LABOUR CANDIDATE CHARGED.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16782, 11 July 1922, Page 4

LABOUR CANDIDATE CHARGED.

VIOLENT LANGUAGE ALLEGED. (P>:r Press Association.) WELLINGTON, July 10. As a sequel to a lecture at the Communist Hall on June 4 Alexander Gal- , braith. the selected Labour candidate for the Napier seat, was charged at the Magistrate’s Court with inciting violence in an address on “ The Downfall of Capitalism ” Air M.ica-'i ey, for the prosecution, said that the proceedings were taken under section 2 of the Police Offences Act. li.e penalty wilder which was three months’ imprisonment or a line of £IOO. Ihe address was delivered by defendant before fifty or sixty people. Detective-Sergeant Lew,is and Constable Watts were present at the meeting and made notes. The Crown relied on de fendant’s attack on capitalism and his advocacy of force, as would be shown by the evidence adduced. Detective-Sergeant Lewis said that defendant said that the workers could not be expected to draw a straight line and walk it like* a tightrope. Force was necessary and that was the onlv wav a change could be brought aboutThe workers were offered the ballot box next. AVhat pood was that? Re ligion was the enemv of the workers. Parsons talked of the brotherhood ■ f men. but all that was rot. Peaceful methods were no good at all. As was said of the Paris Commune. “ AYe must break, shake and burst the whole system. Referring to Russia, Galbraith eaid that they had not stuck to constitutional methods there. They got what they wanted. The capitalist class there had been corrupted and tliev would have to corrupt them here before they could succeed. The Minister here. Galbraith had continued, had granted permission for the workers to say anything nrovided they did not advocate violence That was no use. and the only remedy they had was to go to the ballot box and put in a party that might be termed the excretion of the working class. He said that ; t was not likely that the capitalists were going to say. “ You take it. I’ve bad a good time.” and then hand it over. Recently a friend of his had been speaking to him about what could lie gained by constitutional methods. He had told him that rer- little linkl boon gained that way. AA'hen he spoke like that he did not mean them “to grab A sword and "o down the street looking for Massey.” !>ecause people would onlv say the Communists were causing more trouble. There would be a street rabble that would do more harm than good. A blind man in the audience, said witness, rebuked Galbraith and said he should not sneak to the people there in the hall but should go out into the street and speak to the people t’ner?. The blind man said that Galbraith should speak to the people in language they could understand. After further evidence the hearing of the case was adiourned to to-morrow.