ITALIANS' WARM PROTEST

Taranaki Daily News, 10 June 1930, Page 9

ITALIANS' WARM PROTEST

' PREFERENCE FOR BRITISH BITTERNESS AT INNISFAIL SPECIAL POLICE MEASURES By Telegraph—Press Assn. —Copyright. .Brisbane, June 9. Inflammatory speeches iharked a meeting of 700 Italians at Innisfail. An attack was made on the Australian returned soldiers and a vigorous protest against the growing practice of giving preference to British workers on the canefields was made. It was the biggest gathering of Italians in the history of the town, and as feeling is running high in the district special police precautions arc being taken. A message from Townsville stated that the Italian coat-of-arms was removed from outside the Vice-Cons®ate at Innisfail for the second time. This was accepted by Italians in Northern Queensland as a gross insult. Intense excitement existed at Innisfail, where it was considered that complications may result as a consequence of the outrage. The Italian Consul lodged a protest with the Federal and State authorities, and transmitted a cabled report of the affair to the Prime Minister of Italy, Signor Mussolini, In spite of an intensive search, the stolen Italian coat-of-arms could not be found. The Italian Consul arrived unexpectedly,- and the town was in n state of great excitement, and there was much racial ill-feeling. \ Much resentment prevailed among the Italians at Innisfail on December 27, 1928, because of the removal of the coat-of-arriis from the front of the Italian Consulate. The Vice-Consul, for Italy, Signor Luciano, described it as “an insult to the Italian nation, which arouses a feeling similar to that which would be experienced by Britons if somebody tore down-a Union Jack and threw it in the gutter.” The. Vice-Consul said it was time that such occurrences ended, and that he looked to the proper authorities to trace the guilty person.