Welsh Newspapers

Search 15 million Welsh newspaper articles

Hide Articles List

9 articles on this Page

Uproarious WIeetirig at .…

News
Cite
Share

Uproarious WIeetirig at Tonypandy, Free Fights on the I Plutform. Mr. Clem. Edwards, M P, Assailed. Tumultuous Scenes. I One of the most turbulent meet i ngs ever witnessed in the Rlnmdda Valley "ASvS tlJatheld at the Judge's Hall. Tre- ■ aiaw, on Saturday night last, and ad- for East Glamorgan. It was evident from the outset that there was going to be a serious opposi- tion to anything in the way of speech- making. The whole of the balcony and a considerable portion of the seating accommodation on the floor of the hall was taken possession of by the miners, who were bent at all hazards to wring an explanation from Mr. Edwards as to the reasons w hy he did not support Air. I Keir Hardie's demand for an inquiry into the conduct of the police during the riots at Aberdare and Mid-Rhondda 111 November last. The proceedings at one stage became so boisterous that a large body of police. who were outside .the building in con- siderable Humber." in case of need, marched into the building. but I theIr appearance was only l(?tlic-i- signa) tor a further hostile demonstration, and at the request of Air. Edwards, the police withdrew At the height of the commotion several persons jumped from the balcony on to The platform, and blows were treely given. The meeting wa.s held under the aus- pices of the local branch of the National League of Young Liberals, and Coun- cillor R. S. Griffiths, J.P., the chairman, appealed at the outset for a fair hearing to Air. Edwards to deliver his address on Liberalism .and Social Reform." Air. Edwards, however, had no sooner got on to his feet to begin his address than he was assailed from all parts of the build- ing, and the din was so great that his opening sentences were quite lost, even to the reporters, who were seated at the edge of the platform. One of the occu- pants of the gallery began to address the ehair, and was heard to say that he wished to submit a resolution. We have men in Cardiff Gaol, Air. Chairman," he said, and lie then proceeded to read a resolution. He could not ma ke himself heard on account of the cheering and the loud cries of "Sit down from the Young Liberals in the body of'the hall. 'The announcement that every opportu- nity would be given for questions at the close of the address failed to Itave the desired effect, and in order to appease a section of the audience. Air. Clement Edwards invited Air. John Hughes to the platform, an offer which was readily accepted amid great cheering by his sup- porters. A consultation ensued, with the result that Air. Hughes was given per- mission to submit his resolution. Mr. Hughes said that they were determined to get into as many public meetings as possible to move the follow- ing resolution — That this meeting, convened under the auspices of the Young Liberals' League, expresses its condemnation of the action of the Stipendiary Alagis- trate (Air. D. Lleufer Thomas) for send- ing our colleagues to Cardiff Gaol, believing that it is an impediment to the peace of the district, and we fur- ther call upon the Liberal Government to petition Mr. Winston Churchill, "our friend," to see if he can possibly grant a remission of the sentences and release our comrades previous to our resuming work. Air. Hughes declared that unless the resolution carried weight no settlement of any kind could take place in the Mid- Rhondda district. The recent demon- strations to get non-Unionists into line took place with the sanction of every representative of the South Wales Aliners' Federation, and the object was to shame certain people who had refused to clear up their arrears. The wltite sliirt" had been put upon some as a form of advertisement, and a few members of the police in Tonypandy had interfered and innocent people had been sent to gaol. Air. D. Evans, Trealaw, who seconded the resolution, said that he wished to add a rider to the effect that "we re- quest the Liberal Government, not only to remit these sentences, but also to dis- miss Air. Lleufer Thomas from the Bench." The motion, on being put to the meet- ing. was carried by an overwhelming majority. A Tumultuous Scene. I After the cheering had subsided. Mr. Edwards said that he understood that there were a number of gentlemen pre- sent who would like to put questions to him. He was prepared to answer any questions either before or after his speech, and he would ask the audience to decide by a show of hands which it was to be—speech or questions first. The question was put to tjw meeting, and Mr. D. Evans was invited by Air. Edwards to act as one of the tellers. The voting was so close that Mr. D. Evans announced that he was unable to decide whethet they wanted questions before or after Mr. Clement Edwards' "fabrieation of lies." This remark was greeted by loud cries of Withdraw, and Air. Edwards, stung by the insult, advanced towards the speaker, and seizing him by the coat collar, demanded an apology. As this was not forthcoming, Mr. Edwards gripped the man, and after a short struggle, hurled him off the platform on to the floor of the hall, a drop of about four feet. A tumultuous scene followed. The whole audience, as if electrified, jumped to its feet: there were loud shouts and booing, and some of the more daring, uttering loud oaths, jumped from the balcony on to the platform. Others rushed from the body of the hall to the stage, and the hon. member w^ imme- diately surrounded by an angry circle, and one of the men, seizing him, at- tempted to strike him. Mr. Edwards, however, maintained his ground un- flinchingly, and eventually the men were persuaded to desist. In the course of the melee Mr. Llew. James, the organiser of the meeting, was sent reeling to the :floor with a violent blow on the face. It was at this stage that the police arrived on the scene. in charge of In- spector Ben Evans, to the accompani- meet of deafening shouts of derision, but they immediately withdrew when Mr. Edwards assured them that everything was all right. When a semblance of order had been restored, Mr. D. Evans, who in the mean- time had returned to the platform, and had held a conference with the hon. member, announced that he had offered to tender him (Air. Evans) an apology in>r I ihe rough handling he had given him, provided that the audience gave 'him a ztiid l el)ee llal7(? I lil)l ?l Air. Edwards It was only on the con- dition that he apologised to me for insult- ing me. Air. Evans I will never apologise to him. ".TO PAVE HIS WAY TO )111)- RHONDDA." One of the first questions put to the hen. member by Air. D. Evans was whether his appeal for an inquiry last week in the House of Commons was not a dodge to pave his way into Alid- Rhondda. A chorus of hoots and cheers ureeted this question, and one of the miners present, interposing, said: "If we have a quarrel with this man, let us have it out. You are simply breaking VOllr hacks by making this row (ap- plause). .Mr. Edwards: I am quite prepared to a-nswer any question, no matter how it is put, providing I am given the same lair- play in the answering of the question that is given to the man who asks the question (hear, hear). Aly first answer to that question is that I offered to come to Tonvpandy and discuss in public with Air. Keir Hardie this question more than two months ago—(applause)—and more than that, I guaranteed, on behalf of my Association in East Glamorgan, that we would buy tickets to the extent, of t:)O for the benefit of the strike fund in this district (renewed applause). I have no doubt that many of you here are honestly under i he impression that I opposed an inquiry under any circumstances into the conduct of tli(A pol 'cc. (A voice So you did"). That is Hot true, and so there shall not be any question about it I have hero the official report of the Par- liamentary Debates, Vol. 1*1. No. 3. pp. l22.V2'2t) What I did was in accordance with my election pledges. What I did was to oppose an inquiry into the conduct of the police during the continuance of the dispute. The lion, member, at the request of the meeting, read the whole of his speech in the Commons amid a running fire of interruptions. From this point on he answered several quest-ions, and although heckled and sub- jected to considerable interruptions, lie gave a full explanation of his attitude in Parliament. He further explained that with regard to Aberdare an inquiry had been asked for Tnto the conduct of the Aletropolitans both at Aberdare and Mid-Rhondda, and he felt that until both disputes were over it would he a mistake to fix the blame on one side or the other. (A Vo ice: The blame has been fixed upon five in Cardiff Gaol"). Out of the 46 Labour members in the House of Commons only 17 voted for th'1e inquiry as demanded by the junior member for Aierthyr. Air. Edwards intimated that he was compelled to leave Tonypandy by the 8 train that night for the South of Eng- land, inasmuch as he had received a tele- gram stating that his wife, who had been ill for a considerable time, was much worse. He. however, promised to pay a return visit to Tonypandy on a con- venient date, and the announcement was received with cheers. At the close he was loudly cheered, and he walked to the station unmolested.

Nlr. Clem. Edwards Holds .Court.'

Advertising

Clydach Vale Ostler, j

Advertising

- j > RHONDDA HOUSING

Advertising

Liberal Ratty at Treherbert.

Advertising