The Press. Friday, May 10, 1918. The Sedition Charges.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16208, 10 May 1918, Page 6

The Press. Friday, May 10, 1918. The Sedition Charges.

' We Observe that a movement has been set on foot to obtaiff a remission of the

sentences 1 passed on the • three men, Lauglßj, Hood, 'and Hunter, convicted ; of seditioiia titWrah<ses at the Opera

1 House meeting. .We have no doubt ' the Government .will givo careful and fair-minded consideration to the representations which, are to be made. It . is to. bo hoped that these will not include any suggestion that the magistrate has b£6n unduly harsh in ; thß ' sentences ho . imposed. We have no hesil&tioil in s&ying that he simply did Jfis duty. We are at war—it seems Jnflcessaiy to''continue .to remind 'some people of that fact—and the inciting of oiir soldiers to refuse duty is ah 1 ofEeUce of such gtavity .that for the safety of the coifiiiiunity the first sign 1 " of anything bf the kind must be stamped: upon and suppressed. That the edtidtict of the defendants in this

case was seditious is cloar, and the ' disgraceful scene at the barracks which

followed, if Hot a direct result of their

utteraiidfcs, at any rate showed the of allowing anything in the shape .of Seditious speech or conduct to go unchecked. ' Saving this point clear, we -hive no hesitation in saying that we . hope thfe Government will go into this case With the intention and desire to .giVa full weight to any extenuating circumstances that may. be submitted on the men's behalf. Chief among these are the facts that the resolution held to be seditious was put to the

sieeting by the Mayor, and that

neitherhe nor the members of Parliament on. the platform took exception £to it. Wo think they are all very

to blame for their neglect in this Their omission does not afford ;any legal justification for "the conduct kef the three mem who were found

guilty of sedition, bat it is a point ■which the Government may well take , into account when considering whether -'.this, is ft ease for exercising the prero/Kgftfcive of lnercy. No one wants to see Langley, Flood, and Hunter 1 fpuiLif it can be avoided.. The H J?®mt <m< which the Government ought ■ jbi'satisfied.Jo ithe

lesson has been sufficiently impressed on the throo men convicted, and other would-be leaders of }he peoplo that, while they have full liberty to conduct their agitation on constitutional lines, anything which tends to play into the hands of the enemy at this juncture cannot and will not be tolerated. If substantial guarantees can be given for their good behaviour in future, we confess that wc shall be very glad to see tho rest of their sentences remitted.