THE MAJOR EXPLAINS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1159, 21 June 1911, Page 4

THE MAJOR EXPLAINS.

REPLY TO THE CAPTAIN'S COMPLAINT. niAT THE INSTRUCTOR THOUGHT. i> The Minister for Education (the Hon. i. i'owlds) !ws made public the report f Jlnjor T. \V. M'Drmald, Officer tornlanding the Junior Cadet?, on the subpet of Die charges laid against his Delartment that , an attempt had been made o penalise the Lower Jiutt District High icliool, and its cadet company commander Uaptain JS. 11. Ballachey), in cniifcqucncc f certain remarks iniule by the latter .1' a meeting of the. Wellington Teachers' listihile held in April last, to discuss, at he invitation of the Education Board, ilnjor Jt'Donald's proposals for the inlroluction of a system of free gymnastics n connection with school physical trailing. A special meeting ol the institute ras held last i'riday, it will be rerneinlered, when it was decided, after hearing he statements of Mr. D. M, Yeats (hcaduaster ol Vue Hutt .Scliool), and Mr. K. .1:. JSallnehey, to refer the whole matter 0 the Executive Committee of the New Zealand Educational Institute, lor in- I luiry. The grounds of complaint were, in the irst instance, laid belore the "Wellington .leadmusters' Association, and this body ■eferred the matter to the Teachers' ln;titute. The three grounds of comUaint were:— 1. That , for having, , in his civilian caincity, expressed certain opinions at a necting of the Teachers' Institute—which ipinions were considered by the Cadet Jepartment to amount to a reflection on •lie staff instructors—Jlr. Ballachey, in lis military capacity as captain commimdng the Hutt company of Junior Cadets, •cccived a "wigging" from Major M'Donild, and was informed that no more initnictors would be sent out to the Hull; School rill they were asked for. 2. That (lie Hutt District High School was treated somewhat cavalierly in the matter of its cadet jersey equipment. 3. Captain Ballachey, as senior captain of tho Fourth Cadet Battalion, was super-, soded—by order of the. Cadet Department —in tho'command of the battalion on one occasion upon which the battalion commander was absent. The Major's Reply. Major M'Donald's reply is as follows-.— "The local branch of tho New Zealand Teachers' Institute having given the public its sido of an alleged grievance between the Officer Commanding Lower Hutt Cadet. Company and tho Commandant of Cadets, 1 think that the other sido should also \x given. The person who appeared to be most hurt about the matter was the headmaster of the I'xnvcr Hull- District High School (Mr. Yeats). This gentleman told the institute, according to report, that he had Riven Chapter I and that Chapters ]I and HI were to follow. He would have spoken more correctly if ho had said that he had given half of Chapter 1 (his side), and that the other half was 'to follow (tho facts as disclosed by tho . official records). Instead of commencing with Chapter I, he shofiid have given tho Genesis of the case, which would, no doubt, have been followed by Revelations. "The complaint seems to be, as far as •■an be gathered from the newspaper Vports, that 1 took Captain Ballachey o task because tho latter, as a cadet >flker took part in 'a discussion at the t'eachers' Institute on the question 91 free gymnastics' lor school children, fto lomplaint of this nature from Captain 3allachey has ever been received by me. If it had been received live complainant vould have been told at once thatno ex•eption was ever taken to his right ro liscuss anything he pleases at the institlte, and there the matter would have, indc-il. One of (he staft'-scrgeanl-instruc-ors on my staff. havim; read the newsjaper account of Captain Ballachey's resolution and discussion, considered that lart of it was intended as a reflection on lis .ability ■■and-efficiency-as an instruc-xjr/.iljfeciaise-to'-'a-as-'teidi.oi's'the inslrucors whoso services were under offer at the :ime to teach th« free gymnastics, and he xns also the instructor for Captain Bal-achev'-s comnany, and the reflection apjcaral very nointed. It appeared, to .inc. ii the same light. The instructor asked o be relieved from attending Captain LhllacheyV- company until an inquiry jould be" hold, adding that if the'refke.ion was intended he wished to bo perlianently relieved from that school.- failing which ho would be compelled to resign his appointment, as he could not put up with reflections made- in that, manner. I accordingly, granted the instructor's request, arid* verbally ordered him not to go fo the Hull School until he made inquiries. The first time, I saw Captain Ballachey (in the cadet office) I iisked him straightforwardly whether he intended his remarks as a reflection pu the instructor, addme that 1 had ordered the latter not to visit his unit again until the matter was inquired into. Captain Ballachey explained that Ihe reporter had left out a good deal of what lie had said, and it was this omission which made it appear as a reflection, and assured mo that nothing of tho kind was intended. I accented the assurance, and at once gave orders for the instructor to resume his duly at this school as scon as he could get away from the stores. This order was obeyed, and (he instructor attended the school again, except that lie missed one visit through a mif-understo.nd-ing, which I personally inquired <into and at once set right. An Order Refused. "Captain Ballachey, instead of; saying that he was satisfied or otherwise, demanded a written copy of the verbal order which the Commandant had given to his sergeant-instructor. The request was refused, and he was informed that if his demand had reference to his apparent reflection on the instructor his assurance to the contrary had been accepted. A similar demand was made in the namo of tho headmaster of tho school, and again refused. Tho headmaster then wrote asking for an explanation as (o why the instructor had missed going to his school. A full explanation was given, but it diil not satisfy him, and ho voiced his dissatisfaction' before the Headmasters' Association and tho Teachers' Institute. "Chapter ll.—llr. Yeats said (hat Captain Ballachey had requisitioned tor new jerseys, and thai the isMic hud bet'U approved. That is correct. He also stated that (he issue had sub r.?quently been declined. That is incorrect. Captaiu Ballachey asked to have tho issue delayed. This was approved. Mr. Yeats went on to say that new jerseys wern then sent him. Yes, this is so, because he and I arranged that if the jerseys could be fitted with regulation shoulderstraps, new ona* need not be sent, as Captain Ballachey expressed his entire satisfaction with them otherwise. Tho shoulder-straps, which were actually made, for this purpose, turned out a failure, and Captain Ballachey received a complete new set of jerseys in order to krop faith with him. Was there anything wrong in fulfilling one's promise in that way? Thus endeth Chapter If. Mr. Yeats Made a Fuss. "Chapter lII.—Mr. Yeats made a fuss about Captain Lyiiskey having been appointed to take temporary command of the battalion during the O.C.'s leave on account of sickness, and he (Mr. Yeats) at once connected this with tho first affair, which, I believe, he designated "the wigging,' and endeavoured to mako it appear that I was putting a junior officer over Captain Ballachey's head in order to penalise the latter. "What are the facts? "The Officer Commanding the Battalion applied for short leave of absence on account of illness, and appointed Captain, Lynsksy te take command during his absence. This ho forwarded to the Commandant of Cadets for ratification, and it was confirmed. The question of seniority between the two could not at tho time bo ascertained, and it is not oven yet definitely known, as no trace. Ain fcj 'found of the approval of the appointments of either officer, and they were no! appointed during my time. A.part altogot her from the question of seniority, tho Ollicer Commanding tho Battalion" considered Captaiu Lynskey to be bet Infilled for the promotion, and 1 confirinc.il (his opinion. Ability is the first essential in such appointments (not merely seniority), just in the same way as with the appointments of teacher;. "I cannot see how any unbiased person can help admitting that absolutely no cause for any grievance by either Captain Ballachey or Mr. Yeats o.\isle<l, as the above particulars clearly show that every courtesy nnd consideration were shown In them both, but they on their part failed to show tho same .consideration to me."-