Saturday 22 June 2013

Colonial Secretary's Coercion Manual

*THE WORKER*
Brisbane September 8, 1894


THE EDITORIAL MILL.

Our Motto: “Socialism in our time”


Curious feelings stir one's breast as he reads the Colonial Secretary's Coercion Manual. It is a strange and yet to Queenslanders a somewhat familiar document. Our citizens have for some years been so dragooned and coerced that they only realise the brutal nature of Mr.Tozer's “Instructions to the Justices of the Peace and Police” when it is pointed out by a “capitalistic” newspaper publishes in a land not yet so police ridden as this is. Then pain, surprise, indignation, anger, hopelessness and despair disturb in quick succession the minds of those who would see Peace reign throughout the land and Justice done to all. Pain and anger that a man possessed of such blood thirsty instincts should by a plausible tongue have attained the position which enables him to put forth such a revolting emanation. Hopelessness and despair in contemplation of the apparent difficulty of unseating him.

*     *     *

And yet he must be unseated if Queensland is to preserve herself from insurrection. Any man who would issue such order as he has issued, who places it in the power of a perhaps ignorant, uneducated, and excitable policeman to arrest WITHOUT WARRANT unionists attending roll-calls should the policeman THINK a breach of the peace likely to take place, to shoot and kill any unionist who resists such arrest (see page 2 paragraph 3) is not only better out of Parliament, but should himself be placed under restraint.

*     *     *

Not only in a “likely” case of intimidation is a policeman entitled to arrest or kill, but in a dozen similar situations are white citizens to be “dropped” as the squatters dropped the black natives a few years ago. If three or more persons (page 2 paragraph 5) assemble of their own authority, attend a roll-call, and IN THE OPINION OF THE POLICE present are about to cause a tumult, the police may call upon them to surrender, and if they do not immediately surrender, the police are ordered to shoot with intent to kill. If any Justice of the Peace – maybe a squatter, for most squatters in the bush are J.sP. - finds 12 or more unionists assembled together (page 3 paragraph 1) and acting IN HIS OPINION in a riotous or tumultuous manner he may read the Riot Act as follows:

Our Sovereign lady the Queen chargeth and commandeth all persons being assembled immediately to disperse themselves and peaceably to depart to their habitations or to their lawful businesses, upon the pains contained in the Act made in the first year of King George for preventing tumults and riotous assemblies.
God Save the Queen!

And if the (in his opinion) tumult does not cease, the Justice squatter may call upon the police to arrest the ringleaders, and to shoot to kill in case of resistance.

*     *     *

Then again (this time under an old Act, 2 * Edward III., c. 3, which does not appear in the index of English statutes, AS IT HAS BEEN REPEALED, but which has been unearthed to meet the circumstances of the shearers' strike), if any unionist (page 3, par. 7) should go or ride armed by night or by day in fairs, markets, or in the presence of the justices (squatters) or other ministers, or in any part elsewhere, said unionists may be called upon “to forfeit their armour to the King and their bodies to the King's pleasure” (“the King's pleasure” being an absurd legal anachronism in view of the more modern Habeas Corpus Act); and if any unionist or unionists resist arrest under this moth-eaten statute, he or they may be shot dead by the policemen present.

(* The arms used in the reign of Edward III, were the club, mace, battle axe, pike, spear, javelin, sword, and dagger, bows and arrows, and a crude species of cannon. Rifles or revolvers were not then made.)

(The wearing of arms – see page 4, par. 3 – in certain cases, such as that of squatters or blacklegs, is not a violation of the Act!) In all the above offences, and a great many more coming under the head of Felony (which embraces all crimes), constables endeavouring to effect arrest will if death ensues in the struggle be held harmless (page 4, par. 7). the police may arrest WITHOUT WARRANT ON SUSPICION (page 5, par.7) any man whom they suspect has committed or is about to commit crime, and if said man resist arrest the police are ordered to shoot to kill. “Firing must be effective.”

*     *     *

Special constables, too – who in some cases are untrained, ignorant, and the dregs of humanity – have all the powers of ordinary constables (page 5, par. 7). And towards the end of the Manual, for fear it should be over looked, reiterated instruction is given that firing should be effective and AT THE LEADERS. Firing over the heads of mobs or crowds engaged in an illegal pursuit must not be allowed, as a harmless fire, instead of intimidating, will give confidence to the daring and the guilty(page 6, par. 2).

*     *     *

Well may the Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH of Thursday, August 30, refer to the Manual in the following strongly worded protest:
This ghastly official announcement . . . . Not even in the most autocratically governed country in Europe has a more cold – blooded incitement to take human life been issued with official sanction.
It seems incredible that a Minister in an English – speaking country could issue such instructions to the police. As far as we are aware the almost universal rule is to urge the police to abstain, except under absolute necessity, from the use of firearms against mobs, and even when they are compelled to use them it should be for the purpose of intimidating, not killing, those that they may have to fire upon. An immense out burst of oratory took place in Victoria during the great maritime strike because Colonel Price counselled the military when they had to deal with riotous mobs to fire low. This instruction, which caused so much indignation was really a humane one, its purpose being to inflict as little injury as possible upon the mobs when fired upon. Bullets fired at the feet of a mob, or at the ground in front of a mob, would obviously be much less disastrous in effect than if fired right into the mob. In the former case, injury might be inflicted; in the latter, the killing of somebody would be certain. But this Queensland instruction makes no pretence at humanity. It instructs the police to mark down the leaders, and fire at them if possible with effect. The solution of the Capital and Labour problem is very far off when it is possible . . . . for a Queensland Minister to issue such instructions as those contained in this Queensland Manual.”

*     *     *

Any person with a spark of manhood who knows the circumstances that led up to the present strike, who is aware that for the past seven months the unions have had a standing appeal to the pastorlists to settle the dispute by conference, must take sides with the bushmen against the Colonial Secretary and the squatters. If the men quarrel, and one is injured was the first to assault his opponent, every disinterested person is prepared to admit, while regretting the occurrence, that he brought his trouble on himself. This is exactly what has occurred in the present industrial dispute. The unionists sent peace-offering after peace-offering to the squatters to no purpose. Away in April last the Brisbane COURIER, NOW SO BITTER AGAINST THE BUSHMEN, said in reference to the unions' request to meet in conference;

The doubtful points in the situation is the apparent indisposition of the squatters to entertain a proposal for a conference. A request for one was made so long ago as January, but it cannot be considered by the Queens' and Pastorlists' Council in June and even then it must be submitted to the Federal Council for decision. This delay does not look well. It may be unavoidable delay, but it has the aspect of intention. There is a how not to do it look about the thing. If conference are not to be granted, why not say so straight-out.?”

*     *     *

The squatters have since said”straight-out” that they will not grant a conference. What, then, are the bushmen to do? Cringe and crawl to work, or stand up like the men they are, and assert their rights to live? This the bushmen have done, and because so far the squatters have failed, with all the Government assistance in the shape of police organisers and police spies to break down the unity of the workmen, and because they cannot get enough greasy, malodorous blacklegs to rob the strikers of the work and the bread which for months they have waited for, this stupid and pig-headed elique, misnamed a Government, issues a cold-blooded indictment to shoot, in order that the unionists may be terrified into accepting the squatters' terms.

*      *     *

What is the country coming to? is Queensland, the first to spring to the assistance of starving London dockers, going to forsake her own? Is Justice dead and Liberty non-existent? The press gagged and the pulpit silent? Are the men in the cities so cast down that they dare not raise their voices in protest against the gross infringement of the rights of nineteenth century white men? If so, let the spirits of our fore fathers, who forced Magna Charta from King John, at Runnymede, who brought the tyrant King Charles I. To the block, mourn the cowardice of their offspring who shiver on the steps of what should be their own, while politicians issue from luxurious chambers a tyrannous edict which should send the blood tingling through every vein and artery of all men, and which should make men set their teeth with a firm resolve to mend or end a condition of things so corrupt and perfidious.
                                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                  W. G. H.






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