MORE TREASON TRIALS.

Evening Star, Issue 22895, 1 March 1938, Page 8

MORE TREASON TRIALS.

Notwithstanding reports that it was being halted, the process of Russian purges goes merrily on. One would have thought that by this time all the highest heads would have been removed, but the forthcoming trial of twenty-one former .leaders of Bolshevism is regarded, we are told, as the most sensational in the Soviet’s history. Certainly it includes some remarkable names, notably those of Rykoff, who was Premier of the Union in succession to Lenin; Bukharin, a former President of the International; Yagoda, past head' of the 0.G.P.U.; and Rakovsky, who was President of the Ukraine and a former Ambassador to London. The charges go back to the beginning of the Soviet regime; it is wonderful how these miscreants in high places could have avoided l suspicion so long when so much evidence would suggest that nobody goes unsuspected in Russia. But there are no infamies not covered by the charges. Men whose names were names to conjure with till a few years ago, objects of veneration, we must suppose, to all good Communists, are accused of organising espionage, wrecking, and terrorism on behalf of hostile foreign States in order to provoke war, dismember the Soviet, and deliver up the Ukraine, White Russia, Turkestan, the Caucasus, and the Far Eastern maritime province to their employers. They are accused—apparently the whole squad of them—of murdering among others the novelist Maxim Gorky two years ago, though Gorky was a sick man for a long time before he died, and no suggestion seems to have existed at the time that his end was other than natural. The object of their conspiracies, it is said, was to establish a bourgeois regime.

That sounds an unlikely ambition for Rykoff, some slight sketch of whose past career may be given. The father of Lenin belonged to the petty nobility, but Rykoff was horn of the soil. He was a revolutionary, and suffered as a revolutionary, from his student days. Eight years of his earlier life were spent in prison—for the most part in solitary confinement —or in exile, on political charges. He escaped three times, and when, prior to the war, he elected to carry on within Russia the work of the majority wing of the Social Democratic Party, which Lenin, as a victim of banishment, directed from outside it, he eluded arrest with consummate skill. For twenty years he was associated with Lenin, and succeeded him without question in the Premiership. As one who had specialised in economics, he was described then as the efficiency man of the Government. But the chief power, after Lenin’s death, was always wielded by Stalin as general secretary of the Communist Party, which is supposed to be something outside the Government. Yagoda, previous head of the 0.G.P.U., had been under a cloud for some time past. No one will envy the chances of the accused when they come before a military tribunal. The revolution in Russia has continued “ eating up its children ” for a time that would have seemed incredible to the French revolutionaries. All conjectures fail to explain the inner meaning of these purges; their victims have been too many and are too illustrious (though nonentities are not immune), and they have lasted too long. And the Soviet Government has other means, besides trials, of ridding itself of suspects. The War Minister has only just revealed that the Commander-in-chief of the Navy, who disappeared last October, also the eomander of the Baltic Fleet, had been “ destroyed ” by command of authority, “ wiped off the face of the earth,” just as servants of the Sublime Porte used to disappear, leaving no trace, in past days of the Sultans. The only sure conclusion concerning the purges and treason trials is that they will be encouraging to Japan.

In the Supreme Court this morning His Honour Mr Justice Kennedy heard a complaint by Esther Eliza Ellis against James Mitchell lor an order for partition and sals of premises known as the Victoria Hotel. Mr E. B. Adams appeared for the plaintiff and Mr J. M. Paterson for defendant. The defendant contended that the plaintiff was debarred from proceeding by reason of an order made by the Adjustment Commission and now under appeal by the Court of Review. After hearing counsel in lengthy legal argument, His Honour reserved judgment. His Honour Mr Justice Kennedy has granted probate in the following estates;—lsabella Traill (Waiwera), married woman; Ella M'Kissack Barclay (Palmerston), married woman; William Charles Crawley (Dunedin), engine driver; Alexander Greig_ (Dunedin), retired Presbyterian minister; Jane Quarterman (Dunedin) married woman; George Robert Marshall (Balfour), farmer; Dorothy Chapman (Balclutha), widow; William Daveis (Dunedin), bootmaker; James Fyfe (North Balclutha), farmer; Thomas Harwood (Otakou), farmer. Letters of administration have been granted in the estate of _ Edmund Eugene Murphy (Dunedin), storeman. If the Department of Internal Affairs concurs with the view of the Acclimatisation Society there will be a close season for opossums in Otago this year, the decision to recommend this action being made at the meeting last night of the council of the society following reports from rangers and skin agents cf the scarcity of opossums and the low prices that were being received for skins.

Visions of a new Arcadia were in the air at last night’s meeting of the City Council when Cr Silverstone, while speaking on the subject of the increased demand by the Highways Board in connection with the road to the Taieri Aerodrome, said that ho quite agreed that the introduction of machinery to supersede hand labour would be a good thing. Indeed, he would like to see the day when all that the men had to do was to stand and look on at the machinery doing the work. The remark was greeted by laughter, but Cr Silverstone's reply to this was to say: “ Councillors seem to think that the average man likes hard work; but he doesn’t, any more than Cr Allen, or Cr Mitchell, or any of us like it.” “ Men work,” he added, “ because they have to;,to get an income.” The tender of the Iron and Steel Company of New Zealand Ltd. in the sum of £456 10s for the supply of steel rods was accepted at the meeting of the Drainage and Sewerage Board held last night.

The postal authorities advise that the Awatea left Sydney on Saturday for Wellington with 57 bags of Australian mail and the London air mail of February 13. The air mail should be to hand this afternoon and the ordinary mail to-morrow evening.

A good boxing story was told, by the famous international sportsman, Mr Harald Baker, while the preliminaries to the professional contest in which he officiated, at the Town Hall last night were being completed. A novice boxer was taking a tremendous lacing, but ho had a most optimistic second, and when he came back to his corner his second gave him these words of cheer; “ Fie hasn’t hit you yet —go after him in the next round,” or something to that effect. The battered one was not so hopeful. “What! He ain’t hit me? Well, when I go out next time you watch the referee, because someone 'is doing it!”. A Press Association telegrani from Invercargill states that the motion for a new trial in the case in which the Australian Provincial Assurance Association was awarded £250 damages against the ’Australian Mutual Provident Society for slander was mentioned before Mr Justice Kennedy in the Supreme Court yesterday. His Honour said he would hear the motion in Wellington on a date to be arranged when he was there for the sitting of the Court of Appeal.

An interesting coincidence occurred on Friday of last week. When Mr C. Woodfield was painting the flagpole high above the city on top of the King Edward Technical College, his employer, Mr AV. Mawhinney, took a number of photographs from various angles of the man on the pole. Having one exposure left on his roll of film, ho used it at random on a longrange view of the city. The pictures of his own employee working on the flagpole were excellent, but to his surprise a man also appeared in centre of the other photograph painting the main centre flagpole on the Town Hall. It so happened that while Mr Woodfield was painting the flagpole on the Technical College, Mr A. L. Wigg was carrying out similar work on the pole at the Town Hall.

Engaged with the works department of the City Corporation under No, 5 scheme, group No. 275 will commence work at Campbell’s road to-morrow afternoon. Members of the group will meet at Fea street at 12.15.

There were no oases set down for hearing in the Police Court this morning.

On Thursday of next week the commodore commanding the New Zealand Station (Rear-Admiral the Hon. E. B. Drummond) will carry out an inspection of the Otago Division of the E, NV R For this purpose he will leave H.M.S. Achilles at Bluff, coming to Dunedin by land, and rejoin her when she reaches this port.

One of the most memorable sights of the visit to Sydney was the huge street procession on the day of the 150th anniversary, said Mr T. Allen, in the course of an address at the Caledonian grounds last evening. “ Some idea of the expense involved may be gauged from the fact that the 62 floats which comprised the fleet were insured for £54,500. While the New Zealand team was in Sydney they were used only twice. Australians spare no expense in demonstrations of this kind,” he said.

All the medals and decorations won by Lord Rutherford during his distinguished career are to be given to Canterbury University College, of which Lord Rutherford was a graduate (says the ‘ Press ’). The College Council yesterday announced its acceptance of the gift, which was offered recently by Mr R. H. Fowler on behalf of Lady Rutherford. The chairman of the council said that the collection would be suitably housed. It was hoped when improvements were made to the college library to arrange for its permanent display there.

The postal authorities advise that the Rangitata, due at Wellington on Friday from London, has 10 bags of English mail-and 350 parcel receptacles for New Zealand. The Dunedin portion should be to hand on Saturday evening.

The tender of Messrs Wallace and Wallace in the sum of £11,295 for tho erection of the new Post Office at Milton has been accepted. The building, which will be the most up-to-date public office in Milton, will have a twostory frontage, the upper half being used as a residence. The rear quar ters of the premises will be one story in height, and the building throughout will be centrally boated.

In connection with the report on the opening ceremony of the academic year of the University of Otago, published in the ‘Star ’ last night, the statement “ Professor Marples was to have commenced duties at the beginning of last year, but had been unable to do so,” has been pointed out as incorrect. Professor Marples arrived in Dunedin shortly after the beginning of term last year. He was not present at the opening ceremony, but he conducted his department throughout the year. Professor Marples was trained in the school where Dr Benham had formerly taught, whence a certain observed continuity in method.

By a specially chartered Union Airways Lockheed-Electra aeroplane, a party of visiting tourists arrived at tho Taieri aerodrome this afternoon on the completion of a flight from Palmerston North to Dunedin via Waiho (Franz Josef Glacier), and Milford and other Sounds. The party left New Plymouth early this morning, Waiho at 10.30, and visited the Sounds and Lakes Wakatipu, Te Anau, and Wanaka en route. They arrived in the city by motor about 1.30 this afternoon. & The first of the houses being built under the Government scheme on the Liberton sub-division was occupied early this morning. The tenant was a busy man when a ‘ Star ’ reporter arrived on the scene, and he had no comments to make beyond tho statement that a man was lucky to get a house to-day. Another house was occupied this afternoon, and others are rapidly nearing completion. By Saturday it is expected that seven houses will be occupied. When the settlement is fully tenanted it should prove very attractive, as the houses are all different. At present Liberton is a busy place, dozens of houses still being in the hands of the carpenters, and extensive additions are also being made to the school. There are as yet no dividing fences between the houses, but as soon as the wet weather sets in hedges will be planted, and the presence of these should enhance the picturesque aspect of the settlement.

Eye strain—for eye comfort, for better vision, consult Stunner and Watson Ltd., opticians, 2 Octagon, Dunedin.—[Advt.] No meeting of the Otago Metal Workers’ Assistants’ Union will be held to-morrow night.