SEDITIOUS UTTERANCE

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 205, 18 May 1918, Page 8

SEDITIOUS UTTERANCE

CASE OF REV. J. H. G. CHAPPEL

ELEVEN MONTHS' IMPRISONMENT,

By Telegraph—Press Association.

Christchurch, May IV. Tho hearing of the charges of having made seditious utterauces at Greyuiouth on March 2(i and 29 last against the Rev. J. H. G. Chappel, lecturer, of Christchurch, was taken to-day by Mr. Bailey,

Evidence as to accused uttering the words was given by Senior Sergeant Simpson and Detective-Sergeant Ward. Mr. for the defence, submitted fhat tho informations should be dismissed. If the words had been used in the way the witness had reported tlieni, probably they could be held to be seditious, but it had been clearly established that they had been divorced from the contest, and were mere extracts from an address which took ninety minutes to "deliver. The words had not been used in the way set . out in the informations, and lie submitted that they gave an entirely erroneous description of the speech.

His Worship, in convicting accused, said he considered that he was a dangerous man, especially at this time in tho country's history. He would be sentenced to eleven mouths' imprisonment on each charge, the sentences to lie concurrent. There were low cries of "Shame!" and the court was declared adjourned. _ As the public was filing out a women raised her voice in passionate protest against the sentenco.

The charges agninst the accused were that on March 29 he said:—"You are under the heels of the war lords. We have not enough population for our own country, yet we are lusting after the annexation of Samoa. Tho patriotic poison is in our schools. Children are taught to salute the flag, and taught to sing the National Anthem. I tell my children when they come home not' to sing the National Anthem. lam hoping with a fervent hope that in this war there will be no victor. To pray about a war is blasphemy. A woman goes down into tltfl Valley of Death to bring a child into the world. She nurses it, sends it to school, sees it through the Sixth Standard; then comes the cnll to arms, and it goes away to war. What for? To die for its country? No; to die for the profiteer."

Another charce stated that on tie same occasion the accused said: "Russia wanted n-nr. England wanted war. The upper elnsseß in New Zealand wanted war. Never has there been such a wonderful five days, (meaning the days of the Russian Revolution). The- old Russia has gone, and the new Hussia has come in. I hope before I die to sea a similar movement in New Zealand. I hope the day will come in New Zealand when/these war loans will ba repudiated. 'I hope not a penny pf the war loans will be repaid. Yon do not authorise them." PROTEST AGAINST THE SENTENCE. 1 By Telegraph—Press Association. Timaru, May 17. The' Timaru branch of the New Zealand Labour Party to-ni<fht passed a resolution protesting against the "savage sentence" imposed on tlic Rev. Mr. Chappie, and expressing the' opinion that "even if guilty of a crime (which violates no moral code), in view of his advanced years, a fine could have adequately vindicated the authority of the law." (The Rev. Mr. Chappie was formerly Unitarian Minister at Timaru.)