WAS GERMAN INFLUENCE AT WORK

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2702, 23 February 1916, Page 7

WAS GERMAN INFLUENCE AT WORK

DEFENCE MINISTER'S ■COMMENT On tlio day following tho riot Senator Peaico made tho following statement :— "I regret most deeply tho unhappy behaviour of so many of the men in training at Liverpool. ■-1' believe, from the information which has conic to band to-day that, with few exceptions, tho men have returned to duty, and I look t-o this being the; lost, nnrnpion <m wlijdi Australian aolaliers h|S tu fat

iorgct themselves as to eugagc in w batis praeScaliv a mutiny. There can bo no such tiling as a strike. Combined action by men in disobedience of orders is mutiny—there is 110 other word for it.

"I lieard of the trouble at Liverpool yesterday afternoon. The matter was brought'to my notice by the Chief of tiie General Staff, the Adjutant-Gen-eral, and the Inspector-General, and after a brief consultation with these officers 1 dispatched a message to tho District Commandant ordering all men to parade at 11 a.m. to-day (Tuesday). I 'am notified that practically all the men, with the exception of about 50, have returned to camp, and work is proceeding properly to-day. I hope that is so, out I want" it to bo clearly understood that the men who enlist are required to obey orders loyally and work liiird at training to fit themselves to fiijbi.

_ "! naturally deplore the fact that in the rioting on Monday night one man was killed and others wounded, but from information t° hand I'understand that tho man killed ami at least one of tho wounded men were apparently ringleaders of a party winch iired upon the pickets with automatic pistols, tho pickets being compelled to return tho lire in self-defence. A number of other, ringleaders have been arrested, and will bo d'oalt with in dile course.

"I understand that the excuse put forward for tho utterly inexcusable be- I haviour of the men was that they considered the hours which they were called upon to train too long. I may sa.y ! that in many of the States training has always been as it is now being carried out at Liverpool, and it is llio unanimous opinion of every officer competent to judge who has returned fiom the front that it is the minimum which we can expect to mako men fitted for tho grim trial of war. I am informed that when tho First Division was training in Egypt, with all its disadvantages ot a trying climate and the sands of tho desert, the hours the men were asked to train wero thoso which l.he men at Liverpool havo been ordered to do, under much less trying condifcians. Yet this division hi these circumstances was 'tried to the utmost in holding its position in Anzac in April) and had it fiot been for severe training it probably would not have been able to stand the test.

"1 cannot help believing that enemy influences and enemy gold havo been at work in. endeavouring to crcat trouble in the camp at Liverpool. I look to tho public and soldiers alike to help, usn tracing this evil to its source. It is my intention to hold an inquiry with this end in view. 'Die advantages to Germany in the promotion of such disgraceful and undisciplined conduct is obvious. If Germany can delay the training of our soldiers or can upset discipline, her emissaries accomplish as much as if they caused thorn to bccomo casualties on the field. If an Australian does not go to the front, or if he goes to the front ■nitrained, Germany benefits as much is if ho bad been put out of action, because, whenever a man goes into action insufficient-, iy trained he is not only a less danger tn the enemy, but ho is a danger to his own unit.

"I may say steps had already been taken, before this disturbance, to rcn-. ] der Liverpool Camp less unwivld.v, and arrangements for the cliange are nearnig completion. I can only hope that ' wo shall have no repetition of these dis-. graceful disturbances, hut that the sol. diors will refuse to allow themselves to remain tho dupes of tho '.mcniies of Australia and tho Empire, for enemies tliey aro who prompt sucli actions as J havo commented upon." MEN WARNED PARADE OR' TO BE DISCHARGED. Australian Imperial Forces. Headquarters, Liverpool. ■» February 14, 1916. Tho Minister directs as follows:— Notices aro to be posted and given to the Press for publication ordering all men to parade at 11 o'clock a.m. tomorrow (Tuesday), the loth instant, and notifying that those who do not attend this parade, and are unlawfully absent, will bo summarily discharged from A.I, Force, and will not be renlisted, and tho names of such men are to be published. i (Signed) DAVID MILLER, Colonel, Commandant A.I.F. Forces. 2nd Military District "A DAY OF DISHONOR" The .Sydney "Sun," in its editorial comment on the mutiny, said: — "Tho host that can be said of tho soldiers who mutinied yesterday, \with some of the loud-mouthed leading and advising them, is that for the most part* they wore young and ignorant, doing an extremely foolish thing. The one who was shot has died on a day of dishonour instead, of a day of glory. That, is enough to say about tho men, among ivhom those who havo been arrested must stand trial, and if convicted take tlieir punishment. The slnime of yesterday's incidents will not readily bo forgotten. What the men do not understand (or they would not havo so behaved) is that every delay in their Draining means loss, sufforing, and death at the front. In England, Egypt, and Malta men are lying in bed as physical wrecks from dysentery. They will never be healthy again.' And the reason why they will go painfully with ruined bodies to an early grave is that thoy woro kept so long in the trenches, because reinforcements did not conio quickly enough to relieve thorn. While Liverpool riots down to Sydney, tho same sacrifice is repeated on every battlefield whero Australians fight."

CHURCHES' APPEAL CURTAIL OR CONTROL LIQUOR SUPPLY. Heads of Churches yesterday addressed tho following appeal to the Premier :— Sir, —Feeling convinced that present conditions of the sale of liquor were chiefly responsible for the unfortunate happenings of yesterday, and feeling confident that our soldiers for Uie most part aru not wilfully defiant of authority, we appeal to the Government, in tho 'interests of the soldiors mm! tho community generally, to take in mediate and drastic .steps by administrative action to secure the curtailment and control of tho supply ot liquor, or, if necessary, to summon a special session of Parliament with this end in view.—AYc have the honour to be, yours faithfully, JOHN CHARLES SYDNEY. 11. SCOTT AYEST, Moderator of Presbyterian AsscmWv. J. AYOODJIOIJSE, President of Methodist Conference. F. V. DOAVLING, Acting-Cbairman of the Congregational Union. : J. A. PACKER, President of the Baptist Union. H. G. HARVARD, President of tho Churohos of Christ. COLONEL BIRKENSHAW, Salvation Army.