The Dominion SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 1932. A TIME TO STAND TOGETHER

Dominion, Volume 25, Issue 172, 16 April 1932, Page 10

The Dominion SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 1932. A TIME TO STAND TOGETHER

Fuller reports from Auckland reveal the gravity of the outbreak of mob violence. Citizens will feel shame that our high reputation for good social behaviour has been sullied. They will read in the reports also, what is probably true, that the lawless spirit grew like a mass intoxication for lack of initial control. This question of control is important It is much easier to prevent such outbreaks if taken in their incipient stages than to dea with a crowd once it gets out of hand. In all centres of population, therefore, it is the Government’s duty to see. that the P 15 adequately supported against sudden emergencies. Not. that there should be any repression or attempt to over-awe, but that the should exist to deal effectively with situations if they arise. Thus the application of extreme remedies can best be avoided. Not so easy to devise as such preventive and precautionary measures is a way to deal with the agitators who set ablaze the fuel of discontent inevitably piled, high in hard times like the present. Yet a way should be found for it seems clear that the Auckland mass conflagration was not a result of spontaneous combustion. To render incendiarists impotent is just as important as organising the means to extinguish incipient fires. No doubt the. Government appreciates the wisdom of thus preventing disorder by nipping it in the bud. The Prime Minister was emphatic that lawlessness would not be tolerated. The corollary is that adequate protection Wil! be given to the public and that the unruly will be saved from the consequences of running into excesses. In such a defensive policy the Governmentwill have the full support of most citizens. We had almost said, the support of all, but the tone adopted by the Leader of the Opposition and some of his colleagues discourages such a conclusion. Even if, when he spoke in the House on Thursday night, Mr. Holland was not fully informed of the gravity of the riot, he should have been more careful to make clear his attitude. His is a responsible position. Nevertheless he seemed more concerned to put blame on the Government than to assure the nation that his party would support the. forces of law and order. It was not the Government but the bases of society and civilisation that were attacked in Auckland. It also seems plain that the beginning and most of what followed could not be charged against the genuine unemployed but against the. lawless elements that always prey on the borders of any. large community. Had the mob been driven by want or, as Labour-Socialists so frequently declare, by starvation, their appetites would have sent them to the provision shops. And it would have been a deeper disgrace if, in a primary producing country, the outburst could have been described as a food riot. But the looters stole luxury goods—wines, liquors, cigars, jewellery and clothes—leaving provisions practically untouched. There can be no justification for such plundering and no excuse for using a riot- of such a nature, led by such outlaw elements, as a text for criticism of the Adifiinistration. ' Rather it should be a warning to every responsible citizen to rally to the Government, not for any party or sectional reason, but because it is the keeper of law and order, and the guardian of society against subversive influences. In this matter the Labour Party should think carefully of its duty as well as its credit. Its attitude ■, and that of other captious critics of the Government has not inspired confidence as to their firm hold on essentials. Particular care should be taken not to weaken the hand of those in authority. In a crisis such as New Zealand is passing through, it behoves all groups and classes and parties to stand together and help. Our troubles will be magnified if we cannot compose our differences but, as Britain is showing, they can be overcome by national co-opcration and unity. -