HOLLAND GAOLED.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2130, 23 April 1914, Page 6

HOLLAND GAOLED.

lERII OF TWELVE MONTHS.

HIS SPEECH FROM THE DOCK,

THE JUDGE'S ADVICE,

Henry Edmund Holland, a member of the Social Democratic "Party, find editor of the "Mainland 'Worker," who was found guilty by a jury some time ago on two chargos of having used seditious language in speeches made during tho strike, appealed in tho Supremo Court yesterday morning to bo sentenced. Tho'pcnalty imposed by His Ilonour the Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout) was twolvo months' imprisonment, dating from February 2, and without hard labour. ' ■ , . i Tho Court was crowded some little timo'bcforeHho hour fixed for tho passing .of sentence. '. The formal question, "Havo you anything to say why. sentence of the Court should not be passed upon you, according to law?" drow from Holland a forty-minutes' speech, in which he sought to vindicate himself, and denounce a section of the daily. Press.

Holland's Speech. Holland snid, when presented with his opportunity to address tho Court, that he wished to thank his counsel for having made the best fight possibkym tho circumstances, and Hjs Honour for the consideration shown him during tho trial." He felt suro that the Court would not mistake what ho was saying to"be a plea for mercy; when a man s conscience ,told him that ho had done right, ho had no need to plead for mercy; ho could ask for justice. Ho hoped that if ho was sentenced to a term of imprisonment he would bo allowed to do his work from within the gaol, so that his wife and children would not suffer.: Tho newspapers, from whoso reports of his speeches tho indictments against him had boon framed, were- unscrupulously unfair to the workers from end to end of the strike. Nothing-was too base for them to-ut-ter: no act of misrepresentation too great for them to commit. The reports upon which lie was tried wero egregious- jumblcs-rodd sentences chopped from the cohtext. Holland then read what he asserted wero transcripts of verbatim reports taken at tho_ time that the speeches had been delivered. At the time of the NejPtown Park speech ho had information from, the permanent men in Mt. Cook barracks that forty rounds of ammunition had been served out,-and the men had been told that if they were called out and ordered to fire on the strikers they wero ' to shoot straight, and not , high or low; also, that tho men.on tho Psyche had been told that, if ordered to fire, they were to shoot to kill. Fires of indignation leaped within him when he heard this, and he had advised these men not to shoot down the workers. He was not physically fit 'to endure imprisonment, but, in tho samo circumstances, he would repeat that advice. One of tho very strongest reasonswhy there should have been no conviction in his case was that the very Biblo, upon which these extraordinary newspaper reporters and detectives wero sworn, said: "Thou shalt not kill." He had his homo life, his book's, and other ties, but, if he could walk out of the Court a free mail'by retracting his. words, he would not do so. If the law said that he had done'wrong, tho law was immoral. A further reason why ho should not bo sentenced was that*tho law of sedition should not bo on the Statute-book of any civilised country. A little later, in the course of his remarks, prisoner observed that no great change was possible 'until the peoplo became discontented, for discontentment was an element which made for progross. Ho complained of being placed at a disadvantage at his trial through being allowed to challengo only six jurors while tho Crown were allowed to stand aside- as many jurors as they desired to. Finally, he "bowed to the inevitable," and concluded by quoting tho lato W. E. Henley's words:— "Out of tho night which covers me, Black as the pit from polo to pole, Kjjhank whatever gods there be For my unconquerable soul." Advice from the Bench, When Holland had concluded , , His Honour said that' it was now his bouuden duty to carry out tho law. Holland, he said, eeemed to think that sedition was "a law put "upon New Zealand iy Judges—Judges of the past. The fact, however, was that it came by way of a law made by tho Parliament of New Zealand, and, as far as His Honour remembered, no objection was taken when it was enacted. It was, of course, recognised then that if wo were to have peace and order and progress, there must bo a law to prevent violence. Prisoner had complained of the newspaper reports upon which he had been tried, and had read what ho termed tho verbatim reports of his speeches. ■ To that fiis Honour remarked that if these latter reports (from the "Maoriland Worker") had been taken, prisoner would still have brought himself within tho'-law of sedition. Without peace- and" order (continued His Honour) thero could bo no progress, and. if a man invited others to resort to violence in the carrying out of any reforms which might bo asked for, that man was really an enemy of tho people; he had ceased to havo the brotherhood of the people before him. During the strike some peoplo had chosen to assault others: who were not interfering with them. His Honour had seen a man who did not appear to be a waterside worker, but looked like a clerk, hurling stones at a man on horseback who was not saying a word to him. If .' : that, conduct was to be tolerated, it would lead to anarchy; civil war, and lawlessness. If prisoner bad done as John Burns did on tho occasion respecting which he was indicted ho might havo done a good service. Burns had advised his hearers that thero were peoplo about who might cause trouble and l:ad advised all who sought peace to go homo lest thero should bo a disturbance. Tho brotherhood of man meant a brotherhood, not of workers or lvatcrsiders only, but of all classes of tho community, and if prisoner thought otherwise he had not appreciated what brotherhood meant. Tho experience of the striko had been that the violence' came from the worker. When a "man who was a worker (with his wifo and family perhaps starving) chose to work, what' right had another man to stop him? Each man in'such a case- had a right to work;, tlio right was a fundamental right of social life. In tlio strike period, howovor, men wore hit for working and doing no harm. That was no way in which to promote the brotherhood of man.

Final Admonition and Sentence. His Honour went on to say that lie did not intend to impose on prisoner the full penalty allowed under tho law. That penalty would bo four years' imprisonment, bub .His Honour was going to deal leniently and kindly with prisoner—"far niore ltindly that a Judge in your own country did." Ho hoped that tho sentence would at least afford prisoner timo for reflection on tho fneb that violence, hied violence and did no pood, and that toleration oF siu-ii conduct might result in civil war. His Honour 'urged prisoner (whom, l:e considered to bo a man of ability) to lead his follows, who might not be so well rc.ad. to sen that, if there was to bo a truo brotherhood, there must i>o kindly feelina between all classes. Holland was theu sentenced to twelve

months 'imprisonment, dating from February '2, without hard labour. His Honour added thsit he could not deal with Holland's request to. bo allowed his hooka'and to do his work; that was a. matter for tiio gaol authorities, lie hoped, however, that prisoner would see that he had donc.-Vronp;. Ho did not say that lio (prisoner) .had consciously doiio wrong, but, if thu Court did not soutenco him, it would no forth to tho world that incitement to violence was to pass without 'penalty: that a man could disturb tho peace and go free. "I am sorry," added His Honour, "that you have done wrong, for the sake of your wife- and children.. Uufortunately, when men do wrong; they sometimes omit to think of others to whom they owe right and duties."