DISLOYAL STATEMENTS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 8, 4 October 1917, Page 6

DISLOYAL STATEMENTS

JAN PIETERSE CONVICTED

SENTENCED TO TWO MONTHS'

IMPRISONMENT

. (By i Telegrnnh-SDCcial Correspondent.) Nelson, October 3. Jan Pieterse, who was a fireman on the Port Keinbla, was charged, before Mr. Loughnau, S.M., this afternoon with publishing disloyal statements in the AVakatu Hotel, Nelson, on September 19, to the effect that he loved the Kaiser, he would fight his last for the liaiser, he would kiss the Kaiser, aud. imitating the aot of spitting, ho would do that to the Uii"hsli. Accused was further charged with publishing seditious utterances, viz., the words in the previous charge. * Accused was arrested do September 20 and brought before a Justice of the Peace, when he said ha would plead guilty. Thereupon lie was Bent to Wellington to appear before the Magistrate, but when the case was called ho altered Ins plea and was remanded back to JNelsou. Pieterse to-day was defended by counsel, and pleaded not guilty. Throe witnesses gave evidence as to the words used in the parlour of tho Wakatu Hotel. Accused spoko-brokon English but could be quite well understood. All tho witnesses at-reed that while the accused was under the influence of liquor and talkative, ho «-as not drunk. . ~_,., Counsel for the acou'Sei! said Pieterse wa3 a Dutchman, who had served fourteen years in the Dutch Jiuvy, receiving honourable discharges. Afterwards ho spent several years in the British and Dutcli mercantile services, getting gooil dischargee. . •Accused in evidence said he did not remember anything that had hapixmed in the AVakatu Hotel, as he had had several drinks. H* also said that it the bomb which exploded on tho Port Kembla was £omb it was meant for him us well as foiuuvyone else. Accused emphatically denied that he loved the The Magistrate eaid acensed had inarte uso of language which was certainly very disloyal and not at all the language that should be used by one who was a guest o'f the Dominion. Hie ship was lost (it was strongly suspected through a German plot, though ttiere was no proof of that). Accuse(Mvas res'cUed and landed at, Nelson, 'he. had lost ali his property, all hie clothes, and all his papers, but was taken charge of and fed and clothed and given pocket-money. In spite of that he had made iise of languagb which he must have known was extremely hard for those at war with Germany to hear. Accused now said that thoso were not his sentiments, that he did not hate the British, and would not spit on them; but when his mind was not clear and accused lost self-restraint ho used tho words. When drunk he abused the nation which employed him, and at tho moment was rescuing him from distress. ThiJ Magistrate eaid ho had taken into account accused's statement that 'he was drunk (though the witnesses all said he was not drunk, but only under ihe lnfiuonce of liquor), and would take a moderately lenient view of the offence. Ho told accused that if ho was in Germany ho would be imprisoned for rest of the war, and he knew what imprieonmont in Germany was like. In' New Zoaland he would be well fed and looked after. Accused would be convicted on the charge of disloyal statements and sentenced, to two months' imprisonment, dating from the time of his arrest. On the charge of publishing seditious iitterances he would be convicted and discharged.