A CAUSE CELEBRE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1122, 9 May 1911, Page 8

A CAUSE CELEBRE.

THE KNYVETT COURT-MARTIAL. OPENS TO-DAY. HISTORY OF THE CASE. At 10 o'clock this morning, the celebrated Knyvett ease will be reopened at the Wellington Garrison Hall, when exCaptain F. B. Knyvett, formerly captain commanding No. 1 Company, Auckland Garrison Artillery Division, will bo tried by court-martial, under the Army Act, Section 10, on a charge of having been guilty of "conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline, in that he, at Auckland, on November 10, IMB, being then captain of the No. 1 Company of Aacklnjid DivMon, G.A.V., in a letter written and addressed by him to the Hon. the Minister for Defence, did comment upon the actions of his superior officer, the Chief of the General Staff, in an improper and insubordinate manner." The Court will bo composed of two officers of the Imperial General Staff—Colonel E. S. Heard, Director of Staff Duties (president), LieutenantColonel J. T. Jiurnett-Stuart, D.5.0., Director of Military Intelligence—an officer cf the Imperial Army, Captain G. C. Hamilton (Grenadier Guards), and two officers of the New Zealand Garrison Artillery—Major D. E. Monzies and Captain A. F. ltoberts.

Knyvett's Letter, The letter in question, in view of the interest which attaches to the case, may bo here reproduced for the information of the public. It is tho sole issue to be determined by.the Court which assembles to-day. The first portion sets out the history of the events which,- according to the accused, led up to the writing of the letter:— Sir,—l have the honour to most respectfully bring the following complaint officially under your notice, and in support thereof attest, tho facts as under:— 1. That on Friday, October 29, I, in company with two officers and sixty-five men of my company, at the invitation of tho officer commanding the Petone Navals, travelled to Wellington by tho ordinary express as ordinary passengers, paying our own fares, in order that, we might visit the Petone Navals' camp during their course of training, and benefit in efficiency by tho knowledge gained at this camp. '2. That this visit was the outcome of a conversation with the officers of the Petone Navals when they were in Auckland at our manoeuvring camp last Easter. As a result of this conversation, I wrote to the officer commanding the Petono Navals on .October 9, and asked if they were still of tho same mind and were prepared to receive an unofficial visit from tho members of mv corps to their camp. I received a reply from the officer commanding tho Petone Navals on October 13, giving myself and company a most cordial invitation to stay for a whole week as the private guests of ths Petone Naval Volunteers, in which it is stated they would be glad to privately ration ami look after our men while they wero there, if I would wire to him when we anticipated leaving Auckland. On October 20 I wired the officer . commanding Petono Navals, asking if, ho were ready and willing to receive us if we left on Friday, October 29. I received a wire to the effect that he would be most delighted to do so. On October 27, I wroto and asked permission of tho officer commanding my division (to whom I am alone responsible) for leave to travel a section of my corps in uniform. (I may here state that this is probably tho first time in tho history of"the Defence .Council where such a request has been made.) It has invariably been the custom for members and. sections of corps to travel from one end of New Zealand to the other without permission to travel in uniform; and passes have been granted without question for all sorts of military tournaments, and to meet to competo for all kinds of money-prizes, from one end of New Zealand to tho other. We asked for nothing more than permission to travel in uniform. My reason for this was that I desired to have an opportunity of upholding the best traditions of tho volunteer service in the Auckland district by having under control the men who formed the party leaving for. Wellington. If I did not travel in uniform, I would not have bad the control over the men which I exercised, and possibly a very grave scandal might have resulted from such a number of men being without any control and in all sorts of private clothes. 3. That I received a notification from the officer commanding the Petone NavaU that arrangements had been made to officially welcome and receive my corps on arrival at Wellington. This wire I got in tho early morning on tho express train. To my intenso astonishment, and to the consternation of my officers and men, we found on arrival at Wellington thero was no one to receive us. After half an hour's wait two officers of the Petone Navals met us in mufti, and informed us that the Chief of General Staff, Colonel Eobin, had taken it upon himself to inform them that we would not bo allowed to travel to visit the corps, and consequently they had abandoned the preparations to receivo us.

•1. That these officers were certainly astounded to find, after what the Chief of General Staff had told them, that we had arrived. Under the exceptional circumstances, they made strenuous endeavours to caver up and prevent any possibility cf a scandal leaking out to the public of the'want of tact and the interference of tho Chief of General Staff. To my officers' and my own intense astonishment, on Monday morning The Dominion newspaper, published in Wellington, came out with a most scurrilous and untruthful article as to tho object of our visit to Wellington; in addition to which they imputed and stated that I and sixty-five officers and men of my corps were a surprise party to the Petone Navals, that we had come down there in defiance of all military regulations and usage, and altogether we' had committed a very grave breach of military discipline, and burlesqued tho whole volunteering movement throughout New Zealand. On applying at'tho office of The Dominion for the writer of the article, wo were introduced to a Mr. Plimmer, sub-editor of the paper; and in the presence of Dr. Murray, Lieutenant Greenhough, and myself we found to our intense astonishment that the informant of the writer of the article and the whole of tho matter of the article had been supplied to The Dominion- by the Chief of General Staff, Colonel Robin. I am prepared to submit an affidavit from the three officers who were present ot tho interview as to my authority for saying the matter above was supplied by Colonel 'Robin.' The result of this article in The Dominion has been, sir, that the volunteer movement, and my corps in particular, (which is the largest, without question, in the whole of New Zealand), have been belittled and burlesqued to an astounding extent. Article after article has appeared in tho Wellington papers, and interview after interview has been accorded by the Chief of General Staff, and tho 'statements made by him in these interviews I am prepared to prove are absolutelv false. In addition, it seems to mo that the Chief of General Staff has personally gone out of'his way to belittle, discourage, and damp the enthusiasm of the whole volunteering movement. Since these articles have appeared I have been approached by many officers throughout the whole of the North Island, who have had similar experiences of the unwarranted interference and unexampled officialism of Colonel Robin. Not only have valuntoors themselves been subject* lo jiis interference, but many prominent Force officers have told me (which I am prepared to prove at any inquiry) that he has many times had private interviews with persons, from privates to colonels, to the undoubted disadvantage of the discipline of the Forces throughout (he Dominion.

f>. That in the duties laid down for the Defence Council I find I lie duties for iho Chief of General Staff arc—Field organisation, military operations, staff, duties, military training, military education, military intelligence, mobilisation, and war regulations. No mention of any kind in this lo the duties of discipline. If any member of the Defence Council had any comnlaint to make about the action nf'myself and the corps, it was Colonel Tiifnn, A.G. 1 respectfully submit Hint at no time have my officers or myself committed (ho smallest breach of the regulations. I have been under provocation owing to the many articles which have anneaied last week in The

Dojiixiox from the pen of Colonel Robin, but 1 have withhold writing to (he press, well knowing that f should obtain from you justice. I have documents in my possession which, if published, would have created a grave scandal in volunteering throughout the whole Dominion. I most respectfully ask for an official inquiry into- the conduct of the head of the Defence. Department, Colonel Robin, an officer who has a private channel of communication with an Opposition paper (The Dominion) in Wellington, and gives articles and information of a nature calculated lo be contrary to the best tradition! and interest of the service. I most respectfully request that an inquiry be held at the earliest possible moment. I have, etc., F. B. KNYVETT, Captain; Officer Commanding No. 1 Company, Auckland Garrison Artillery. The immediate result of the sending of the above letter was the arrest of its writer. Then came a Court of Inquirv, followed in due course by the Gazette announcement of the result of the inquirv —Captain Knyvelt's dismissal from the Xew Zealand Forces. This, announcement was received with an outburst jf indignation at Auckland, and a special deputation came down from the northern city to see the Prime Minister. The reply to the deputation, sent some time after, was to the effect that the matter had been settled, and the Government had no intention of reopening it. Another outburst in Auckland followed and then a prolonged and organised agitation for a new trial, on the ground that the accused had not had a fair trial. Finally the Government backed down, and when the new Defence Bill was before the House last year, inserted in the section dealing with military law, and appeals from decisions by courts-martial, a proviso making the section retrospective, so making it possiblo for Mr. Knvvett to ask for an appeal. The application was duly made, and Ranted, and henco the court-martial which opens to-day.