“CHAINED DEVIL” IS SMUTS’S NAME FOR HERTZOG.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18188, 22 June 1927, Page 9

“CHAINED DEVIL” IS SMUTS’S NAME FOR HERTZOG.

BITTER SPEECHES LEAD TO FLAG DECLARATION BY THE PREMIER

By Telegraph.—Press Assn. —Copyright. Aus. and N.Z. Cable Association. (Received Tune 22. 11.35 a.m.) CAPETOWN, June 21. After a day of bitter speeches on the I Union’s Flag problem, the Premier, General Hertzog, declared that it was I useless to expect the Opposition to

compromise. lie i declared he would I withdraw the clause providing for the Speaker’s Conference in August, and put the Bill through with no further waste of time. General Jan Smuts said that the Premier was no patriot. In a moving passage he declared that he was the “chained devil of the Nationalist Party, who came out at the testing time.” A development of the controversy is an amendment by the Labour wing, proposing to remove the restrictions on the flying of the Union Jack on a few specific occasions and to provide for its being flown officially all the year, along with the new domestic flag. The Government is believed to be prepared to accept the amendment as a concession to its Labour allies. General Smuts declared that the Government’s latest flag was a transparent fraud. The country would not be “diddled” in this way in a matter affecting the deepest sentiments of the people.