EXCHANGES IN COURT

Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28284, 23 May 1957, Page 9

EXCHANGES IN COURT

Evidence Before Treason Trial (NJZ. Press Association—Copyright) JOHANNESBURG, May 20. Heated exchanges between a defence counsel and the Magistrate over the testimony of an expert on communism marked today’s hearing of the South African treason inquiry. There are 156 men and women of all races appearing on allegations of treason at the inquiry. For the first time in months, the public galleries were almost full today during expert evidence on communism by Dr. Arthur Murray, Professor of Philosophy at Cape Town University. He described documents before the Court as having “Communist tendencies, background and intention’’ and said that there were “Communist tendencies’’ running right through the constitution of the African National Congress. Defence counsel, Mr Victor Berrange, protested against Professor Murray’s comment on a set of lectures taken from Mr Lon Levy. The Magistrate, Mr F. C. A. Wessel, overruled the defence counsel’s protest that the witness was interpreting the document and said that he was merely summarising. When Mr Berrange protested again, the Magistrate said that he might have to stop him. “From what, from defending my clients?” counsel replied. “I am entitled to interject when I consider it my duty to do so.” “I have given you a lot of liberty but now you are just making things impossible,” the Magistrate said. “I do not ask for liberties, I ask for my rights,” Mr Berrange said. At this stage the inquiry was adjourned until tomorrow. Earlier, Professor Murray said that the Communists regarded South Africa as “a semi-colonial country in that the working class, especially non-whites, is in the position of a colonial population exploited by a capitalist section.”