SEDDON-TAYLOR CASE

Grey River Argus, 17 December 1904, Page 3

SEDDON- TAYLOR CASE

Great Slander Action. The Progress of the Case A Full Report of the Proceedings. By Our Special Eeporter.

CHRISTCHURCH, December 16. Hugh Rees, miner at Blenheim, depos ed that at the Blessbok Spruit affair, un der the command of Seddon. The sprui was crossed in an hour in an orderly man ncr with no galloping or bustling. Wit ness did not cross the spruit. He an five others took up a position amongs sonic rocks, and opened fire on the Boers When they went to retire they foun their horses shot, and being unable t retire, were captured. Witness was sho in the shoulder and two of his com rades were killed. Witness was carrie to a Boer farmhouse and remained ther till late at night, when the prisoner were taken away. While being taken t the farmhouse I saw about 80 to 10 Boers in the vicinity. By Mr Stringer—Would it have bee pcssible for any number of the main bod to have galloped away without bein seen by you? Witness—No! I never saw the mai body gallop at all. i Mr Taylor—Have you discussed th necessity of standing by an officer whe one gets into this kind of fix? Witness—What do yon mean by stand ing by? Taylor —Have you discussed the de sirability of protecting an officer agains any charge of this kind? Witness —Certainly not. : Taylor—Have yon had any correspon deuce in regard to this action? Witness—l wrote to Captain Seddon and said that if he required any evidence that I could give I would give it. I re tive dno reply, Taylor—Did you send that letter <- yours on your own motion? Witness—l had a discussion with Bayley, a lawyer in Blenheim, and tho matter was mentioned. Taylor—How did the question come "P* Witness—l said that I would write io Seddon. Witness was pressed by Taylor to give details of the conversation with Bailey, but stated he was unable to remember. Phillip Keddel, clerk in the Government service, and a member of the Seventh Contingent as a sergeant. Remember tho Blessbok Sprint affair, and the retircment to spruit He formedlone «f the mam body under Captain Wlutely, and under the command of Captain Soddon. He remained with the mam body the whole time of the Captarn Seddon was with tho body all the time. There was a screen put out and they walked to the spruit four miles awny, halting whereever there was a nse or ridge. He remembered an order coming from an officer to make the i"o» walk their horses. The men were trotting and obeyed the order to the spnut There »no truth in the statement that the n,am body galloped. He saw Cnpta.n Seddon before crossing tlie spruit. After crossing the spruit witness was posted r, t.A, i-c.jj jj on a ndge by Captain Seddon and orderi * i . *i i -x >r. i „ ed to let them lmve it. Afterwards the , . . , T. , „ order was given to retire by Lieut Cam- ™, ....!_ , nn eron. They were in position about 20 . . ™ -, r .. . . , . minutes. The Boers were distant about „ , , , „ „ „ . a thousand yards from the spruit, firing . .. ti i i • v i i heavily. The whole mam body crossed „,,-.,., j the spnut after leaving the ridge and . K , . . , ' 7 - , formed up and joined the main; column. »• -*c n> i t»-j no i To Mr Taylor —Did not see the Scouts „,.,., at all that day. Tir., , ... . . , • Witness admitted on reference to Captain Saseby's evidence that Lieut Saxby who was with the main body, must have , ... „ c . ut t ■-i been with the Scouts, although witness j., . „ rrv j- r r did not see them. The distance from the farmhouse to the spruit was about four miles. He did not fire during the retirement to the spruit. He was walking towards the spruit, but when the spruit was reached they turned round. Supposed it was in obcyanceto an order. I Did not know who gave the order to make the men trot their horses. Taylor-If one of Seddon's witnesse has said the main body was fighting rearguard action was he right or wrong? Witness-He was correct. Witness had had experience in mounted corps before the war. The regula movements of a body of men fighting rearguard action was that- a screen i put out and the main body to be 800 yards from the screen, *at the rear o the screen and be a support to the rear guard. The main body would not fir unless required to do so by the screen. Taylor contended that the evidence went to show that the main body ha been continually fighting during the re tirement. Witness, continuing, thought it wa impossible that what he thought was th rear screen might have been the Scouts Did not remember what was done afte halting at the sprnit. Hie firing wa severe when crossing tho spruit. Captai Seddon crossed after witness. Could no fornran estimate of the Boer numbers. Tliought he was the last, of Captain Whit ley's troop to cross. After crossing th spruit witness and his companions bur ried as fast as possible to a position about 50 yards from the spruit. Had not dis cussed in Wellington the matter of de fending an officer. Ho bad said th statements were lies. Witness had bee with Captain Seddon during the whol of the retirement. Richard John Spotswood Seddon, pie sent ocupation, captain of the Peroamcn Forces of the Colony, at present attache aa Private Secretary to the Defenc Minister and plaintiff in this action. He said he had had a good deal of experi ence before going to South Africa. Hi first experience was in the Nelson Col lege Cadets, later the Wellington Colleg Cadets, and later in the Volunteers fo a year, 1898 to 1899. In 1900 he wa appointed Acting-Lieutenant of the Here taunga Mounted Rifles. He left Ne Zealand with the Fourth Contingent, un der Colonel Francis, on March 30, 1901 and was promoted Captain of the Ne Zealand Militia- While in Africa Lor Kitchiner passed the order that Volun teers staying with the forces should re ceive the stated rank. He offered hi services before he knew there was an promotion. His services were accepte and he was appointed Captain of th Seventh Contingent. He served wit the Eighth Contingent in January, 1901 He hod seen a good deal of active ser ice in South Africa and had been mention ed in despatches lo Lord Roberts an was recommended for the D.S.O. by th officer commanding the company on Au ust 23, 1901. He had remained with th Seventh Contingent and on May 10t .was given command of the Nelson coin pany. He did not know more than ha a dozen men of his company. The com pany numbered one hundred and fou teen. There were five hundred men : the company. On the day preceding th Blessbok affair he was engaged with th Boera and Colonel White had ctom plimentcd him on the day's work. H was consequently sent out to the da iqundron which was detailed to take t right flank of the main column. Th orders were afterwards reversed and wi less was told to go out with a parly support the Scouts. He said his hors were knocked up. He was told he mus •50, but could take fifty of his best hors md get fifty from the Wellington squa Witness was placed in charge of the whol •md sent out to support the Scouts whi they gathered cattle left the day befor He was not ordered to reconnitre in -sextain position. He was not engage in searching for the enemy and was no sent out to fight. He gave Lieut Dill no orders wliatever at that time. H 'iad no reason to conclude that Lieu Dillou had advanced to search for t

enemy: The strength of the Scouts was i - about 26. He picked up the Scouts, who - kept about 2000 yards in front. The t farm he was directed to go to was Geo- - gedocht farm. He gave instructions to - Lieut Witby before reaching the farm d to go out in a north-easterly direction and t gather up the cattle and bring them in. . The troop sent out numbered about nined teen and halted near the farm. The Scouts o were then in view. He then advanced t about half a mile. The Scouts were near - the farm on the right front. The Scouts d halted on the ridge for half an hour, then c they went out of sight over the ridge, s Could not then see the direction taken, o Witness did not remain long in that posi--0 tion, but occupied the ridge and halted there for the purpose of retiring the n sq Uadron as soon as the cattle were gathy pred in. While on the ridge he received g information from Lieut Dillon that he had got into touch with the cattle. He n was not. certain whether a reply was sent then. He moved on to where he supe p^a £{„„£ Dillon was and had advancn ed a n,ilc> wi len j ie rocei ved a further message from Lieut Dillon. He placed - an advance screen of his own, also flank screens, moving in regular order. The - secmd message was that Dillon was In t a tight corner with the enemy. Did not remember who brought the message. He ordered Lieut Dillon to retire as witness - ,,vats t j lon too f lir ou{- He then pioceed(>d a mile forwa,.d to get into touch with Liont Dn,on At the end of that mUe he camo in vieu. of t,ie g couts. They - wero ti,en two 1H ;j cs fnrther than instruc(ions warranted. The Scouts were on i (lie „;„],(. front T1)0 gco^s welv ncross „ dip of abou( two mi | cs< Ho made a carefu, observation of the position and could sep , )0 fm. Cc of t, |C cnmpy botweon wit. ness and the s couts. There was nothing to ppevent tlie g^t, retiring. He roceived another message which said he wng sUrronnded and asking witmiss lO come up and support. Witness, who on roceiVing the luessagP decided tho Scouts were nofc surrounded. He had a conf(wnoe with officops> Du,.y, Cameron and gaxby discnssing the sitUation. The condusion anived afc Wftg thflt t,w main body was tOQ fnr mt Mdil Wfl, not advisab|o <0 g(> further Tlierc was no dissol)t frol|, t},o officers that the .scouts should retire H(J t, lon gent ft written ord(M. (copy of ordpr producod) _Deai. DjH on< plwue ntir& i<jk, tQ we we st eno hfo furtheJ- Yam „.„. cere, R j. Captain. P.S. W(, ape no|r furt]ipr oufc t,wn we wpro to,d t{> Aftc]. scmy thp order T wnt m thp hj h d wjt]i thp advancp wwn and watdied th(j Sm)ts advance. Witness and officers had determ j m>d tfl fi M ft f ard nction> T}lD whole tupncd .„ the j.^.^ a| mogt rj. about faco moyed t,,c m 1)(o , ]( c t rotpct thp goouts> Halted tho troop , o , . ... , - „ °» Saxbys, which was made a further o „.,„, .. , , . , support to the rearguard, which had al- , , „.. , . „ . ready boon established under Captjain „.. . r . . * imiry. Ihis force could have protect- , „ , , . . . * ed the scouts by firing over the scouts , , o. * ° . . lieads. Sixty-seven men were left to „,. , . "S I 'l t' le rearguard action, more than , Ir „ , . , m., .. , half the. whole number. Witness retired „ . . . on the spruit with the right flank not .__ * „.. b . . , 400 yards. When witness joined the .\ . J mam body lie put out an advance screen, mi .. . , , ... , Hie retirement took place at the rate of , m j aboufc 5 very riow pace, li.o rearguard W. as ob Isol.ved1 sol. ved AVltness from %** io time during the retirement. Witness „ , ■, , ; , saAV ocouts liadgot back towards supports , , . . 6, . . , , .* an<! f hen re;)O\ n f d *he n"»n h^' Aftor ret 'nng to Wlt T h! n thr^ c,, miles f tW spiUl' J l*"*? s f Lie? t . Dl °° wIO "»* the Sco« ts hf a» «°J back safe|yW T l"* 1""1^, *hab.*? ™* ?' y P eased- Licut Dillon s«.d he was short ? f ammunit.oii «nd witness replied that he could replenish from forty men who s llild "ot fired a , shot- Lieut Dlllon had a n ° <*Jection to this arrangement Dillon had * Dutch guide with him and Seddon said h(> would tal [ c tlle Buldc as lle had beon acting on Ins own opinion as lo r *i-oction of the spruit and column, a ltneSs told Dlllo» w °u'd occu Py tlle s !£»'*«»« «t «« spruit. Witness asked ?! on to S° bilck and Bive Saxby a hand, f Dillon made no complaint of any kind, - lhe rearguard action was fought down c tw '° "d Bes- Saxby took one on the 'pft and Qmntal took the ridge on the right. Quintal would bt? undor DilioH- Tllc d mam body would be figl'ting a rearguard - actlon in retirement, but not necessarily fighting. Hie movements of the main s body wero very slow '' w»th occasional c lialts ' keeping m touch with rearguard, . Witness received no request from the r rearguard for further support. When the s dllft wns found tllc "h^ "6dy crossed n Uv ° and iow "breast under considerable t firo- TI|C lllaiu body took up a position acrcss tlu> s P'uit- Fro '» tllL> drift to - furthest of these sections would be 200 c yarc]s- I>llc men wero in one line along - tllis liluv «b out fifty feet up. Across the s P|uit tho ris<> turned to the right. The Position taken up was about 200 yards - from tlll> driffc a»d commanded the Boers c imA protected the drift. The Boers ren turned the fire hotly, and the position c was lu 'ld iw lmlf ai > h o"r > «»e« «»H the men Mild crossed the drift as far as wit- - lless knew- He had one days rations, t having been sent out for the day only. d Mosfc of the Ilien bad not beenunder fire c before. In witnesses judgement lie did tlle ri g»t thing in retiring, and not as- - sisting the Scouts. If he had advanced s towards the scouts at first, and the enell|y liad ocuupied positions vacated he c w<»«ld have been shut off from the main r «>lu ""i- About 200 Boors were engaged s and «!' W<"N mounted. No court martial - was (<ver held on witness in his life, and w was never held by Imperial officers in - connection with the Blessbok Spruit nf- ] , f |l>r- No inquiry was ever held in which w witness was accused of irregularity on d that day. Witness had never been asked - to give any evidence and had never heard - of any charge of cowardice until he heard s Taylor's speech in the House. Witness y inferred that Taylor was reflecting on him d as everyone in the House looked at wite ness. h * Cross examined by Taylori —Witness . stated it was Captain Fisher's affair that - was being discussed in the House that - le«J UP to Taylor's reference. Did not t d "iect Laurenson in the lobby almost im-" c mediately after Taylor had sat down, g He saw Laurenson the day after. Did c notkkwn <>w why he thought Taylor referred h to him in the speech except that every- - body looked at him. His present salary lf w «w £200 a year, with ordinary travelling - expenses. Could not say if his present r- appointment was objected to by the Audit n Department. Witness said that as senior c officer in charge of the force that day c he would not have tliought it strange if - a" enquiry on oath among men under c »'5 charge had been held without acy quainting witness with the fact. Colonel he Gray had asked for an explanation of c events of the day and appeared satisfied t- w>t'» the explanation of .witness: He to made a written official report to Colonel es Porter, but did not have a copy. He t could not say it was an invariable rule es that he should make a written report d to the officer commanding. Witness ore iginated the action. His father did not le institute proceedings. He did not write c, to Lieut Fair inclosing a list of troopers a with whom he should get into touch d over the action. Fair took considerable t interest in the case. Did not know if on he saw Choat, but believed he saw Speedy, c He never cabled or wrote to Norfolk t Island to Captain Quintal in connection he with this case. Quintal was r.v -.sk«:''

to come to New Zealand on witnesses behalf. Witness was last in Auckland about a fortnight ago and saw Quintal who talked over the matter with witness before Quintal gave evidence before the Registrar in Wellington. Quintal had not seen witness and his solicitor before evidence was given in Wellington. Wit ness introduced Quintal to his father but did not discuss matter with him. He was not aware that anyone had seen Quintal on his behalf and arranged for Quintal to hold himself in readiness to come to Cliristchurch if required. The remainder of the cross-examination was < devoted to an unimportant enquiry as to the steps taken by witness to get up his case, which was ultimately ruled by the Judge to be irrolivant. After occupying the witness for five hours Mr Tay lor resumed his seat. The examination brought out only the fact that South African returned troopers were only eligible for precedence in Government appointments, other things being equal, and that Quintal had not been promised an appointment in New Zealand in return for giving evidence on Seddon's behalf. Colonel Bauchop gave evidence as to knowing the ground of the Kaffir Spruit engagement and from the evidence he was satisfied Captain Seddon had handled his men in the best possible manner, and occupied the best positions. Dillon was a personal friend of his and he saw him several times in hospital and he never made any complaint of. Seddon or any one else. Although witness was second in seniority to Col Porter he knew of no enquiry or court martial on Seddon. He would have known had such an enquiry been held. The Court will sit again all day tomorrow.