“GULLING THE PEOPLE.”

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXIV, Issue 9450, 21 May 1909, Page 3

“GULLING THE PEOPLE.”

THE BROKEN HILL DISTURB-

ANOES.

Id passing sentence upon Holland, found guilty at Albury of resisting the police and using seditions language during the disturbances at Broken Hill, the Judge said:—“You have been found guilty of 'wh'-t is unquestionably a very crave offence, and, committed at the time it was, it is an exceptionally grave offence. Yon are the possessor of a very eloquent tongue, and make, I think, the very worst use you possibly could of it. There was a state of affairs at Broken Hill which I have described as almost unparalleled in this country, and if it had not been for the coolness and courage of the police and the great tact o I the leaders of the police, notably Superintendent Mitchell, matters might have been very much worse. To a great extent the police by their action restored order. You, knowing all these things, and having no connection with Broken Hill, took it upon yourself to go from Sydney all the way to Broken Hill to incite the people to lawlessness. That la what you have done. You admitted yourself using certain words which are really disgraceful. Fortunately for you, those words do not appear to have been followed by any serious disturbance. If further riots occurred after your speech, I would have felt bound to give you a much heavier sntenoe than I intend. I must, nevertheless, pass a sentence upon you which will show all that they have no right to stir up dissaffection against authority. I quite concurred with what you said, and told the jury so, about your right to free speech in criticising the Government on public questions, but nobody has the right by speech to incite thepeople of any State to reDsllion. That’s what your speech comes to—nothing more nor less. You told them that under the Federal Constitution no State had the right to send armed forces. It was simply ridiculous to say that the police were an armed force, and that the State had no right to send police to any part of the State when any disturbance arose. That is the way yon attempted to gull these ignorant people. A previous conviction for criminal libel appears against yon, but lam not taking any account of that. From what I gather it must have been a comparatively trivial offence, as yon were fined £SO, in default three months’ imprisonment. Under all the circumstances of the case I think a fair sentence to pass upon you is that yon be imprisoned and kept at hard labour in Albury Goal for a period of two years.”