ENEMY WITHIN

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23791, 19 October 1940, Page 12

ENEMY WITHIN

SUBVERSIVE PAPER POSSESSION CHARGE TAXI-DRIVER FOUND GUILTY [j)Y TELKCIt A I'FI —I'JtKSS ASSOCIATION"] WELLINGTON, Friday

The trial took place in the Supreme Court to-da.v of William McCready, aged 'J I, taxi-driver, on ;i charge of having in his possession f>o copies of the People's Voice with a view to facilitating the publication of a subversive statement. The jury returned a verdict of guilty and added a recommendation to mercy. McCready was remanded for sentence.

In summing up Mr. Justice Ostler suggested to the jurymen that when they retired they should read the Peoplo's Voice from cover to cover. When they had done that they would lind it professed to be issued by the Communist Party; that its attitude was that Russia could do no wrong; that it was hostile to tho British Empire and all tho Empire stood lor and to the rulo of democracy as established in the framework of our Constitution.; that it hated the Labour Government and held it up to obloquy as traitorous to the class it represented; that it bitterly opposed the war efloi't ot Now Zealand, and that it described the war as an imperialist war. Tho paper obviously desired to see the British Empire deleated, said His Honor, although he could not understand why. because if Britain was defeated it seemed to him it would be the end of liberty. The paper professed to be the champion of tno rights ot trades unions, continued 11 is Honor, who pointed out that the gentlemen who were the trusted trade union leaders iu England had. according to our newspapers, repeatedly stated in public that if the Empire was deleated trade unionism would be smashed. Yet the authors of the paper obviously wanted t.<> SOt> Britain deleated. It was questionable whether their professed love of trade unionism was genuine. The paper also admitted that in the past it had been subsidised by foreign money. His Honor then dealt with the meaning of subversion. He said_ the paper referred to conscription in Now Zealand us i! it was degrading. He could not understand why, because exactly the sail id tiling went on in Russia. The army of Russia was a conscripted army ami the People's Voice thoroughly approved it. According to the paper it was right for Russia "to have a conscript ariuv, but wrong for .New Zealand, lie thought the jury would be pcrlectlv justified in saying the paper contained subversive sta ten i cuts.