NEW WAR REGULATIONS

Sun (Christchurch), Volume III, Issue 881, 6 December 1916, Page 8

NEW WAR REGULATIONS

OPPOSITION TO MILITARY SERVICE ACT PROHIBITED

PUNISHMENT MAY INCLUDE DEPORTATION

[Special to The Sun.]

WELLINGTON, December 5. The War Regulations issued in the "Gazette" Extraordinary to-night, are the most drastic yet enacted in New Zealand. Evidently they are intended to check agitation against the Military Service Act, and to prevent the dissemination of the views of the peace-at-any-price people who would accept peace even if it involved the defeat of the Allies in the present war. One clause of the regulations, for instance, makes-it an offence for any person to courage the prosecution of the present war to a victorious conclusion." Such an interference with the right of free speech would have been unthinkable prior to August 4, 1914, but the war has forced strange decisions upon the democratic communities.

The New Zealand Government after very careful consideration of all the conditions has fetf it necessary to brand as an enemy of the State the man who talks of peace before the Allies have vindicated the rights of free peoples against the rights of militarism. If the rights of the free peoples are to be vindicated in the end they must be suspended temporarily in order that there may be no further dissipation of national forces in the face of the enemy. The Government may not intend to use drastically all the powers that it is taking under the new regulations. There are indications indeed, that the Government will be disposed to allow a considerable amount of latitude in public discussion, but apparently such a conference as the Waterside Workers have summoned to consider steps for securing the repeal of the Military Service Act will be banned. THE REGULATIONS. The new regulations are as follow: (1) No person shall publish, or cause or permit to be published, or do any act with intent to publish, or to cause or permit to be published, any seditious utterance. (2) No person shall do in New Zealand any act with intent to procure the publication elsewhere than in New Zealand of any seditious utterances.

(3) In these regulations, seditious utterance means any utterance which is published with a seditious intention, or the publication of which has a seditious tendency. Definition of Sedition.

(4) In these regulations, seditious intention and seditious tendency mean respectively, an intention or tendency—

(a) To excite disaffection against his Majesty or the Government of the United Kingdom, or of New Zealand, or of any other part of his Majesty's Dominions; or (b) To excite, procure, or encourage violence, lawlessness, or disorder, whether in New Zealand or in any other part of his Mejesty's Dominions; or (c) To incite, procure, or encourage the commission, whether in New Zealand or in any other part of his Majesty's Dominions, of any offence which is prejudicial to the public safety in respect of the present war; or (d) To excite, whether in New Zealand or in any other part of his Majesty's Dominions, such hostility or ill-will between different classes of his Majesty's subjects as may endanger the public safety in respect of the present war; or (e) To interfere with the recruiting, training, discipline, equipment, or administration of his Majesty's Forces, or with the effective conduct of the military or naval preparations or operations of his Majesty or his Allies,, whether in New Zealand or elsewhere; or (f) To interfere with the manufacture, production, output, supply, delivery, or carriage of any goods or articles required by his Majesty, whether in New Zealand or elsewhere, for any purpose in connection with the present war; or (g) To interfere with the loading, manning, equipment, dispatch, or use of any vessel carrying, or about to carry from New Zealand, any of his Majesty's forces, or any goods or merchandise belonging to or destined for, or required by, his Majesty, whether in New Zealand or elsewhere, for any purpose in .connection with the present war; or (hj) To interfere with the effective conduct of any undertaking of his Majesty, which is requisite for the public safely during the present war; or (i) To prejudice his Majesty's relations with foreign Powers; or (j) To discourage the prosecution of the present war to a victorious conclusion; or (k) To excite or encourage opposition to (he enforcement or administration of the laws in force for the time being, whether in New Zealand or in any other part of his Majesty's Dominions, relative to compulsory military training or service during the present war, or to interfere with the proper and effective enforcement or administration thereof; or (1) To interfere with the due administration in New Zealand of criminal justice in matters relating to the present war; or (in) To incite any person or persons to refuse or fail, whether in New Zealand or elsewhere, to render service to the Crown in any capacity in respect of or for the purposes of any undertaking of his Majesty which is requisite for the public safety during the war; or

TO PREVENT SPREAD OF SEDITION

Keeping Out Undesirables

[ (n) To excite disloyalty, whether [ in New Zealand or elsewhere, in respect of the present war. (5) In those regulations, "his | Majesty's forces" means the military | or naval forces of the United Kingdom, or of New Zealand, or of any l other of his Majesty's possessions; i "utterance" includes words, writing, | pictures or any other significant exIpression or representation whatever; j "publish" means to communicate I either to the public or to any perI son or persons, and whether orally | or otherwise, howsoever. Necessary Exemptions.

(6) Nothing in the foregoing regulations shall make it an offence for any person without seditious intentions—

(a) To sell or distribute in the ordinary course of business any newspaper printed and issued in any part of the British Dominions other than New Zealand; or (b) To publish any telegram transmitted from abroad and passed for publication by the censorship; or (c) To publish any matter which a military .authority has approved for publication; or (d) To publish a true report of proceedings of any Court of Jus-

tice or other judicial tribunal. (7) (1) No persons shall be a party to a seditious conspiracy. (2) "Seditious conspiracy" means an agreement between two or more persons to carry into execution a seditious intention.

(8) (a) When the Attorney-General is satisfied that any person is disaffected or disloyal, or of such a character that his presence in New Zealand would be injurious to public safety, and that such person is about to arrive or land in New Zealand from parts beyond the seas, the At-torney-General may by order signed by him prohibit that person from landing in New Zealand. Any such order may be at any lime revoked bv the Attorney-General.

(b) If while any such older remains unrevoked, the" person against whom it has been made lands in New Zealand with knowledge of the fact that the order has been made against him, he shall be guilty of an offence against these regulations and shall be liable accordingly.

(c) Any person who is found on shore* in New Zealand at any time while an order so made against him remains unrevoked may be arrested without warrant by any constable and placed and detained on board the ship by which he arrived in New Zealand, or on board any other ship belonging to the same oWner and bound for the country from which that person was brought to New Zealand, and may, pending his removal to such ship, be detained in such custody and in such place as the Attorney-General may direct. (d) If the owner or master of any ship, having knowledge of the rating of any person carried to New Zealand in that ship, or in any other ship belonging to the same owner, refuses to permit that person to remain on board the ship in obedience to the order, or refuses to receive that person on board the ship when brought thereto in custody in accordance with these regulations, or connives at, or is privy to the escape of, that person from the ship, such owner or master shall be guilty of an offence against these regulations, and shall be liable accordingly. (e) "Owner" includes charterer. Deportation of Offenders.

(9) (a) When the Attorney-Gen-eral, in pursuance of clause 26 of the War Regulations of the 24th day of July, 1916, orders any person to leave New Zealand, the At-torney-General may, by the same order, if he thinks such a course necessary for the public safety, authorise the immediate arrest and detention of that person, and thereupon any officer may, without warrant, arrest that person and place him on board any vessel about to leave New Zealand for the country from which he came to New Zealand, and detain him on board that vessel until it has left New Zealand, and paragraphs (b), (c), and (d) of clause 26 of the said War Regulations shall apply to any such case in the same manner as if the order to leave New Zealand had been duly served and default had been made in complying therewith within seven days after the date of service thereof. (b) When any person ordered to leave New Zealand has been arrested in pursuance of clause 26 of the said War Regulations, or in pursuance of this present regulation, he may, pending his removal to a ship in pursuance of these regulations, be detained in such custody and in .such place as the Attorney-General may direct. (c) For the purpose of clause 26 of the said War Regulations, no person shall be deemed to be ordinarily resident in New Zealand who first becomes ordinarily resident therein after the date of these present regulations.

lft. Nothing in these regulations shall be deemed to revoke or affect any oilier War Regulations already in force, and all such other War Regulations shall remain in full force and effect according to their tenor concurrently with the present regulations, but so thai no person shall be punished twice for the same offence.