The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE FRIDAY, APRIL 14, 1916. THE GRIERSON CASE.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 8, Issue 90, 14 April 1916, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE

FRIDAY, APRIL 14, 1916. THE GRIERSON CASE.

l With which is incorporated The Tal hape Post and Waimarino News.)

It is deplorable that the powers of i the civil, military and judicial authorities should have to be invoked to force upon our troops, as an officer, an unknown man with such pro-German leanings as Grierson, on whose actions and behaviour . the country has been saddled with the cost of a special commission of enquiry. Naturally everybody asks why, when there are so many true born British New Zealanders, of high intelligence and education to choose from? The course followed by our Defence Authorities is inexplicable in itg perversenessl i They persist in straining everything to put this admittedly pro-German in military authority over our own sons, even to the setting up of a commission to Avhitewash him by finding legal quibbles to make his German actions and utterances mean loyalty to Britain. It has frequently been said that the Government is doing more to prevent men enlisting than anyone else, mid still they go to such extraordinary extremes to force upon the service an officer who many of our men, imbued with patriotic fervour, will look upon with distrust and contempt. The man Grierson may be a saint, for a l l ~,n hrw, but.the Iving nroclivities of the German peonle in conjunction with an audacious plausibility should have been sufficient to induce our Defence Authorities not to even touch or look at anything German that could be 'avoided. And yet, to the detriment and injury of our own New Zealand born young men, this man with his pro-German talk, which has been in evidence from before war was declared almost up to the present time, is thrust into a commission at all costs. We do not say that Grierson is guilty, but we do affirm that the evidence submitted to the Commissioner, was much more than ample to have warranted a verdict just the opposite of that found. In fact, it is rather startling to find that in spite of the indisputable evidence Grierson is to be allowed to remain in authority over a company of New Zealand soldiers. Of course, were our own lads so wanting intelligence that they were incapable of filling positions which they arc entitled to, then the Defence Authorities might be pardoned for taking : some risks with a man with such proGerman leanings as to warrant the setting up of a Commission of enquiry thereinto. Grierson has been associated with Germany and Germans, he admires Germany and Germans, he worked for the German Consul in Wellington for some time after war was declared, it was proved beyond a shadow of doubt that he uttered pro-Ger-man sentiments to such a degree as to warrant intelligent men and women ito believe he was German, he had among his papers German Defence League documents for strengthening feeling for the Fatherland, he had a code which witnesses alleged w T as a German code and which the Commissioner did not say was not a code, he had a copy of a letter written in German applying for a position with a German firm in Germany, also other German writing in a notebook, he ap-

plied to the German Consul in Wellington, for a testimonial written in German. The Commissioner said the documents were interesting as showing German methods of propaganda, but he didn’t think they involved Grierson. The alleged code could possibly be a code. A second application for a testimonial Grierson could not satisfactorily explain, this, though not necessarily involving disloyalty, the Commissioner thought, under the circumstances, extremely unwise. It was proved that he had lived in Germany and had many friends there; this Grierson did not deny. He admits to being called “The German,” and the Commissioner was of opinion that his conduct and action gave grounds for the assumption that he was German or partly German. Neither could the Commissioner conceive that experienced business men like Messrs Dighton, Horton, and others could have so misunderstood Grierson if he were merely trying to make Britishers understand their danger. We may remark that the German cloven hoof methods were here admittedly used by Grierson. While Dighton and Horton spoke in terms of alarm and regret, Grierson’s tone was in admiration and pride of Germany —this was after war had commenced. The Commissioner stated: “it was not alleged that Grierson said anything against the British, but it seems quite clear that he said all he could for Germany in such a way as to arouse hostility to himself.’ How Grierson could say all he could for Germany before and during the war without saying anything against th e British is just beyond our conception, but our present intention isnot to prove Grierson a German, but to protest against a man with such a pro-German record being placed in authority over a body of New' Zealand soldiers' whose loyalty for their country almost amounts to frenzy against anything German,