CAMPS & SOBRIETY.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1466, 14 June 1912, Page 6

CAMPS & SOBRIETY.

THOSE DRINK CHARGES, F.O.UND-ALMOST GROUNDLESS. OFFICIAL REPORT. Tho Minister for Defence (tho Hon. A. M. Myers) recently caused a board of inquiry to be set up, consisting of Colonel E. S. Hoard (Imperial General Staff), , Colonel G. F. C. Campbell (commanding Coast Defences, Wellington), and Major 0. I{. Eitchio (commanding B Battery, New Zealand Field Artillery, Dunedin), ; for tho purpose of inquiring into tho allegations made by tho Prohibition League, 'Christchiircli, of drunkenness and irregularities, in connection with the Territorial camps in the Canterbury district. He has now received from General Godley (commanding the Now Zealand Military Forces) the result of such inquiry. 11l a memorandum forwarded to tho Minister, with tho report of tho board, the General makes the following ro'inrks:--Why the Inquiry was Imperative. "It will be noted that in tho original letter of the three members of tho ieagno to me, a desire was expressed byitne members in question that they did i-jt vish iiny inquiry to be held, lint apart l'rcm reasons of. exigencies of the service that rendered an inquiry imperative, the fact that the league had made their li t ter -to me public in tho press left no other course possible, sinco tho good name of tho regiments was at stake. I'or this reason aiono tho request of the league that no inquiry should-bo madecould not bo. acceded to. "This request, coupled with the fact that the league was unable to produce witnesses to give direct evidence before the Court of Inquiry, leads one to infer that the zeal of its members outran their discretion, in not ascertaining beforehand that their witnesses wero.ready to substantiate their charges in public, before publishing the said charges in tho cold print of the daily journals. The result of this procedure on tho part of the Christohurch Prohibition League has been that the public has-been-put .to-some expense, for the Court, in its endeavour to obtain full information.on the subject of the allegations against the units concerned, had to adjourn- : its proceedings to Templeton, Rangiora, and some miles beyond the latter place. • "Tho units against which the accusations of irregularities were made by tho Christchurch Prohibition League were tho Ist (Canterbury) Regiment, in the camp at Templeton, and the 13th (North Canterbury and Westlaiid) Regiment, in the camp at Rangiora. .Templeton Camp—What the Court Found. "jts regards the men in camp at Templeton, no evidence was found that any drink was brought into camp,' but' a great deal of' evidence was- produced to show that the men were sober ahd wollbohayed; The beei' bottles that were found lying in and around the.camp.'were proved to hive, contained nothing more harmful v than' soft drinks, as provided by the -canteen contractor. , "The whiskey wrapper alleged to have been found in the camp was . found by a member of tho Prohibition League a fortnight after the camp had been struck. In this-connection, it may be noted that the .camp site was on a public domain, and is the resort of picnickers and others, ' including' swaggers. ' r , "In-the township of Templeton, an un'willing witness confessed that a. certain number of men, who had broken out of camp on. the night of April G, were inclined.to be. noisy, and that two of them were-under tho. influence of liquor. Also that-oil the night of April 10 one other mau;.was,secn to be intoxicated, and was . heard to use obscene language. t First Night at Rangiora. A 9 ;regards the men of the 13th Regi-ment'lit-Rangiora, the allegations of the Prohibition Leaguo deal with their behaviour on the night of their assembly. It will be noted that 90 per cent, of the men.of this unit were in civilian clothes, and -therefore indistinguishable from the general public. These men met for the first time, and arrived from over a very large area of country, at all times during the day, and probably also late-comers arrived during tho night. L'nder the circumstances it was difficult to get the regiment organised before the next day. '4'he men were in the township the first evening on general leave. All the evidenco brought forward goes to prove that though the men wero noisy, they caused no annoyance to ,the public, and affairs Were very little different to any ordinary Saturday night, when it is the custom of young men to assemble to the township. The evidence further-went to show that no young men wero seen undor tho iniluence of liquor. "Another-unwilling witness stated that two men. under the'influence of liquor camo into his tent and were ejected, and that later-at night a third was deposited therein, .who later partially recovered and removed himself. "Ab regards the subsequent behaviour of the men of this regiment-in camp, it left nothing to be desired, and there wero-no signs of drink or insobriety to bo found, ias will bo seen i'roui the evidence of witnesses before the Court. General Allegation Exaggerated. "I am therefore of tho opinion that, though there are proved to have been six cases of men who were under the influence of liquor during the period of training in camp of these two regiments, it cannot be said that the behaviour and bearing of these Territorials were other than exemplary. I therefore consider the general allegation against these camps by tho Prohibition League of Christchiircli to be exaggerated, and that the implied condemnation of a large number of men of unimpeachable character for the misconduct of a very few is not justified. No More Camps Near Hotels. "At the same time I would like to make it clear that I am in entire sympathy with the efforts of the Prohibition Leaguo to ensure that camps should bo free of any irregularities, and that parents may nave confidence that their sons will not be subjected to temptation, and I am glad to assist it in every way in my power. It is with this in view that the present inquiry was instituted. Finally, it is my intention in the future to make every effort to have camps established out of the reach of licensed premises." •