SEDITION TRIALS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 200, 13 May 1918, Page 4

SEDITION TRIALS

THE CHRISTCIiURCII CASES

PLEA FOR REMISSION OF

SENTENCES

A deputation from tho Advisory Board of tho Transport Workers, representing all transport unions, waited on the Hqn. T..M. Wilford on Saturday to request for a remission of the sentences imposed on Hiram Hunter, E. Langley, and John Flood for haying uttered statements at a public meeting at Christchurch, which wero held by the Court to have seditious intent.

.Mr. L. Glover, president of tho Waterside Workers' Federation, said that the purposo of tho prosecutions appeared to bo a direct hit at Labour.

Mr. J. Roberts, secretary of the federation, eaid that in Christdhurch feoling was running very high with regard to tho sentence. The only intention of the men was to emphasise the point that the Government should give adequate consideration to tho requests of the Second Division League. He declared that the convictions showed that there had been a class bias. He declared that the general feeling was that the sentences should never have been imposed, or that they should have at least baen much less severe.

Mr. W. T. \oung made tho point that the Mayor of Christchurch, a gentleman who had had lnueh experience in the conduct of public meetings, had accepted tho motions without noting that there was in them anything' of. seditions in> tont. If this were so, he argued, the convicted men could hardly bo expected to have known that , they were doing wrong. Ho. stated, also, that the War Regulations provided for fiuo or imprisonment as alternative punishment for breaches of the War Regulations, but ho knew of no caso , in which a Labour man had been fined. The punishment was always imprisonment. Mr. Wilford said that the deputation had stated their case in moderate and reasonable terms. Tho position vas that the administration of tho War Regulations was under tho Attorney-Geneml until a sentence was imposed. It wds only after men wore sent to prison till he was concerned with this question ol tho remission of the sontence., Ho had made exhaustive investigation , into the cases, and tho evidence with his recommendation would bo placed before Cabinet fvt Ihe earliest opportunity, probably on Monday morning. Ho oxpeotod that tho decision of the Government would bo made known by noon on that day. AGITATION IN CHRISTCHURCH. By Telejrapjii-Presa ASBoolatlon. thristchufch, Mav 11. Mr. ,T. M'Comjbs, M.P. for Lyttelton, who went to Wellington to intt-rviow members of the Cabinet with regard to the sentences imposed on Langley, Flood, and Hunter, for seditious utterances, returned to-day. The Aoting-Prime Minister was not in Wellington, but will return' 1 ' on Monday, when ,i meeting of Cabinet will lie held to consider the matter. Mr. E. J. Howard, -who wrote to Sir Francie Bell,. Attorney-General, on the subject, htiß received a reply which recognises the moderateness and fairness with which Mr. Howard submitted his contentions, and represses the opinion that the Minister of .lustico will 6ee that the contents of the ictrer are brough't fully before the Cabinet. A petition asking Cabinet to exercise clemency is being signed freely, and will be forwarded to Wellington to-night.