DEATH ON A TRANSPORT.

Taihape Daily Times, 14 June 1919, Page 5

DEATH ON A TRANSPORT.

CHARGE OF MANSLAUGHTER ' WORDS LEAD TO BLOWS V WELLINGTON, June I]. Charged with manslapghter in con‘nection with the death of Staff-.SeIL lgeant-Major Samuel Stanley Choatc lon the transport Pakeha. on May 25, .Sergeant Edward George Furling |Marsden appeared on remand in the FMagistrate’s Court to-day_ ’ Chief-Detective Bodham, in opening ,the case, said there was no evidence to justify the slightest suspicion of animosity etween the men. Thequartermaster-sergeant (L. Messenger), who was on the Pakeha. said ‘that on May 26, he was talking to ’Marsden on deck near one of the latrines, which was built of wood and Ibolted to the deck, with iron rods.-)Cho-ateicame along, and, taking Marisden by the arm, said “Have you any 3pl‘Opel‘t}' of‘ mine?” adding, in reply to Marsden. that he nie'aint a: cap. Mai-sdeii said "‘Yes.”' took ‘:1 civilian cap off his head, and placed it on‘ Choaiefs head.f Clioate then asked I\.[a.rsdell if the latter hnri 2° mirror 01’ his. l‘slnrSden* fsaid and*Choate who apeparecl to get excil§eEl."‘i'eplied. “You’re 2—— lail‘_.” Marsden asked Choatc to take the Words back, Choate refused, and Zflfarsden struck him with his fist. Choate struck back, hitting Mzirsden. The latter slipped and fell. got up and 9"».-uck Choate again Choate slipped "‘lfi fell, striking his head on the side of the latrine The deck was fairly wet. The two men had always been frien‘r?l_v prior f 0 this. Soldiers hm‘! slivmerl mi, (‘oak while wearing So!'\'i(?n boots. Clmate, exhibited more temper than Marsden.

, Company-Sergoanf-Major Mackay |and Serge:ln’r Lockotf ga\‘O CO1‘I‘0b0I“' fativo evidence. . . I WELLINGTON. June 12. ‘ Sergeanf Eclward G. P‘_ Marsden ap—-‘pear-ed at the Police Court on remand charged with the manslaughter of Sor_g;ea’llt-l\'lajor (‘hon’te. on Hm transport Polceha. The police asked for a further adjournment as medical eviiionce as to the cause of death was not availa-rble_ They had telegraplfed to Dunedin re the appearance of Surgoan—Captain Gordon, but that witness had not arrived. The Crown Solicitor advised that it would not be proper to close the case until medical evidonce had been heard. A remand for a week granted, but the trial will be gone on with if the medical evidence is available before that time. a.

(Continued from page 3.) together harmoniously to save society from the internal wrecker. Through _much strife and turmoil, the Old Country seems to be feeling its Way towards a solution of the industrial problem. The latest proposal is to estalish a permanent Industrial Council, or an Assembly of representatives of labour and capital—in other words, a Parliament of Industry—by which all questions affecting labour and capi’tal shadd be decided. Probably along Such lines the solution of the problem lies. It seems clear that ‘the moth-od hitherto pursued in this Dominion no longer meets. the necessities of the case. Our country is suffering from a continued process of wagerlaising, ‘gas a result of appeals to Industrial and Conciliation Courts by the various trade unions. Every increase awarded to workers automatically increases the prices of the articles produced, and, as a result, the increased cost of production is passed on flog the Cw:----£lll.Bl‘. Consequently wages and prices are pursuing each other in an unending circle; and in the final results even the workers themselves, in Whose interests the movement. was primarily made, derive little or no benefit, whilst certain classes of the com-{ munity (namely, the class consisting mostly of brain workers, who belong ‘

to no Trades Unions, "and the class composed of people with fixed incomes, which do not move. upward in sympathy Witth the upward movement of prices) are largely in straitened cir- - cumstances {ol‘ suifering hardship. It would be folly to think that this state of things can continue. The time is past when any one trade can be allowed to settle its Working con-I ditions, remuneration etc., irrespective of the efi'ect which the proposed I modifications will have upon the community in general. All such Trade! Union appeals as I have indicated; should be dealt with by an inlzlustrial Assembly in which workers and employers should have equal representation. -Such an Assembly should be presided over by men of judicial mind and wide industrial experience, rank-E ing in the social order on the same footing as Judges of the Supreme! Court. eMen of this calibre could guide ‘the deliberations of the Industriall Assembly, so that the decisions ar-l rived at might not prove abortive or operate unfairly toany section of the community. i . ‘

I have sufficient confidence in the‘ sound commonsense "of the average‘ worker. and in the sense of fairness‘ and justice possessed by the average employer, to be assured that every just and fair demand of labour would be met. by such an Asseinbly. It. would fall within its province to make such recommendations to the Government of the day in regard to control of phices of essential commodities as would ensure that such prices should not be increased by dealers beyond l"l1\.~ point. necessary to yield them a reasonable return upon their invested capital. With this position attszined, strikes and lock-outs would, by common consent of workers and employers, be absolutely tabooed and made illegal by legislation, and Trades Unions and Associations of Employers agreeing to be bound by the decisions of the Industrial Assembly, subject, perhaps. in certain cases, to the right. of appeal to the Parliament of the country, with Whom final decision miglit rest. The B'olshe\'iSt and I.\V.\V. would tlienceforth be operating upon barren soil, and in due course'would cease to disturb social conditions in all lands where employers and employees had come to ‘recognise that each has rights which should be cheerfully conceded by the.other,and that each lias duties to the other which Should be faithfully perfornied; whilst both, as niembers of the human family. must work together in unity for the

common good. ’ ..The best preventive of the spread ofin New Zealand of the pernicious doctrines and principles of the Bolshevik and the I.W.W. is the people/s inherent love of law and order, VVith a liberal education of the rising generation the country has, I believe, nothing to fear from the I'oV,olutionary propagandist. V The secret of the progres which has marked the last century aflTl' made it the most wonderful epoch of human history has, I bclieve,. been thisthat, during its course, individualism has been untrammelled and personality has had full and free play_ The individual has felt that every field of lab°ul'—3~Tt, science, industry, com--I:lerce——has been open to him withoui restriction, and that in proportion to. the capacity and ability brought to bear Upon labour, whether physical or mental, and the foresight, energy and industry devoted to it, would _be the ultimate personal reward. This has called forth the maximum _of ‘human effort, and the results are seen in the national and social developments that have taken place among the industrial ‘P9ODles of the world during um cen-; tury. . - . . Henceforward. however, the dominating principles threaten to be collec~ tivism and communism, and I have Very grave apprehension as to the effoot of these influences ‘upon the fu. ture of human advancement. If the - "-‘r‘*.W‘nt of nwsnnal =“'lwmta2'c be largely eliminated from individuali in dustrial effort, the nzain incentive to

industrial progress will have disappeared. Yet this is, to great extent, the practical trend of present day industrial'ism. To limit the output of industry so that a good workman produces c.1.1y the same as a poor one; to fix the scale of wages so that the indifferent Workman shall be remunerated on the same scale as the sitilful one: to limit the hours of labour, so that th-arer may be full employment for ‘iuth efficient and inefficient. are all Int.‘-'l-‘_s'>_ll"‘.S the effect of which is to redi-ce labouring mankind as far as oossibie to '3. dead level of equality_ Industrial freedom is the mainspring of progress—the iridispeiisable condition of the highest. degruz of a.dvanr;ement. We shall need it in tire dark days that lay ahead. V\7l'll It_, we may have the courage to face, and confidence to overcome, the worst that can beset us; but without it the end nmy be confusion ,and.» disaster. I am in distinct -antagonism to those lrvho look to the nationalization of industries ag the remedy for the existing lrbour u.nrest. I am confident that it iwould prove no remedy. The right {remedy must. be sought for and found iin other directions. -