“REDS” AND NEW GUARD

Taranaki Daily News, 21 December 1931, Page 3

“REDS” AND NEW GUARD

MORE TROUBLE EXPECTED. INSTANCES OF MAN-HANDLING. (Auckland Star Correspondent.) Sydney, Dec. 4. Despite sectional defections, the operations of the New Guard, the Fascist organisation in New South Wales, with a membership of over 'lOO,OOO, pledged to exterminate Communism and other forms of extremism, still form a remarkable reply to the Lang Government, under which all kinds of violent extremists have flourished. The New Guard having fired the imagination of country centres, there have been wide-spread demonstrations against the Reds, wherever they have appeared, and particularly when any statement derogatory to the Union Jack or the King has been made. Anyone professing Communist beliefs is being run out of various country towns. Communist orators had. been allowed to talk and spread their views and pamphlets' unmolested in and around the city until the advent of the New Guard; but in recent weeks Red speakers have been riven a rough handling. At Ashfield Park, in the centre of the thickly populated western suburbs, last weekend. thousands of citizens, incensed by a Communist speaker’s derisive remarks abou the flag and the King, rushed his platform and overturned it. His small bodyguard of Reds fought back 5 but ■was overwhelmed, and appeared likely to receive a severe handling, but for the advent of the police, who escorted the whola party away. Similar manhandling has been dealt out to Red speakers at other points in the suburbs, and in some cases it has been found that the speakers and their friends carry lengths of iron piping and other weapons. It is generally admitted that members of the New Guard have provoked the attacks on the speakers, who had been unmolested before that organisation came into being. Much bad blood is being stirred, and there have come vague threats of coun-ter-reprisals from some mysterious organisation so far unnamed. The police anticipate that serious trouble will develop at any moment, and the activities of both organisations are being watched Tn Assembly this week

Mr. Gosling, Chief Secretary, made an attack on certain newspapers for fostering both the Reds and the New Guard. Mr. Heffron asked the Minister whether his attention had been directed to the organised interruption of public meetings by members of the New Guard. If so, would the Minister inform the House what step® the Government was taking to preserve the right of free speech and freedom of thought. The Minister charged the Press with exaggerating, distorting, and inventing disturbances, and provoking trouble. He quoted from police reports which suggested that several reports were exaggerated. (Regarding the organised interruption -of public meetings, there was evidence that this charge was unfortunately only too true. “Freedom of thought, freedom of discussion, and liberty of the conscience and toleration,” said the Minister, “are recognised as bulwarks of British freedom, and we will preserve these for the people.”