The Evening Star. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1931. THE NEW GUARD.

Evening Star, Issue 20943, 6 November 1931, Page 8

The Evening Star. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1931. THE NEW GUARD.

The “New Guard” in New South Wales sets a great task for itself when it undertakes to see that every Communist shall be out of Australia within four months. Communists have added a great deal to the depression and disorderliness of the Commonwealth during the last few years, and their number is not likely- to be small. Their activities have been shown in breaking up meetings by violence, in resisting the police when their services have been required for "the restoration of peace, and in fomenting such troubles as the ridiculous shipping strike which collapsed, fortunately, a few days ago, despite their best efforts to extend it. A reported feature of the strike was a proposal to recruit “basher gangs,” for the purpose of intimidating prospective volunteers, either at the ship’s side or on their return to Sydney. The New Guard, banded together, according to its leader’s statement, “ on military lines,” proclaimed it as one of its objects to deal with these “ bashers ” and to protect volunteers. Such protection could be quite safely left to the police in any normally constituted State, and it was announced by the rather flamboyant Colonel Campbell that the organisation formed by him, somewhat on Fascist lines, would not operate while the constituted forces were able to hold the situation. The first programme of tho New Guard, which claims to' have tens of thousands of adherents, was to organise meetings in every centre, in New South Wales to urge the Governor to dissolve Parliament so that, with now elections, the people might bo given the prospect of relief from the Lang Government. That was constitutional enough, though a problem might have been made for the Governor when he was required to act upon the petitions received. But tho Guard has been kept so busy with strike developments that it does not seem to have got far with this State-wide development. Its ideas for the clearance of Communists are to* be constitutionally achieved, if possible. Tho desire is that the Government shall declare Communism an offence punishable by deportation. But the threat has been added: “ If the Government is so blind as to refuse this request, we must carefully consider whether or not it is our duty to put these people out for ourselves.”

That is dangerous talk. Tho New Guard has no more right to take the law into its own hands than have “basher gangs.” It apparently did so on a recent occasion, when several hundred of its members broke up a Communist meeting at Bondi, routed the speakers, who were forced to seek police protection, and smashed the platform to pieces. That was only turning the weapons of the Communists against themselves, but the judgment of the people, in any State better governed than New South Wales, would bo “a plaguo on both your houses.” The law —and only possible law—concerning special “ guards ” was laid down a hundred years ago by Lord Melbourne when self-constituted. bodies of tho Sydney kind wore being formed in London to keep order during the excitement over the first Reform Bill.

The formation of any such body [Lord Melbourne laid down] would be entirely illegal and unconstitutional. . . . Every subject of the

realm lias a right to the possession of arms for his defence [that is no longer the case in better protected times] ; but to form military bodies, to muster, to array, to arm, and to train them, except by direction and under control of the sovereign authority, is clearly contrary to law, and entirely inconsistent with the continuance of legal government in the country. . . . If any extraordinary measures are required, the law ami the Constitution clearly point out what they should be. It is unnecessary to have recourse to establishments with now and foreign names, or to any other weapons than the constable’s staff. If the inhabitants of any division of the metropolis, or of the metropolis at large, feel apprehensive of disturbance and danger, let thorn come forward and ho sworn in as special constables, and in that case there is a power in tbo magistrates to form and arrange them in such a manner as may render them effectual for other objects, and oven to arm them with more formidable weapons, if such should happen to bo necessary.

Tho same power resides in New Zealand, and doubtless in Australian law’, though it has very rarely had to be invoked. If its invocation is not needed in New South Wales there is no need for the New Guard. Mr Lang does not like that organisation. Under normal circumstances he would have reason for disliking it without any reflection on himself. The State Government, it is said, has referred recent public utterances „of a number of the Guard’s members to the Crown Law Department for an opinion as to whether any breach of the law had been committed. The Federal Treasurer (Mr Theodore) has declared that the Federal Government is convinced that its activities could develop into a serious menace, and “ the Goveniment would not tolerate any attempt to usurp military authority by any unofficial armed force on any pretext.” It is the business of a Government to hold the scales equally between Communists and their would-be suppressors—to treat both alike when they threaten to take the law into their own hands. But this is what it is complained that the Lang Government does not do, and tho suspicion that it is rather partial to Communists, who. might have a free hand to work any disasters for tho State so far as it is concerned, makes the sole excuse for the New Guard. One can only feel sorry for New South Wales under Mr Lang’s Government,