OFFICERS' CLUB.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1833, 21 August 1913, Page 7

OFFICERS' CLUB.

THE CHOICE OP ALTERNATIVES. A question relating to Garrison Officers' Clubs, and. especially the Wellington Garrison Officers' Club, recently submitted to the Minister for Defence, was answered by Mr. Allen in tho House of Representatives yesterday. The text of tho question was as follows: "Whether there is any truth in a statement now being made that the Wellington Garrison Officers' Club recently refused membership to a certain officer by 'blackballing' him, in de&anco of an instruction from tho officer commanding tho district that no officer could be put up for ballot, and that the club has further defied authority by declining to obey tho direction of the general officer commanding that an old rule allowing a ballot should bo deleted, and as a result has decided to vacato tho rooms provided in the Drill Hall and obtain rpoms elsewhere with tho object of forming a priva-to officers' dub: nnd, if such statements are true, does tho Minister not think such conduct an attempt to create a class distinction in a purely 1 citizen army, and a breach of discipline, and as such prejudicial to the success of the Defence scheme; and, further, if inquiry wveals such statements to exist in fact, what Action will tho Minister take to bring tho offenders to book?"

Tho Hon. ,T. Allen (Minister for Defence) replied: Headquarters ruled some time ago, as regards Garrison Officers' Clubs occupying premises provided by the Department, that all commissioned officers aro entitled to membership of such clubs without election by ballot, and gave the clubs concerned the option of abiding by such decision or vacating their present, premise". The Wellington Garrison Officers' Club lias chosen the latter