SEDITIOUS SPEECH
DURING THE STRIKE
HUNTER SETS PROBATION ON SPECIAL GROUNDS Edward Hunter, found guilty of baring uttered seditious, words during the strike period, cam© up for sentence at tho Supreme Court yesterday morning) before His Honour Mr. Justice Ilosking.
Sir. T. 31. Wilford appeared for prisoner, and said that he desired to ask that tho easo should be dealt with in a particular way. Prisoner was 28 years of age, and was a married man with four children.
"His Honour; "I do not think that is any excuse, 01* any reason, why the punishment should he alleviated. The theory seems to be that a married man may commit crime with impunity, and that those not married should be punished."
Mr. Wilford continued, and stated that lie merely wished to put the full position before His Honour. Prisoner came to Wellington during the strike, as a delegate from the West Coast, and was not a strike official in Wellington. His Honour: "He was one'oll tho West Coast." Mr. Wilford: "A secretary, I believe.'' ' A Genuine Belief. Prisoner had a genuine belief that there was something wrong, which ho might be able to put right, and Mr. Wilford asked that His Honour se6 that tli'e, punishment would bo such as would fit the crime. Ho pointed <mfc that. Robert Semplfl had been 'bound over in the sum of £1000, to' keep ■ tht; peace. His Honoitf: "I am not familiar with ' tho particulars, and so am unable to appreciate what led to that decision." Mr. Wilford said that in Sewple's case tho sedition charge had been dropped. lit tho present case nothing had occurred b'y reason of tho prisoner's speech. Tho oifcncc for which prisoner had been found guilty was not an oifenco for which probation Blight not be granted. Punishment for sedition had been fixed at two years.' imprisonment, while tho punish incut- (or such an offence, as doing grievous' bodily harm to another man,'or for _ personal violence was four or ftvo times as jrroat. As a matter/of fact, said Mr. "Wilford, tf half the speeches had not been reported, 1m did "not thiiili they would havo had half, tllo trouble. To ofder tho prisoner to como op for sentence when called upon would bo the best deterrent they could impose en him tot to repeat- his offence. The case was 0110. he held, which gavo His Honour <ili opportunity to temper justice With mercy. All that'the country, required wis that tho offence should not be repealed. Tho recent cases wore the first which had eVer ocetirrod in this country. Prisoner maths, olio speech only;'a speech that could not be defended. and he took it thai prisoner was not going to ho mad-B an example For the rest of Now Zealand.' The leaders of the strike had hecu dealt with bv the. Courts, hut prisoner was not a leader: h« was only a delegate ' from the West Coast, and the jury had asked His Honour to be merciful ■
Conditions of Probation. Til addressing the prisoner His Honour sawl that'the crime of which lie hart been found gniJtv-spoalung .seditioiis de-red wi-fti liable to un* nrisonment, frith hard labour, for two vests. He' (His Honour) l»d listened to what Mr. Wilford had said frith attention, au.d, he hoped, for the purpose of making the application of lus words to the. case ill hand. Ho thought-, under the circumstances, tliat the proper punishment would he to admit prisoner to. probation. He was not disposed to order him to coma to f®r sontento when called upon. He wag going to make the. order on special grounds, as .follows: (!) It was not seditious libel-of winch prisoner had been' 'convicted. Seditious lihe! was calculated to he more permanent, ill its «ftocfc.tlm& wcwds; (2) prisoner had already bean- hound over • for a-period of sis months, -which had not expired, to keep the peace in reswest of the same words; (3) wisoner Had beett c-oiiuaittetl for trial by the Court since -December last, _ aiid had ' undergone two trials; (4) His Hanour was assured prisoner was not one -of the leaders of the strike, so, from that paint of view, his Words would not carry the satnc> weight as the words of others would have doiio. Another consideration., said His Honour, was that the words vhieh prisoner, was convicted of having tised "were uttered at tho clss® of "the strike. When prisoner throw his match .the powder had well nigh perished. "Pertiapa it \ Was a? well." said His Honflfir. • Oqry's Plea For .Mercy. His Honour said that the words tittered were directed rather-to the incitement of the strikerso.o!u %e West Coast .than to the assembly in Wellington, and the words wcw> probably less calculated t'o result in any action than they would have been had tbey beett directly inciting the men iii Wellington. And, last of all, a matter to which His Honour . had given very great attention, was the fact' that the jury which found prisoner amity, brought in a rider in the following words: ''Oil account of the prisoner being; e&fried away with Jiis feelings as til© time, and not, perhaps, realising the seriousness of the words, wo give a strong recommendation to we-rey." Mr. Wilford, continued His Honour, had «nd that prisoner was a young -man who wfl.s convinced that there were Wrongs to ho remedied. They were all convinced of that, probably. I'erhnps the charge might be a. lesson to prisoner that if he sought to redress wrongs lie would havo to do s,o by law-; tit! means, .and not by inciting violence and illegal methods. Prisoner was admitted to probation for a period of 12 months, and a'condition of probation was that lip should neither write nor speak seditions words curing the period of probation.
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Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2154, 21 May 1914, Page 6
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960SEDITIOUS SPEECH Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2154, 21 May 1914, Page 6
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