STATE PRECAUTIONS

Northern Advocate, 16 April 1932, Page 8

STATE PRECAUTIONS

ADEQUATE EQUIPMENT ; v INUNDATION OF OFFERS. “NEW' GUARD" MOVEMENT. (Special to ’‘Northern Advocate.”) V WELLINGTON, This Day. Questioned last evening regarding .-‘the steps being taken, by the Govern- ■ jnent to guard against a recurrence of >the riotous scenes in Auckland, the .Prime Minister, the Et. Eon. G. W. i-Forbes, said: ' ‘ Full authority will be - placed behind the forces of law and >, : Mr Forbes stated he was assured athat, the authorities in Auckland had - position well, in hand and that the epolice had beer, sufficiently reinforced sto ‘ handle., any situation that might \ arise.

As to the possibility of similar in; other centres, he said the i- Government was lully prepared to meet eventualities, and would not al(low the forces of disorder to gain the ..-upper hand. The Government had been inundated with offers of assistance, and- adequate services would be "available- to supplement those of the police if .the occasion arose, although ■it would be the fervent hope of the ‘ country generally that no such need , would occur. ■ The Rt.vHon, J. G. Coates said that , arrangements were well in hand for jtho prevention of similar outbreaks in -other parts of New Zealand. I Emulating Colonel Campbell. It is understood that something In £the nature- of a “New Guard” is be"ing organised throughout New Zealand, returned soldiers playing a prominent part in the precautionary arrangements. It is stated that the : Legion of-Frontiersmen has offered 'its services unreservedly to the Government (and that details of its nave been furnished. Civilians are also offering their services, land it is understood that in Welling- : ton alone a very large number has ; been recruited for service at . any .time. ' r / Labour Party Attitude. A-, Some apprehension has been expressed at the possible results accruing from various meetings arranged the country by the Labollr /Party during'the next fortnight. There is a .distinct possibility that steps tmay be taken either to prevent or con(siderably curtail any mass meetings in --the immediate future. Several Labour members of Parliament will ad..dress meetings in various centres of rth&*.]E)ominion in extension of similar (gatherings held recently. >V“We will, of course, have to refer (to the Auckland riot,” said one Labpur member yesterday, “but wo all .Realise that it is a subject not tp be spoken- of without deliberation, and (there is no.desire on our part to fan (the flames.”

h< HOUSE TO BLAME •vV-'._ ' y, ' MEMBER’S WARNING. FAULTY LEGISLATION. V (From Our Parliamentary Special.) £V' WELLINGTON, This Day. “I trust that this occurrence will bo a lesson- to* the members of the House rind to the Government,” remarked Mr A- Harris (Reform —Waitemata) in the .House yesterday, referring to the Auckland riot, “and that they will remember that they, to some extent, must share the responsibility for disturbances cif that kind until they exercise wisdom, forbearance and knowledge of humanity and suffering.” -After what had occurred in Auckland, he said, as a preface to his speech bn the Rational Exporiditure Adjustment Bill, he felt some difficulty in criticising the Bill in the way he would *|kb. Every decent-minded citizen would deplore the sabotage and lawlessness that, took place, and agree that such in occurrence must be handled witli firmness, yet with tact. He wished to Repress his appreciation of the action rf the police, whom he regarded as a sredit to the-country.

|“An occurrence like this/’ Mr Har;ia continued, "brings home to meniof Parliament a realisation of Aeir great trust, and it should be a ijsson to us that disturbances or that cind must be, arid always will be, caused almost entirely by the ' legislation >assed by this Molise. The responsible ty for such disturbances may be laid t the doors oL.the members of Parliament and the Government. • I trust hat. this trouble may cause the Govrnment/and members of Parliament to ass legislation that will tend to dispuragc occurrences of this kind!"

b-Mr'J. McCombs (Labour—Lyttelton) aid that while- all regretted the fact Jiat innocent traders were made to ufter injury, it was entirely duo to the of the Governmenr. t was unfortunate that the - Governicnt had set an example in lawlessess. Parliament had enacted logis Ition providing for sustenance where wk could not be found, but the Gov rnment was openly flouting this law. iawlessness in Auckland must be do lorcd, but the Government’s lawlessess must be deplore.* oven more.

CABINET CONVENED. SPECIAL STEPS CONSIDERED. (Prom Our Parliamentary Special.) WELLINGTON, This Day. Cabinet held urgent meetings last night and this morning to consider what steps should bo taken by way of special legislation to meet emergencies similar to that in Auckland. In reply to a question, Mr Forbes pointed out that the Mayor of Auckland had authority to read the Riot Act if circumstances warranted it, but the Mayor had to be the judge of the situation. Cabinet had carefully considered what emergency measures would be necessary to further assist the Mayor and the police in the preservation of law and order, and although a linal decision had not been reached, it was possible that special legislation would ho presented in the House of yßcpresentativos at an early date.

Air Forbes made it clear that although ample powers existed for the handling of situations such as that which had developed in Auckland, anything done outside the law to assist the authorities in the execution' of their duty would be validated.

COMMENT IN THE COUNCIL LABOUR .CHIDED. FAIR PLAY WANTED. (Special to “Northern Advocate.”) WELLINGTON, This Day. In the Legislative Council yesterday, the Hon, L. M. Isitt (Canterbury) said he deeply deplored the tone’ and comment of Labour Party leaders on the outrage at Auckland. Comment by the Labour members in the House was just as unwise as it was foolish and deplorable, and would alienate public sympathy. It was characteristic of Britishers that those who stood for Jaw and order should not be terrorised. He hoped-Labour members would have the courage to appeal for British fair play. “I think it is unwise to permit these mob processions,” said the Leader of the Council, Sir James Parr. “They do no good. If I were in Auckland and had authority, I would prohibit the marching of demonstrators through the main streets. If they want to ularch, let them march in the side streets, where no one could see them.”

‘ ‘DEEPEST SYMPATHY. ’» GOVERNOR-GENERAL’S AIESSAGE. (Special to “Northern Advocate.”) AUCKLAND, This Day. The Governor-General has sent the following message to the Mayor of Auckland:—“You and your city have ray deepest sympathy in your present distress. I earnestly trust that- reasonable eounsel will now prevail and that the city’s traditional high reputation for the observance of law and order will be speedily re-established.”

DUNEDIN SITUATION BACK TO NORMAL. WORK WILL BE RESUMED. EMPHATIC MAJORITY. Press Association.—Copyright.) DUNEDIN, This Day. Nothing occurred in Dunedin yesterday to indicate that any desire remained among a section of the unemployed to continue the disturbances of the past week. The situation was perfectly quiet and the very small number of unemployed who gathered in front of the Town Hall in tho morning dispersed after only a short wait.

After relief work had been declared “black,” as a sequel to the disturbance at the Hospital Board’s office on Monday night, a number of men approached tho Mayor, Mr R. S. Black, and expressed the opinion that if a ballot was taken the great- majority of men would express their .willingness to continue • working. The Mayor agreed to take a ballot yesterday, and voting papers were handed to each of the 800 men engaged during the day on works under the No. 5 Scheme. No fewer than 703 of the men were in favour of continuing work and only 90 were against it. A total of 73 men expressed no opinion.