LIONEL TERRY, REBEL.

Greymouth Evening Star, 24 March 1911, Page 8

LIONEL TERRY, REBEL.

INTERESTING APPEAL BY A JOURNALIST. The following letter to the Auckland Star from Mr J. Liddell Kelly, the wellknown journalist, is decidedly interesting : Sir, —I have just received a beautiful card, bearing a view of mountain scenery designed and coloured by hand, with the following lines underneath: “The honest man’s mind is his kingdom. Though my body be chained in a cage,, my soul dwellr eth amid the mountains.—Lionel Terry, • Rebel.” On the opposite side of the card are original verses, headed “The Faith Invincible,” which I quote:—

They say the age of chivalry has passed away. That all things noble drift into decay; That Life is nothing but a show grey, And God no longer heedeth those who pmy, But what care I what purblind fools may say? My faith in God is new-born every day; I’ll live my own proud life, and come what may, I’ll firrht old Mammon till the Judgment Day! Now, may old Mammon grind his teeth with rage, And marvel at the might of Him who made me; For I have ,solved the secret of the age, ■ And Nature’s forces all combine to aid me. When Mammon guides the legislator’s pen, The prison is the home for honest men!

These verses are dated from “The ' Cage,” and are signed “Lionel Terry, "Rebel.” For the sake of some readers, ; t may be as well to state briefly who 1 Lionel Terry is,, where he is, and why he is there. He is an Englishman of education, of lofty character, and of gentlemanly manner’s. He has travelled much and observed closely, and as a result has • become keenly alive to the danger that threatens our civilisation owing to the presence of large numbers of coloured aliens in the various British Dominions. Some six years ago he published in this country a little book on the subject, which showed him to be possessed of great patriotic feeling and considerable literary ability. It seemed to many at the time that he exaggerated the seriousness of the menace of the coloured races; but to-day most people agree with everything he wi’ote. Finding that his warnings fell on unheeded ears, Terry (in a state of mind that defi.es exact description) resolved to, sacrifice his own life and another’s in order to focus public attention on the perils that beset our racial purity. He picked out an aged and helpless Chinaman in Wellington, calmly shot him dead, and then surrendered himself to the police, after writing a letter to the Governor, explaining his reason for committing the crime. Terry’s idea was that he would certainly be hanged, and that his voluntary sacrifice would so impress the public mind that effective means would be. adopted to arrest the menace of coloured aliens. Two thousand years ago be might have been acclaimed as a hero and martyr. In f his prosaic century men could only conceive of him as a deliberate man-slayer, or, in the alternative, an irresponsible lunatic. So he was in due course tried, condemned to death, reprieved, sent to prison, to a lunatic asylum, back to prison again, and once more to the asylum at Sunnyside, near Christchurch. Our authorities and experts apparently do not know whether to class him as a lunatic or as an ordinarv prisoner. He shows none of the usual signs of insanity. He is clearminded, logical and connected in his conversation, consistent in his declaration that he is being unjustly treated, and unswerving in his avowed determination to escape if he gets a chance. He is in a class by himself, so he is kept apart from •he insane in a large cage in the asylum grounds, specially constructed for him. and there he occupies his time in writing, drawing and painting, refusing all but the simplest diet, keeping himself healthy and hoping for release. Now, I think (and I hope there are thousands more who think with me) that it is time Lionel Terry was released. I do not condone his crime, but I submit that he has suffered enough for an act that was the outcome of a high moral and latriotic impulse. If he were insane when he committed the deed, he is perfectly sane now—a great deal saner than hundreds of people who are at large. There is no reason why the New Zealand taxpayers should be burdened with the heavy cost of keeping two men specially to prevent Terry escaping. If set at liberty, he has assured me he would leave New Zealand at once. He has repeatedly said that, having “made protest,” he has no intention of using further violence towards the Chinese. It is absurd to say, as I have heard one person do, “If he were at liberty he might shoot you or me!” .A few weeks ago I was locked up alone w : th Terry in his “cage” for half an hour with no attendant in sight. He talked freely with me during that time, and I found him in every way rational, although very obstinate in his refusal to sumit unresistingly to confinement. Love of liberty ir in "him highly developed, but there is nc sign of insanity. The verses I have quoted from his pen cannot be called the work of a lunatic. The fact is. no one believes Terry to be insane. He is at the Mental Hospital because he made things too disagreeable for (be gaolers and gaolbirds at Lyttelton. I repeat be ought to be liberated, and that speedily. I hope to see petitions for his release largely signed. His crime was the outcome of patriotism; it would be fitting if he were released in Coronation year. I am, etc., J. LIDDELL KELLY.