VOLUNTEERS ON STRIKE.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 76, 28 March 1908, Page 8

VOLUNTEERS ON STRIKE.

THE JOHNSONVTLLE DISPUTE. ALLEGED INSUBORDINATION. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, Friday. The difficulty which has occurred in connection with the Johnsonville Volunteer Rifles is of a rather serious nature, and it is understood that the Council of Defence is about to take the matter into consideration. The trouble began with the election of two of the officers of the company. Both were elected at tbe same time, but the company wanted one to be senior and the other to be junior. The Defence Department, however, could not "fall in" with their wishes, as section 8 of the Defence Act, 1886, says: "Where any commissions of like rank bear the same date, the holders thereof respectively shall rank according to the dates of their prior commissions, and in case there would be no prior commissions, then the aforesaid holders shall take rank alphabetically in the order of their surnames." This was done, and hence the trouble.

The next step was that some 34 members of the company signed a "round robin," asking for the removal of a certain officer. This the Department considered an act of insubordination. Under the Act the officer commanding the district could have dealt with it; but as there was a good deal of feeling in the matter, he had a court of inquiry set up, and four of the men -who had signed the "round robin" were charged before it with insubordination.

The result of the inquiry has not yet been made public officially, but there is a general impression among those interested that the court found the four men guilty. So far, however, no further steps have been taken by the authorities. No one knows (officially) whether the men are to be .dismissed or reinstated, or whether they axe still to regard themselves as volunteers or not. The result is that over 40 of the members of the corps (there are only about 50 altogether) have tendered their resignations to Captain Moore, and at the weekly parade last night only six men put in an appearance.

With regard to the resignations, however, the position is not quite so simple as might; be supposed. The Johnsonville Rifles have only been in existence as a corps for about six months, and section 53 of the Defence Act, 1886, says: "Any volunteer may, after one year's service, except when on actual military service, quit his corps" on complying with certain' conditions, one of which is the giving of one month's notice to terminate during the months of January or July. ■By the Act of last session the notice must terminate in March or September. He must also pay all money due or becoming due by him under the rules of his corps. The question has also been raised whether a volunteer whose conduct is still the subject of inquiry by a military court (for the court of inquiry's report has not yet been acted on) is not actually under arrest, and therefore is not in a position to resign.