The War Regulations Act 1914 allowed citizens to be arrested and charged with sedition for making ‘disloyal’ or ‘seditious’ statements, either verbally or in print. Such statements could be made in front of a large crowd at an anti-war rally, or in semi-public settings such as workplaces or pubs.
The police laid charges on the basis of having heard the remarks themselves (such as at rallies), or when members of the public reported them. The local magistrate heard witnesses before making a final judgment. The accused could be fined or imprisoned for up to a year.
New regulations passed in December 1916 significantly expanded government powers to punish and imprison people for making ‘seditious’ or ‘disloyal’ statements. In February 1917 the government passed further regulations which banned ‘seditious strikes’ in industries essential to the war effort.
As a result of the 102 successful prosecutions, 67 people were imprisoned for up to 12 months, 29 were fined, and 6 were convicted and discharged. Eighty-eight of these people were convicted for seditious/disloyal statements and 14 for involvement in ‘seditious strikes’. Seven of those convicted also served separate prison terms as conscientious objectors. Those convicted include one woman, 70-year-old Ellen Fuller, who had been overheard muttering seditious remarks at the Palmerston North railway station. A Waikato Māori named Toiwhare was also convicted for saying that he ‘would like the Germans to win and come to New Zealand.’
This page includes a summary table of a more detailed downloadable spreadsheet which has been compiled from the tables of convictions and prison releases published in the Police Gazettes (held by Archives New Zealand) for the years 1915–18. People seeking further information about these convictions should conduct a search on the Papers Past website.
Abbreviations and glossary (for spreadsheet version)
MC = Magistrate’s Court; NA = Not applicable; PG = Police Gazette; publishing = making a public statement, whether verbally or in print
Name | Occupation | Year of birth | Charge | Sentence |
---|---|---|---|---|
Anderson, Andrew Theodore | Carpenter | 1866 | Publishing a disloyal statement | Fine or 2 months |
Anderson, Christian Frederick Edmund | Canvasser | 1866 | Publishing a seditious statement | 1 month |
Ansell, Charles | Wharf labourer | 1880 | (1) Publishing matter likely to interfere with recruiting (2) publishing disloyal statements | Fined £20 |
Arbuckle, John | Miner | 1878 | Encouraging a seditious strike | 9 months |
Baldwin, Golden AKA Baldwin, Golden Frederick | Labourer | 1882 | Publishing a disloyal statement | Fined £5 |
Beavis, James Ambrose | Signalman | 1884 | Publishing disloyal words | To pay costs |
Bell, William John | Law clerk | 1880 | Publishing a disloyal statement | 11 months |
Brindle, Thomas | Labourer | 1881 | Seditious utterances | 1 year |
Brown, Walter AKA Walsh | Labourer | 1889 | Disloyal utterances | 2 months |
Browne, Edward | Electrician | 1896 | Using disloyal utterances | Convicted and discharged |
Campbell, Patrick | Fireman and wharf labourer | 1889 | Publishing a disloyal statement | 2 months |
Chapple, James Henry George | Clergyman | 1866 | Seditious utterances | 11 months |
Coll, Dominick | Labourer | 1876 | Publishing a disloyal statement | Fined £5 |
Connolly, Harry | Labourer | 1874 | Publishing a disloyal statement | 6 months |
Cooke, Frederick Riley | Tailor | 1867 | Publishing a seditious utterance | 1 year |
Crowley, John DeLacey AKA Clifford, William | Labourer | 1876 | Seditious utterances | 6 months |
Cumming, James | Miner | 1879 | Encouraging a seditious strike | 9 months |
Cummins, Thomas Padraic | Journalist | 1885 | Seditious utterances | 11 months |
Cunningham, Daniel | Fireman | 1888 | Party to a seditious strike | 1 month |
Derrick, William Henry | Labourer | 1865 | Publishing a seditious utterance | 1 year |
Drumm, Edward James | Stone-cutter | 1869 | Using seditious words | To come up if called upon |
Fairfield, John | Blacksmith | 1883 | Publishing a disloyal statement | 3 months |
Finucane, Thomas | Labourer | 1887 | Publishing a disloyal statement | 11 months |
Fischer, Adolf Gotlief | Photographer | 1859 | Publishing a disloyal statement | Fined £25 |
Fitzpatrick, Lawrence Edward | Fireman | 1897 | Taking part in a seditious strike | 1 month |
Flood, John | Clerk | 1879 | Seditious utterances | 6 months |
Flowerday, Charles | Labourer | 1875 | Publishing disloyal words | Fined £5 |
Fluety, Robert | Labourer | 1895 | Publishing a disloyal statement | Fine or 2 weeks |
Fournier, Sidney Houguenot | Miner | 1870 | Publishing a seditious utterance | 1 year |
Fraser, Peter | Labourer | 1885 | Seditious utterances | 1 year |
Freeth, Pierce Charles | Journalist | 1862 | Publishing matter likely to interfere with recruiting | Fined £1 |
Fuller, Ellen | Domestic | 1846 | Disloyal utterances | 2 months |
Galland, Francis | Seaman | 1884 | Party to a seditious strike | 14 days |
Gearschawski, John Michael | Farmer | 1877 | Seditious utterances | To keep the peace |
Gill, Egerton | Accountant | 1884 | Publishing seditious utterances | Fined £20 |
Goodwin, William | Labourer and painter | 1880 | Publishing a disloyal statement | 11 months |
Hagen, Francis Peter | Clerk | 1885 | Publishing disloyal words (2 charges) | Fined £25 on first charge, convicted and discharged for second |
Hellson, Thomas | Miner | 1888 | Encouraging a seditious strike | 9 months |
Henricks, Ernest | Labourer | 1886 | Publishing a disloyal statement | 2 months |
Howell, William Thomas AKA Howell, William | Seaman | 1880 | Inciting a seditious strike | 3 months |
Hunter, Hiram | Clerk | 1874 | Seditious utterances | 3 months |
Iskirka, Frank | Tinsmith | 1887 | Publishing a disloyal statement | Fined £3 |
Jones, John | Miner | 1885 | Encouraging a seditious strike | 9 months |
Jones, Joseph Herbert | Labourer | 1886 | Seditious utterances | 1 year |
Jordan, Arthur | Miner | 1881 | Being party to a seditious strike | 9 months |
Kane, Martin | Book-keeper | 1882 | Uttering disloyal statements | 1 month |
Kean, Patrick | Labourer | 1864 | Publishing a disloyal statement | 2 months |
Kevern, John | Labourer and carter | 1885 | Publishing a disloyal statement | Fined £10 |
Kilgour, Frederick Hamilton | Publisher | 1860 | Publishing a letter likely to interfere with recruiting | Convicted and discharged |
Lamb, Robert | Labourer | 1878 | Making disloyal utterances | 3 months |
Langley, Edward Ernest | Wharf labourer | 1881 | Seditious utterances | 6 months |
Lawless, John James | Labourer | 1884 | Seditious utterances | 3 months |
Lind or Lynd, Ernest Emil AKA Johnson, Jacob | Labourer | 1878 | Publishing a disloyal statement | 11 months |
Lloyd, Frederick | Labourer | 1890 | Seditious utterances | 6 months |
Marshall, Frank | Miner | 1860 | Publishing a disloyal statement | Fined £5 |
Mayo, Henry W. | School teacher | 1883 | Publishing a disloyal statement | Fined £25 |
McMahon, Joseph | Labourer | 1873 | Publishing disloyal words | Fined £15 |
McManus, William AKA Banana Bob | Hawker | 1874 | Expressing seditious intention | 1 month |
McRae, Murdoch Alexander | Farmer | 1886 | Publishing a statement likely to interfere with recruiting | 11 months |
Newton, George Henry | Labourer | 1889 | Party to a seditious strike | Fine or 7 days |
O'Brien, James | Engine driver | 1875 | Publishing a seditious utterance | 11 months |
O'Brien, Joseph | Miner | 1885 | Encouraging a seditious strike | 9 months |
O'Neill, John Patrick | Slaughterman | 1893 | Sedition | 11 months |
Orbell, Milton Percy | Contractor | 1868 | Publishing a disloyal statement | Fine or 2 months |
O'Rourke, Peter | Miner | 1878 | Publishing a seditious utterance | 11 months |
O'Ryan, Albert James | Traveller | 1886 | Seditious utterances | 11 months |
O'Shea, Edward Joseph | Labourer | 1881 | Seditious utterances | To pay costs |
O'Sullivan, Timothy James | Engine driver | 1881 | Seditious utterances | Fine or 3 months |
Parker, William | Labourer | 1865 | Seditious utterances | 1 year |
Parsons, Alphonsus Hugh AKA Parsons, Hugh | Labourer | 1882 | Publishing a disloyal statement (disloyal utterance) | 2 months |
Pavlovich, Mick | Farmer | 1880 | Publishing a disloyal statement | Fined £5 |
Petersen, Harry AKA Schilling | Carpenter | 1877 | Publishing a disloyal statement | 3 months |
Peterson, Nicholas | Miner | 1883 | Publishing disloyal words | 1 month |
Pieterse, Jan | Seaman | 1878 | Seditious utterances | (1) 2 months (2) 6 months |
Ramsay, Peter Scott | Grocer | 1891 | Publishing a seditious utterance | 11 months |
Reader, Stanley Marsh | Farmer | 1890 | Interfering with recruiting | Fined £20 |
Reynolds, Henry William | Bookseller and bootmaker | 1870 | Publishing matter likely to interfere with recruiting | Fined £50 |
Robinson, Joseph Bramwell | Timber merchant | 1886 | Publishing a seditious utterance | 3 months |
Robinson, Percy Tucker | Clerk | 1873 | Expressing seditious intention | Fined £25 |
Roche, John Arthur | Catholic priest | 1884 | Publishing a seditious statement | Fined £5 |
Rowe, James | Labourer | 1882 | Publishing a disloyal statement | Fined £10 |
Semple, Robert | Miner | 1874 | (1) Expressing a seditious intention (2 charges), (2) publishing a seditious utterance | (1) 1 year on each charge (2) 1 year |
Skipper, John Fisher | Farmer | 1860 | Publishing a statement likely to interfere with recruiting | 3 months |
Snow, William Saxon Fairfield | Farmer | 1880 | Seditious utterances | Fined £10 |
Tattle, Alfred George | Labourer | 1881 | Publishing a disloyal statement | Fine or 7 days |
Thorn, James AKA Thorne, James | Journalist | 1882 | Publishing a seditious statement (WRA) | 1 year |
Tohill, James | Joiner | 1887 | Making a disloyal statement | 2 months on each charge |
Toiwhare | Labourer | 1888 | Publishing a disloyal statement | 1 month |
Urquhart, Harry Richard AKA Harry Ritchie | School teacher | 1879 | Publishing a seditious utterance | 11 months |
Vail, Alexander Francis | Printer | 1880 | Aiding and abetting the publishing of a seditious utterance | Fined £3 |
Vincent, Ernest Albert AKA Vincent, Ernest | Labourer | 1889 | Publishing a statement likely to interfere with recruiting | Fined £1 |
Waklin, George | Wharf labourer | 1877 | Seditious utterances | Fined £5 |
Walker, Francis | Farmer | 1854 | Publishing a disloyal statement | 3 months |
Webb, Patrick Charles | Miner and Member of House of Representatives | 1885 | Publishing a seditious utterance | 68 days |
Wesley, John | Miner | 1860 | Publishing a disloyal statement | 2 months |
Williams, Edward Reginald | Printer | 1893 | Publishing a seditious utterance | 1 year |
Wilson, Bertie William | Wool-worker | 1885 | Publishing a disloyal statement | 1 month |
Winnard, John | Miner | 1888 | Encouraging a seditious strike | 9 months |
Wintle, Robert | Miner | 1873 | Procuring a seditious strike | 2 months |
Woofindin, Frederick James | Farmer | 1868 | Making a statement likely to interfere with recruiting | Fined £2 |
Young, William Thomas AKA Thomas William | Union Secretary | 1871 | Inciting a seditious strike | 3 months |
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