ALLEGED SEDITION.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 15772, 13 December 1916, Page 3

ALLEGED SEDITION.

BOBEBT SESIPLE CHARGED. CASE ADJOURNED TILL FRIDAY. There was a, large attendance at "the Magistrate's Court yesterday, when Robert Scmnle, of Washington avenue, Brooklyn. Wellington, miners' inspector, was charged before Mr H. W. Bishop, S.M.. on the information of John O'Donovan, Commissioner of Police, with, that within the space of six mouths past, to wit, on tlie 26th day of November, 1916. at Wellington, ho did publish to persons unknown to the informant matter likely to interfere with the recruiting, discipline, or administration of his Majesty's force, or with the effective, conduct, of the military operatiou of his Majesty i n the present war, contrary to tho form of the statute in such a case made and provided, and contrary 10 Clause 4 of the regulations mado on the 10th day of July, 1915, under the War Regulations Act, 1914, to wit-, the matter following: — THE WELLINGTON SPEECH. "It is my. pleasant, duty to convey to you a message which has been entrusted to me lrom Australia, namely, fraternal greetings from those who have put up that great fight. It is thcir wish that you should show some, kind of manly resistance against the coercion that is threatening (to wit, military service, under the Military Service Act, 1916). The. democracy of Australia rose to the occasion, and placed upon tho records of Australia the most glorious victory that humanity can ever want to e-ee. Under our glorious British Government- that, we hear so much about we haie &O,COO soldiers today engaged and permanently kept in Ireland to keep the Irish peasants' noses to the grindstone, to beep the land for the monopolists. They arc paid Government assassins, kept, there to strangle the ambitions of the Irish. As far as Australia was concerned the conscription issue was not fought 'by the capitalists to win the war, but to screw the workers industrially and smash their organisation. Do y ou not remember that all the lime we were fighting the conscription issue iu this country wo sounded the note that conscription was wanted for the purpose of crushing tho growth of tho working class movement, and not for the purpose of winning the war. Take the situation in New Zealand to-day. The Government tell you that you have got to have conscription in New Zealand to win the war. V\ liy, all the men they can conscript from New Zealand do not amount to a snap of the fingers so far as the. Allies are concerned. These miners said: Wc -nill resist the proclamation. 'It. is illegal. We will never obey it.' And they never did, not tho Broken Hil! miners. The Australian Working class people are ' not to bo bound or gagged by proclamations or by reactionary laws. The world's progress has been made possible because in every age there have been men and women courageous enough to trample an immoral law regardless of consequences. 1 tell you this with a full knowledge of responsibility thst in this country, and in the rest of the British countries, there iv, going to be an awakening of the working class. They have been bound in chains for ages. Slowly, but surely, your liberties aro slipping away. Read* some of the laws passed at- the last Parliament. Wealthy monopolists of this country are taking advantage of the war to steal the people's liberty in the name of patriotism, and some day the great masses will wake up and find themselves bound and fettered. If wo are going to wither up under the lash of reaction, then wc are not worthy sons of worthy sires. The hour has arrived in this country when we have got to break the chains of despotism. Australian people are waiting for something to be done in this country. I am told to tell you in their narno that they are prepared to stand behind you, no matter -n-hat stand may make as you were prepared to stand behind them in their fight. The only guarantee that the politician can givo the Shylock is a shackled and bound democracy. You are part of the interest handed over to these bloodhounds. Those, bloody demons who ble.d their workers and cast the world's civilisation into the melting-pot because of their greed for gold and private lust for pfaco and power, though men and women may drop dead with tho shock of their last boy being murdered. For what and for whom? You know. The day will come, and may it rise out of the dust of to-day, when the working class will say to the King and Kaisers, tho'Czars, dukes and earls: 'If you are going to fight, cut one another's throats; we will stop at liome. T That day has got to come before civilisation can emerge above tho present prime. The reckoning day is coming, and when these monsters who have grown rich as the outcome of a tremendous war liko this, who have become fat and wealthy as tho result of the tears of the .women, the wails' of tlie child, and the groans of tho dying soldiers, when they rattle their sovereigns in their pocket's, may it re-echo the squeals of the fatherless child, the sobs of the widow and the cries of the aged mother who gave her last boy in defence. of the country she loved, as they jingle the sovereign within their pockets with the image of the pale child before them, the grave .of the stricken and aged mother', may it torture them while they live, and may it haunt their souls in the world hereafter. Let.- us create some enthusiasm in this country; let us resurrect some of the old characteristics of the Red Federation in this country, let us stand side by side with the courageous new-born democracy of Australia, and with one voice and one Land push forward, regardless of'what may happen to us in the interests of freedom, liberty, equality, fraternity, and brotherhood.'' THE AUCKLAND SPEECHThe accused was also charged (though the whole text of the speech was not road out in Court, as wa a tlie case with the Wellington speech) that, at Auckland, on December .'3rd. l'.tlG, he did express a seditious intention contrary to the torin of the btutute in such case made and provided and contrary to Clause 3 of the Regulations made on September 20th.. 1915, under the War Regulations Act, 1914, by the utterance of the words following, to wit:—"l have a message of ! fraternal greetings from the Australian people. It is tho Australian people's message that, the people of this country snail nor. under any cir- ! cum stances permit this country to be lassoed by that Prussian octopus, conscription. Despite, all the strongest opposition, slander, and vilification, and journalistic perjury of the hypocritical tongue of that polished wowserlstic gang, the democracy. stood on their feet and wiped from the. sunkissed hills of Australia every vestige of Prussianism. In years to come generations of the future will look back with glowing hearts and benet volent souls upon the men and women who broke the chains of despotism that were about to be put arouna their bodies. It is only a repetition of the past anyhow. In every way it was the opportune time for the reactionist and commercial vulture to do his dirty work in the name of patriotism. They are doing that now. What other guarantee could the politicians of the world give to the Shylocks who are lending money to conduct this dreadful tragedy. No other guarantee, onlv a servile, slavish people. Conscription and liberty cannot Ihc in the one country. Conscription i ; . the negation of human liberty. It i* the beginning of' the tervile take. It l_ the one

forged chain that can be applied to the legs and minds of men and womenConscription was not intended in this country to fight the Kaiser, but to fight trades-unionism and the_ working classes. They are more afraid of the trades-unionists, tho capitalists __ «7 rc ' than tie Kaiser. Why'i Tho Kaiser belonged to the same school that they belonged to. The Kaiser stands for despotism, robbery, plunder, oligarchy. The workers stand for liberty. They fear tho rising of the working class population a sight more than the Kaiser because the Kaiser belongs to the same school as the rest of the robbers in the rest of the world. The psychological effect of my experience in Australia has kindled a name of rebellion in my boul. and, regardless of the ronscquenccs. I intend to tight, by God, that, infamous rotten law (to wit. the Military Service Act., 1916) That, has been parsed upon the heads of tho people in New Zealand. The m«m who fought, tho campaign in Australia feared nothing. \\ c have, too, the same trend ot soul- I believe similar blood flows in the veins of men and women such as flowed in the veins of martyrs in days gone by. It. has got. to do things and and say things, and the time has arrived in New Zealand to do | it. now. We're not. going to allow Australia to .-ay wc. haven't, got a kick. They have mi id to me, 'Scrapie, whatever you d«. we will bo with you morally. financially, in spirit as in every other way.' Wo are going to make it damned for this Government. How long are the working classes of New Zealand going to be the apathetic tools of the employing classes that they are to-day? Something has got ro be done iu this country to resurrect, the fighting energy of the working classes. "Miners in this country are ready to pay their share of the battle, 110 matter what it. might be. 1 have a wire iu my pocket which I got. last night, to.tho effect that every coalminer if he is drawn in the ba-llob (to wit. the ballot, for service under the Military Service Act, .19161 lias received instructions not to present himself. He is exempted by the instructions of the Government. The miners don't want that exemption. They will say, 'You are not going to bribe us and conscript our labour. Tou arc not. going to play us against, tho other fellow.. To hell with your bribery.' Wo are going to see before many weeks how much there is in themWo are going to try them. Make no mistake about that. I know that everyone talking against this infamous law is knocking at the gaol door. But wo have to- take these risks. I refuso to have my tongue bound in my cheek. I have the freedom of my children and the dignity of my wife to fight for, and I ant- going to do it. regardless of what I may personally suffer in the process. The gong has got to be sounded. The forces of manhood havo got to be mobilised, and things have, got to bo done in order that the sun of libcfrty may shine upon the people of this country. This political system has its roots in hell. The wowser churches are infamous dens administering chloroform and dope.''

Mr S. G. Raymond, K.C., appeared for the Crown,- and -Mr Cassidy for the accused. REMAND GRANTED. Mr Raymond remarked that four informations altogether had been laid referring to alleged breaches of the regulations by iSemnlo in Auckland and Wellington, one of which had been sent to the Court. He formally applied for a remand until Friday next. Mr Raymond, in reply to a. question from the Bench, said the other information was of the same nature as tho charge read out and referred to a. speech made at Auckland. The other two charges were for "making'' and "publishing"' the utterances. His Worship said lie would remand the ease until Friday next-j at 11 a.m. -Mr Cassidy asked if the case would be heard in Christehureh or in Wellington and Auckland. This was rather an important point, for his client. Mr T taymond said that a request- had come from the Department asking that Semplo should be dealt with in Christchurch. The authorities considered that accused was an itinerant, travelling from one place to another, and that it was just as convenient to try him in one place as another. Mr Cassidy 6aid it would make it all the. morn difficult for his client to get his witnesses together and prepare his defence. BAIL REFUSED.

Mr Cassidy applied for bail, submitting that the accused should have bail as of right, and lie asked his Worship to make tho "bail as reasonable as possible. His client could not leave the country, and could not get away. His Worship said it was not so much the matter of -the accused leaving the country as the harm ho could do in it. Tho question of bail was connected with tho question of the accused continuing his conduct when on bail. There was -no doubt, that a man of.accused's character was .v dangerous person, and could do an important, amount of harm and mischief. If he was entitled to bail a* of right, be would got it, but if discretionary powers were granted to the, Bench, as he believed they were, he would not imdertako the responsibility of granting bail to accused. The question was on.- of the. good of the country at a serious time, and this was of more, importance than an inconvenience to any individual person..

Mr Raymond said - the arrest was made under the special regulations (clause Nov. 10th,-1914), made during war time. Under the special circumstances rights were (onferrcd upon officers to arrest' without warrant;' The offence was not one under the. code, as coutencled by Mr Cassidy, and lie submitted that there was discretionary powers for ihe "Magistrate to grant bail or not.

His Worship concurred, stating that the poiut was also decided under section 87 of the Justices of the Peaco Act, and the application for bail was lefuscd.