A N.Z. SOCIALIST

Greymouth Evening Star, 27 July 1920, Page 7

A N.Z. SOCIALIST

THE WORKERS’ DREAD-

NOUGHT

IIS T TROUBLE IN LONDON. LONDON, May 27. Harry Percy Burgess, 35, a New Zealand ex-service man, has been sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, without hard labour. He was tried at Bow Street, before Sir C. Biron, charged with spreading disaffection among the Irish Guards.

Burgess, described as manager of the “Workers’ Dreadnought” (of which Miss Sylvia Pankhurst is editor), and as a newspaper manager, of Milton avenue,

Stonebridge, Willesden, was charged (1) with having, on May 14th, done an act calculated to cause disaffection among the Irish Guards, by supplying or attempting to cause, to be circulated among them, printed papers, including a pamphlet, entitled, “Soviets for the British” ; (2) Avitli attempting, between April 3rd and May 10th, to cause disaffection by providing Irish Guardsmen Brady, Be dm on d, and Wiliams with pamphlets for distribution among the Irish Guards: (3) and, between..the same dates, providing and attempting to circulate amongst the Irish Guards, pamphlets, entitled, “Fhmets lor the British,’’ and other printed papers likely to cause, disaffection .

Sir IT. C. Biron said that the nets and intentions of tlie defendant in Lis dealing's with the tin ardsmen el early brought him within Begultion 42 of Defence of the Be aim Begulations. He sentenced him to' six months imprisonment, without hard labour. f Sympathisers at the back of the Conrt commenced to cheer. A woman, called out,/ ‘Courage, comTjxde !” and another cried. “Diciatovship of the Proletariat I The Court was nuicklv cleared. Bn enlisted in the Auckland Infantry in November, 1915, and went to Egypt, "'here ho served with a. Trench ktortar Battorr. and was at Tel -el -Enin" v. Whßp in Ecrypt he was admitWl to five on si- different hospitals, P , IV I w'skdisohayged hi London n S medicalv unfit in "February, 1917.

BUTTER AND BOTTLES

A COMEDY OF ERRORS. When is a case of butter not a case of butter? It is scarcely tactful to ask this conundrum of the Butter Pool Committee at the moment, says the Melbourne Argus. Cases of butter are a sore subject. But the answer to the riddle is ‘‘When it is full of empty bottles.” The story of how it came to be asked and answered provides the plot for an excellent comedy. The scene of the prologue is laid at Croydon, where a resident is discovered consigning six butter boxes filled with empty bottles to the Mutual Store, Flinders Street. But the real action of the play commences at , the goods shed in Melbourne. Here a vigilant officer of the Pool Committee is employed shadowing suspicious-looking cases —cases ;h every sense of the term—and making sure that “the wicked grocer” (to quote Chesterton) is not .gettimr his butter otherwise than Avith the blessings of the pool. These are the days of Government control, and like so many other commod.t’es butter has to be pooled before the retailer can pass it on to the public. Enter the six butter-boxes from Croydon, and the lynx-eyed official immediately makes a note of them. Never Avas secret service agent on the track of a bomb quicker to get on to the scent. The next scene is laid in the office of the secretary of the Pool Committee. Mr. John Jack, manager of the grocery department at the Mutual Store, stated yesterday that he was summoned to attend, and explain Ayhy his company was acting contrary to regulations. “In Avhat Avay?” asked Mr. - Jack. “Obtaining butter from Croydon —to wit, six cases thereof,” h; Avas informed. Mr. Jack protested Hint the Mutual Store Avas not getting butter from Croydon, and never had got butter from Croydon. Denial Avas useless, and he Avas informed that if

he took up an attitude of defiance, the law would be set m motion against the Store. “But pleaded Mr. Jack, “there is no butter factory at Croydon.” Exactly # so—the committee had thought of that. In fact, it only made thing.t worse —it looked suspiciously as if the Mutual Store had tried to put the secret service of the pool off the trail by carting the butter from a distance. Probably the committee had visions of the way diamond thieves send their stolen goods from London to Paris via Constantinople. Why could not butter, manufactured in the western district, be smuggled into Melbourne through Croydon ? Puzzled, Mr. Jack returned to his office, and the third act finds him interviewing his chief carter. Had he taken delivery of any butter from Corydon ? “No,” answered the carter. Had goods of any description come from Croydon lately? “Let me sec,” mused the carter. “Yes, there are six boxes of empty bottles waiting in the shed, but I haven't had time to take delivery.” Tableau. The jarring note in this comedy of en-ois is found in the fact that although tbe Mutual Store immediately informed the Pool committee how its zealous “sleuth” had hit the wrong trail, the committee was so far lacking in both courtesy and a sense of humour as to disregard tire communication.