PREMIER SEDDON AND THE AUCKLAND VOLUNTEERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 9927, 17 September 1895, Page 3

PREMIER SEDDON AND THE AUCKLAND VOLUNTEERS.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir,—The following extract is taken from Saturday's issue :—" As to the dissatisfaction existing among Auckland volunteers, in. consequence of a candidate who had twice failed, being allowed to go up for a third time for , examination, contrary to the volunteer regulations, the Premier stated that there appeared to be some feeling in this matter. By an inadvertence of the Department, the , gentleman in question had been examined in - July, instead of September, 1594. He failed, being unwell at the time, and as the mistake was made by the Department, he was allowed to present himself again in September. The Premier added, very significantly, that the volunteer movement in Auckland was in a very unsatisfactory position, and he would take steps to deal with it as soon as the session was over." Although accustomed to the seeming indifference with which the Premier regards the laws of the colony if they be iia opposition to his desires and also to the evasive replies given by him when information of an awkward character is asked for in the House, the answer contained in the above extract is so extraordinary that the matter passes from one of volunteer importance only, and becomes a question as to whether law-makers shall be permitted to be' law-breakers, and to ride roughshod over the statutes of the colony without a word of protest from those interested. ...... As might have been expected, the Premier not only draws a red herring across the path, but also attempts to hang the sword of Damocles over the officers, first by imputing that there is feeling against the officer in question, and then by his threat than Jie.would take steps to deal with the volunteer movement in Auckland, which was in a,moßt unsatisfactory condition. To the imputation of feeling I can give a fiat denial. The officers as a whole much regret the false position in which the candidate has been placed, and also the unfortunate publicity that has become attached to his second failure to pass the prescribed examination; while to the implied threat that those who thwarted his will had bettor look out. It is not only contrary to the Queen's regulations, but also should be beneath the dignity of one holding the position of Premier of New Zealand. To obtain a commission in, say, a naval artillery corps the Defence Act of 1886 states:—That the candidate must be elected to the position by not less than two-thirds of the corps; section 42. That the Defence Minister, after the election, may give the candidate an acting appointment, pending his passing the prescribed examination section 43. That within the prescribed time the examination must be passed ; section 44. That if the candidate fails to pass he nifty, if re-elected by the corps, be examined a second time; section 45. In the volunteer regulations it is further laid down that, An officer of the naval artillery shall have nine months to qualify himself for examination. Paragraph 46. That an acting officer must within the time of his acting appointment present himself for examination. Paragraph 47, while paragraphs 41 and 52 state in plain terms that if an officer fails to pass his examination, the acting appointment is cancelled, but the officer commanding the district may have a fresh acting appointment made, but for three months only. Here in the above extracts, it is laid down as plain as daylight that the candidate must, within twelve months of his appointment, obtain his commission, and in this provision is contained the only reason why officers prize their commissions in the fact that a stiff examination must be passed, and that to do this hard study is necessary. Your issue of July 2lst, 1894, gives au account , of the candidate's election ; in the following April he was examined as per paragraph 46 and paragraph 47, and having failed to pass, he was* reexamined in July, as per paragraph 41, and then having neglected to comply with section 44 of the Act his connection with the movement should h»,ve ceased. Iu the face of these facta, the Premier states that owing to a mistake of the Department the gentleman had beenexamined sooner than lie should have been, and in defiance of Act and regulation a third examination is determined upon. The question as to whether the Defence Minister has power to over-ride an Act of Parliament will probably be tested in the Supreme Court, the case resting upon section 5 of the Act,, which states that it shall not be competent for the Governor to confer a commission in the force except in conformity with the Act and regulations. At the same examination in April an officer in another corps was examined, and failing to pass he intended presenting himself in July, but en the very day of examination it was impossible for him to leane his business. An intimation was at once conveyed to him that having neglected to pass his examination within the proper time he was " dead to the volunteer movement." _">.,

It is nonsense for the Premier to complain of the unsatisfactory position of the volunteer movement in Auckland. Colonel Fox reports that about one-sixth of the. volunteers here are bad, while the remainder are either good or very good. Even, however, granting that the Premier's statement is correct, what else can be expested when promises made are broken, when Che Department pay :\n utter disregard to Act, regulation, or convenience of the men, and when the Defence Minister himself approves of this being done. A publican has to comply with the provisions of the Licensing Act in spite of his being unwell, while at the Supreme Court! recently a man who pleaded that he was ill when he committed a wrong get twelve months in retirement to c«nsider his position. Mr. Seddon, in the debate on the tariff proposals, said he had stated a thing, and when he did so he never ran away— fccok up a position and maintained it. Is not this on a par with "doing a wrong and not owning up," or the schoolboy's version of the eleventh commandment, " tell a lie and stick to it?"—lam, etc., Cornubia. . Auckland, September 15..