ANTI-CONSCRIPTION

NZ Truth, Issue 606, 27 January 1917, Page 6

ANTI-CONSCRIPTION

STREET SPEAKERS WHO IMPEDED THE TRAFFIC : MAGISTRATE MCCARTHY TENDERS SOME ADVICE : More Sentiments Said to be Seditious > Twelve Months Gaol for Parker and Fournier

Arising out of the charges against Kevin? Byrne of convening meetings m Dixon-stret on December 24 and 31, John Loughran, who had spoken at the meetings on each evening,, was charged with fracturing the by-law. : ' The case was heard at the Wellington S.M.s Court on Friday lastrbefore Mr. S. E. McCarthy. Loughran pleaded not guilty, and conducted his own case* ....>.•.' Constable Hall deposed that on the evening of December 24 he warned defendant that he was breaking the bylaw m addressing a meeting. Lough- . ran replied, "I know no by-laws, m fact,.- , -, ; I KNOW NO LAWS." The only disturbance likely to be caused . might have arisen from an answer defendant gave to a question, lioughran said : "I • have no more sympathy with Belgium* than with any other country." Several soldiers m the crow commenced to hootlhim^heh'C'Ke made tliis statement. For cross-examination purposes; Loughran produced some documents which he said, were the notes he used for his speech oh the evening m question. , To the constable, Loughran said, "In - stead of saying, 'I know no law,' did I v not really say, 'The law proceeds from the economic constitution of society and changes as it cnanges.'" . i Witness: No, you did not say that Loughran: Would you understand it' if -I did say it? :■ ..-.-' .-•.;;..' This remark elicited a burst of applause from the back of the court. His Worship immediately thundered, "I will allow no applause m this court. If there is anything of tills sort again the •\\hole of you will be cleared out — every one of you. There is no applause allowed m a court of justice." Sergeant James Fitspatrick was called. He said he was m plain clothes on the evening of December 24 and came upon the meeting m question Just as Loughran was finishing and heard defendant make the reference to having "no sympathy with Belgium." Loughran? who/is an excitable»high-ly-strung Irish individual, proceeded to cross-examine the sergeant. He started to demand from the, sergeant various statements as to what he, defendant,, had said at the meeting, and to confound the sergeant therewith. This process showed signs ongoing on indefinitely, until -the Bench pointed out to Loughran that he was not charged for what ho had'aaid, but for breaking the by-law by holding a meeting and CAUSING A CROWD TO COLLECT to the impediment of the traffic. Loughran ultimately saw tho force of this statement and accepted it, and said he had no more to say, whereupon his Worship fined him £10. Loughran confessed to being a member of the unpropertied class and so his j Worship obligingly fixed default at two month.3 1 hard labor. .A TRIO OF V TAL&ERS. . William Parker, John Patrick Rea, 'arid Gerald Dee were next charged together with fracturing the same old by-law at the evening meeting on December 31, m Dlxon-street. Parker and Rea elected to plead guilty, reserving the right to explain . later why they had done so. Dee pleaded not guilty and was^ ordered to etand down pro tern. Parker spoke first. He said he had no reason to dispute the evidence,, ol the police. His Worship had remarked that the holding of the meeting' m defiance of the City Council's prohibition, was against the democratic government of tho city. There was, however, m his opinion, nothing democratic about the Citjf- Council, because they had never asked tho citizens If there should bo v any street speaking In Wellington. Therefore, they had nothing: else to do but to leave -it to the public to decide. As far oh he was concerned, he was simply BREAKING HIS WAY INTO GAOL to show the people that the by-laws are not qempcratlej. So far as politics were concerned, m this country, we were being ruled by a set of. people culling themselves the . Government who had no rjght „to, the position. •'At the last t,wo yiections a Ltbera) Government was elected t'opotoer, and In both cases these 3 that are running', the Government „a t; the present time bribed members of the Liberal party to go over »to- their party to run the' Government," said Parker. Jle hnil no respect for either Liberals or Conservatives. He considered they were both a set of frauds that had got possession of tho country to do for the people and wovk all the injury they could. He did not think it was much pood, but ho had just come to the court to sect the gruel handed out to him that his Worship was In a position to hand nut. As a paid servant of tho State hi* Worship was there to do what he w;in told. ills Worship: That Is not the position. I am hero under ray Judicla oath !<> carry out tho law of tho land. Parker: I contend that you ar< wranK. I came to court four year* figo and my lawyer sat there* like b jrheep while the Crown Prosecution fal. Bitted (he evidence against me, 'Parker went on with various othoi ' *)Ip#n'ions nynlnst tho police m connection with this case until he wai stopp<' l by his Worship, who polntec out th;u they were not thoro to discuss crltnlrr.l jurisprudence. lUv >vh<> is an Irishman and speaki Jn n ncrvoiiH, excited and rapid way next ..Ulrc.'iKed his Worship. In openIng, )!•■ Hftl<l that as an Irishman h< too!; particular occasion to complalr thut hh IK'.K.'IMKN WERE NOT CONSCIUI'TED IN* IRELAND, then Iv s'-hmon should not bo conscript' f'\ hero. "S<inu» time ago, and during th< *?a:\" c.MiUnued Rea, "Harry Holland

: Christobel 'Pankhurst and P. C. Webb, l M.P., were fined 5s for a similar of- , fence, which was being punished by s his Worship with fines of £10 or two I months' imprisonment. . JFree speech was permitted all over. Australia, and they, as citizens, claimed the right to : . address street meetings the same as the Salvation' Army. . . 1 His Worship inflicted a fine of £10 each and costs on Parker and Rea, * Parker, when asked if he had any property whjeh could be taken Under a distress warrabt to. pay the fine, replied, "I have no property, and would L not pay the fine if , I had. If anyone pays' the fine for me I will regard him as my enemy." i His Worship fixed default at two months' hard labor. In. the case of Gerald Dee, who pleaded, not guilty and conducted his own case, the police brought forward similar evidence to -that produced m I Byrne's case. Dee afterwards addressr ed hiis Worship on the ethics of street speaking, and m the course of his speech stated that many eminent men at great crisises had.come forward and stood up, despite Crown" and King. He referred to Edmund Burke, who had no hesitation m coming forward. The party he associated with were not people to be : associated with- bad or disorderly elements. They were out for peace and peaceful means. ». His Worship, m reply, told Dee that he- was. m court ;for breaking a by- _ law. The City; Council, and that body .only, were the ones who could give a license for street speaking. "Your only remedy is to get up an agitation and TURN THE WHOLE OF THEM OUT if you do hot like it," added his Worship, who continued, "However, if you are. willing to undertake not to offend again by making speeches or taking part m the organisation of any further meetings, i will take it into consideration." ' 4 ■'".■■.' ' / Dee said he would a^ree not to speak ' again, but would hot commit himself any further. He opined. His Worship could not expect to, reform his (Dee's) ideas. -i .-; ..-, T "I do not wish to reform anyone's ideas," said his Worship, "but you cannot set up your conscience against the .laws 'of the land. , . "Will you give ,me your personal unertaking to refrain from any further active part, m these meetings now that you understand that they are illegal?" asked the S.M. Dee said he would not speak any further, and his Worship, remarking that he expected defendant to Be as frank with him as' he had been to him, ordered him to come up for sentence when called upon. The: prosecution was m the hands of Mr. P. S. IC Macassey. PARKER PAYS THE PENALTY. The Magistrate's Court was crowded on Saturday last, when William Parker, a waterside worker, was charged / 1 I ~~~ ' — : *.

', with having made a speech In tho • Post Ofllce square, certain utterances ! of which were held to be seditious. 1 When Magistrate S. E. McCarthy, ' S.M., asked the prisoner if he had any- ■ thing to say, Parker replied: "Yes, I 1 should like to say that m the other '. cases which I heard tried yesterday, : tho men got fined £10 or two months. ! When I left, another man further up 'the • ! SCALE OP THE SOCIAL LADDER ' was tried and lie was treated 'dlfferj ently. The Magistrate: Nothing of tho [ kind, r won't hear this kind of thing. PaTker: I and tho others were . working men, but the man I speak of j was a — The Bench: I cannot allow you to 5 talk like that. - 5 Parker: No, you won't allow it be? t causo It la the truth. You said you : were going to give mo justice. Tho Bench: Do you plead guilty P or not guilty? Here tho accused JntJmoted that it , tho charge was alterod he would I plead guilty. "I want to protest , against tho kind of Justice that Is being meted out," said ho. "I pload j guilty to tho charge." t Tho charge was then alterod to suit . the uccused and the statement com--3 plained of read as follow*: 1 "Wo workers have been kept under long enough, are wo going to stand those old fossils In tho Parliamentary buildings, Molesworth-streel. making - la*w« to force us workers to go to the war? Tho only way to stop conscrlpi tion Is to havo a general strike In New , Zealand, selzu uhe foodstuffs and

starve the fat man. I am. ashamed to say that some of our men are working on the Japanese boat which was brought out to quash the Newcastle strike; but as the strike was ended when the boat got near Australia, and the fat man did not want further trouble, they sent the coal on to "scabby" New Zealand. The boat has been here some days now, and they have worked it, but if 'they continue to do so after to-night they will be nothing but a lot of crawlers and scabs. We have also a boat called the , which the Napier Union Tefused to work, and they sent her, on to "scabby" Wellington The men of Napier scabbed on us m 1913, buti now they have done a manly action. It was nothing but right that the workers of Wellington should re-. refuse to touch her until they had ; worked her at Napier, and let the; scabs work on board her. They were the ones who scabbed on us m 1913. Let, them work her now. If you only strike now, we have the law m our own hands. It only means a fortnight and conscription is at an end. The workers m Germany are far better off . than m England or here. The masters are much better to the work-, ers/in Germany.. I am an Englishman myself but I was glad to run' away, and I stowed away on my master's boat wherv-I was 16 years. of age. ,1 will bet a lot of money to nothing that the Germans will^ come put on top at the finish." *». . i After Mr. Macassey had re-read the charge, he asked Parker if he thought that the charge as Tead was correct. "Is' there anything else you object to?" he asked. "Well, there's a A LITTLE BIT ABOUT GERMANY, but you can chuck that m," said the accifsed,. amid roars of laughter and cries of "silence." . v Mr ; -MacasSey' (repeating the altered charge) : That is what you want, ' Parker ?— Yes. And you'll plead guilty to that with the alteration? — Yes. Mr. Macassey then went on to show, what the crime the prisoner was charged with consisted of. He had mounted a soap-box m the Post Office square and had addressed a crowd of two or three hundred people. The- . general topic of his speech was that they should strike against conscription. He advised a. general strike against the /Waterside workers. "I do not wish to suggest the' term to be imposed," said Mr. Macassey, "but would like to point out that this is .the strongest charge yet brought before the court." , . The Crown Prosecutor went on to say that the accused had been convicted and sentenced to 12 months during the strike of 1913 for wilful damage to the Harbor Board's property— . Accused: No, sir. You're wrong; seven months, and I was j CONVICTED AGAINST THE EVIDENCE. His Worship', at this juncture, asked the accuned if he had anything, to. say before sentence was imposed, and Parker replied: "No; I'don't think. l have anything to say. 1 expressed my sentiments when I spoke. I don't know what the sentence is going to.be, but if it is a severe one. 1 will not crawl* to you to alter -it.- It is my class against your class. You are going: to give me tHe gruel, and I am here to take it. I am protesting against the laws of the country." His Worship then proceeded to sum up, and It is a pity that he is not gifted with a more resonant voice. Jt is quite certain that many of the public at i?he back of the court never heard a word of the truisms and magisterial philosophy which was uttered. He considered that a man who had made tt speech as made by Parker must have Intended to induce his fellow- workers to take part m a riot. The accused:] That's a wrong inference — The S.M.: Be quiet. IT'S MY TURN NOW. ' Accused: Quito right. Go ahead. The magistrate repeated his remarks and said, m addition, that the working class, equally with every class of the community, had an opportunity of getting hold of the political machine. . / Parker: I deny that. (Murmurs of applause and laughter). His Worship said that if the administration did riot suit them they had no right to set up conditions antagonistic to the administration m power. That was a privilege not conced to any class — no matter which it was. Accused Vould be convicted and sentenced to 12 months-i mprisonment with hard labor. Parker (to the audience at the rear of the court: "Ta ta, boys." There was a faint murmur of reply to his farewell salute, and the crowd marched out of court amid cries of "silence." ( FOURNIER FITTED. On Tuesday, at the Wellington Magistrate's Court, Mr! S. G. McCarthy, S.M., had to deal with another sedition charge, the information on this occasion , being laid, against Eldney Hougemont Fournler. Accused was charged that,, at a' meeting held at Clyde-quay on Sunday, January. 7, he niado use of the following words: i "1 belong to an organisation that has for its purpose to make inoperative or to repeal an Act that has been placed oh the statute book called the Con-, scriptlon Act, and by the provisions of which you may be forced against will overseas to flght m the war that is now going 1 on. The chairman has called your attention to the fact that, upon v charge of unlawfully assembling, the speakers who addressed yoir last Sunday have either been arrested pr summoned, and I think the conclusion to draw from thut Is, of course, that we all here are unlawful assemblers. 1 want to give you this fair .warning of the fact that if you listen to me you are doing what the law forbids, and I think, under the circumstances, that the law is an offensive law that we, as good, honest citizens and workers, should not obey. The view of us workers In- that we .should be lighting the only war In which we can at least become victorious— that Is, tho claH.s war. or the war between the Classen of people who own and control the wealth |n all the countries that are now at war and th* people who labor find are exploited by the wealthy classes In all countries The truth Is this wur Is being forced on by conscription, because, a.s we know, they take an opportunity that will produce them more wealth- ami Rive them more opportunity of oppression, until a peace could be brought about to their advantage, tiH they conceive It, The immediate object of the iinlJ-epnaerlp-lionlstM la the rep«>al of the Avt. or to resist the Act, and In operation we approve of both methods, and by us they will bo put In operation. If I should bo «eni Into Intense privacy as the result of tny present action, you people will Bco to it thut the ruirwr sliali conio to uh that wo have not npokon In vain. I hope 1 have put this clearly before you, and that you will remember that tboc* whoa* loierMt It la to pro-

long the war will not stop it till you stop them. We call upon- New Zealand, the working class associations and their allies, to join m getting the Conscription Act repealed and resisting its operation." Mr. P. S. K. Maeassey conducted the prosecution for the Crown, which was brought under the War Regulations making it an offence to utter words having a seditions intent' or' the publication of which had a seditious meaning. Fournier elected to plead not guilty to the charge. Included amongst several witnesses was Sergeant Willis, who deposed SEARCHING FOURNIER'S ROOM on the day he was arrested.; He found, m the. room -a cartridge belt- hanging; on the wall, containing fifty service cartridges. In a box m the room he found ils similar cartridges. On the top of a shelf he found a pouch containing fifteen revolver cartridges. Among other articles were a pullthrough for cleaning a rifle, and a bludgeon, a slingshot, plugged at one end. A quantity of Socialist and anticonscrrption literature was found m, the room, and a manual of field artillery training, also a book on sabotage, and a«blank membership card of the Industrial Workers of the World. There was also a publication entitled "Mother Earth," edited by Ejnma Goldman, and various volumes on economic subjects. This concluded the evidence for the Crbwn. Fournier did- not ask witness any questions, but proceeded to make a statement. He said the articles found" by the police m his room were a legacy to him from a dead comrade m the movement. BEING A BIT OF A .SPORTSMAN he found plenty of use. for the firearms. In regard to his utterances at Clydequay, Fournier then proceeded to make an s able extenuation of same. He seated, inter alia, that he was* trying to show the court that his actions were inspired by the greatest concept of. civil liberty. The actions of hiiriseif and colleagues throughout , had the public welfare m view, by deepening and widening the influence of demo-^ " cratic control, and explaining its basic origin. Sedition against the King could not exist if his (defendant's) consideration was the same as tht> King|s, namely, the public welfare; and both, the King m his superior and he m his inferior capacity, did acts having that end m view. He was m nowise guilty, nor were those associated with him. He r . r- CONFIDENTLY EXPECTED AN ACQUITTAL. "If not- acquitted, I am not asking for quarter, thank you," concluded defen- ' dant. His Worship, m reviewing the charge, said that he recognised that Fournier was a man of ability. There was much that was admirable m his speech. Whenever a community or State reached a stage when it became a political entity, it could only express the national will by means of corporate action. The right of legislation m all British communities had been from time" immemorial VESTED IN THE LEGISLATURE. Whatever luavs Parliament made it was the duty of. all citizens to oMcy, -whether they believed m them or not. What the defendant and his colleagues claimed was thac if a law were made they did not approve of they could Ignore it and refuse to obey it. T ( his was anarchy. Defendant would be convicted and sent to prison for twelve month.V with hard labor.