AN UNSEEMLY FRACAS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 736, 8 February 1910, Page 5

AN UNSEEMLY FRACAS.

THE DOMINION SCOUTS. UNPLEASANT INCIDENT IN CAMS*.. : TWO OFFICERS AEBESTED. On Sunday,evening a report of,a eeri» ous fracas, which was to have oo» ; ' • cuned at. the'trainmg camp of tko Do* < minion Scouts at the Hutt Park, was ro* • ceived at The Dominion offioe, In view of the nature of the statements made, • : therein, the report 1 was held over, pond-. /' ing investigations. Yesterday,' a representative , of i The Dominion made cer- • tain inquiries, .which" seem ■ to' establieh the fact that at, an early, hour on Sunday morning an incident occurred in tba, A-, officers' quarters;at • tlie;camp' of the';Bo- \> i minion Scouts, which may be attended - V , with .unpleasant consequences. \

An Altercation, and an Arrest About la.m. on Sunday,. one of th«' ' subaltern officers of the - corps (Lieut." Houston),' is said to -have became involved in a ; heated altercation with hi**' commanding officer (Captain Dalrymple).Tho latter became incensed and struck 1 his junior. . The ■ subaltern retaliated, > !jnd, it is alleged, knocked Ins assailant' down. . An unseemly fracas ensued, until ' Lieut. Hastings (another of the snbaltern officers); interfered, and;, withjthe:^;. ,; 'assistance of #>m© of tho men,' separated • ' tho two.

,3 morwng, the matter was reported to Captain J. E. Dmgan, engineer ' offioer °n the General' Instructional Staff, - ' # E ,l wor °® ce f ■-Present; , was . in; • A general' encampment, there • being two other corps at the Park. Ha at once ordered Captain Dalrymple to're- -". .subsequently : re-, ' iwSf to. Lieut.-Colonel • Uauphop, officer commanding; the,district.;;

Inquiry to be Held. , •f e ?. l -P olflE I el Banehop instructed Ca> Mr.&Hr 1 "* 1 »»«•»» riinnir a , conversation,' Lieut, foe of T,^ e Ti OP a '' v. r ( that 'it, was' true ". - th' officera 'had been plaoed .unde» 7 and . t ?l at > a ':Military-Court:of. ; ln-':'-3il quiry,\consisting of^Lieut-ColoneVCajS Second S™'J^ lUn Makr : -W : a»Si -n- - W«Uln^n\'Cterris®*.-S!'v-Artillery Division, and'vQlptainTS' - r- k ithevWellington: Cit^^® Rifles, had been set. up -to investigate thV iV '■ nM m i n?es and report. "; ■ ; .-: ■.- . ilie. affair 'has caused • an: ■ ii:' sensation m military ciroles. It will b» - remembered that tie Dominion Scou* W: {*&£ right from .the beginnings ■ 4"'i somewhat eventful career. Alter much agitation-and. many- difficulty with ; D<> he adquartei6, authority was obi,=w, ? <- u i n year a g° for tto cstabi™, 5E . corps ; Then trouble aros« over the election of officers, and now. wnen to all outward appearances the corps had at last settled down, their-first' :,-' -training, camp has,', it appears, - been tna»v red^byamost.'unpleMantiDcideQt.

Another Version, Another .version,, of-■ the, affair. throw*' 1 some light:on .the .relations whiclr have '■ y existed ;among, the officers of the squad-' : ron.. Apparently those were by no meaim - :• amicably .disposed. towards, eacn other. It . is said that the. officer ; commanding - the corps. (Captam Dairymple) had .been' 'fcrlft formed; that;tivo of his 6ubalterh ,officertt>. : -''" (Liouts., Hastings and Houston) had been' --- ■ endeavouring to undermino his inilnonoo with tli©- men. : .7Later."on~ Saturday ©yon* .; - mg, so this, version of the affair ■ goes,' : ; called, two of the troopers into his tent , and questioned them con- ' : earning this. Ho had just remarked, "If/;',-:.' . this. sort of. thing-is.'allowed to go'.on tho • corps will, bo split, into, two 1 sections," nhen the fly of the. tent was pulled aside ' and Lieut, . Houston thrust ,ms-head in,.\-. ;i'. saying, in an excited manner, "Now I've, .got-, what. I wanted." An angry alterca-1 - tion ensued, and Captain Dalrymple,' it is saidj his-, subaltern, and immediately .'after tripped'over iv tentrope, Captain vDalryni pw?in. j ; ' fqrmant,': was!'then; kicked'- icould interfere and separate the two. Th.w - incident closed--when', the -two officers tired.. Next'. morning' Captain Duigan informed Captain Dalrymple that he'was • ' to consider himself under arrest. ■ 1