Annie Sophia Lauritz
1870-1926
Born: Victoria, Australia
Died: Northcote, Victoria, Australia
<p> </p><font size="2">The Argus ,Melbourne</font><p><strong>Wednesday 11 October 1916</strong> </p><p><span> CONSCRIPTION.</span></p> <p><span> RIGHT OF "FREE SPEECH."</span></p> <p><span> PLEA BY STATE MEMBERS.</span></p> <p><span> During the debate on Supply in the</span><span> Legislative Assembly last night, several</span><span> members of the Opposition protested in</span><span> vigorous terms against what they described</span><span> as denial to the opponents of conscription</span><span> the right of free speech, and they criticised</span><span> the Chief Secretary's department and press</span><span> in particular.</span></p> <p><span> Mr. J. W. Billson inquired of the Chief</span><span> Secretary (Mr. McLeod) if his department</span><span> or the police were responsible for the</span><span> abandonment of the anti-conscriptionist</span><span> meeting at South Melbourne on Friday</span><span> night.</span></p> <p><span> Mr. Jewell asked the Chief Secretary if</span><span> steps would be taken to have the same</span><span> protection given to those against conscrip</span><span>tion as in favour of it.</span></p> <p><span> The Premier (Sir Alexander Peacock).</span><span> Why not appeal to those who will not give</span><span> a hearing to the conscription side? </span></p> <p><span> Mr. Jewell.-He was at a meeting on the</span><span> "anti" side when the police stood in front</span><span> of the speaker, whose name, if he made a</span><span> slip, was to be taken. The "anti" could</span><span> not secure halls, and had to speak in the<span> streets</span>.</span></p> <p><span> Mr. Hannah urged that a definite assur-</span><span> ance should be given before the House ad</span><span>journed for the campaign that full oppor-</span><span> tunity to all to express their opinions would be allowed. </span></p> <p><span> Sir Alexander Peacock. - The "pros"</span><span> could not get a hearing in your own con</span><span>stituency the other night.</span></p> <p><span> Mr. Hannah.-He was not responsible.</span><span> He wanted fair play for both aides. The</span><span> case against conscription had not had fair</span><span> treatment from the Press. Meetings had</span><span> been prohibited in the South Melbourne</span><span> market, where they had been held for</span><span> twenty years.</span></p> <p><span> Sir Alexander Peacock.-Was the mar</span><span>ket not open for business?</span></p> <p><span> Mr. Hannah. - He would not be side</span><span>tracked. It was one of the great forums</span><span> of the metropolis. (Laughter.) Meetings</span><span> on vacant allotments in Chapel <span>street</span>,</span><span> Prahran, on Friday night, were prohibited,</span><span> but the "pro" people were allowed to speak</span><span> on the town hall steps. </span></p> <p><span> Mr. McLeod.-We have no control over</span><span> the councils.</span></p> <p><span> Mr. Hannah.-At Geelong and elsewhere</span><span> similar things occurred. They were having</span><span> "a taste of Kaiserism." </span></p> <p><span> Mr. Bowser.-You are fighting for the</span><span> right to leave the Anzacs in the lurch.</span><span> (Hear, hear.) </span></p> <p><span> Mr. Hannah.-That is unworthy of Mr.Bowser.</span></p> <p><span> Messrs. Sinclair, Prendergast, and Clough</span><span> spoke similarly, and upbraided the Press</span><span> for its alleged suppression of reports and</span><span> arguments against conscription.</span></p> <p><span> Mr. McLeod said that he thought he was</span><span> at an anti-conscription meeting. (Laugh</span><span>ter.) The matters members had referred</span><span> to had nothing to do with his department</span><span> or the Government. The police were in</span><span>structed to know no party, as regarded</span><span> either the recent one-days cessation of work</span><span> or conscription. The councils could act as</span><span> they thought fit. The police had power to</span><span> prohibit <span>street</span> meetings, but the South Melbourne Market was under the control of the</span><span> council. Provision was contained in the</span><span> Police Act for the chairman of a public</span><span> meeting to order the removal by the police</span><span> of any persons misbehaving themselves. If</span><span> it were generally known that chairmen had</span><span> this power there would be more orderly</span><span> meetings. Both sides should have an oppor</span><span>tunity of stating their case.</span></p> <p><span> The Premier (Sir Alexander Peacock) said</span><span> that he would like to see the different halls</span><span> made available for the discussion of con-</span><span> scription by both sides.</span></p> <p><span> Mr. Solly pointed out that the superin</span><span>tendent of police at South Melbourne, the</span><span> South Melbourne City Council, and the</span><span> Chief Secretary all denied responsibility for </span><span>preventing the anti-conscription meeting at</span><span> South Melbourne. Somebody must have</span><span> given the order. A fair deal was not being</span><span> given to those who were opposed to con</span><span>scription. Public halls were, built for the</span><span> free expression of public opinion.</span></p> <p><span> Mr. Mackinnon said that at any rate the</span><span> police were quite impartial in the matter,</span><span> and told how he had been announced,</span><span> along with others, to address an open-air</span><span> conscription meeting; but the police in</span><span>formed him that their orders were not to</span><span> permit any meeting to take place. The</span><span> policeman said that he was not only going</span><span> to move the audience on, but he was going</span><span> to move the speakers on. (Langhter.) The</span><span> interruption of meetings on this question</span><span> was serious, in view of the grave issue</span><span> which was at stake. It might not matter</span><span> very much to Australia which way the refer</span><span>endum went, but it would mean very much</span><span> to the history of the world. He was one of</span><span> those who thought that the holding of a</span><span> referendum on this question was a glaring</span><span> error, but it was to be taken, and the re</span><span>sult of it would undoubtedly have</span><span> a great bearing on the lengthen</span><span>ing or shortening of the war. If</span><span> it was found that one branch of the</span><span> British Empire had deliberately adopted a</span><span> view that it was sick of the war, that must</span><span> hearten up the other side. </span></p> <p><span> Mr. Hogan protested against the Moonee</span><span> Ponds Town Hall having been refused for</span><span> an anti-conscription meeting.</span></p> <p><span> Mr. Solly.-Mr. Hughes, had the Mel</span><span>bourne Town Hall free, but the City Coun-</span><span> cil would not let the anti-conscriptionists</span><span> have it even by paying for it.</span></p> <p><span> The discussion on the question then terminated. </span></p> <p><span> <strong>SPEAKERS HOWLED DOWN.</strong></span></p><strong> </strong><p><strong><span> Fitzroy Women's Meeting.</span></strong></p> <p><span> The most disgraceful disturbance yet wit</span><span>nessed in connection with the conscription</span><span> campaign occurred at the Fitzroy Town</span><span> Hall last night. A meeting of women</span><span> only had been called to hear the views on</span><span> conscription of Mrs. G. K. Henderson, Mrs.</span><span> J. McInerny , Senator Lynch, and Mr.</span><span> Crawford Vaughan (Premier of South Aus</span><span>tralia). Policemen stationed at the en</span><span>trance prevented any men from gaining ad</span><span>mittance. The hall was not half filled,</span><span> but from the beginning it was evident that</span><span> a considerable section of the audience had</span><span> attended the meeting with the intention of</span><span> breaking it up.</span></p> <p><span> No sooner had the speakers, headed by</span><span> the mayor (Councillor Langdon), appeared</span><span> on the platform than there was an outburst</span><span> of cat-calls, shrieks, and groans. Senator</span><span> Lynch particularly was accorded on un</span><span>favourable reception. The mayor, en</span><span>deavouring to make himself heard above</span><span> the noise, craved the attention of the audi</span><span>ence for a few moments, but he was greeted</span><span> with renewed shrieking and. ironical laugh</span><span>ter. What he said was quite inaudible,</span><span> even at the press table, and at last he gave</span><span> up the attempt to make himself heard, and</span><span> called, on Mrs. McInerny.</span></p> <p><span> For two or three minutes Mrs. McInerny</span><span> stood on the stage waiting an opportunity</span><span> to speak, but there was no abatement of</span><span> the noise. A young woman, wearing a no-</span><span> conscription badge, mounted the platform,</span><span> and appealed for a hearing for Mrs.</span><span> McInerny, but it was in vain.</span></p> <p><span> Councillor Lewis shouted above the din,</span><span> 'I want to ask you ladies if you came here</span><span> to-night to listen to speeches or to make a</span><span> noise. If you want lo make a noise, you</span><span> can make it just as well outside."</span></p> <p><span> A Woman in the Audience-Peace; we</span><span> want peace. (Uproar.)</span></p> <p><span> Councillor Lewis.-You don't want peace;</span><span> you want a penny bun.</span></p> <p><span> Mrs. McInerny at last gave up the at-</span><span> tempt to secure a hearing, and Mr. Vaughan</span><span> took the platform.</span></p> <p><span> "Ladies of Fitzroy," he began, but he</span><span> got no-further. All the weird sounds of</span><span> which the feminine vocal organs are capable</span><span> assailed him, and, realising the hopelessness</span><span> of making himself heard, he leaned down</span><span> over the platform and spoke to the press</span><span>men alone. He said that he wanted the</span><span> women of Fitzroy to think of the great</span><span> sacrifices already made for the cause of the</span><span> Allies. It only wanted now that they</span><span> should make the crowning sacrifice by giv</span><span>ing to the Government full powers to utilise Australia's manhood for the suc</span><span>cessful prosecution of the war. Women</span><span> were not asked by voting "Yes" to send</span><span> men to the front. They were only asked</span><span> to give the Federal Government power to</span><span> use all the resources at its command, both</span><span> of men and money, in order to win the war.</span><span> The responsibility for using those powers</span><span> would fall, not upon the individual, but</span><span> upon the Government.</span></p> <p><span> Just at this stage a young girl seated in</span><span> the eastern gallery was seen to remove a</span><span> recruiting poster, bearing a reproduction of</span><span> the Union Jack, and the words, "Our Flag;</span><span> Work for It; Fight for It." Her action</span><span> was a signal for an outburst of cheers and</span><span> groans from supporters and opponents re</span><span>spectively, and for several minutes it was</span><span> quite impossible for the meeting to proceed.</span></p> <p><span> Eventually a policeman rescued the poster.</span></p> <p><span> Mr. Vaughan, after several vain attempts,</span><span> gave up all hope of making himself heard</span><span> by the audience, and Mrs. Henderson took</span><span> his place.</span></p> <p><span> In introducing Mrs. Henderson, the</span><span> mayor stated that she had already lost two</span><span> sons,both of whom were buried in Gallipoli,</span><span> and he appealed to the audience to give her</span><span> a hearing. Mrs. Henderson was dressed</span><span> in mourning for her sons, but this fact had</span><span> no effect whatever upon the disturbing</span><span> element in the crowd, who continued to</span><span> jeer and hiss. For several minutes she stood there, while the mayor vainly ap</span><span>pealed for order.</span></p> <p><span> A Member of the Audience.-I have only</span><span> three sons; two are at the front, and the</span><span> other one is going. I am ashamed of Fitz-</span><span> roy. (Cheers and uproar.)</span></p> <p><span> Another Member of the Audience.-It is</span><span> not Fitzroy women making all this noise.</span><span> It is an organised opposition from outside.</span></p> <p><span> Mrs. Henderson at last gave up, without</span><span> having been able to utter one sentence.</span></p> <p><span> Senator Lynch then stepped forward, and</span><span> the uproar, which had slightly subsided,</span><span> broke out again, more wildly than ever. In</span><span> addition to cat-calls, shrieks, and hysterical</span><span> laughter, the practice of "counting out"</span><span> was adopted by the woman, and each time</span><span> Senator Lynch opened his mouth to speak </span><span>there was such a yell that he gave up the attempt.</span></p> <p><span> "I only wish you could count out the</span><span> Germans like that," he said, after one par</span><span>ticularly vociferous outburst. But that was</span><span> all he did say.</span></p> <p><span> Finally, seeing that it was hopeless to</span><span> endeavour to conduct the meeting pro</span><span>perly, the mayor declared it at on end.</span><span> Those on the platform rose and sang the</span><span> National Anthem, but the singing was</span><span> drowned by the shrieking and yelling of the</span><span> disturbers. The meeting lasted less than</span><span> three-quarters of an hour altogether.</span></p> <p><span> A Union Jack, which had covered the</span><span> chairman's table, was seized from below</span><span> as those on the platform disappeared into</span><span> the wings, and threatened with destruction,</span><span> but the mayor rescued it just in time. The</span><span> yelling and shrieking went on, even after</span><span> the speakers had all left the platform, and</span><span> the majority of the women in the hall</span><span> showed no inclination to leave. Several</span><span> young girls began dancing in the cleared</span><span> space between the front seats and the stage,</span><span> and when the policemen endeavoured to</span><span> induce them to go home they tried to swing</span><span> the constables into the dance with them.</span></p> <p><span> At last the lights were put out, and those</span><span> in the hall were left to get out as best they</span><span> could. Meanwhile a large crowd of men</span><span> had gathered outside the hall, attracted by</span><span> the yells and screams from inside. Sergeant</span><span> Selwood, who was in charge of the force of</span><span> police detailed to control the meeting, was</span><span> assaulted by one of these men in the dark,</span><span> and he was badly cut about the face. Seri</span><span>ous trouble seemed inevitable, but the other</span><span> members of the force present rescued him,</span><span> and the crowd eventually melted away.</span></p> <p><span> As a result of the disturbance within the</span><span> hall two women have been arrested, and</span><span> are to appear in the police court this morn</span><span>ing. They are- </span></p> <p><span> <font size="3"><strong>Annie Sophia Carty</strong></font>, <span>173</span> <span>Cambridge</span> <span>street</span>. Collingwood,-charged with having done wilful </span><span>damage to the property of the corporation.</span></p> <p><span> Jean Daly, 17. Osborne <span>street</span>, South Yarra,charged with having used insulting words to </span><span>the police. </span></p> <p><span> A SUBSEQUENT MEETING.</span></p> <p><span> When the meeting in the main hall was</span><span> abandoned an adjournment to the lecture</span><span> hall upstairs was made. The disturbing</span><span> element was excluded from this meeting,</span><span> and the following motion was agreed to:</span></p> <p><span> "That this representative committee of women </span><span>of Fitzroy determine to do all in their power to</span><span> secure an affirmative vote on October 25."</span></p><p> </p><font size="2">The Argus ,Melbourne</font><p><strong>Thursday 12 October 1916</strong></p><p><span> <strong>Women in Court.</strong> </span></p> <p><span> At the Fitzroy Court yesterday, before</span><span> Mr.-S.J. Goldsmith, P.M., and a bench</span><span> of honorary justices, a married woman</span><span> named <strong><span>Annie</span> <span>Sophia</span> <span>Carty</span></strong>, residing at</span><span> Cambridge street, Collingwood, was charged</span><span> with having damaged a paper flag, the pro</span><span>perty of the military authorities.</span></p> <p><span> Sergeant Sellwood said:- I was present at</span><span> a meeting in the Fitzroy Town Hall on</span><span> Tuesday evening. The meeting was con</span><span>vened for women only, and had to do with</span><span> conscription. Defendant tore down and</span><span> trampled on a flag.</span></p> <p><span> Mr. N. L. O'Connor, who appeared for de</span><span>fendant, applied for an adjournment for a</span><span> week. The application was granted. Bail</span></p> <p><span> to the extent of £10 was allowed.</span></p> <p><span> Jean Daly, described as an organiser and</span><span> a resident of South Yarra, was next charged</span><span> with having made use of insulting words.</span></p> <p><span> Sergeant Sellwood said:-Daly said to me</span><span> at a meeting in the Fitzroy Town Hall on</span><span> Tuesday evening, "If I were a man I would</span><span> punch your dirty fat face for you."</span></p> <p><span> Defendant was fined 20/.</span></p><p> </p>
<p><strong>The Age</strong></p><p><strong>27 September 1926 </strong>(page 1)<strong><br></strong></p><p>CARTY-On the 25th September, Annie Sophia ,relict of the late Peter Carty, No.6 Bower-street,Westgarth, beloved mother of Violet (Mrs.Grave) Dick and Jack , loving sister of Ernest Lauritz, Ada (Mrs.Weedon),Lizzie (Mrs.Davis) Lily (Mrs Bainbridge)</p><p>Private interment</p><p>Passed peacefully away </p><p> </p><p><strong>The Age</strong></p><p><strong>27 September 1926 </strong>(page 1 of 28th)</p><p>CARTY-The Friends of the late Mrs ANNIE SOPHIA CARTY are respectfully notified that her remains will be interred at Melbourne General Cemetery,Carlton.The funeral is appointed to leave her residence 6 Bower-street Northcote (Westgarth) THIS DAY (Monday) 27th inst. at 2.30pm (Private interment)</p><p>W FERGUSON,Undertaker 176 High street Northcote,opposite Public Library,and Vere street,Collingwood. Phones N'cote 99 and J1418 </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>