THE FOUR COLONELS

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 81, 3 October 1938, Page 5

THE FOUR COLONELS

CASE EXPLAINED

JUDGE A?¥QC J ATE*GENERALS OPINION

{By Telegraph—Press Association.; DUNEDIN, • October 2.. "What about the four colonels," was the only information sought from the Minister of Defence (the Hon. F. Jones) in the form, of a question; at the, conclusion of a n . address at St. Clair Presbyterian Church last night. The Minister, in,reply, produced an opinion given on the matter by the Judge Advocate-General of the Forces, in the course of which it was stated that "the action was taken by General Duigan entirely on his own initiative as a disciplinary measure and the Government had nothing to do with it." ;:': ;.. ■ :'.. .'■■.'■,''■■■■ ■■■. Mr. Jones outlined what led up to the retirement of the four colonels. A senior territorial officers' camp was being held at Trentham and he had asked that officers should meet him to discuss the question of the land forces. A conference had been held and it had proved very friendly. Subsequently he had been informed by Major-General Duigan that the officers wanted to know whether his statement following on the conference would be released 'in a fortnight's time. ' Mr. Jones said he did not .think ,it; was right that the Minister of Defence should be forced in that way and he had made his statement regarding the building up of the land forces of the Dominion in due course at Dargaville. To his .surprise, next day he had found that the Press Association had sent a message signed by, the four colonels throughout New Zealand stating that they were nbt satisfied with the statement. .Before his statement had been; released the officers must have had their I statement ready, because it had been prepared at Trentham after they .had left him. j BREACH OF REGULATIONS. j Mr. Jones said that the officers had • committed a "breach of the regulations and that they could have been retired or court-martialled. The officers broke regulations and were just as liable to j be disciplined as any private in the forces. He had received the opinion of the Judge Advocate-General, who had been asked for his opinion by Major-General Duigan. This opinion had never before been published—he had not cared to give it publicity—but in view of the capital that was being attempted to be made out'of the affair against the Labour 'Party, he would read the opinion of the Judge Advo-cate-General, and they could see for themselves that the . Government was not implicated in any way whatever. The Minister then read the following opinion, which had been given on the case by the Judge AdvocateGeneral:— "It has been suggested in some quarters in the Dominion that : Colonels Spragg, Macky, Wilder, and Gambrill were posted to the retired list withoiu having had an opportunity of defending themselves in respect of the.charge against them of communicating with the Press in breach of defence regulations: That- suggestion is contrary to fact, because they were given such an I opportunity, and all, by written replies, intimated that they had no desire to put forward any defence. Needless to say, the suggestion does not come from the four colonels themselves. The Chief of General Staff, Major-General J. E. Duigan, had previously discussed the question of procedure : with me as Judge Advocatei General. Action was taken by General Duigan entirely on his own initiative as a disciplinary measure, and the Government had nothing to do with it. -If the officers concerned had resigned their commissions and then published their statement, no blame under the regulations could have been attributed to them, but their course of action constituted a breach of the regulations; which the Chief of General Staff considered he could not overlook in the interests of ;the service as a whole. He held that if deliberate breaches of regulations by senior officers were countenanced, it would be difficult to. enforce discipline upon junior officers and other ranks." I At the conclusion of the reading of this Mr. Jones remarked that the Judge Advocate-General was Colonel C. H. Weston, president of the National Party. -