ROWDY UNEMPLOYED MEETING

Hawera Star, Volume L, 19 January 1931, Page 4

ROWDY UNEMPLOYED MEETING

LABOUR LEADERS HECKLED. MR. SEMPLE'S STRONG WARNING W .ajj-Li-lA UIO.X, o all. iO. ociaOJil llaa null in t* exiIUgCUU ucxu ,i &oeiie oi sucli an uproar us t»ue xrau.es> xi.au mis e > tuiu. unen a. stcuiiu mass meeting or unemployed was neiu. its main purpose \v,rs arranging anotner demonstration lor x ue> uay wiien the Emile minister, .nr vi. \V. Forbes, will arrive on tne ciimaroa. l\vo demonstrations were arranged after a great deal of vociferous argument anu lieckhng of speakers. vxiie is to take place at the wnarf wiien Mr Forties lands and tne otner at the Town Rail in the evening, when he is to be given a civio reception. Tne main uproar to-night, however, was caused by the appearance of -Messrs R. Semple and Yv. Bromley on the platform. From the time they went on to the platform there was i practically a continuous chorus of whole-hearted booing, heckling and [jeering. Each speaker was given 10 minutes in which to address the meeting after having been told that there was no room for them on the platform when the meeting started, and of the 10 minutes allotted perhaps three were taken up in the actual speech to the audience. When Mr Bromley was speaking interjections “What have you done for the unemployed?” were frequent and members of the audience seemed to vie with each other in making jests which roused roars of laughter with !consequent shouts of “Order,” “Sit - down,’ and “Give him a hearing,” the whole usually ending with more outbursts of booing. But if Mr Bromley received a poor hearing that given Mr Semple was worse. At first when he announced / that lie would not attempt to speak against the jeering and yells the audience was fairly quiet, hut it was not long before it was almost impossible to hear wihat was being said. Appeals from the chairman for order were useless. In the lulls between the outbursts, however, Mr Semple told those present in straight, forcible language that he considered the meeting easily the worst he had ever attended in all his career. He described the conduct as disgraceful and gave a warning that any demonstration that was cardied on~ in anything like the manner this meeting was would drive every respectable man and woman out of the organisation that had been set up and would alienate the sympathy of every respectable man and woman in New Zealand. When the speakers had stepped down again from the platform a number of others in the hall delivered addresses, still amid terrific noise, and numbers of motions were carried. The 'main one was that which authorised the setting up of a strike committee from those men who ihad been “imnosed on by the charitable aid board in having received wages of Is an hour,” and this committee was empowered to approach all trade unions in Wellington with a view to obtaining support. It also was decided to make demonstrations when the Prime Minister arrives and to appoint a deputation to wait on him 24 hours after ihis arrival.