CHECKING ROWDYISM.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 15080, 1 December 1919, Page 7

CHECKING ROWDYISM.

— «fc I LABOR SECRETARY AS CHAIBMAN. ' , (Special to the Herald.) WELLINGTON, this day. Thanks to the excelilefrrtt expedient} of electing ,% wellrknowm Labor secretary as chairman for Mr Pirnni'<s last meeting m" Wellington. Central, the candidait<e was able to secure enough quiet to place most of 'his intended speech before* the electors. Mr Pirani had provided 1 himself with a chairman, but he remarked that a lady had suggested that if a member of tho Labor party would take the- chair lie would be given a fair hearing. As interjections', did not necessarily come from the Labor party,. Mr Pirani said he- would be honored, if a member of the Labor party would act. After some delay Mr JS. Kennedy went on to -the platform and took the chair. He wished it to be clearly understood, he said, that if Mr Pirani talked tf.l doomsday he- would not support him. No intelligent "men could or refuto a mattfe views- wnHafeMie listened to them, and! he 'took it that some part of the audience wa.9 intelligent. A few interjections would not be objected to but if mtemiptions . prevented the candidate from being heard he would call •them to order. A woman's voice : We'll count you out. (Laughter.) Mr Kennedy said they had an opportunity of disproving the statements that were being made m the press that the Labor party was responsible for the disturbances. Th© candidate proceeded to address the meeting, .amid lively but goodhumored interruptions, to which he smilingly replied. Eventually the J chairman protested against the' frequence of interruptions and ffot into hot water with the Ln.borites. who declared ho ought to stick to the Labor platform. A-S the conclusion of his address the candidate thanked Mr Kennedy warmly for the way he had conducted 1 the meeting. No one m New Zealand could have done better. If all m the Labor party were like Mr Kennedy it wauld be better. Question time was Mr Kennedy's busy moment. A* one stage he Iwid announced emphaticaT.lv that there was one part of a meeting] that belonged to the candidate and one part to the chairman, "and, I am chairman, whether you like itl or not." A section indicated with enthusiasm that they did! nob like it. Orie s member of the audience, referred to by others as "Sixty," moved, seconded, and der dared carried a motion that the chairman was too autocratic and should leave the hall. "You ought to be expelled from your union," he said, "and wou'rl be unless it was dominated by a scab element. < The chairman maintained his stand, and Mr Piirani was able to answer questions. A vote of thanks and confidence- was moved .and after two amendments had been ruled out of 'order '.as 'direct •negatives, the motion was defeated by a lar<re majority on a show of hands. Though a big Labor demonstratipn was anticipated at the initial meeting of Mr Oakley Browne. Liberal 1 candidate for Wellington North, it. was comparatively orderly, tho presence of -several police having, an exeelloni restraining effect. It wa.s remarkable that the same night the Labor candidate had' an attendance of twenty at his meeting, though well over a hundred Labointes attended to criticise the Liberal speakers. The police. I understand,, intend to take svstemntic action- to prevent rowdyism m WeClkigton meetings for, the future. • .