THE BLACK PERIL.

NZ Truth, Issue 106, 29 June 1907, Page 8

THE BLACK PERIL.

ilr. HARpY'S DEFENCE^

[(.To; the Editor^ Sir,--I' should be obliged if you will allow, lie Apace for a few words m regard fto a terrible case of child immorality at Maritzburg, the details of which; are reported m Friday's" Transvaal Leader." In this case a native who was employed at a Maritzburg school was convicted of immorality with a very young school girl, and was sentenced to two years' imprisonment and 25 lashes, the maximum -penalty. 'According to [the report of the trials the ■ ■ . , >• '/,'■ IMMORALITY TOOK PI7AC3 with the consent of the child. ~ r ' •I now go back two years. In Kpril, 1905 ,1 .was finally sentenced to two months' imprisonment— after fighting my,' -cast ..in <the courts for six month's, winning my first appeal, and , being re-tried under, the lawstraining principles of the Attorneyr General of Natal— for publishing an article m my. paper, "The^Prmce," m which I exposed, m chaste and moderate language, a case of school immorality, exactly, on all fours with the case that that has just been tried at Maritzburg. During .the almost interminable discussions and legal discussions m ' Connection with the Black Peril case I .was able to satisfy all unprejudiced! men regard-^ ing ithe '" - ~ ~ >TRUTH OEI MY. CHARGES.; The only, thing of which 1 1 iwas: not quite certain .was the name of the school,, and,; therefore,. , I did not. mention any: particular school m my article. During the proceedings, however, the judges compelled me to give the came of. a school which had been mentioned to me by one of my informants. I myself, however, never fixed the charges upon this school, and (T accepted the denial of the. school authorities/ 'But that the kind of immorality I exposed was going oh $n Natal: fl!. had not, and have not, the slightest doubt* Unfortunately, however, Natal 7i did not like the, truth, and $■ was hounded to prison by, , the official world, who, for many, reasons, haft' little; cause to love my critical pen.: Everything comes to him! Wfio waits, we are told, and MY, COMPLETE .VINDICA^ ,TION Has come At. last. I therefore ssE you, m. justica ito me, to. publish this_ letter.. The late (Lord 1 Chief 'Justice of England, Lord: Russell, of KilloWeny never spoke truer words than when he said m a memorable case "If ever there was a time m which a jury, m my opinion, ought to hold^ the shield of protection over anJw?T est journalist who is honest-^ crit- ■ ieiijin-jr,^, .this Ap-Ux*^-**^c-.-~'^ Unfortunately for me, however, I was 'illegally tricked out of a jury i m Natal, and left to the tender j mercies of a magistrate, who had | only just been raised to the bench, 1 and of judges whose * prudery was better than their law.— l am, etc., GEORGE WEBB HARDY, Late editor of "The Prince" and the "SundsCy Herald," ' 'Johannesburg, May y(l.