MILITARY SHIRKERS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1796, 8 July 1913, Page 3

MILITARY SHIRKERS.

RECENT ALLEGATIONS.

INQUIRY BEING MADE.

Tho Minister for Defence (the Hon. James Allen) had something further to Bay yesterday regarding; the recent allegations that the administration of the Defence Act has been ■ tyrannous, or something of tho sort.

"All tho statements that were made to 1110 by tho deputation, and some others made in tho House, aro being inquired into," said the Minister. "I have directed that preliminary inquiry be made concerning them to see whether there is uny justification for an official inquiry, and an officer wa9 sent down to Lyttelton on Saturday night to see for himself and to report as to til© position of things there. So far as I can judge, most of wlmt was said by the deputation has no foundation in fact. We were accused of supplying thfse lads with too littlo food. Wlien I read the correspondence that some members of the deputation handed to me I found that some of those confined had refused to take food. If they refused to take food we cannot bo accused of not giving them enough. Some aro taking food; I do not know whether they have any reason to complain or not. We shall find out about that later. But they have refused to do any work, and the officer in charge of them decided that theiy did not need as much food as if they were working hard. Some small limitation was made to the rations allowed, but not much, and the doctor passed the allowance as amply sufficient.

"I do not see liow there oan be anything in the allegation that the boys suffer from cold at night, because we supply them with four blankets each, and they have their own ovtrcoats. At any rate, tho charge is being inquired into. It may be that they are cold in the day time. I am sometimes cold in the day timo myself. If they had not refused work they would not have suffered from cold. We give them physical drill, but we cannot do that all the day.long. "I have had no time to inquire into the charges of victimisation alleged against us, but I am quite certain there is no desire on the part of ,ths Department to victimise anybody. From what I can hear tho boot is on tlie other foot, and any victimisation that exists comes from them. 1 hear, for instance, .tliat at Eunanga some of those objecting to tho Act alto-; gether are bringing pressure to bear on those willing to comply with it, and are threatening and boycotting them in tho places where they work, beoause they want to comply with the law. I call that victimisation. It has been alleged that we specially picked out those at Runanga. for prosecution. That is not The prosecutions were started at Hokitika, and then at Greymouth, before Ruiianga, and there was some complaint in Greymouth that we had picked out those least opposed to the Act, leaving those most opposed to it to go free. I have also heard that there are young fellows on the West Coast who are quite willing to go out and drill, but that they are being terrorised and so prevented from doing so. "I cannot say yet whether thero will be a public inquiry into what has happened, because I cannot say what there is to inquire into. lam having a preliminary investigation made into all the charges. The fact- is, as far as I can judge, that some of these men are out to break down tho Act altogethtT, and they are prepared to adopt any means to do it. "I have also been inquiring into what Mr. Anstey,. has had to saj- in .tho Upper House: about the inconvenience caused to farmers by lads being called away to camp at harvest time, and. I <lesiro to say that we us© every endeavour to cause as little inconvenience as possible to anybody, but I do not suppose it 13 possible to avoid inflicting some hardships on a few individuals. Every grievance will b? considered. Mr. Anstey complains tnat Ix>vs have bsen taken away at harvest and threshing time; but wo hold two camps 111 his district, and it is unfortunate if at both of theso times men are engaged. \\ 0 shall try to arrange the camps for dates more suitable/'