TWO ARRESTS

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 83, 5 October 1938, Page 23

TWO ARRESTS

MEETING AT AUCKLAND

A WALK-OUT AND WALK-IN

(By Telegraph—Press Association.)

AUCKLAND, October 4.

Two men were arrested tonight by constables at an election meeting held by Mr. C. R. Dodd, National Party candidate for Auckland Central, at the Grafton Library. The men had taken a prominent part in obstructing the speaker, and the firm action taken by the police had a salutary effect upon the rowdy section of ~ Labour sympathisers, about 100 of whom walked out with the arrested men. Their places were quickly filled by some of the open-air section of the audience outside the building.

The meeting opened with cheers and counter-cheers, and Mr. J. B. Donald, chairman, promptly warned those inclined to be noisy that he was intent upon Mr. Dodd having a fair hearing. During the next 20 minutes, while Mr. Dodd was affirming the principles of the National Party, interruptions were frequent, and at length Mr. Donald asked one of the constables to eject a man.

While the man was being hustled from the hall, another attempted to demonstrate, and he was similarly dealt with.

Labour supporters took their cue fr6m the meeting of Mr. D. Pool at Kingsland the night before, but seemed a trifle nonplussed when their places were taken by those who had waited outside. There were a few desultory attempts on the part of the Labour element outside at raising a curtain of noise to submerge the speaker's voice, but with negligible result. The remainder of Mr. Dodd's speech passed almost without interruption. He was roundly applauded at the close of his address, and a vote of confidence in him and in the Hon. Adam Hamilton, leader of the party, was passed.