COURT-MARTIAL

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 312, 21 September 1918, Page 8

COURT-MARTIAL

CORPORAL -D'ORIDANTS CASE

THE HEARING COMPLETED

The trial before a district court-mar-tial of Corporal William Arthur d'Oridant, N.iUI.P, was concuded yesterday morning. The accused was eb ged'on four counts with having accused Captain A. Gray, Assistant iSt-Marshal at Wellington of havi,,* been drunk while on duty, know, g the said accusation to be false. Ino couriconsisted of Lieutenant-Colonel H, Nea-vo (president) \ ' B van, and Major A. H. Hollw. Captain Baldwin was the proseoutor and Mr. O. H. Treadwell represented tlio Terge'ant Alfred Daniel Cole, giving evidence regarding a■ «nvcrsati™> le had with accused at tho detention liai racks said he had seen d'Oridant in anv action o Captain Gray, lie general icom-ersation thatldOndaot wa a xious to recede from Ins position i rS to the charge, and he made a report to Captain Gray f according. Captain Baldwin, addressing the ■court said that the charge involved know edge on the part of the accused of tho fflseness of tho accusation. It followed therefore, that tho acquittal of Se accused would in no way confirm the charge as far as the officer was conerned Captain Baldwin emphasised served for two years m . lm Pf. cces. The»wa ß m-idence to' show that Captain biay 1 On tie other side, there weio the rasiwported inferences of the aec sed The prosecution submitted that rLsationmustbeheWpos.^ S u ßSidSin£sAthe evidenco, wbetheror not ac cusedbad s S e rS wm an untrue accusation. Laccued>' statement that Captain Sy smelled of liquor must either Jmye been true or have been • false M H was trlle ,' thc ? niltv „,'• witnesses must have boon guilty submitted th 6 charges bad not on j been false, but had been made m knowledge of their Italsity. Mr Treadwell said that in order to constitute an offence it must be p.«ved not merely that accused .had ma e f false charge, but that he had made ft knowhg it to be false. The nccusSlmri presumed to be uinocen unless proved to be guilty. The cu d nee Lad shown that accused, \ad charged Captain Gray, with laving beeTdrunk at 715 pm. and ate ■ n the evening of August 1. 1h » therefore, should discard all the eu donee called as to Captain Q ay a dition earlier in the day, Jat M three material witnesses, namelj, tap K, Private Brown, and the accused himself.' Tho accused had told ft plain story in a perfectly open**}, without the least attempt at oy sou. Viivata Brown admitted lie had taid "Vcs" when asked by accused on the right of August 1 if ho had noticed Captain Gray to bo under the influence of liquor. This witness, , who had riven his evidence in a. very unsatis'factorv way, now said tho answer nnd been made in a casual way, and was not intended to carry its obvious meaning. Mr. Treadwell analysed the evidence in some detail, awl argued that accused had reasonable ground for a bona-fido belief that his accusation was true. He said he had decided not to attempt to prove that Captain Gray had been drunk. The question at issue was whether or not accused, had "knowingly" made a false accusation. It ought to bo remembered that d'Oridant was not in fact a soldier at all. He was a sailor who had been employed ouite recently to operate a patrol launch, and who had been givon military rank for this purpose-" only. It should be mentioned, also, that tho accused and his counsel had encountered great difficulty in gathering ovidenco bearing upon tho charge. The difficulties aroso from the relations between officers and mon in tho army. The treatment accorded d'Oridant after his arrest had been brutal. The man had been treated worse than a common criminal. He had been put into a baro cell, without even a chair, and held there for seventeen days. Ho had been allowed a chair after ten days on the representations of his legal adviser. In other words he had been punished severely for his alleged cflence before being placed on trial at all. D'Oridant was a man 49 years of age, who had made considerable Sacrifices'to. servo his country even in_ a humble capacity. After volunteering for the British Motor Patrol, he had been asked to bring his launch to Wellington for patrol work. He had sold his nets and other effects in order to come to AVellingtou, and now found himfelf in. his present difficult position. In conclusion, Mr. Treadwell said that Corooral d'Oridant had believed on August 1 and believed now in tho" truth of his charge, based oh his own observation. As an honest man he could no nothing less than repeat before tho court- what ho had said to the men named hi the charges. The court then considered its decision, which will be promulgated later.