LABOUR WORLD

Grey River Argus, 3 November 1928, Page 5

LABOUR WORLD

POLICE SHOOT MEN. On Melbourne Wharf. STEVEDORES BATONED. (Australian & N.Z. Cable Assn). (Received November 2 at 7.30 p.m.) MELBOURNE. November 2. A pitched battle between unionist stevedores and the police on the Port Melbourne pier to-day culminated in three unionists being shot. The men shot were:— Allan Whittaker, who is in a serious condition. he having a bullet in the ight side of his jaw. James Williams, who has a bullet in his left shoulder. Two policemen. Holton and Caldwell, were injured with stones. Scores of the unionist stevedores received minor injuries from the pc lice batons. Several of the Unionists wete thrown into the sea. These men either were rescued or paddled to safety. About .i thousand unionist stevedores gathered around the gates of the Princes Pier, in the morning and de mantled admission. When this was rc fu-ed them, they stormed the gates armed with sticks and stones, and overwhelmed the police, whose batons were ineffective. Ju consequence of this the police wore compelled to shoot. A battle raged for half-an-hour before the infuriated mob of stevedores were dispersed. All work was rt a standstill, and the Princes Pier was isolated. Big overseas vessels, including the Chitrnl. wo. c id’e. One hundred extra police were brought from the country to Melbourne to maintain order. An aeroplane swooped down on the rioters while the battle was in pro gre.-s. The men feared that it would file at them with a machine gun. They momentarily scattered. and ducked their heads, but nothing of the kind happened. A similar incident occurred yesterday when the cruiser “Brisbane” fired a gun, which was only being test-

Sliots were fired at a tug taking aboard volunteers at. Port Melbourne in tin- afternoon, and stones were also thrown, one volunteer being injured. An attempt was also made to raid the steamer Port Adelaide, but the chief officer drew his revolver and repulsed the attackers. ... > Representatives of the unionists and ;t ,e stevedores interviewed the premier of Victoria. Mr Hogan, and asked hint to restrain the police from using fi earm.-, or otherwise the unionists would have to resort to firearms them ''mT Hogan gave the unionists to understand that the police were bound Io preserve law and order. He promised to call the Cabinet together to discuss -the developments. TOM WALSH. RESIGNATION. DEMAND 1 (Received November 2 at 9.10 p.m.) SYDNEY. November 2. Nine members of the Seamen ’* Union who claimed to represent eight hundred, tramped into the Seamen’s Union office to-day and called upon Mr Tom Walsh to relinquish the Gen-eral-Secretaryship. Two detectives sat between Walsh and the deputation, while a posse of uniformed police line 1 Ihe stairs leading to the office. Tom Walsh, with all his old fighting spirit, flatly refused to relinquish office, and he said that he would do nothing of the kind. Some vitriolic remarks were hurled all round, in which charges were made of interfering with the jules.

Toni Walsh, pounding the table, shot back: “Look here! A certain section of the Seamen’s Union has committed the greatest outrage in history in the manipulation of those rules.” The deputation talked themselves to a standstill and then left, uttering all kinds of threats.

The Chief Secretary, Hon. Mr Brunt nell, stated to-day that he had instructed the police to adopt sterner measures for the suppression of all forms of lawlessness. his comment arising out of the threat against Tom Walsh and disturbances at election n i ec t i 11 gs.