SEDITIOUS UTTERANCES.

Taranaki Daily News, 5 April 1917, Page 8

SEDITIOUS UTTERANCES.

APPEAL OF" SEMPLE AND OTHERS ' DISMISSED. 'By Telegraph.—'Press Association. Wellington, April 4. This mottling the Court' of Appeal unanimously decided to dismiss the appeals by *• Scrapie, Eraser, Brindlc, Cooke ami Thorne against their conviction for seditious utterances under the war regulations. The court held that the War Regulations Act, 11)14, and the regulations made, thereunder were valid, and appellants were rightly conviefed by the magistrate. The court further decided that the Parliament of New Zealand had power under the Constitution Act, 1852, to pass the Military Service Act, 1916, and that the Act was valid.

In giving judgment in the sedition eases the Chief Justice said that none of the prisoners were convicted of doing anything outside New Zealand and even if sonic of the regulations were invalid that would not affect them all. As to the validity, of tho Military Service Act, previous decisions showed that Parliament had the power to pass the Act, but even if it was ultra vires the appeal could not succeed, as the regulations were not made under that statute.

As to the right of trial by.jury the AVar Regulations Act expressly provided for summary proceedings. He held that ail the utterances complained of -were seditious, and in his opinion none of the points raised were good. The rest of the Bench concurred.