A POLITICAL MEETING IN SYDNEY.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXV, Issue 127, 30 May 1891, Page 4

A POLITICAL MEETING IN SYDNEY.

Tke!^ h»vebe«a several meetings •! late In Sydney addressed by members of the House, all of whioh have been more or lesa rowdy, in t whioh respect, however, none have come up to the one recently held by Mr Barton, M.L.0., from the r,epot.t of whioh in the Morning Herald we make the following extract ;— Last eVenlng the Hon E. Barton, M.L.0., delivered a second address on federation. On the present occasion he eeleoted the Protestants Hfcll, and beforo Bo'fllookboth the lull and the ; galleries were thronged with ptople, many of whom not being able to ■eonro seat*, wore perforce content to staad. Mr Baxtdn arrived riunotually at 8 o'olook, after Home little iimpatienoe had been displayed by the vast crowd. His appear, race (waft greeted with ootdial cheers and some groaning, and several ories of « You* are a traitor to your country," and you/re a traitor." , Mr Barion commenced his address by expressing a flssire thai be would bo allowed a fair hearing, whiobioaUea forth oneers and groans, and for lome time his remarks were inaudible. He persevered, however, and to some extent waaried out 1 the patienoe of hit opponents. It was'bfiTtainly hard work, and ono* or twice, aiterapVuse on his part, he expressed the bone tut those of his audienoe who ooonpied the gifia'rtta' "were enjoying themselves." Oertainij they appeared to be doing bo. After groaning and hooting had failed to atop tho progress of tho speeob, singing was retorted to, and.wßß entered into with enthusiasm The choruses o! negro songs were mostly j in vogue, "Marohing through Georgia ."was followed by "The Old Folks at Home." " Annie Kooney" was a great favourite, and was saooeeded by the " The Bogie Man," whioh in tarn gave place to " Wait till the oloudu zoll by." Mr Barton took the hint, and resumed his seat. The audienoe at onoe became quiet. Mr Barton cose with the objeot of continotng his address, When Binding was returned, and when the song bad been song, and re-sang, and when nobody arjpapently oared to sing any more, a Yolley of " Kentish fire " was shot off, and then whistling was indulged in. Mr Barton took matters good-humouredly, and asked his audienoe to vote whether they would hear him or not. The show of hands, as far as could be judged, was about equal. Questions poured in upon Mr Barton, and from all sides he was denounced as an enemy to hie oountjy— and to the working man, From above him men shook their fists, from below they held up their, hands to attraot his attention, and when It was obvious that both. the} 9 me|ns hud failed, flour bags were thrown upon the platform. One citi--Ben in the front gallery was speoially demonstrative. He waved his arms and bent oVer the rails as if he would throw himself Into 1 the body of the hall, but beyond becoming nearly blaok in the face from undue exertion, he apparently received no Injury. During one interval in the speech three cheers were called for Sir George Grey, and afterwards for " ono man one vote."- In reply, to this, Mr Barton remarked that he was also in favour of •• one man ' one," at whioh • there was a good deal of oheeriDg by his sup* porters. But the 'Dead Maroh" sung bom the galleries in doleful strain, put a damper upon eulhumsm, and it was plain that for a long time Mr Barton's remarks vera audible only to the people in hiß im> medfcjeviojqiiy. , The police were present in BomJ^erk' especially around the doors, but th»y w'ert hot fift'led upon to interferes No one was ejected from the ball ; and there were so toe flghte or any violent arguments. To* ward* too latter part of the address there w&i, however, a good deal of oonfasion, and a snmbsr of people who had oolleoted immedinndar the platform endeavoured to bandy words with Mr Barton. But that gentleman took vety i little. notioe of the intenuritionß. The reporters had moved from their positions; one sat on each side of the table from whioh Mr Barton spoke ; and it was evident that the best hearing was obtained by them. After Mr Barton had left the platform, a working-man attempted to address the meeting, but he was listened to with only scant attention, and the meeting gradually dispersed,