TACTICS O

Wairarapa Times-Age, 8 October 1938, Page 7

TACTICS O

DISTURBANCE AT MEETING; I TWO INTERJECTORt '■ IN WELLINGTO j MAGISTRATE’S OBSERV. (By Telegraph—Press Associate WELLINGTON. This L The first cases of their kind I heard at Wellington during the pres election campaign, charges of creatil disturbances at political meetings were heard in the Magistrates’ Court, yester- '; day, when two men were each fined £3 and ordered to pay costs for this offence. Mr J. H. Luxford, S.M., was on the bench. Senior-Sergeant D. J. O’Neill, prosecuted. The men who were fined were Jeremiah Condon and Henry Flynn, both waterside workers. Both the offences took place at a political meeting at the Capitol Theatre, Miramar, on October 4. Both men pleaded not guilty. Mr W. L. Barker, National candidate for Wellington East, held a political meeting at the Capitol Theatre, Miramar, on October 4, said Sergeant C. R. Duke, in evidence. The theatre, which • had a seating capacity of 784, was full, and there were some persons standing. Soon after the meeting started Flynn, who was sitting in the back row, started to call out, “Rot,” “bunkum,” "give us your policy,” and “leave Scrim alone.” Witness told Flynn that he must not shout like that, and if he persisted he would be ejected and prosecuted. Witness spoke to him again and then a constable spoke to him. The persons nearby said to Flynn, “lie down.” Later he was taken from the hall and his name and address taken. Soon after the meeting started Condon began calling out, “point of order, point of order.” He was standing up, and the people called out to him to sit down. Mr Barker then made a statement which he said would be substantiated by a man in the audience. When the man in the audience was asked to.' verify the subject, Condon protested, saying “point of order.” The chairman asked him to sit down. Condon was then spoken to by a constable. He still interjected, saying, “Leave this man to me; I will deal with him.” He was referring to the man who had stood up. Witness saw the constable speak to Condon four times. At the meeting there were several who were inclined to be noisy, and the two defendants seemed to be carried away. The speaker was prevented from carrying on with his address, and the National people were disturbed because they said to the other man when he was repeatedly getting up, “Sit down, sit down. Oh, for goodness sake sit down.” The magistrate: “All those you heard t say “sit down’*' you assumed to be Nationalists?” Condon said that it , was very hard to have to listen to lies. The magistrate: “I have had to do that for years.” It was very important that the law in regard to the proper conduct of meetings should be enforced, said Mr Luxford. Political meetings were generally largely attended and often overcrowded. People seemed to have the < wrong idea of the scope of a political meeting. The candidate was there to speak, and the rules of debate did not apply. According to custom, questions were allowed to be asked. CASES IN DUNEDIN RIGHTS OF FREE SPEECH ■ (By Telegraph—Press Association.) DUNEDIN, October 7. Three vociferous critics, who attended Mr W. A. Bodkin”s meeting in Dunedin, and were responsible for some of the dsturbances there, appeared in the Magistrates’ Court today charged with disorderly behaviour. They were Ernest Lawrence Kerr, James McAnally, and Roberts Cairns Reid. The first two were fined £2 each and the case against Reid was adjourned for three months. A charge against a fourth man, William Pullar, was adjourned for a fortnight at counsel’s request. Senior-Sergeant Clasaen said that there was continuous shouting and booing, Kerr being a persistent offender. After two warnngs he was eject- x ed, but went on booing when escorted out. The senior-sergeant said that McAnally was continuously shouting. “What about your slave camps?” When a constable went over to speak to another man McAnally shouted, “Leave him alone. Can’t a man open his mouth? What about your free speech?” His conduct, said the seniorsergeant, indicated that he believed in free speecn for everyone but Mr Bodkin. _____