The Star. Delivered every evening by 6 o'clock in Hawera, Manaia, Normanby, Okaiawa, Eltham, Mangatoki, Kaponga, Awatuna, Opunake, Otakeho, Manutahi, Alton, Hurleyville, Patea, Waverley. FRIDAY, JULY 25, 1919. LAWLESSNESS AND DISORDER.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXXVIII, Issue LXXVIII, 25 July 1919, Page 4

The Star. Delivered every evening by 6 o'clock in Hawera, Manaia, Normanby, Okaiawa, Eltham, Mangatoki, Kaponga, Awatuna, Opunake, Otakeho, Manutahi, Alton, Hurleyville, Patea, Waverley. FRIDAY, JULY 25, 1919. LAWLESSNESS AND DISORDER.

Unfortunately the columns of the newspapers lately have recorded a serious wave of lawlessness and disorder. From various quarters th© reports come. In England the Yorkshire strikes have developed into sabotage, the destruction of the mineral sources of wealth and employment; in Australia the dastardly assault on the Premier of Victoria in his own office and the blatant vaponngs of the man Walsh give further proof of the existence of a riotous spirit being abroad in the Commonwealth; while in Ne?w Zealand the outrage at Gheymouth, the second of its kind within a month, shocks and angers all decent people. One wonders whether there is any sense of .responsibility, any feeling of justice, not to mention pity, within the hearts of miscrec :;ts who perpetrate these outrages. The Greymouth case is the nearest home and affects this community most, and we are sure there will be a general demand that the Government shall seek out the criminal and bring him to justice. In the case reported a few weeks ago there was no suggestion that the constable had in any way given personal offence to anyone, nor do we suppose that there will be any suggestion of the kind on this occasion. Admittedly, if there had been personal offence that would have been no excuse for a murderous attack on the man and his family, though it might have been pleaded in an isolated case that the assailant had been put off his balance by nursing a grievance. The circumstances attendant on the first outrage and a repetition of th« crime within a few weeks in an attack on another policeman give both incidents a terribly grave character. The fact is that there has been far too much leniency shown to intimidation of various brands, and the failure to deal more severely with men who ail the time covertly and, for a part of the time, more or less openly encourage the methods of violence, if not positive crime, is being interpreted as weakness. A stand has to be made. We must have the law maintained in this country, where every man enjoys a, freedom in political action as wide and as ■untrammelled as can be desired by anyone who understands the true meaning of the word Liberty; and if the Government does not justify itself in its capacity of keeper of the peace and protector of the lives of the men and women of the State by putting a stop once and for all to such outrages as that reported from Greymouth, it will deservedly forfeit the confidence and the respect of the community. It has a special responsibility upon it of protecting the men whom it employs to see that the law is observed, but, greater still, if that be possible, is the duty of seeing that murderous outrages shall foe sheeted home and the perpetrators put beyond the opportunity of doing further harm, whether the victims be special servants or ordinary members of the community. Public opinion will not be satisfied with anything less than the strict and adequate performance of that duty.