QUESTION OF LOYALTY

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 10088, 30 September 1918, Page 6

QUESTION OF LOYALTY

ACTIONS OF A SCHOOL TEACHES. PECULIAR CASE IX DAXXE\iRKE. Press Association. DAXNBVIRKE. September 28. An unusual case of alleged malice was before .Ur Oyer, a.M., on Tuesday, when Harry Coventry, headmaster oi the State school at Torehunga, proceeded against T. W. Stanfield, now chairman of the' school committee. Claiming £IOO damages. He .alleged that Stanfield, at the school picnic in March last, remarked of plaintiff; ‘‘Look at the old-. Gorman.” jno evidence .showed that plaintiff was born in Esses. England, and educated there, and partly at Riga, in Russia. Plaintiff said: ‘‘l have never been in Germany.” Soon after taking over the headmasterabip at Terclmnga rumours got into circulation that plaintiff was a Gorman. The children attending school alleged that ho drew frequent comparisons between tbo Germans and the British, to tho detriment of the latter, and that he spoko of the school flag as ‘‘your flag,” instead of “our flag.” Prom his remarks they considered him a German. On one occasion he allegedly told the scholars that German submarines were 1 better than th- British, and the boys met after school, held, a meeting, and decided to ask their parents’ permission to duck the master in a creek running through tho school grounds. This, however. did not eventuate. Defendant alleged that what bo did sav was that plaintiff “looked a hit like a (rmari.’’ The magistrate, in view of tho con- l lliet. of testimony concerning tho actual words used, gave judgment for defendant with 12 guineas costs, stating that plaintiff apparently only had hims. ): t.j blame for rumours which got into circulation. ITo was undoubtedly British, aitd possibly loyal, but tho impression he had convoved to the children was that ho was either a German or had German sympathies. GHIUjMTS GERMAN* STEAMERS SEIZED. ■ Australian ami S.Z. Cable Association SANTIAGO, September 'll. Tho Chilian Government has .seized fivo Gorman interned steamers for prevention of damage by tbeir crows.

A V.GRiEBO POSTHUMUS AWARD FOR GREAT GALLANTRY. Aua. and N.Z. Cable Assn, and Reuter, LONDUN, September 27. The Victoria Gross lias uacn awarded to Sergeant R. G. Travis, late of tho Otago Regiment (.who has been nicknamed "iving of No Man’s Land”). Ho volunteered to destroy an impas.sabio block of wire, and crawled out at dawn. During the daylight, and m close proximity to the enemy’s posts, lie' success! u!ly destroyed the block with bombs, uud enabled tho attacking parties to pass. A few minutes later two cnomv machine-guns bold up one of our bombing parties, endangering tho success of the whole operation, Sergeant Travis, utterly disregarding tho danger, rushed the position, killed the crew and captured the guns. An enemy officer and three? men attempted to retake tho guns, and Sergeant Travis killed them single-handed. He was killed twenty-four hours later when going from post to post encouraging tho men under a most intense enemy bombardment. The late Sergeant Travis, in addition to the V.C., won the Distinguished Conduct Medal, Military Medal, and the Belgian Croix do Guerre. Ho was about thirty years of age, and was a native of Texas, but, being left an orphan at an early ago, he emigrated to Victoria, and later came to Now Zealand. Ho enlisted from tho Lyal Bush, Southland, in tbs Main Body, haying been a horse-train-er up to that time. Ho. was on Gallipoli until tho evacuation. Early in 1916 he transferred from tho mounted arm to tho Bth Southland Company, Second Otago Battalion, and proceeded to Franco. THE SUBMARINE WAR SWEDISH LOSSES. Australian and N.Z. Cnblo Association NEW YORK, September 27. Tho ‘‘Chicago News” Stockholm correspondent stales that Sweden, during the war, has lost 175 ships, totalling 195,953 tons and 220 lives. Sweden, during the jiresenfc year, lost 27 .ships, totalling 16,693 tons, and 33 lives. The ships lost include those torpedoed, mined and “sunk without leaving a trace.”