ture action. All their pickets and guards were doubled that
night, and specially the guard on the railway bridge across the Port
River, which connected Port Adelaide with the shore and the forts.

During that afternoon I had given instructions that every available man
of our Permanent Force was to assemble at Fort Glanville, with a view to
a gun competition next day. Parliament was sitting. I was at Fort
Glanville, much occupied in laying down the conditions for next day's gun
practice. In the course of the evening Mr. Playford, the Defence
Minister, telephoned me from Parliament House to be ready to march with
my men under arms to Port Adelaide. As this was the first time that--as
far as I knew--an order had been issued by any Australian Government to
its permanent troops to march under arms to assist the police in quelling
civil riots, I asked that the instructions should be sent to me in
writing. The final words I heard on the telephone were, "Your
instructions will reach you by a mounted orderly in plenty of time for
you to act."

At about eleven o'clock that evening the mounted orderly arrived, and at
three in the morning--it was summer time, a moonlight night, practically
as clear as day--we marched out of the fort on our way to Port Adelaide,
where I found close on 400 police, mounted and foot, all armed. The
Government had, therefore, some 500 armed men to cope with the strikers
if they persisted in carrying out their threats. Half-past five came. It
was daylight. The inspector in charge of the police patrols which had
been posted the previous evening at all important bridges and approaches
to the wharves suggested that I should accompany him to view the
situation. We rode out together. Nobody was to be seen; the port was as
quiet as if it were Sunday morning. The strike leaders had become fully
aware of the determination of the Government to deal firmly with any
attempt on their part to disturb the public peace, and had deemed
discretion the better part of valour. The strike was virtually over, and,
after providing a good breakfast for my men, we marched back to Fort
Glanville in peace and quiet. This was the only instance that I am aware
of in the history of the Australian colonies when the members of the
Permanent Forces were actually called out and marched under arms to the
assistance of the civil power. Let us hope it will be the last.

Hardly were these troubles over when another large body of Australian