ON TRIAL.

Auckland Star, Issue 17, 21 January 1932, Page 7

ON TRIAL.

NEW GUARD LEADER INSULTING MR. LANG. " Premier Has Disgraced Office In Every Way." SCATHING INDICTMENT. (United I'.A.—Eiloctric Telegraph—Copyright) SYDNEY, January 20. A vast crowd fought for admission to the Court to-day when Colonel Eric Campbell, leader of the New Guard, appeared 011 summons, served at the instance of the Government, to answer a charge of using insulting words regarding the Premier of New South Wales, Sir. J. T. Lang, in a speech last week. Only a small proportion of the crowd succeeded in securing admission. The statements complained of in the charge included the following references to Mr. Lang:—"A nasty tyrant and a scoundrel," "A buffoon at the head of affairs," and "The hated old man of the sea." When Colonel Campbell was before the Court 011 Friday an adjournment was granted, as only 30 hours had elapsed since the summons was served. Mr. Lamb, K.C., counsel for Campbell, asked for a further adjournment to-day, declaring that there had not been sufficient time to prepare a defence worthy of such an occasion. Counsel added that a vital principle was involved —the right of free speech, the right of every citizen to criticise the acts of a public man. "We are entitled to show," said Mr. Lamb, "that the Premier of this State has disgraced his position in every way, that he has lowered its dignity and injured its credit, that he has worked to bring about a Communistic State, and, above all, that he has defaulted. Everyone knows this, but you, as magistrate, you do not know it." The Magistrate, Mr. J. W. M. Laidlaw: Assuming your statements are true, how would you be entitled to go into the evidence- to substantiate matters of that kind? Right to Criticise. Counsel: Most decidedly I would have that right. A public man has defaulted and holds his position by false pretences. That being his character, we have every right to criticise him, just as numberless others are doing. Even the Prime Minister of Australia, Mr. J. A. Lyons, has described Mr. Lang as an incubus. We have likened him to his own farmyard bull. It may be an insult to the bull, but I do not think it is an insult to Mr. Lang. Mr. Lamb argued that if Mr. Lang had been insulted, then let him come forward so that he could be crossexamined. No offence had been committed unless someone had been insulted. Who was that someone? Mr. Lamb continued to argue that every word uttered concerning Mr. Lang was justified. Indeed, far worse things were being said about him by others, and counsel desired to bring-evidence to that effect. Adjournment Refused. The magistrate refused to grant an adjournment. Mr. Shcahan, who appeared for the prosecution, said the police took action for good reasons, which he was not disclosing. He added that there was such a tiling as the prevention of disorder when arrogant persons set themselves up in positions to which they had no right or title. A police shorthand-writer, Sergeant Alexander Lendrum, gave details of Colonel Campbell's speech at the Lane Cove picture theatre on January 11, in which many references were made to Mr. Lang. Witness described the utterances as insulting. During cross-examination, Sergeant Lendrum said he had not attempted to verify Colonel Campbell's statement that the Premier was a scoundrel. He was also not concerned as to whether Mr. Lang was a defaulter, whether he had broken his pledges, or whether he had I appointed scoundrels and criminals to the public service. j The magistrate suggested that Mr. Lamb should be more careful regarding the words he used about the Premier of the State. Mr. Lamb: I shall be very careful if I cannot prove my words. I submit that scoundrel is a very mild word in this case. Mr. Shcahan: These cowardly attacks on the Premier should not be tolerated in a British court of law. After other similar exchanges the hearing was adjourned. The information against the defendant was laid by Sergeant Alexander Lendrum, a police shorthand writer, and it charges Mr. Erie Campbell with having used insulting words at the Lane Cove Picture Theatre, Lane Cove. The words complained of are: "That man, gentlemen—the Premier of this State—has failed definitely and absolutely in all the basic pledges which attach themselves to his high office, and therefme we say that a man who will so deal with the basic principles of the people has no right to continue in the office that chance has placed him in, and. therefore, as a definite means of removing him, I come to the subject of the petition to his Majesty the King. You will remember at the Town Hal! meeting that it was announced that the New Guard would exhaust every possible legal, constitutional, and humble way of dispossessing the State of a nasty tyrant and scoundrel." Other words mentioned in the charge were: "I am asking them and everyone to come forward as Britons and Australians to sign the petition, even I invite Lang-planners to sign it. If they are right and if the buffoon at the head of affairs to-day is right, and has the confidence of the people, no doubt after the dissolution they will return him to power again." Other alleged insulting words were: "I am going to ask you as citizens to do your utmost at this time of trial to get rid of the hated old man of the sea once and for all. and we can do it by the co-operation of every member of the New Guard and every loyal citizen, if there is such a thing outside the New Guard. ■ "Most of us have seen results of starving during the war, and in starving out Lang there are a lot of funny things he can do to extort money, and we may be starving out ourselves, and in my opinion. it would be an inglorious way of getting rid of a trya'nt. "As regards Lang and the bull. I was asked why I said at. the Town Hall that T preferred Ebenezer as a -Premier to Lang. T told the people who asked me that the reasons were simple and cogent, ff you had a bull and got sick of him you could sell him to the family butcher, or if your wrath is so great, you could get the family meat axe and chop off his head yourself and it would net be murder." 1