SEDITION CHARGES

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2959, 23 December 1916, Page 10

SEDITION CHARGES

FRASER AND BRINDLE

BOTH CASES BEFORE THE COURT

DECISIONS TO-DAY

In the Magistrate's .Court yesterday Peter Eraser and Thomas Brindlo wero charged with having made 'seditious utterances in speeches delivered in. the Alexandra Hall on December 10. Mr. W. G. Riddell, S.M., was on tho Bench, Mr. P. S. K. Macassy appeared for tho Crown, and the defendants conducted their cases without the. aid of counsel. Eraser's caso was heard first. , Mr. Macassey said the proceedings wero taken uridor the War Regulations, and there was liability to a penalty of £100 or twelve months' imprisonment, Respecting the prohibition, of seditious utterances, it was not necessary to. prove seditious intention; seditions .ten. dency was sufficient. The speecli\was rnado in tlio presence ,i of about .' 400 people, and it came within, the clauses respecting .'exciting disioyalty,, interfering with recruiting, and discouraging tho prosecution of tho war,-to' a ' vctorious conclusion. In the'se days overy man should -be at his country's call, and he invited the Court to'contrast Eraser's speech with 'that- of Lloyd G«>rgo to show how highly seditious Eraser's were.

John Thomas Watkins, a shorthand reporter, sworo that ho haa-reported the speech -on which Frasor was charged, and that his -report .was accurate.

To l'raser: Witness bad done work for Hansard. . There.had not bqqn frequent complaints of his'work. The words he .had testified to were portion of tho { .speech.

His Worship; Is not tho,information the full report? ' Mr. .Macassey: No;-: Extracts from the speech.

Detective-Sergeant Rawle, - DetectiveSergeant Cox, !and Detective- Mason also gavo evidence.

Fraser did not giro evidence,,. but made a. statement explaining his speech. .He claimed that the statute allowed him a right to point out defects ill our law; and urge people to havo them , remedied. It was a matter, of common knowedgo that Parliament thought the Military Service Act neccsT sary. Defendant along with others thought that a 'mistake, and an un- 1 ■warranted interference l with tho ; liber-" ties of the people. of New Zealand. The_ working peoplo had shown by their conferences that they thought it well to havo the' Act repealed, and' consequently thoy had organised meetings to discuss the__matter of bringing'about a repeal _by means. A resolution favouring ajconference to,that end was moved, land he seconded the motipn, and in- support of it';made:the' speech on which ho was now charged. Ho claimed that as a\ British citizen he had a right to say Worthing he had uttered. , The workers desirea to see the war ended - and peace proclaimed, and they thought the belligerents should state their' terms.. His WorshipYou-know as well as I do what has happened in tlio past. Do you think the Germans would: keep their word ? . .

Fraser said ho. would not like, to trust the Germaii Government, but if Germany were disarmed the bargain could be kept. His Worship : ,1 suppose you know that, before the war England took every step to avoid it? Eraser disagreed. ' He thought the "vacillation of Sir Edward Grey" was blamable.

_ Fraser continued to. run through portions of his Ejpeech. and pause'd at the .placo where Tie said (in effect), that despite- his awful' description of war Lloyd, George light-heartedly spoke of continuing it. l •

His Worship: Surely you don't sug-gest-.that seriously? Fraser: spoke of the men as, "game-cocks." i Mr. Asquith never descended to euch language. His Worship: Don't.the majority of us understand that language ? Fraser said such language did not become a maai who was about-to assume the British Premiership. It was not usual to descend to. the jargon'' of the pugiliati -'!• . " 'i His Worship; Maybe. Fraser said the. peace wishes of the Labour, people, were important, and' in Germany meetings, attended by hundreds of thousands, liad demanded peace. - ,

His Worship: Are we concerned with

the peoplo ofi, Germany? Fraser 6aid' ; that as an international Socialist he Mvtas. 1 • His Worship:; Don't you think tliere are members of that body in Germany who. are enemies of England? Fraser: • Thanks to the military system, similar io our Military' Service Act, they liaal no option. Had the Socialists had a majority'there would have been no war, and humanity would not have been over-run.

His Worship: You have dealt with ! the question of seditious intention..' You might turn your attention to the question of seclitious tendency. Fraser submitted there was nothing which could be construed into a disloyal ntterancet The speech was made with the best intentions'and the best' motives. In Eingland tho right of free thought and fc-ee speech had been fought! for andi obtained, and was still allowed. A conviction in this case would bo out of keeping with British liberty. His Worships Do I take it vou do not intend to give, evidence? You merely rclv on your Jelxplanatiftn. ■ ' Fraser: No| evidence. His Worship did not give a decisionimmediately. He asked for a full copy of tlio speech, and said he would announce judgmotnt' this morning. The case ■ against Brindle was then taken. - '■ ■ ■ The accused did not give evidence, but addressed the Court. He said that ho had supported the resolution at the meeting because he believed that the

proseiice of tlsc Military Service Act

upon the Statitte Book of New Zealand was detriments' to the interests of the peoplo. He submitted that his statement that it Tas time "to look more closely at the roads that lead l to the blood-pond of Europe" was not seditious. Similarlly. with the reference to men having died on Gallipoli in order to make a free {presentation of Constantinople to Russia. Ho had said that the only _ people that could do away wjth militarism was the British peoplo. Militarism, in its final political analysis, was coaly a national ideal.

In reply to. a) question by the Magistrate, the accused said that he could not see that at present British militarism was different from German militarism. It had been.

Continuing, the accused said that if ho were forbidden to state facts in reference to thK present awful catastrophe in which! the world was involved British freedom.' of thought.and speech was gone, and. it was time to take legitimate meants to restore it. He submitted that in Vhat be bad said in his speech at Alexandra Hallithere had been no seilition.

"You havo pot your caso as well as

it could be put," remarked His Wor- I ship at the conclusion of the accused's address. Brindle,, too, was remanded till this morning. THORN SENTENCED TO TWELVE MONTHS' IMPRISONMENT. By Telegraph—Press' Association. Auokland, December 22. At tho Policc Court to-day, James Thorn was charged with -using seditious utterances in a speech at tho Globe Theatre, nnd was convicted and sentenced to twelve months' : imprisonment. ' ! A HAMILTON OASE. Hamilton, December 22. William M'Q.uanus, aged 45, was sentenced, to ono month's imprisonment for seditious utterance. ■'. I■' . 1