STREET SPEECH.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 179, 30 July 1940, Page 3

STREET SPEECH.

AT BY-ELECTION.

SPEAKER ARRAIGNED.

ALLEGED SUBVERSION. Following on a street meeting, held at the corner of Newton Road and Great North Road on May 10, in connection with the Auckland West byelection, one of the speakers, Alexander Drennan, a waterside worker, was charged before Mr. Justice Fair and a jury in the Supreme Court to-day with having published a subversive statement in contravention of the public safety emergency regulations. The accused man defended himself. Mr. V. R. Meredith, Crown Prosecutor, pointed out that the British Empire was engaged in a life or death struggle, which involved also the continued existence of New Zealand. This necessitated a united war effort by the people of New Zealand, and consequently the public safety emergency regulations had been passed, making it an offence to publish statements which were of a subversive nature, or which were liable to impede the war effort, or cause dissension in the community.

The evidence in this case would show that at a street meeting in support of the Communist candidate at a bvelection, the accused was one of tie speakers. A shorthand report of the speech would be read showing that not only certain statements were subversive, jut also that the whole tone of the speech was subversive. Briaa Snowden said he wae a clerk, shorthand writer and "Hansard" reporter. He took a shorthand note of accused's speech on the occasion of the street meeting referred' to. Accused at this stage required that the witness' evidence of his speech should be taken by reading from his shorthand notes and not from the transcription he had made of those notes. Witness proceeded to read from his notes, stating that there were some words he could not catch owing to the noise of passing traffic Passages of the speech as read criticised the passing of regulations to "stifle the truth," and criticised aiso the sending of New Zealand forces bevond the Pacific. Cross-examined by accused, the witness said that at times he was unable to hear a sentence of the speech owing to the traffic noise, and he would then drop the sentence without leaving a blank in his transcription at the particular passage. The witness was also examined on differences between his transcription here and in* the lower Court. Constable A. J. Cummings testified that accused was a speaker at the meeting referred to, and witness gave longhand extracts he made of accused's speech. The case is proceeding.