Raid On The Government Printing Office
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In November 1917 during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, the
Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...
conducted a raid on the Queensland Government Printing Office in
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
. The aim of the raid was to confiscate any copies of the
Hansard ''Hansard'' is the transcripts of parliamentary debates in Britain and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard (1776–1833), a London printer and publisher, who was the first official printe ...
, the official parliamentary transcript, which documented anti-conscription sentiments that had been aired in the state's parliament.


Background

Following Australia's entry into the
first World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, thousands of Queenslanders enlisted in the military to go and fight in Europe. However, as the war dragged on and it became evident that victory would not be achieved quickly or easily, the initial enthusiasm for the conflict waned and recruitment rates began to decline. The British government, needing fresh manpower to bolster its reserves in France, pressured the Australian federal government to send more reinforcements. The federal government, led by
Billy Hughes William Morris Hughes (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was an Australian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923. He led the nation during World War I, and his influence on national politics s ...
, did not have the numbers to legislate for compulsory military service (conscription), and Hughes held a plebiscite in 1916 in an attempt to win the necessary political support to conscript able-bodied men and send them to Europe. This plan was derailed when, amongst much community division and controversy, the plebiscite returned a "No" result. The resulting political fallout led Hughes to leave his party, forming an alliance with former political foes, and a second plebiscite was called in an attempt to overturn the result of the previous one. The Queensland Government had originally been mildly supportive of the notion of conscription, but this ended with the defeat of the Commonwealth Liberal government under
Digby Denham Digby Frank Denham (25 January 1859 – 10 May 1944) was a politician and businessman in Queensland, Australia. He was a Premier of Queensland and Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly. He was the first of only two Queensland Premiers t ...
, and the election of a
Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
government led by
T. J. Ryan Thomas Joseph Ryan (1 July 1876 – 1 August 1921) was an Australian politician who served as Premier of Queensland from 1915 to 1919, as leader of the state Labor Party. He resigned to enter federal politics, sitting in the House of Represen ...
in 1915. Initially ambivalent about the issue (Ryan having deferred from signing a letter in support of conscription in the days before the 1916 vote) the Ryan government's stance hardened by late 1916, as the position of the party's rank-and-file membership swung decisively to opposing compulsory service. This opposition was not welcomed by Hughes, and Ryan was the only state premier to openly oppose the federal government on the issue. The split became serious by 1917, with Ryan acknowledged as the ''de facto'' leader of those advocating a "No" vote in the 1917 plebiscite on conscription, and the state and federal government at odds on other issues including industrial disputes, price controls, and coastal shipping. The federal government responded to this anti-conscription sentiment in the community with a series of censorship measures, enabled by the ''
War Precautions Act 1914 The War Precautions Act 1914 was an Act of the Parliament of Australia which gave the Government of Australia special powers for the duration of World War I and for six months afterwards. It was held by the High Court of Australia in '' Farey ...
'' which permitted the federal government to censor speech which in their view would have interfered with the war effort. Some of these censorship measures were unorthodox even for the time; the public performance of ''
I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier "I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier" is an American anti-war song that was influential within the pacifist movement that existed in the United States before it entered World War I. It is one of the first anti-war songs.Pelger, Martin, "Soldi ...
'' was prohibited, a ban that was openly flouted by radical anti-conscription campaigner
Cecilia John Cecilia Annie John (5 November 187728 May 1955) was an Australian social activist, peace campaigner, and musician. Early life John was born on 5 November 1877 in Hobart, Tasmania to parents who were immigrants from Wales. She left her parent ...
. An Australian Government regulation was issued in 1917 prohibiting over 200 publications, as diverse as Hearst newspapers from America,
The Cincinnati Enquirer ''The Cincinnati Enquirer'' is a morning daily newspaper published by Gannett in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. First published in 1841, the ''Enquirer'' is the last remaining daily newspaper in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, altho ...
,
Harpers Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' (stylized as ''Harper's BAZAAR'') is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. Bazaar has been published in New York City since November 2, 1867, originally as a weekly publication entitled ''Harper's Bazar''."Corporat ...
, as well as seemingly innocuous publications such as
Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Internationalism * World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship * Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community * Cosmopolitan ...
,
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, and
Good Housekeeping ''Good Housekeeping'' is an American lifestyle media brand that covers a wide range of topics from home decor and renovation, health, beauty and food, to entertainment, pets and gifts. The Good Housekeeping Institute which opened its "Experiment ...
. Premier Ryan and Treasurer
Ted Theodore Edward Granville Theodore (29 December 1884 – 9 February 1950) was an Australian politician who served as Premier of Queensland from 1919 to 1925, as leader of the Australian Labor Party (Queensland Branch), state Labor Party. He later entere ...
, finding the situation intolerable, decided to counteract the actions of censor
Jeremiah Stable Jeremiah Joseph Stable (1883–1953) was the first professor of English at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Early life Jeremiah Joseph Stable was born on 14 May 1883 in Willaston, the son of Benjamin Stable and h ...
by reading out some of the banned material on the floor of the Queensland Parliament, working on the theory that
parliamentary privilege Parliamentary privilege is a legal immunity enjoyed by members of certain legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made in the course of their legislative duties ...
would allow a
Hansard ''Hansard'' is the transcripts of parliamentary debates in Britain and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard (1776–1833), a London printer and publisher, who was the first official printe ...
containing the material to be distributed.


The raid

Hughes did not take the provocation from Ryan lightly. Because the postal service was under the control of the Australian Government, Hughes ordered federal authorities to prevent the Hansard from being distributed through the post. Travelling to Brisbane ostensibly to address a public meeting, Hughes arrived late at night with Stable and a detachment of soldiers at the
Queensland Government Printing Office The Queensland Government Printing Office is a heritage-listed printing house at 110 George Street and 84 William Street, Brisbane City, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by John James Clark, Francis Drummond Greville Stanley, and Edwi ...
, seizing all 3,300 printed copies of Hansard, along with all of the
type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * ...
. Hughes then informed Ryan that while there was "nothing worth censoring" in his own speeches, the anti-conscription materials of Theodore and his fellow minister
John Fihelly John Arthur Fihelly (7 November 1882 – 2 March 1945) was a public servant, politician and rugby union player in Queensland, Australia. He was the Treasurer of Queensland. He represented Australia as a professional rugby league footballer and ...
were objectionable and would not be allowed to be distributed. Hughes also informed the Government Printer, A. J. Cummings, not to publish any further copies of the Hansard. Cummings was an ardent conscriptionist, and disclosed to Hughes that Ryan had ordered him to ignore any censorship instructions that he might receive, and that if the Army were to attempt to enter the printing office by force, the
Queensland Police The Queensland Police Service (QPS) is the principal law enforcement agency responsible for policing the Australian state of Queensland. In 1990, the Queensland Police Force was officially renamed the Queensland Police Service and the old motto ...
would "offer every assistance in their power" to prevent them from doing so. Upon learning this, an alarmed Stable, not wanting the situation to descend into violence, cabled Hughes and asked if there were any way to solve the problem without resorting to armed force. The following day, 27 November, Ryan demanded an explanation from Hughes for the seizure of Hansard, and for the failure of the postal service to transmit copies of the Hansard to subscribers. Ryan also had a special issue of the
Government Gazette A government gazette (also known as an official gazette, official journal, official newspaper, official monitor or official bulletin) is a periodical publication that has been authorised to publish public or legal notices. It is usually establish ...
issued that described the situation, and gave a general description of the contents of the Hansard, without giving any specific details that might fall afoul of the censor. Hughes responded, taking responsibility for both actions, accusing Ryan of publishing a document that was "a Hansard in name only", and putting Ryan on notice that "if some of the statements published in your so-called Hansard are repeated outside (of parliamentary privilege), I shall know how to deal with them". A Queensland Government cabinet meeting decided that a policy of "direct confrontation" would be adopted, with armed police being stationed inside the printing office, and Ryan would be protected around the clock by an armed guard. Fihelly arranged for trade unionists from the
Brisbane Industrial Council Brisbane ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of the state of Queensland and the third-most populous city in Australia, with a population of approximately 2.8 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of South East Queensland, an urban agglo ...
to get involved, with between four and five hundred unionists to be sworn in as special constables to maintain order should an armed struggle with the Australian Government begin. Plans were drawn up to sever railway connections, block the
Brisbane River The Brisbane River (Turrbal language, Turrbal: ) is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia. It flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the ...
, and to seize all means of communication with the outside world. Late on the evening of 27 November, Hughes dispatched Stable, along with his private secretary Percy Deane, to visit the printing office once more. Stable and Deane were denied entry by the policemen at the front door, and Stable was reportedly trying to scale a side wall of the building when Cummings let them in through a rear entrance, allowing Stable to inspect the presses and determine that no further copies of the offending Hansard had been printed.


Aftermath

In addition to the direct confrontation at the Printing Office, Hughes also attacked Ryan and Theodore through the courts, charging them for having made false statements in relation to the availability of volunteer reinforcements. A hearing in December 1917 made a decision in favour of Ryan, awarding him costs. A second attempt to prosecute Ryan on similar grounds also failed, at which point Ryan brought charges against Hughes and Hughes brought charges against Ryan. These cases were terminated in April 1918 when both parties agreed to withdraw the cases against each other and let the matter rest. Ryan sent a cable to the office of the Queensland Government in London after the second plebiscite, requesting publication of his government's position against conscription in England. This cable was numbered 50, and according to Ryan a response was received from the Agent-General confirming receipt of cables number 49 and 51, and enquiring about the "missing" cable 50. Suspicion immediately fell upon Hughes, but no evidence was presented and no interference on his part was ever proven. For his part, Hughes decided to insure against the "co-ordinated left-wing groups preparing to seize (Brisbane)" by arranging for the dispatch of several large crates labelled "Furniture" to the homes of certain loyalists in Brisbane, which were reputedly filled with "rifles and machine guns". Even amongst Hughes' supporters on the pro-conscription side, opinion on the way he handled the matter were mixed. New South Wales Attorney-General David Hall opined that the dogged pursuit of Ryan had only given Ryan a higher profile and popularity than he otherwise would have enjoyed, and set him up for a national career in politics.


See also

*
Queensland Government Printing Office The Queensland Government Printing Office is a heritage-listed printing house at 110 George Street and 84 William Street, Brisbane City, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by John James Clark, Francis Drummond Greville Stanley, and Edwi ...
*
Queensland Government Gazette The Queensland Government Gazette is the government gazette of the Government of Queensland in Australia. It lists appointments and public notices including new legislation. Traditionally, publication in the gazette was a legal requirement for a ...
*
Hansard ''Hansard'' is the transcripts of parliamentary debates in Britain and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard (1776–1833), a London printer and publisher, who was the first official printe ...


Notes


References

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External links

* {{coord, -27.4731, 153.025, region:AU-QLD_type:landmark, display=title Censorship in Australia Conscription in Australia Australia in World War I Queensland in World War I 1917 in Australia Protests in Australia History of Australia (1901–1945) Rebellions in Australia History of Brisbane Political controversies in Australia 1917 protests Military history of Queensland Transcripts of legislative proceedings