REGRETTABLE ACT

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 178, 21 March 1932, Page 5

REGRETTABLE ACT

(Press Assn.-

MOUNTED MAN IN UNIFORM CUTS RIBBON TWICE WITH SWORD PROMPT ARREST ! BY POIfCE

— By Telegraph— Copyright).

Rec. Mar. 20. 11 p.m. SYDNEY, Saturday. There was a sensational happening while the Minister ojp Works (Mr. W. A. Davidson), was speaking at the opening of the, bridge this morning. An ofificer mounted on horsebaclc, riding behind the light horsemen, galloped up to the tape which Mr. Lang was to cut m declaring" the bridge open and slashed it twice with his sword, exclaiming: "I am a member of the Commonwealth Forces. In the name of decency I declare the bridge open." He ■had hardly uttered the last wof d when a posse of police dragged him off his horse violently, the rider striking his head on the concrete roadway. His upturned sword narrowly missed a number of the police force. The mari, who was dethined by the police, gave his name as Captain t)e Groot of the Royal Hussars. The ribbon was tied together in two places and the ceremony went on as though nothing. had ocCurred. The police acted with such promptitude that oniy a small section of the people were aware that anything untoward had happened. Exploit Featured by ^Press The newspapers feature Captain de Groot's sensational exploit, and his subsequent arrest and removal to a reception house. )Some newspapers publish photographs of the affair, showing him in the act of swinging the sword on the ribbon, and others show his prostrate form beneath his horse's feet as the outcome of the rough handling he received from the police. Broadcasting announeers, who had on almost uninterrupted view, told the public a different story; merely that an officer's horse, playing up, had accidently brolcen the ribbons. The public view of Captain de Groot's action is extremely varied and dependent on political leanings. Mr Lang's supporters bitterly condemn him, and would have torn him limb from limb had they got the chance. Others describe his action is either foolhardy or childish and indiscreet. A fair percentage applauded and described it as eourageous by taking his life in his hands for a cherished belief. What Few Would Have Dared Captain de Groot, who is sparsely built, of medium height and middleaged, certainly did what few men would have dared, as every policeman about him was heavily armed, and twice his size and weight, while the hootings and ejaculations which marked his arrest revealed that he was in a camp of deadly enemies. The precise remarks he made when, with deep emotion he slashed at the ribbons, were not generally heard, but it has beeri ascertained that he declared the bridge open in the name of decency, decent politics and decentcifcizens. He shrieked at the police, "Let me alone; I am a King's officer; don't touch me." Later, when being removed he .was hatless and swordless, the police having seized both. In the process of his hurniliation he was perfectly cairn and looked anything but a fit subject for a reception house. The police and military authorities are now arguing as to how, apparently uninvited, he managed to attach himself to the Governor-Gen-eral's mounted escort without detection. He is understood to be a zone commander of the New Guard. "Unforgiveable Insult" The leader of the New Guard, Col- . onel Eric Campbell, held aloof from the bridge ceremony, and when interviewed, described the police action as ?n unforgiveable insult to a levelheaded business man and a gallant

cavalry officer. He considered the State owed a debt of gratitude to Captain de Groot, and added that a medical examination had already diselosed that there was no f ault in his mental condition. The Prime Minister, Mr. J. A. Lyons, announced that he would hav inquiries made as to how Captain de Groot came to be attached to the escort. A strong police guard throughout last night prevented anything in the nature of a New Guard raid on the reception house at Darlinghurst where Captain de Groot is detained. Captain de Groot is a dealer in r.ntiques at Rushcutters Bay, and is an active member of the New Guard He served in the war in France for four years. He and his wife are natives of Dublin. The New South Wales branch of the Returned Sailors and SoldierS' Association deprecates the incident and declare that Captain de. Gi'GCt is not one of their members.