IN DEFENCE OF WANGANUI

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2485, 11 June 1915, Page 6

IN DEFENCE OF WANGANUI

(To the Editor.) Sir,—Mr. Geo. Fcnwick's hostile comment oil the recent riot in Wanganui, m which some damage was dono to property believed to belong to pro-Ger-mans, calls for a defence which Wanganui is entitled to. Mr. Fenwick wastes no time beating about the bush. Hn says: "As for the cowardly and vindictive mob who in Wanganui recently disgraced themsell'es by destroying the property of men whose shoes they are not worthy to black, they aro only deserving of scorn and contempt." This sort or sweeping statement is all very well in its way, but is not a just ver- ; itct, and for the sake of Wanganui's jood name I wish to submit the follow- ' mg explanation of Wanganui's action : to your readers:— ' To begin with, Wanganui's residents 1 ire an exceedingly loyal people in the ' lost sense of the word. 1 doubt if ' ui.V part of New Zealand is more ear- ' :iestly -patriotic than wo are. it the ( same time, it would be hard to find a ' more law-abiding lot of people anywhere 1 than live in this borough. I have been 1 ji resident here for twelve years, and 1 know what I am talking about. The : people aro neither cowardly nor vindic- 1 live, nor are they deserving of either 1 scorn or contempt. \ In tho first place, I have never known \ ;ho people of Wanganui to have been ' >o intensely stirred against the Germans ' is thoy had been during the few days 1 mmediately prior to tho riot. How you ' oeople in Wellington viewed tho de- ' itruction of tho Lusitania I do not ' enow, but I do know that Wanganui 1 is a whole was stirred to the depths )vor the murderous actions of our xjwardly enemy in this matter. After ihis. in the same week, the news of , ehe ghastly "gas-poisoning" tactics ( lame to us. j As one who is well informed about i tVanganui's happenings, I would now < ike to refer to the riot. I will not ] ustify it for a moment, but I 1 san explain it. Mr. Heinhold, a t Serman who was the object | )f attack, is welU known to j ne. He has been in Wanganui for 1 (-ears, and I have personally kHown him 1 for twelve. How the news got about 1 [ do not know, but it was commonly ; relieved that Mr. Heinhold had ex- i pressed himself as not favourable to our i British cause. This belief was wide- « spread, ajid when Wanganui lost its t us call it a "brain storm"— t Vir. Heinhold had to bear the brunt of t. For my part I have had many conversations with Mr. Heinhold, and do lot believe that he is anti-British or ;hat the stories circulated about him ,vere true. I personally warned Mr. ( Heinhold four days before the riot that 1 irouble was brewing for him. I had \ leard rumours to that effect. Anyway, 1 small section of the people, under v ;reat provocation, and during a period c if much sorrow and disgust, lost its t lead for an hour and did many things v ;hat it was very sorry for a few houia 1: iftenvards; so sorry indeed that very r ihortlj; over a hundred of our business v r.on signed on as special police to seo d ;hat such temper would bo given a bad t ime if it manifested itself again. fc The public must remember that Wan iganui was not the only town that let ts feelings get the better of it. South b Lfrica, and England itself, got out of ° lounds, and we are informed that near- e v threo-quarters of a million pounds » [amago was done at Johannesburg. I 0 lon't think that it was a personal natter at all. The Bristol Piano Com>any had previously been the "Dreslen"; the "stein" at the end of the came Hallenstein had quite a German C eok about it; Mr. Heinhold was a a Jerman born, and theso were the people h he rioters sailed into. Unreasonable? P Certainly; but tho people were not in a » aim reasonable mood. They were in a 1 larassed mood, brought on by reading K f Germany's brutality and villainy. I }' lo not wish to justify the action of the ioters. They did wrong. But the whole rouble was caused by a very small sec- 1 ion of tho Wanganui people, who under ory trying • circumstances let their J 1 omper obscure their judgment for a " ittle while, and while in this mood they id things they aftonvards wore, I am j 1 lire, very sorrv for.—l am, etc., " WALTER GREY. " Wnneamii. 01