DR THACKER AND SIR J. ALLEN

New Zealand Times, Volume XLII, Issue 9740, 16 August 1917, Page 3

DR THACKER AND SIR J. ALLEN

To the Editor "N.Z. Times." Sir. —When Dr Thacker some days ago animadverted upon the conduct of Gokmel Gibbon and other Imperial officers. Sir James replied: ’‘’You must not touch my officers.*' Dr Thacker has now brought forward the matter of a private who was a qualified dentist, going away in the ranks when there was so muen urgency for this man's services among the Forces in a professional way. Ur Thacker mentioned the private’s name; and Sir James observed that names of soldiers ought not to be brought up in the Bouse. But, sir, X would ask, in what otner way can the mistakes or. blunders of Sir James's officers be otherwise dealt with!' Another burning question. at the present time is one altecU incr commissions granted to the 27th, 28th. and 29th Jleiiiforccments. for the 271 h and 28th Teinforceiuents some 20 to 25 commissions were granted. When it came to thy 29th, only five were allotted. The peculiarity of the 29’s was this : The N.0.0.’s were divided into two sections, and Sir James's officer determined that onlv five commissions should be to-anted and four of these were granted fo the First Division, or section, at Trentham. The sth commission was given to the Specialist Corps of the 29th at. f; en fliers ton. All the commissions for this 2Sth Ueiuforcement having bet'll allotted. there was no necessity for the N.C.O.’s.of the second section to sit at all. Under pressure of their officers. Sir James’s Imperial functionary agreed to let the second section sit for the qualifying examination. There was no hope of a commission for them; they knew that before they sat. Their examination was more, or less a sham and quite perfunctory. and under pressure, only one commission was granted to the second section. A sauare deal from the National Governraen I in this case would have been to grant an equal number of commis sions to the second section as to the first: and this, I believe. Sir James himself. desiring in all conscience to deal iustlv and honestly with the men, would have .granted; but his Imperial officer had determined otherwise. The N.C.O/s of the second half of the 29th (indeed, of the whole 29th) are strongly sensitive to the conviction that they had not been fairly dealt with bv the Imperial officer in whose hands Sir James apparently is. That is altogether apart from the disparity of granting over a score of commissions to the preceding contingent, and onlv six to the 291 h. I believe the National Government, as a Government, would not tolerate this kind of conduct if if was able to control it; and it is this kind of conduct that is making for Sir Janies himself the many troubles amidst which ho finds himself, at the present time. This Imeprial personage is helping to ruin politically Sir James in the eyes of the public. It is conduct of this kind that is calculated to bring the whole of the members of the National Government into the ill-favour of the electors; but they have the remedy in their own bands, and they should bo courageous enough at all times to put that remedy into operation. If Colonel Gibbon is continuing them, and being an Imperial officer over whom they have no control, then it is time they asked the Imperial War Office to send Colonel Gibbon back to his regiment, where his courage and skill as a tactician would be of greater service in helping to win war.—l am. etc,, J. D. SIEVWEIGET.