The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19. THE KNYVETT CASE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 292, 19 January 1910, Page 4

The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19. THE KNYVETT CASE.

Auckland is a town celebrated for lis grievances—imaginative for the most part —against the rest of the Dominion, and particularly against the political powers. Scarcely has the public "indignation" over one incident died away than another is found. The latest is that known as the Knyvett ease, Auckland's opinion of which is being industriously circulated throughout the Dominion, and it is already very apparent than an attempt is being made to make political capital out of the incident. The lonely and lovely city has evidently completely lost its head, and we are asked to believe "that there is an intense feeling amongst the officers that Captain Knyvett has been most unjust! v treated, and a very serious feeling of unrest prevails." With the merits of Captain Knyvett's grievance we are not at the moment concerned—we believe he had ample ground to feel aggrieved' at the outset —but it is a matter of greater concern to the Dominion that there shall be absolute loyalty to superior 'offiecrs than that any officer, however zealous and efficient should be sacrificed. The breaking of the rule of subjection to superiors in military organisations is a crime no less heinoas in the eyes of military authorities than thp-t of a traitor. The extreme penalty is the punishment provided for heinous offenders in each case. Obedience is t"ie •quality absolutely essential to prevent an army from becoming an uncontrollable rabble, a fact that such a capable and experienced officer as Captain Knyvett would not Tor a moment deny. Accordingly, whatever sympathy may be felt for that officer in the provoking circumstances that led to his committing an indiscretion by flouting the authority oT Ms superior officer, we cannot •hide the fact that he deliberately broke the regulations. There surely exists a legitimate channel through which Captain Knyvett could have had his case against the military authorities heard, without the necessity for breaking the inviolable law of obedience to authority. The circumstances that led up to the incident undoubtedly need some investigation, and the Government may be safely relied upon to see that, if the defence authorities did not meet the Auckland volunteers in a spirit becoming our Tolunter system of defence, steps are taken to ensure that there shall not fie a recurrence of it. There is no call to magnify the Knyv-ett case into a national scandal; the punishment meted out was the only one that could not fail to impress on indiscreet officers the seriousness of breaking the regulations. Obedience is enforced in time of peace m order that its virtues might be thofc. ■oughly understood, and be in no,danger of violation at a critical time. There is no need to further deputationise the Government on the matter; nor is there any call for a Royal Commission to investigate the administration of the defence authorities. There are, no doubt, many things that stand in need of improvement, but under the operations of the new Defence Act ; we may trust the good sense of the universal citizen army to liave wrongs righted. Wc know little or nothincr of Lieut.-Col. Robin, but we do know this, that if he is not competent to retain the confidence of the officers and men under the new defence system, his reign will be short. "We are quite prepared to trust the good sense and judgment of the manhood of the country, when in training, to ensure that there shall be no martinet rule, but a common-sense and cordial co-oper-ation between all arms and ranks. The citizen soldiers may be trusted to approach their new obligations in that spirit; it remains to be seen whether the military authorities have a proper appreciation of this spirit—the only one that will make for the complete successof universal training.