WANGANUI MILITARY SCANDAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 18 December 1918, Page 6

WANGANUI MILITARY SCANDAL.

To tho Editor.

Sir, —In yours of the 12th I notice in a paragraph that the Egmont County Council unanimously passed a resolution congratulating the Defence Minister on putting officers like Lieut. Crompton in charge of conscientious objectors. In another part of the same issue a paragraph relating to Lieut. Crampton states, "While at Samoa Crampton became involved with a native woman and viui courtmartialled three times. He escaped on the more serious charge, but was found guilty of assaulting a woman with a stock." In a later issue it states it was proved the conscientious objectors at Wanganm "were dragged around the yard, kicked, and brutally ill-used." If any person was found guilty of ill-using an animal in the same manner as the conscientious objectors were subjected to they would receive, and justly so, a term of imprisonment with hard labor. When we have had 15,000 of the best of our voting men sacrifice their lives in order to break down German militarism and its attendant, blackguardism and brutality ,it seems" hard to believe any body of men such as those who constitute the Egmont- Countv Council can be so degraded and brutal in their hearts as to .congratulate the Minister of Defence on appointing over other men a man who would countenance the men placed under his control being treated as brutally as the Germans treated tlie British prisoners or the women of Belgium. I* officers are to be allowed to brutally ill-use prisoners it is only a step further and they will likewise ill-nr-e the men m the ranks placed under them, and then tKe final outcome will lie rebellion. Bolshevism. ar.J murder- In enr.clnsion. T think if would be better for the Esmout. County Councillors to attend to the business of the council for which they were elected than to pass resolutions- outside- of ' their sphere in eonsratulnfor' messages • because a brute ha l ! kicked, punched end dragged round a vnrd a few crank.! who are really ns much to be pitied as blamed. —I am, etc., K. A. HUNT.