WOMAN CONVICTED

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20543, 11 May 1932, Page 12

WOMAN CONVICTED

CHARGE OF INCITING LAWLESSNESS.

SEQUEL TO DISTURBANCE IN SQUARE.

"Women of this sort are an exceedingly dangerous element in the community," said Mr E. D. Mosley, S.M., in the Magistrate's Court yesterday, when convicting Agnes Goodman, a married woman, aged 23, on a charge of inciting lawlessness in Cathedral square on Friday last. Mrs Goodman was convicted and ordered to come up for sentence if called upon within six months, the condition being made that she stays in the Salvation Army home for one month. • The Magistrate said that such women were much more dangerous than men, who could be dealt with physically. "In a crowd they were almost like a spark applied to gunpowder. We must take steps to restrain women of your kind," he said, addressing the accused, "and I am not prepared to allow you to go free. Women like you are far too dangerous nowadays." Sub-Inspector G. B. Edwards said that the offence occurred on Friday afternoon in Cathedral square at the time of the disturbance in connexion with which several men had already been dealt with by the Court. She was a prominent member of the women s branch of file Unemployed Workers Movement. She had recently commenced speaking at the open-air meetings in Cranmer and Victoria squares. The unemployed, he 'understood, had linked up with the strikers in the present tramway trouble. On Friday there were a number, of sympathisers m the Square, and a crowd of between 3000 and 4000 people. At the bottleneck by the Beresford corner a tramcar had stopped through the trolley-polo coming off the overhead wire. A conductor had had to climb up to release the cord which had become entangled in the gear on top of the tram, and the accused rushed forward, caught him by the coat and attempted to pull him down. Later on in the afternoon the SubInspector himself had had to restrain her from shouting and calling out during the trouble near the Post Office. "Such people are a very dangerous ingredient in such a case," said the Sub-Inspector. "She is actually more dangerous than a man as any attempt to arrest a woman would have created more trouble with a certain element than would be the case with a man." The sub-inspector added that the accused had said she had to fight for her own class and could not see the men arrested. Counsel said that while he appreciated the gravity of the case there were certain mitigating circumstances. The accused was a married woman with no children. Her husband had been out of work for 18 months. She had been a nurse in a mental hospital, but the strain had so told upon her_ that she had suffered a break-down in health. "She is imaginative, excitable, hysterical, and her feelings have been played on by the stress of the times," said counsel, who suggested that if released on condition that she could be ordered to come up for sentence, she should be restrained from congregating in crowds.

SMASHING OF WINDOWS. MORE PREMISES DAMAGED. The premises of Messrs Hurst ami Drake, Ltd., paint, oil, and colour merchants, at the corner of Lower High and. Caversham streets, were revisited in the early hours of yesterday morning, on this occasion a window being broken on the Caversham street frontage by a bar of iron. The window fronting Lower High street also showed that an attempt had been made to break it, but there was only a small hole, high up, the missile having failed to smash the glass. Stones were used to break two panes in the office window of Mr H. J. Otley, timflfer merchant, 96 Tuam street, and a window on the balcony of the home of Mr G. Jamieson, 404 Hereford street, was broken. There was another outbreak of violence when a stone was thrown through the window of Mr N. A. Trcgear's cycle shop, at the corner of Waltham and Shakespeare roads. At Mr Otley's premises one of the stones thrown missed its mark and broke a portion of the sash. Superintendent D. J. Cummings stated last night that it was obvious that the offenders were adopting the same as they were employing against the trams—a policy of '' hit and run."

Anonymous Threats. • The telephone, has been used frequently for fhe purpose of making anonymous threats against temporary constables who are connected with present affairs, and hints have also been given that damage will be done to their property. ''"'■. : Drastic action would be taken against any offender caught, said the Superintendent. "No nonsense will be ated," he said, "and there are some people who can- rest assured that they are in for a very unpleasant surprise," he added. A Further Incident. Another window in the City was broken at about 8 o'clock last evening, when a stone thrown at the promises of Mr H. "F, Stevens, wholesale druggist, 103-105 Worcester street, missed a big window on the first floor but cracked a. small jane of glass adjoining it. The nature of the break in the glass indicated that it had been struck with a small object with considerable force. BOARD'S CASE. COLLEGE STUDENTS ADDRESSED The Christchurch Tramway Board's attitude in the present dispute with the Tramwaymen's Union was explained to Canterbury College students a.t a well-attended meeting of the Students' Association at mid-day yesterday by Mr E. H. Andrews (chairman of the Board), and a member, MY G. T. Booth. The president of the Association, Mr jJ. G. D. Ward, introduced tho (speakers and' announced that it had been decided that the meeting should be held in committee. Mr Audrews said that the matter had now reached a stage when it was deemed desirable to- treat it as "sub judice," as the tribunal was akin to a Court of law, and for that reason the meeting should not be reported in the newspapers. At the conclusion of the meeting, Mi Ward thanked, the speakers for the-.r addresses,, but stated that the Students' Association maintained an attitude of strict neutrality. , A vote of thanks was passed to both representatives of the Board and the unioq for the' trouble taken to lay the whole position, and the events that had led up to it, before the members of the Association.