and order. Mr. E. Canbam, secretary of the Auckland Waterside Workers' Union, strongly denounced the, men in their own movement who had " ratted." It was all very well to talk about the present being the biggest industrial struggle that had ever taken place in the Southern Hemisphere, but there could not be the solidarity there would be while they had " blacklegs "in the movement. They had the employers, the Government, the police, the Church, and the Magistrates against them. He denounced the police, both special and regular. Regarding the episode in the Auckland Domain, when the specials were stoned by the strikers, the speaker stated that there were 18,000 in the procession. In the Domain were encamped 1500 specials and some of the hooligan element went over to the fence and commenced to throw scoria and other material at them. The speaker and some of the other officers rushed over to the fence and persuaded the offenders to stop their tactics. Had this not been done there was no doubt that the speciials could have been swept right away by the large crowd of strikers and their sympathisers.. Mr. Canham complained that the employers insisted upon the union going back to arbitration, and yet the farmers denied their employees the right to register under arbitration, and " I think we can see that they do it, 5 ' he added. Mr. Hunter, a delegate, from the West Coast, was less guarded than the other speakers in his remarks. He strongly advocated the policy that "might is right." As far as >the West Coast was concerned the Strike Committee was in control there and strike law was the only law in force. All civil law was suspended and the only law that counted was the law the strikers wanted. The ■'folded arms" policy was no good. When there was talk of opening the l>ort the Strike Committee sent up into \ '■hi hills and a hundred men came down, 'liey arrived in the dead of night, and, f<mi- abreast, they marched through the . j.reets. These men were prepared to i act if they thought necessary. He, as I the organiser, had extended the "freedom of the city" to these men and they could do what they liked. The speaker threw out an invitation to the Government to bring the special police to the West Coast. If they did the strikers could put down one man for evex"y special up' to a thousand, and they would all be just as good men as the specials. The Government had shown that they would club the strikers' wives and children and could the men be blamed if they refused to stand by and see it done. It was the Government who wanted bloodshed —never had there been a case in which the workers had caused bloodshed. ' If the Government wanted a revolution they could have it, and he defied them to call the strike off. That could only be done by the men themselves. After Mr. Hunter had finished the crowd commenced to disperse, and its numbers were greatly diminished by the time the last two speakers had concluded their addresses. '