Second Edition TELEGRAMS

Horowhenua Chronicle, 2 February 1914, Page 3

Second Edition TELEGRAMS

iVKJt i'KESS ASSOCTACTION. 1 DROWNING FATALITY. Napier, This Day. Another drowning fatality occurred in the Tutaekuri river yesterday morning, the victim being Gilbert McClymont, aged 19 years. He was swimming with his brother when he suddenly collapsed and sank. The body was recovered in five minutes, but all efforts at resuscitation failed. RAIN WANTED. Very welcome rain showers fell at intervals during the last two days, but not enough, as the drought of the past six weeks has burnt up the country. INJURED MAN'S ESCAPE. Dargaville, This Day. Prank Martin was seriously injured whilst working in the bush at Kirikopuni. His hand got caught in a wirerope connecting the hauler with logs, and he had his four fingers pulled out at the knuckles. Whilst being brought to Dargaville the horse bolted, arid he and his companion had a narrow escape, the buggy beingcapsized and smashed to matchwood.

A PECULIAR DEATH. Auckland, This Day. Mrs Heart, the wife of a seafaring man residing at Newton, died under peculiar circumstances on Saturday. She had Deen ill us the result of a fall, and a dispute arose between her father and a representative for a firm of furniture dealers, when Mrs Heart jumped out of bed and rushed into a neigbour's house. She became seriously ill and diod. The doctor pronounced death to be due to natural causes. TRENCHES ACROSS THE ROAD. The Avondale residents are to place obstacles in *{\iu way of the authorities using the locality as a sanitary depot. Last night they dug deep trenches across the road, which a police party filled up.

DISMISSED. AVellington, This Day. The appeal by M. T. Young against his conviction by Mr YV. G. Eiddell, S.M., on a charge of inciting to resist the police was dismissed by the Chief Justice with costs. Young, in addressing a meeting at the Basin Iteserve on October 2o'the last said :— "If a police constable uses his baton on you, give him one back; and if one won't do make it a double-header." Appellant's counsel contended that there was no incitement, as no particular person was urged to resist. The words meant that if those there were unlawfully assaulted they could retaliate. His Honour held that to construe the Statute as asked would be to add words limiting the meaning of incite, and to say there could not be inciting to resist an arrest, or some other actby a constable, unless the arrest or act were just about to take place. He could not so construe

the Statute. Regarding the contention, that to retaliate to an unlawful assault alone was urged, the Chief Justice said that in putting down a, riot force might be used. There had been riots and the police were—it was said -to be called in to suppress such breaches of the peace. The words were if the police used their bators they were to be assaulted, and an appeal was made to men to interfere with the police in the execution of their duty, and the men at the meetingwere incited to do so. Force was to be used, for the appellant was to bring 10,000 to 15,000 armed men to resist the authorities in maintaining peace. The magistrate was justified in his finding and his decision affirmed.

The effect of the decision is that Young will have to undergo the sentence of three months' imprisonment. A HEAVY CRIMINAL LIST. Wellington, This Day. The quarterly Criminal Sessions of the Supreme Court opened before the Chief Justice, Sir Robert Stout, to-day. The list is an exceptionally heavy one. In his charge to the Grand Jury the Chief Justice said he was sorry lie could not congratulate th-em on the lightness of the calendar. No less than 40 persons would have charges brought against them. Many of these, however, would not be treated as ordinary criminals. Fourteen were charged with having disobeyed the lawful commands of their captain and 23 were charged under the Crimes Act, witli threatening behaviour, assault, and sedition. Altogether there were 37 charges arising out of Hhe recent labour troubles. As far as the men who had refused duty on the Opawa were concerned, persons who refused duty on the high seas were in a different position from those on land, and were under compulsion to see that their duties were periormed. As fai as the charges of sedition were concerned, once an assembly of people committed a breach of the peace, so as even to stop traffic, it was no longer a lawful assembly. If assaults were committed, detonators thrown among horses, and revolver firing indulged in, then a riot was occasioned, and persons present were guilty of taking part in a riot, and there was power under the Act to disperse the rioters by reading the Riot Act. If the crowd did not disperse in less than an hour then the authorities had the power to use extreme force. The authorities, treme force. The authorities, however, had dealt with the troubles lightly and tolerantly t and the liiot Act had not been read. With regard to the charges of sedition, New Zealand had a court with far more ample powero than any other court in the world to deal with labour disputes and to settle them by lawful means. If such disputes were settled by violence it would mean civil war and possibly bloodshed. If the laws were not obeyed it meant that we were not a civilised people, but were going back to the early days. Of the other oases, the. most serious was one of murder against a young woman. Unfortunately there were no less than five sexual cases on tlio list.

The judge concluded by reviewing the evidence in these cases. ACALLTAE RAB. Gore, This Day. A meeting of the Liberal Party here asked Mr Robert McNab, formerly member for Mataura, to contest that seat again. Mr McNab promised to announce his intention within one month from now. A WOMAN'S DEATH. Auckland, This Day. At an inquest into the death of Mrs Hearn, Dr. Williams gave evidence that death was due to miscarriage, combined with pneumonia. He heard there liftd been some threat to take her furniture away; this would have had a disturbing effect on a woman in her condition, but he Avould not have expected her to live six months longer, considering the state of her lungs. By request of the police, the inquest was adjourned to enable them to produce further evidence.