Sir A. Robin.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16156, 9 March 1918, Page 8

Sir A. Robin.

The Commandant of Motuihi having been severely punished for allowing the I Gorman prisoners to escape, and two j other subordinate officers having been practically exonerated by tho Military Court of Enquiry, the public are> naturally anxious to know what is the position of the permanent head of the Defence Department, Sir A. Robin, in regard to this matter. The Minister of Defence, who has gone into the question, has come to the following conclusions :— "(1) Major-General Sir A. Robin did not realise that the Officer Commanding the Auckland District considered Motuihi to bo imder General Headquarters, and not under the O.C. District. (2) He committed an error of judgment in (a) That he was too much impressed by the outside s.ire. and did not give due weight to the warning about tho conditions existing at Motuihi. (b) That ho did not visit Motuihi in person to satisfy himself that adequate precautions were taken to safeguard the prisoners on the island." Sir James Allen adds that these conclusions have besn submitted to MajorGeneral Robin, and he, the Minister, does not consider further action necessary. The public, we think, will find it difficult to agree with the final conclusion to which: Sir J. Allen has come on the premisses stated. Sir A. Robin appointed the Commandant of the island, and Bhould have defined his position and responsibility so clearly that there could be no possibility of mistake in such an important matter. The enquiry showed that the letter of appointment was so vague that it was difficult to make out what was intended, but that, as a matter of fact, the correspondence regarding the safe custody of the prisoners went on between the Commandant and General Headquarters. In any case, it was surely the duty of General Headquarters to see that proper arrangements were made. The laxity of the system which was allowed to grow up. followed by the natural result in the escape of tho prisoners, has made New Zealand the laughing-stock of the world. It> was left for the Minister of Defence to find out for himself how very inadequate were the arrangements actually made for the safe custody of prisoners of war, known to includo some particularly resolute and dangerous men. Sir James Allen lost no time in drawing General Robin's attention to the facts, and directed him to put matters on a safe footing. General Robin went to Auckland, hut he did not even visit the island, and he took no effective steps to remove the glaring defects which Sir James Allen had discovered. He seems to have contented himself with administering soothing syrup to the Minister in the shape of a memorandum to show that everything was for the best so far as Motuihi was concerned. In spito of this assurance, the prisoners made their escape. Sir James Allen has now communicated to General Robin his view that the latter has been guilty of an error of judgment in these matters. Wo agree that no further action on the part of the Minister is necessary if Sir A. Robin now does the right thing and resigns his position. The public, seeing what deplorable muddling and weakness were displayed in so important a matter as the safeguarding of the German prisoners of war, will not be able to avoid the conclusion that this example of carelessness

or incompetence probably does not stand alone, and that it is time the Department was placed in the hands of a more efficient chief. We cannot afford to tak- any risks with the Department of Defence in time of war.