THE MOTUIHI COURT MARTIAL

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 133, 22 February 1918, Page 4

THE MOTUIHI COURT MARTIAL

FINDING OF THE COURT 4 COLONEL TURNER DISMISSED FROM DEFENCE FORCES Hy Telegraph—Presß Association. Auckland, February 21. The sentence of the court-martial on Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Harcourt Turner has been promulgated. The Court found Colonel Turner guilty on the first charge and not guilty on the second and third charges. He was sentenced to be dismissed from the Defence Forces under Section 23 of the Defence. Act Amendment, 1912. The sentence has been conI firmed by Major-General Sir Alfred ! Robin.

Lieutenant-Colonel C. Harcourt Turner, sth (Wellington) Regiment, was charged that, being a member of the Defence Forces of New Zealand:

(1) Without reasonable excuse allowing to escape persons committed to bis charge, in that he at jfotnihi Island, on or about December 13, 1917, while Commandant of the said island, and having the care, charge, and custody upon the paid island of certain prison--ers of war and interned alien enemies, to wit, one Lieutenant-Commander Count von Luckner, Lieutenant Kirscbeiss, Wireless Operator' Grun, Wireless Engineer Freund, Naval Cadets von Zalorski, Paulsen, Schmidt, Mellert, Klohn, Seaman Erdmann, and one von Esidy, a Samoan Government official, allowed the. said Count von Luckner , and others mentioned, being prisoners of war or interned alien enemies, to obtain possession of a. launch and to make other preparations for their escape without taking reasonable means to prevent it, and thus permitted the escape of the said Lieuten-ant-Commander Count von Luckner and other persons mentioned. (2) Without reasonable excuse allowing to escape persons wbom it was his duty to keep in, having done the acts alleged in the particulars to the first charge: (3) Without reasonable excuse allowing to escape persons whom it was his duly to guard, in having done the acts alleged in the particulars to the first charge.