CHANGES IN S.A. LAW

Press, Volume C, Issue 29515, 17 May 1961, Page 15

CHANGES IN S.A. LAW

Amendment Fails

(N.Z P.A -Reuter—Copyright) CAPE TOWN, May 15 An Opposition amendment to prevent the third reading of the General Law Amendment Bill, on the grounds that it infringed the rights and liberty of the individual, was rejected in the House of Assembly today by 82 votes to 44. The national chairman of the Progressive Party, Mr Harry Lawrence, told the House that the Government's proposed measure to deal with "troublemakers” was an ominous symptom of something seriouslv wrong with race relations In the country. Power to outlaw institutions and deprive men of their liberty for undisclosed reasons threw a lurid light on conditions in the Union, he said. “Communism thrives on discontent, and this bill will make agitators ” The Minister of Justice ’Mr Erasmus), who moved the third reading, said in reply to the debate that the placing of onus to prove his innocence on a person accused of intimidation tactics was the only way to deal with intimidators. “Only a man who is lingering about bus stops with his little briefcase and a man who suddenly appears with a knife in his hands at the door of a peaceful person can explain his own actions,” said the Minister. Mr Erasmus said the crux of the whole bill was the provision that in certain cases the Attorney-General could decide whether a man should be detained for 12 days instead of 48 hours beforebeing charged in Court