The Daily News SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 1932. UNDER WHICH FLAG?

Taranaki Daily News, 16 April 1932, Page 6

The Daily News SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 1932. UNDER WHICH FLAG?

The sensational outbreak of mob violence which occurred at AtickQind on Thursday night must probably take rank as the most deplorable demonstration of this nature in the history of a country which has always prided itself, and with reason, on its respect for the law. The picture presented by the plain account of the occurrence is a desperately ugly one: the principal street of the Dominion’s largest city ravaged by a howling mob; the representatives of peace and

order assaulted and maimed; valuable property wantonly destroyed, and merchandise openly stolen by thieves. There is in the whole

story but one consoling phase, namely, the suggestion that the

genuine unemployed, who were holding a demonstration, were not

responsible for the outbreak of sabotage. It is quite understandable that in a city as large as Auckland, situated at the principal gateway of the Dominion, there is likely to be an exceedingly undesirable element in the population, and that element would naturally attach itself to any body of citizens that was voicing a grievance against constituted authority. The question of responsibility therefore is not immediately a matter of the culpability of individuals. The question is how a state of affairs has been brought about which has prompted and encouraged some elements in the

community to throw restraint to the winds and try to impose upon a peaceful city the savage law of brute force. The answer is that this lamentable condition is traceable directly 'to a campaign conducted by certain organisations, some of them perhaps representing sections of the unemployed, some speaking for those in employment who have been carrying on propaganda against the Govern-

meat’s proposals to economise in the cost of public services, and others, apart from both sections, that have been expressing sympathy with them. It may be that there has not been open counselling to violence, but throughout the country, and even in Parliament, there has been a great deal

of inflammatory talk. Astounding though it may seem, no reasonable man could deny that when the Auckland disturbance was being discussed in the House of Representatives on Thursday night the leader of the Labour Party, whose members were all very anxious to deny responsibility, used

words likely to encourage lawless men to further excesses. Everyone regretted the disturbances and sympathised with the injured, he is reported to have said, but “it would surely be recognised that the trouble was the direct result of the Government’s policy.” He described the disturbance as “only an indication of the gathering storm.” Surely those words spoken at such a moment are, to say the least, extremely dangerous. They are of a piece with the insidious propaganda that has reached the culminating point in the Auckland riot With .what results? First of all, Auckland itself hag beendmpoverished by the loss of property, and thus its capacity to help the unemployed has been diminished. Again, even if they had no part in the riot, the unemployed are likely to suffer for it through the alienation of sympathy that otherwise would have been given them. But the far worse result is that the Dominion as a whole must suffer. New Zealand has enjoyed a reputation as a law-abiding country, a country to be depended upon. The ugliness of the riot will not be minimised in the telling of the story abroad, and such people as the British investors who have recently lent the Dominion five

millions will be alarmed. It will not soon be forgotten that there has been one very grave disturbance, and the fear that such a thing may occur again will persist. "What is done cannot be un-

done but it is imperative that the Government should take adequate steps to prevent any further trouble. It is to be hoped, of

course, that cool reflection upon the methods employed in Auckland will convince even those who have voiced their grievances most loudly of the futility of direct action, to say nothing of its criminal wastefulness. But a positive effort is necessary to safeguard the lives and possessions of law-abiding citizens against the possibility of mob violence. The Police Force alone, splendid as the service of its members has been in the hour of need, is too small to ensure safety. There is no Territorial Force, for it was “scrapped” at the behest of the Labour Party. Organised forces available for the protection of the law are scanty, but New Zealand contains plenty of able-bodied, loyal, law-abiding citizens who will be ready to enrol in any emergency corps required to uphold authority. Steps should be taken to organise them. And it would be well to take measures for the restriction of seditious propaganda, which perhaps is more dangerous than most of ns have supposed. If there are in this country certain elements which prefer the “red flag” to the Union Jack the loyal citizens must show them that their will cannot be allowed to prevail. These revolutionaries have struck one blow at

New Zealand’s honour. They must not be afforded another opportunity.