DEMOCRACY MENACED.

Waikato Times, Volume 113, Issue 18944, 15 May 1933, Page 9

DEMOCRACY MENACED.

(To the Editor.) Sir—in your Issue of April 15 there appeared a letter by me drawing attention to the sinister activities of an organisation styling itself the New Zealand Legion, and In particular I stressed the extremely anti-democratic and anti-British nature of the movement. However, no reply has been made to this criticism, and it must appear clear to your readers that by . this very silence they plead guilty to the indictment against them. The Legion is urtwilling to face the light of day. So far all its meetings have been convened in secrecy, and it is quite impossible to read any intelligible meaning into the vague and platitudinous rhetoric emitted by its leaders. As a student of social psychology I am forced to come to only one conclusion —the moving spirits of this conspiracy are planning to effect a coup d’etat and overthrow Parliamentary government in this country by apparently constitutional means if possible; by other means if necessary; and all this emotional Verbosity given forth by the Legionaries is hut a verbal smoke-screen to camouflage their real activities. It is high time that public opinion was seriously aroused against this plot to deprive us of our political liberty. Democracy is founded on tho two principles of the freedom and of the responsibility of the Individual. AH along the line, to-day these conceptions arc being repudiated, and as Mr Robert. Lyml recently pointed out, between tho intolerance of Communism on the extreme lelt and of Hitlerism on the extreme right civilisation is in danger of losing the dear-won fruits of the' last two centuries. If civilisation is to continue It is imperative that we keep to “the middle of the road.” We must not be stampeded into a panic by such a movement as the New Zealand Legion, which is trading on national hysteria and mob psychology and exploiting the prevailing economic depression. If the citizens of this country value their civil and political rights then l appeal ter them to realise that there I is at present an urgent obligation upon them to abandon their apathy and to turn the searching light of public criticism and investigation on this conspiracy.—l am, etc., JURIST. Hamilton, May 11, 1933.

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