COLONEL FOX AND THE PREMIER

Clutha Leader, Volume XX, Issue 1028, 6 April 1894, Page 5

COLONEL FOX AND THE PREMIER

- — — *~ 'The communication forwarded by Colonel Fox to the Premier at Auckland, ancl which the Post recently referred to, reached Ministers on Wednesday being forwarded by the Premier. It consists of two letters. In one Colonel Fox expresses his desire to be released from his contract with the Government conditionally upon hia being granted a sum o£ LIOOO as reasonable compensation for the loss he has sustained in coming out here and the termination of his engagement. A. further condition is a passage back to England for himself and his military servant. In the eveqt of these terms being accepted, a formal resignation is attached, and reasons why the conclusion of the engagement is desirable are given. They are very numerous, but the chief are that the Premier,' as Minister for Defence, controls the whole of the defences and the defence force, in conse-: quence of which the defence force has' deteriorated ; that, he, has retained the services of useless officers and'non-qom-missioned officers, and of gorp^ recommended to be diabandecl— this presumably for political wwopßj'ift the Premier k«sw

tie money was urgently needed for the ef ports ; — that the Premier had refused to allow him to take up the duties of commandant, and he is therefore commandant only in name ; that lie (Colonel Fox) required a staff officer and recommended the appointment of fine, and h's recommendation was ignored ; that fie Premier sent an officer of his department to make extracts from his (Colonel Pox's) letter book behind his back ; that the Premier laid the Voluntesr report on thu table of the House of Representativi s in such a manner as to prejudice him, and that the Premier sent that report r.o various persons asking their opinions upon it, bnt only pnhlishpd that of Sir William Jervios, which differed in some respects from the report, and did not publish that of the Colonial Defence Committee, which was in favour of it ; that he (Colonel Fox) was detained in Wellington for a month doing nothing on the ground that he was to be consulted re an ammunition contract, which, however, had not yet been put before him ; that the Piemier asked his opinion as to the Martini-Henry rifle contract, and then sent his memo, of advice to the contractors ; that, on receipt of Sir William Jervois's letter, the Premier suspended the arrangements which he (Colonel Fox) had made for" sending six big guns to England to be chase-hooped ; that the defence plans were transferred to the Public Works department against his recommendation ; and that, without reference to him, the Premier consulted a subordinate officer as to what stores which he (Colonel Fox) had said were required should be dispensed with. Colonel Fox further states that as it was apparent that his advice was either unsought or disregarded, he was commandant only in name and therefore the Government must approve of his action in resigning. — Daily Times' Correspondent.