The North Otago Times. THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 1918. COUNT LUCKNER'S ISLAND HOME.

North Otago Times, Volume CVI, Issue 14025, 17 January 1918, Page 4

The North Otago Times. THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 1918. COUNT LUCKNER'S ISLAND HOME.

If the .confidence of\the-ordinary! every -'day "people of New Zealand hasbeen rudely shaken by the crass care'lessnessof our Defence authorities and General Robin's policy of false economy which left the door open, and invited the resourceful German • Count and his wideawake . compatriots to leisurely paddle away from the internment camp-'on Motuihi island, what must be the feelings of the general taxpayer regarding the. comedy the -General Office; 1 Commanding and the Defence Department, are staging on Ripa Island, in Lytteltou Harbour. It fs.stated that the military authorities came to the decision that it would be inadvisable to have von Luckner and his first lieutenant in the same vicinity as thejr cojleagues. Hence the di/cisidn to establish a new internmenUamp. We wonder what brilliant wit coiicieved the idea of setting up a special establishment on Ripa Island to accommodate two .German-war prisoners and an orderly. We say without, the slightest,'hesitation that the military official responsible to such a'mad-headed decision should be unceremoniously pitched out of the employ of the State, and'given the opportunity of seeking his fortune in some' lfess important sphere. The Ripa Island comedy reflects the ineptitude and stupidity of-the Defence administrotionas gravely as did the.Motuihi scandal. When von Luckner was recaptured jn the vicinity of the Kermadecs Islands and was ordeiv ed to come aboard the pursuing steamer he obeyed, only to be told' to hold-,up his hands. It was then tliat.fhe daring sailorman remark-ed-with telling emphasis: "You left the door open, and you cannot blame me for walking hit," Nobody, but the sleepy military authorities blamed the Count. In- ] .deed, it was ; proyed in' the evi-: dence/at the Motuihi inquiry that any person possessed of ordinary common sense could have escaped from internment with the Count, so wide was the door/left open. The whole sorry business was the outcome of the false economy policy of the military head of the Defence administration. The guards were reduced at the suggestion and wi.th the knowledge of General Robin. At the enquiry, the commandant of the Island sta- 3 ted that General Robin knew of. the reduction of the guards., awl this was effected in order to reduce the cost of maintenance-of •the/Island- • What was the saving" It was brought out at the enquiry that * the..-.-■ commandant; ..wrote to Headquarters in Wellington, in July last, that the reduction of the' strength of the guard from 35 to 24-repvese'nted a daily reduction in lexp'onditure of/JE3; 155,, or lOd a | prisoner.!:/ iTenpenee, a 'What was/the net result of: Gen-.. .li'ttl'lJobin-s/ economy/campaign? iHe saved; 10d/a per/day, and. thrpngliz/the reduction of the

guard, put, the counfty tp the great expense of capturing the escaped prisoners,* to say nothing 01 the money ,n6w being frittered away in the getting up of Counts of Enquiry to apportion the blame and'bring the responsible officials to trial. The whole sorry business should prove a blessing in disguise, if only the force of public opinion will compel the Government tp separate the wheat from the chaff of the Defence Department, and give a host of fea-ther-bed officers the choice of active service or retirement. It may be said, in passing, that there are many high officers in New Zealand who should be replaced by more capable officers who have faced the real thing in this great, war, and who have not contented / themselves with the discharge of' duties which,entail no more inconvenience than of sending the other fellow to the front, and the drawing nf pay disproportionate to the value of the services rendered. .That much;iu.pa3sing/: Count >on : Luckner, and his cri-, partners in the little escapade ■are': back in, New Zealand, and-the military authorities who were so "persistent in their demands that the commandant at* Motuihi should economise, now propose to go. to .the other extreme. Ripa Island is being prepared as -the island home of Count yon Luckner and Second - Lieutenant Kirscheiss. These two first-class prisoners, and an orderly, are to be the only GeK man internees on Bipa.lsland. The Department'has appointed acamp commandant, and it is stated; :a. guard of:six,teen-men;are.to reside: oii.the island. . Seventeen .men to; look after'three German prisoners'! ■: The irony of the whole business! Up at Motuihi, the camp, (jomman-. dant had a guard of, thirty-five! men to look after a whole crowd, of prisoners. A guard of "such: strength, however, was considered by Headquarters, as too expensive, and in. response to repeated 1 de-' mauds to study economy, the camp commandant reduced the guard to twenty-four men, and the folly of this policy of the'authorities.and the drowsiness of-the. guards .cost the country' thousands' of pounds and incidentally discredited the, administration of the Defence Department. Now the saitye Department, in establishing aninternment camp on' Ripa; Island,-is'putting a commandant and guard of sixteen men in residence and'burdening the country with the,-'alto-gether unnecessary expense of something like £6O per week! For what? To keep in safe custody two unarmed prisoners and their orderly who gladly accepted the invitation of the dull military authorities,to. walk oixt of an open door. All we have to say is that if the Defence Department cannot find a sufficiently wide-awake camp commandant—to put in ■charge of reliable armed guards asSomes and Motuihi internment, camps—who could keep the door, shut against Count yon Luckner. and, his second-lieutenant, the' sooner the-whole administration of the Defence Department is cleared up and purged of blunderers, incompetents and feather-bed officers, the better for the safety of the people, and the good name of. New Zealand,