CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE.

TRIAL FOR INCITEMENT TO MUTINY.

(1912).

Ar the Salford Petty Sessions on March 28th, I was brought up on remand and committed to the Assizes, bail being allowed in £200 and two sureties of £100 each.

The Assizes were held in Manchester, and my trial came on May 9th. The following report is from the "Weekly Citizen" of May 11th, 1912.

"Tom Mann!"

Thus bellowed the stentorian voice of a Manchester Assize Court official on Thursday, in the officious way these functionaries have.

The sprightly, well-knit figure of the great agitator stepped forward. Tom was smiling just as if it was a mere part in a comedy he was playing, instead of being the chief figure in a drama—a drama which at best was converted into a farce by the very nature of the absurd charge.

Tom was ushered into the dock-a very uncommon prisoner placed in the spot wherein common and sordid felons often stand. In that one incident the dignity of the workers was lowered to the ground. It was an indirect insult to Britain's millions of workers that one of their leaders should have to undergo this humiliation. Tom Mann, however, took the insult quite coolly.

Wigged and robed counsel were there for the " Crown," to make the most damage they could against the prisoner. Mann was his own barrister, and he was quite competent to defend himself. To assist him in any legal points which might arise was his solicitor, Mr. Quilliam, of Liverpool, well-known and highly appreciated in Socialist circles.

The Judge, Mr. Justice Bankes, in his gaudy robes, sat in solemn state upon the Bench, and out and in popped idle barristers to get a peep at the "terrible man

who told the soldiers not to shoot, don'tcherknow." In the body of the court were a few prominent tradeunion leaders and friends of Tom Mann's, but there were more outside who had been refused admission for some unknown reason by the officers.

NOT GUILTY.

The list of indictments was read first of all, and then Tom was asked if he was guilty or not.

"Not guilty came his prompt answer.

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The question was put from the Bench as to who appeared for the defence the prosecuting counsel had already announced that they were for the Crown and on Tom saying that he would defend himself, the Judge looked in his direction a moment.

Mr. Justice Bankes, noting something amiss, asked if the prisoner would like to have some facilities for taking notes. Tom assented, and a small table was placed in the dock.

Tom sat down beside it, opened a notebook, and began taking notes of the " allegations " the prosecution raised. May I have the witnesses out of the court?" he asked as soon as the proceedings had started.

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"Certainly," replied his Lordship, and the witnesses were ordered to retire.

Mr. Langdon, K.C., then addressed the jury. There had been an endeavour, he said, on the part of the prisoner to get the soldiers enrolled in the army to disobey the lawful orders which they might receive or to commit acts of disobedience to their officers in a way that would amount to mutiny and disobedience to the Crown.

SOLDIERS' DUTIES.

Next Mr. Langdon defined the duties of the soldiers. There were certain important obligations on military subjects of the Crown. The soldier really had a double duty.

He owed a duty both as a citizen and as a soldier, as much of one, perhaps, as the other. They differed little in character and extent, but in substance they even overlapped.

Clad though he is in uniform the soldier remains invested with the duties which everyone of us owes to the State of which he is a member.

Over and above his civil duties, which were no less than those of the civilians, the soldier by virtue of his

military oath, had duties arising from his position as a soldier. Those duties were great and important, and subject to heavy punishment in case of disobedience.

Where the military were called in to preserve peace the duties he was called upon to discharge were of the gravest importance and required the utmost discretion in their exercise.

THE OPEN LETTER.

The endeavour to incite to mutiny and disobedience was contained, counsel added, in a couple of columns printed in the " Syndicalist" and was in language of great power, well chosen to the end in view, and addressed the prosecution submitted with a deliberate intent-to soldiers in order to get them to violate their duty, and that at a time when the discharge of their duty was a matter of the gravest moment.

Mr. Langdon read the whole of the Open Letter.

TERRIBLE CONTINGENCIES.

Expressions in the letter were directed to the terrible contingencies which sometimes arose, and which had arisen in recent times, when industrial struggles trouble the country-struggles carried on generally with selfrestraint, but sometimes accompanied with violence, riot, and pillage.

That document contemplated a time when the police were helpless, and the last resource of organised authority had to be brought into play to control the forces of disorder.

Subject to the orders of the magistrates, whose duty it is to maintain order and to protect property, these forces had to be employed, and if:the riot and pillage and violence continued-if the appearance of the military forces alone was not sufficient-then, he regretted to say, those forces had to be employed, under the law, with effect, in order to achieve the ends of Society in the maintenance of peace, and the protection of property.

The language, Mr. Langdon continued, was well chosen to influence the minds of those to whom it was addressed, men who, as they were told, might be out of the colours some day and liable to be shot at themselves.

They could not get away from the inevitable conclusion that it was intended to seduce soldiers from their duty, and to incite them to mutiny when orders were given them which they ought to obey.

QUESTIONABLE.

Counsel then dealt with the question of Tom Mann's responsibility for the publication. Mr. Langdon said the "Syndicalist was published in January of this year by the Industrial Syndicalist Education League.

Of that League a Mr. Bowman was secretary, and the prisoner Mann was chairman. It was printed at Walthamstow by two men named Buck.

The Judge: How can we admit this evidence ? Counsel contended that it was quite an admissible statement, and an argument ensued upon that point. Finally the Judge addressed Tom thus:

"I presume that you would desire the whole of the occurrence at Salford to be in the knowledge of the jury?"

66 Quite so," promptly answered Tom.

Counsel then went on with his argument, and said that the editor of the paper and the secretary of the League had been arrested for the publication of the letter.

On February 15th a man was arrested at Aldershot for endeavouring to distribute copies of the letter to soldiers in camp, and on March 13th there was a meeting at Salford at which a speech was made by the prisoner, while on March 14th there was another meeting, and it was in respect to publication at that meeting that the indictment was drawn up, and to that publication he desired to call attention.

ALLEGED OFFENCE.

Mr. Langdon read extracts from the speech made by the prisoner on that occasion as follows:

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They (the Government) have already prepared the hotel and barracks for the military, and they have appointed men in charge of this, right in this very district, in this town, and all around. What are they doing it for? To bring them here to shoot you down. That is what for. That is their intention. They are trying to close the mouths of any of us that dare to talk freely and interchange opinions with some degree of courage. Therefore it is that they have arrested the man that our chairman has referred to.

"There are two brothers who are printers of this little paper; they have printed it on behalf of the committee of which I was chairman. The secretary of that committee, a comrade of mine, Guy Bowman,

was arrested after leaving my house last Friday evening on his way to his own at Walthamstow.

"The detectives went there, searched every room, and confiscated all they could get hold of in the way of copies of the paper and also new matter prepared for the next issue. They took him to the police station, charged him with treason, felony, or some other rot, landed him in Brixton Gaol and refused him bail, and he has been there this week. What has he done? He has made no remarks whatever; he is simply identified with the issue of this little paper.

"Now I will read you a paragraph or two. It contains an open letter to British Socialists-no! I beg pardon, British soldiers :

BUILT OF DIFFERENT STUFF.

After that Mann, said Crown counsel, read extracts from the " Open Letter," and continued:

and if these

"Now I will ask you is there anything wrong there? Is it not true? They are called upon to murder us. (A voice: 'Yes.') We know they were called upon to murder in Liverpool soldiers be ordered to fire and to murder, to fire and to kill-for that is how they have been told to fireand then to tell us we dare not, and shall not, on pain of imprisonment, raise our voices, utter a sentiment, or dare to address them, and urge them not to do so, then if we obey, we are indeed cowards and mean things.

"But we are built of different stuff, and by all the gods and devils I will let them know that I am fearless in the matter. I do not know to what extent there are detectives or plain-clothes police in this hall, but at each meeting I have been at for a long time there have been men sent by the police for the express purpose of taking notes. It may be just as our comrade Bowman has been charged with treason, felony, and what not, for being identified with the paper he has issued; if he is punished for that, and it is an offence and so serious they will not allow him to come out on bail, I do not see how I shall escape as chairman of that committee. You must not be surprised if I, too, am arrested, and find myself in court, but because of that possibility I am not going to cease from denouncing these tactics." Counsel said that this meant that the prisoner fully understood what the letter was aimed at, that he

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