THE NAVY

Evening Star, Issue 14034, 15 April 1909, Page 6

THE NAVY

NEW ZEALAND'S DREADNOUGHT. A livelylieeting. ' [Special to thb Stab.] INVERCARGILL, April 15. There was a large attendance of the \ residents of Waikiwi last night to consider" the Government's offer of a Dreadnought to Great Britain, and the meeting was a stormy one. JlrW. A. Morris (who opposed Sir Joseph Ward at Hh'e Awarua election) was the principal speaker, and he made a lengthy attack on the Prime Minister regarding his action in offering to make such a presentation without even consulting his constituents. The people had been told, he said, that it was only a matter of Is 6d per head, but he -would like to inform them that it was a matter of £2 per head for every man in New Zealand, including the half-naked savages of the Cook Islands.—(Loud laughter.) Invercargill had refused to pay a few shillings in rates for a high-class gravitation, water scheme, but they did not mind paying for a Dreadnought and singing *Rufe, Britannia.'—{Continued merriment.) He had no hesitation in saying that Sir Joseph Ward had in his action forfeited the confidence of the people. He was honestly sorry to see the Prime Minister carried away ,by his vanity and ambition. The power of the Ward Ministry was waning. As a matter of fact, the working man had never had any confidence in him, and how could they, when he represented the working man and wore a ribbon and a bauble on his breast? He maintained that such a thing was impossible. In conclusion, he reminded his hearers that in two and a-half years they would have their chance of showing their disapproval at the ballot box, and whether their liberty was to be interfered with by any man. He moved— That in the opinion of this meeting of Awarua electors the action of the Ward Government in making an offer of a battleship to the British Government, and another if required, without the authority of the Parliament of this country, merits the forfeiture of confidence in the Ward Government. Mr A. Wilson moved as an amendment, amidst cheering— That Britain's command of the seas is essential to the safety of the Oversea Dominions, and the step taken by Sir Joseph Ward in presenting a Dreadnought was a wise and patriotic one. The mover laid great stress on the fact that New Zealanders were paying only onetenth of the taxes that Great Britain had to pay. Britishers were taxed £1 to New Zealanders' 2s, and why should they not pay the same for their protection? Mr T. Buxton, an old and well-known individual of decidedly radical ideas, seconded the motion, and during the course of a lengthy address was the recipient of continued interruptions. He complained that he had tried to get Invercaigill to hold an indignation meeting, but as they would not and did not do so they were not worth a dump.—(Laughter and disorder.) The amendment about patriotism was all "rot."—(Renewed disorder.) What did it matter to the working man if New Zealand was taken by Germany? Personally, he did not care who was his master, so long as he fed him. If the Kaiser wanted to take New Zealand, and would feed the working man, let him come.—(Uproar, hooting, and 6houts of " Sit down.") The speaker continued in similar strain for some time, subject to frequent interruptions. Eventually he ceased, but on rising later to Telate something he had forgotten previously the audience would have none of him, and subjected him to overwhelming " barrack," to which he eventually subsided. On the motion being put to the voices the chairman declared it lost. The mover then called for a division, and on an uncounted show of hands the chairman reversed his decision, and declared it carried, amidst a demonstration and a catf for a recount, which was not granted. THE CHRISTCHURCH MEETING. SPEAKERS REFUSED A HEARING. UPROAR AND. CONFUSION. A meeting was held at Christchursh last night under the auspices Navy League, to consider a motion endorsing the action of the Cabinet re the offer "of a Dreadnought ana" approving of the offer made to the British Government. There were quite 4,000 people present, and from the start the meeting was most disorderly, and broke up in confusion. None of the speakers was given a hearing, and even two bishops—Bishops Julius and Grimes—on rising to speak were received with groans and cheers mixed, which continued and prevented them from being heard. Nobody in the crowd had the least idea of what was going on owing to the awful uproar made by a noisy section standing just in front of the platform. A call for a show of hands in favor of the motion had to be done by means of a notification on a blackboard. The motion was declared carried amid a scene of indescribable confusion, and then followed a perfect pandemonium. Mr T. E. Taylor, M.P., endeavored to speak, but could not be heard owing to the din. and his violent gesticulations were not understood. A Union Jack at one corner of the platform was pulled down by some fanatic, and before it could be recovered it was torn to shreds and trampled under foot. Eventually, after a great struggle, in which hundreds of men joined, the flag was rescued, carried on to the platform, and waved aloft by the Hon. Lieutenant-colonel Smith amid frenzied cheers. Another great fight took place over the possession of the blackboard used for putting the motion. It was first of all snatched away from the table on the platform by which Mr Taylor was standing, the object presumably being to put a hostile amendment on it, but a patriotic crowd got to work, and the blackboard was towed about like a raft on the sea of heads until it was carried to one end of the barracks. Even when it was announced that the proceedings were closed, thousands remained cheering and hooting, and it was not until the lights were extinguished that the barracks could' be cleared. A noisy open-air meeting was held in Cathedral square afterwards. At a meeting of the Auckland Trades and Labor Council last night protests were received from the Bricklayers' Union and the Carpenters' Union against the resolution carried at the last meeting of the Council condemning the Government's Dreadnought gift. Several delegates rose and said that their societies had instructed them to express their disapproval of the motion, and it was mentioned that so strong was the feeling that it was probable that as a protest one society at least would withdraw from the Council.