THE GRIERSON INQUIRY

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2733, 30 March 1916, Page 6

THE GRIERSON INQUIRY

i.r'.'...:-j.v>,. .. : ■" i ; ' CONCLUSION OF THE CASE ;C HARGS OF GERMAN DESCENT « [ DROPPED ; : ADDRESSES BY COUNSEL .. ' • I r- ■ The inquiry into tho charges against i ;Lieut. A.. H. Grierson was concluded 1 iby the Commissioner (Mr. A. D. Thom- 1 •son) yesterday. . ;'. ( f Mr, J.--W. Salmond, K.C., appeared 1 for tho Crown, Mr. T. Neave for Lieut, i iGrierson, and Mr. T. M. Wilford' for : ,-Madamo Boeufvo and Mr.- John Payne, i Thecross-examination of / Lieut. ; Grierson was continued by Mr. -Wil-'- , jford.: Mr. Grierson said ho know a man ( inamed Wicks, who came out on the Tai- , iimi.with him. He was pretty certain, j jthat lie had never' said anything-to Mr. ' , ! Wicks to justify Wiclis in stating that: , .ho- (Grierson) was unfit to wear'-' the , Ring's uniform. v He had no recollection ; : of ■ ever having any particular conversa- j rtion at all .with Mr. Wicks, httiT ' Mr. j j Wick's; was a . passenger'on the boat.'. , 'No doubt they had talked. '\ rr ' . ..Mr., Wilford was going on to examine' , ;on ,a telegram ,he; had received. ;last , :• night from Wicks, but; the Commissioner , : refused to allow this unless Wicks was . -boing -called. Mr. . Wilford agreed- to , call Wicks, but, the Commissioner said , ,-he . could not hold up tile inquiry any ] ■ longer, Wioks being now at Wanganui. , ■Eventually. the "telegram was shown to j i' Grierson by the Commissioner, and he' .] !.was'asked -whether-. he had anything tosay about it. - " 1 ( j. Grierson , roplied: "I 6tate emphati- j Really .that I did not say anything to < ; anybody which. -would cause me to be | •not fit to wear tho King's.uniform." .. . ] A Piece of Blotting Paper. • . The chairman said: ho had, been un-, i i ablo to make anything of one exhibit J . (a scrap of much used blotting paper), 'i -He asked what was the point about it./ i Mr., Wilford said the name;"Focke" i ; was on it, he believed, but he could- not 1 . himself see it. Mr. Payne had found ' . the word Focko on it. ... .i : , . The Commissioner -said' he could not .Keo this, and ho had examined the 1 papor. carefully. ' Mr. , Wilford: I make no point about Mr. Salmond: But it is put in as ari exhibit 1 i Mr.. Neave (looking at tho paper) • 1 ,;The : only thing I can read is "My dear < : mother." . . ' : ; v- I The: Commissioner: I could make out < ■ the word "mother." ' .. This ooncluded the cross-examination of Grierson. t ~^ e * exa mined by -Mr. Neave on tho i -on: New Zealand loyalty, j .coposed to by the witness Dighton, • Witness, .said: . Positively ridiculous 1 ; Isay -was that waving flags 1 ;and, shouting/"Hip,_ hip, : hooray !" was', •, • not...going..to ibj;at-Germany;- -1 -had \ • come., out. to . !New:,'Zealand,, to get. my, i shealth bact, and;! got 'it. I received , rjiotning l : but kindness here. There was ( '■no .reason for. me: to say' anything un-" ] fvfriendly to .New Zealaitders. no- | i body but a. Tool would accuse -New Zea- ( land of after .South' Africa:' i He had never' said- anything about , : lishmen hping j a- bad ;time-;here. He: ,'i , did say something about foreign goods < ; coming here in; great quantities;' and i ,possibly,Dighton~jnight"havo thought i this was. intended to. hit at him, the i ; Weuchatel Asphalt Company* being "of . extraction."-, , To the Commissioner: Witness had ] been m Germany on only, the two occa-. . sions to; wlnoh ho had referred, making a total period ;of only ten months. He. i ; wrote to iVlr. ' Fooke oh Augtist 26 for I t a ' testimoniai;'' : to enable him' to get a ~ position m Auckland. . That testimonial he asked for in English and in German, : 1" , 50 was given by Mr. Poclco! ; - .unuer such - circumstances' he ' would al< wars ask for a testimonial in English ;- jnd, in, German, as, a' matter of course. ' tho alleged "code," witness, ! , •, could not remember when ho , aad- .IaBt; 6een the particular pieco- of papef... - / ....■: ; Mr. lliomson: Did you know there i was such a piece paper in your box P < Uitness; No._ I had not tho slightest , iaea of wjo of • .that piece of ' • paper. He. Md-iipt/ithe'least idea in ■was of paper A German of . Soldierly Bearing. ; •. .The Commissioner- asked about a Ger. .. map named Gayen (not previously mon, tioned in the inquiry); "Witnws said that Gayen was a Ger-. : Toi n t '- 1v ? had como out hero in July, •• 1914, as he said, to learn English. Mti v.ness said to him that it was rather a elong way to come to'learn English : i reply was that this was a good rPlEoe to come to. When witness was in i J-'ooke s office, instead of' redirecting one , of Gayen's letters, he took, ii with him to- Gayen s -lodgings, and made a pro* ■ posal that they ishould exchange letters : in English and Gorman, with the idea ot teaching each other German and English. They met on three occasions, and i on the last occasion Gayen walked homo ;with him. Witness-plied him with many .. questions, and at Gayen said !■ something like this, "Oh, I know what you are after," 'turned on his heel and walked off. Doubtless. Gayen thought ho ,l ' as becoming too inquisitive. Later he met Gayen in.,tho-street, and Gayen cut him dead. Witness ,wrote him a note ■ asking wllnt ho meant by his conduct, - a«l Gayen replied: simpljy,"You know. ;■ quite well what;-the.-, reason' is." Gayen r had a military, bearing;: and had obviously received'-/military- 'training. Witness considered that it tvas; rather peculiar that a man'- 13,000 miles to _learn/-Englißh.''',;arid: stay-; hera . all the time,-'doing-'nothing.-'• - 'Mr. Thomson: .Whero'is he now? i- Witness:, r./assiime/aiid; hope/that, he • Is on Somes Island. . , • Advised .Grierson to Engage Counsel. James 'William Henderson, manager - of the; Central; Ltd., Wellington'- branch,, said that ' his • com•'.pany were /distributing 'agents:' for' sow- . ing cottons, and- silks. : : Amongst..other : things his ~company,' sold r /J;. and P. Goates's goods; ■■ Grierson came to him :■ with an introduction ./from' the head i; office of his " firm in Glasgow. Grierson ! had come, to'see; witness J at "his house ' before and after Grierson joined the ' army. He could not"recollest any very : 6pecial discussions about Germany, but ! no doubt the subject cropped up. He was sure that if Grierson had said any-. : thing objectionable or anything : ' dis. • loyal he would have remembered it, and ! ho certainly remembered nothing of tho ! sort. Ho was examined on tho alleged code ( i and he discredited it utterly. He saw : that Mr. Payne's theory was faulty in • that it provided for a", letter to repre.send a figure or vice versa. _ Nobody who knew anything about cabling from ; New Zealand would adopt such a risky ;' system. The liability to error was so j great , on a cable line, on which thei a wore, some 12 or 14 relays. Nn suoh small word as "Herr" -woidd. ever bo ' used as a code word.' Words used in icodo were always long in order that if mistakes in transmission occurred tho ; cvpher would still bo intelligible to tho receiver. Tho words on the paper pio* drefd were certainly not a code. , 1 Witness said that'it was on his advice that Grierson engaged counsel. Grierson was so suro of his own inno- ' cnco, and treated tho matter so hght- • ly that he did not think it would bo Accessary".to'engage counsel.' Witness i know, hosier, seeing, the charges had

behind them suclr a mail as Jolin: Payne, that Grierson ought to have counsel. He knew the colony better than Grierson/ and he" gave him this piece of friendly advice. ,To Mr, Wilford: The words were certainly not ; a-.code. Any three words could be part of a code just as any three bricks could be part of a house. Witness was the. inventor of a i-ystem of ciphering which was in general use, and he claimed to know some tiling about codes. - • Crierson's Antecedents. Harold Large, clerk in the Central Agency,. Ltd. (of. which witness Henderson is manager), said that he hud been in New Zealand three years and uilio months, and that previously he had'lived iu Hampshire. He knew well the name of Gater (the maiden name of GriersonVmother). It was well known in the Southampton neighbourhood, and he : had. heard the., faniily referred to as an old-established Hampshire family. Mr. Wilford's Address.. ■ .Mr. Wilford, addressing the Commissioner, shortly reviewed the reason for the sitting of the Commission' as expressed in the order of reference. He admitted that the claim that Grierson was of German descent iwas certainly not'.' proved. . The evidence had shown that he',, was undoubtedly born of. British, parents. . But he. did claim', that the. evidence had : been such ; as to show that it-.would bo extremoly dangersjs tp iave Grierson in our'forces. It was "better; to be .aire than'. sorry." , Any mail' who was ven. under suspicion of disloyalty oughtjnot to'wear the King's uniform. That Grierson had a love arid admiration of- German organisation and method, .and->hat ho desired .to impress this' on' New Zealanders,' was shown by-his conversations.-' His love for Germany -seemed*, to- be shown by his desire I to l get German- employment as soon as he; got here. • 'Why,did he ask lor a character fromVthe German Consul after the declaration, of war? Queer, to'say the least, of it! . Did 1 ha wish to have I the character .to enable him to ; get into Germany'in war time? Did lie Swish to have this character as a' protection'' in case the Germans should, take New Zealand? These were only -■■ iwssiHe suggestions, but Grierson had given no explanation. Was .it the act of a loyal Britisher to ;-:et a testimonial from a Hun in order to get employment? It was to be hoped that there was not an employer in Auckland who would give' employment on such a testimonial. Grierson .kept lip his fonneotioh with Germany though Iho had left it.

. At the. boarding-house Grierson was known as "The German.?' Counsel put it that Griersoij was ; proud of being a-German, "preened himself on Otherwise, why did he not produce his birth certificate?. It was only when'" it became dangerous to be known as a German that Grierson produced the; birth certificate. Add Everything Together. , He would suggest, that Grierson's explanation of the'document known as tho "code';, was quite unsatisfactory, and was not given with such readiness and frankness as would -be shown by a truthful;-.:, witness.The explanation about .genitive,'dative,' and accusative was ingenious, but not - convincing. The post-cards;'; glorying in ; a German feat-of-arms - witness could not wholly account for? When did bo get them ?' Before ;or "after the war? . On this there >vas no evidence. On the packct of these post-cards was an application form of the Gorman Defence League. All these cards were about war; all were' Gorman—no . French, or Russian, or Italian cards; v 'A,dd all this to statements on the-ship, statements' made to witnesses here which were' disloyal, and what conclusion, must the Commission come to? Grierson asked that these statements should be all disregarded; he relied on the plea' ''not understood." "Hold the/scales!" said Mr. Wilford. Tut Grierson on one side, and Adam- • son ;on the other. -Whom are you to believe? ; If to Adamson you add Dighton; Grierson would hit the roof." Following this line of argument, Mr. nilford referred to the other witnesses. He.; said that the evidence of these witnesses; made out Grierson to be a> dis-' loyal man. It was admitted that since Grierson went into camp he had said nothing disloyal. Of course ho had not dared to do so, and it was a hollow farce to call officer after officer to say ! that Grierson had said nothing disloyal in camp.;'. Counsel traversed Grierson's evidence of' the conversation with Miss Murphy about tho King's Birthday, questioning ," Grierson's version, of, what ...occurred, ■ .The'-- weak point about .Grierson's defence, was that he admitted -every incident, but altered the construction of it, -a circumstance which must lay his evidence open , to', suspicion. ;'; Grierson had not paid hfs : landlady. So; that, ' counsel urged, Grierson was a man of' no. principle. That must be admitted at the outset, and all his evidence should be viewed fpQm that poftit of view. He also challenged - the veracity of Grierson's explanation 'of why lie obtained tho passport at Stuttgart. .The Part Played by the Accusers. . ■ Counsel spoke next of the part play-' ed by Madam Boeufve and John Payne in the case. ■ It seemed, he said, almost a long time ago. ■ Mr. Neavo_: I hope it will be a long time before it occurs again.. Mr. .Wilford: - It will be a long time before i the Government"set;'up such a commission-as-this again. Mr. Salmond,; Ilhope'so. Mr.. Wilford.: Yes. They'll intern him next time. It's quicker.. He was quite sure that the chance of Grierson going away with the Force was nil. He defended the part played by Madam Boeufve, • declaring tliat she had worked only in .the interests of the country, desiring by any means in her power to prevent a dangerous man from going awav in our forces. Mr. Payne had helped her in her task withmo idea but the public interest. '

"An Extraordinary Mare's Nest." v _ Mr.Salmond, said he would take as littlo time as possible in investigating what he regarded as ail extraordinary mare's nest. Ho did not, however, doubt the patriotism or the patriotic motives of those who made the charges. What be could not so easily understand was the extraordinary persistency with which tho charges made had been exaggerated and insisted upon. It had been proved to demonstration at the outset of the case that Grierson had not a drop of German blood in his veins, but only that day did Mr. Wilford withdraw the allegation that Grierson was a German. Not only was Grierson not a German, but he was a man whose connections were well known and reputable. He was not a casual stranger coming from nowhere. We knew all about hjin. And therefore all these alleged suspicious circumstances must lose their significance. It was alleged that this young man, who was ready to risk his life for his country, was" a spy. "I doubt," lie said, "whether in the history of British justice a more foul and contemptible charge has ever been made on .flimsier or more contemptible evidence." Mr. Wilford: Which witness do you say gave contemptible evidence? The Pieces of paper. Mr.:,.Salmond discredited tho story that tho- words scribbled in pencil on a piece of paper constituted a code. To support this theory there was not -a tittle of evidence. Mr. Payne had oven insisted, so blinded was lie by prejudice, that'tho list of German prepositions was part of a code. It was even suggested that because Grierson bad a packet of German postcards issued by the Pan-. German League, he was ready to join this league. "This," he "is n eamplo of-tho- evidenco on which foul charges have been made agaiust this

young man. It makes me blush for this country to think that a young English stranger can come hero and volunteei for service in our army and have sush suggestions niado against him." It was urged as a charge against Grierson that he had applied for- testimonial to the German .Consul; with whom lie had been employed. But to whom would a young man who had just lost his job apply for a testimonial? Surely to his last employer? It was suggested that because of tiiis he was not lit to wear the King's uniform. Mr. Wilford: I never said anything so silly. I said, "Add them up." Mr. Salmond said it was surely absurd to make any- point of ■the fact that - Madame Boeufvo found in Grierson's box a pair of German' puttees. - Yet these puttees had been produced to the Commission. If Madame Boeufvo would extend , her investigations . into the wardrobes of ladies .Belonging'- to the Anti-German League she would probably find that they had German stockings. .' Grierson had given- a• very. clear. and credible story about the obtaining of a passport, but so persistent : were - the accusers, that they continued to allege that the fact that he had a passport in lii 3 possession was evidence that ho was a German spy. "It will bo interesting to know," said Mr. Salmond, "whatthe British public think of us after it ■ has been necessary to hold an inquiry iinto these charges." The Conversations. r - 1 Concerning all the conversations on which evidence had been given it was, ho saidj apparent that they were all on the one subject.-. Grierson had been nearly a year in Germany, and was much impressed with the military efficiency of flie Germans, and he talked a great deal about He had vet to learn that it was disloyal to take note of and to speak of the fact that Germany had a powerful military organisation, and that she meant to use it. It would have saved Great Britain a great deal if British statesmen widths British people had had more of this brands of "disloyalty." .Everyone admitted now that it would have been better for us if more people had talked as Grierson had done. It might have roused us from our fatuous complacency and optimism. The young men with whom Grierson had lived had resented his talk about the efficiency of Germany, and had interpreted Grierson's intellectual appreciation of German efficiency as friendliness for Germany. ' They "shied" at, the word "disloyalty," however. The' more conscientious of the witnesses re-

The'young'men with.whom Grierson had lived had resented his talk about the efficiency of Germany, and had interpreted Grierson's intellectual appreciation of German efficiency as _ friendliness for Germany. ' They "shied" ax ; the word "disloyalty," however. The' more conscientious of the witnesses refused to say that Grierson had" shown disloyalty, but had said simply that lia showed "sympathy." But "sympathy" was a very |vague and indefinite sort'of term, and he contended that no weight whatever could be attached to the opinions, merelv, of the witnesses who_had suspected Griersou of' "sympathising" with Germany. Nothing had been adduced at the ' inquiry to justify; the charge that the young man Grierson was not a true patriot. The sham patriotism of those who refused to bear anything of the dangers threatening tho Empire, which sham patriotism had been the "origin of. these baseless charges, was not nearly so commend-ible as . the conduct of* Grierson, who had certainly not been ,shown to be unfit to wear tho King's uniform. • •• • Mr. Neave announced that he did not wish,to add anything to what Mr. Sal-, mond. had said. The Commissioner said that lie would forward his report to tjic Government in due course. i