THE HERETAUNGA'S TANGLE.

NZ Truth, Issue 136, 25 January 1908, Page 5

THE HERETAUNGA'S TANGLE.

WHY WERE THE MEN DISMISSED? Captain Samuels Held to Blame. t _ • • . I « muni!.-. . I "MAUSER-RIFLE SAM'S" STRANGE SLANGUAGE. , The Viciousness of Volunteering.

A more dashing body of swashbucklers m these piping days of peace it is hard to imagine ever existed than the Heretaunga Mounted Rifles. Louder than the early morn crow of a valiant rooster, their glaring uniforms singled them out as heroes, and no girl breathes that could successfully resist the seductive influence of a Heretaunga trooper, while officers, gallant cocks that they are, or were, had only to go out on parade and their calves, their martial bearing, and their fine feathers generally, were the subjects of universal acclaim. In times of peace the^ Heretaungas are brave boys, true and trusty, but the rigors and horrors of bloody warfare have yet to put them on their mettle, and then— i well, we'll see how things will pan out. Just at present, however, the. Heretaungas are not quite the happiest of famjilies, and it looks as ifl they' are going the way of the Volunteer Submarines, tliat salty crowd that used to explode harmless sub- I marine .mines and then vainly endeavor to get m out of the wet. The i Submarines got a derry on their ' officer-commanding. He seemed to be a weak-kneed sort of belle-wether that none of the sheepy Submarines '. would follow, and the result was that open revolt, insubordination and court-martials, and lots of funny things happened, all ending m the Submarines being dissolved into an unhappy memory of the past. Volunteering m New 'Zealand might have lots of attractions, but it' has its disadvantages, and the Heretaunga's just at present are learning what those disadvantages are, and if what "Truth" has heard is correct, the Heretaunga's stand a very great risk of , BEING VOLUNTARILY WIPED I OUT. Like Ichaibod, their glory hath departed; They are now, practically speaking, frothing at the mouth, they have taken the bit between their ivories, and it is likely to prove unpleasant for the officer-cdm'-manding, or else the Heretaungas will "bust" m the attempt. The daily press of late has been very busy m chronicling the fact that a non-commissioned officer and a private of the Rifle's have been dismissed, and a great deal pf mystery seems to cloud the whole transaction. The cock of the walk of the Heretaunga's is Captaip Samuels, who is a popular sort of cuss m his private capacity, and who for a crust concocts ginger-pop and such other harmless beverages. Now, "S-ijnmy," to the Heretaungas, Is known as "Mauser-rifle Sam," Why, "Truth" is at a loss to explain, ex- | cepting that it has some sort of connection with a holy dread, of the deadly whirr of Boer bullets-, ahd as. Sammy saw active service dn the South African veldt and was invalided home, that fact doesn't seem to count with the Heretaungas, who, on the least provocation, will tell some sort of a story concerning the eating of some soap. "Truth," anyhow, does not believe, and hastens to express its disbelief that suoh a gallant "soger" as Sunny. Sammy would •• devour half a bar of soap so as to have himself placed on the sicklist and thus returned home as a worn and wasted hero who had risked his life for the sake of the Rand mine-owners and their coffles of cbea.p Chow doolies. Now, as "Truth:' remarked, Sammy is' captain of the Heretaungas, and he is a choleric cuss, a strict disciplinarian-, and what is worse, is alleged to be . A BLUSTERING SORT OF BULLY. In fact, he .really owes his advancement from Subaltern to Captain to Sergeant-Ma jor Talbut, who is one of the fired individuals. Talfaut has been biffed, and he attributes his misfortunes to Captain "Samjmy," | and it looks very much as if Sammy has ' invited the sudden death of the Rifles by. his mountebank manoeuvres. Talbut, as Sergeant-Major, was senior non-commissioned officer of the shooting committee. He, it seems sold some ammunition to, the Hutt Valley Rifle Volunteers, and his authority, or the authority of the committee, was derived from instructions of a previous officer commanding. At whose instigation. "Truth" does not know, but -Talbut was the subject of a Defence Department investigation, but by the DeI partment he was completely exonerate cd. It» is hot alleged that Talbut acted .dishonestly and pocketed the proceeds of. the sales, because the said proceeds went into the funds ot the corps. Though exonerated by tbe Department Talbut was next surprised 'to learn that he had been held guilty of insubordination and was dismissed. What . his insubordination was is.', not known to him. He was not' present -at any inquiry, he knew absolutely nothing whatever of it, so he ,; says. He, however, reckons that because he was popular with the boys, and had forgotten more about volunteer [matters than Samuels'.ey£r Tkhewv that ;the-captain had a spite- oft him "and proceeded to work him out ¥ of the corps. Afbtout Talbut's dismissal there hangs some curious circumstances. On December 22nd he was' 'notified by the Defence Department that he was dismissed for insubordination.' Talbut saw Captain McDonald, acting Adjutant of the District and from McDonald he wanted to know what his insubordination consisted of,, but McDonald declined to tell him. On January 14 ■' Talbut ; ,WROIE DEMANDING AN •V i- h f-J ENQUIRY, and the 'reply he received was that the. matter had ended. So much for Talbot. Now, we turn' to the case of Private L. Flyger, who was dismissed on account of absenting himself from camp without leave. Flyger also has a grievance against Samuels, and on November 27 of last year he wrote the following letter ■*&&.'. the officer commanding Wellingtoff^dlstrict :— Sir,— l am a member of the Heretaunga Mounted Rifles, and was m

J camp at Miramar with my Com* | pany on the 19th November 190? j On that day I wanted to go- to tha | Manawatu station, and as the Cattain had said he was not well and I wa . s *,\ asleep m his tent, I did not ask leave to go to town, and oo^ tv l ninR r to cam P« the Captain asked where I had been. I told him and then he said I was a waster swid inferred that I was not telling the truth, but was shirking duty On the morning of the 20th. when on parade, I was ordered to take two paces to the front. I did so when the Captain told the Company that he had a painful duty to perform, and that was to dismiss me from the company, as I was a loafer and a rotter. I replied that I was neither a loafer or a rotter I was ordered to return my rifle to the quarter-master, which I did. I was then ordered to leave the. camp '.immediately after breakfast, which I did, I consider the action of Captain Samuels was not that of an officer or a gentleman, and hot m accordance with the Regulations of the Service. I, thsrefore, claim lv ?. deal * vri ' a * m accordance with the Regulations, as my character is at stake. The reply to this, signed hy Captain Sammy, was that "under authd- ?}& °K_F^_}9 n i 6 of 'the Defence Act. 1886, No. 435, Private Arthur Leonard .Flyger of the Heretaunga Mounted Rifle Vols., is dismissed -from the volunteer . force for insubordination with effect from 16th Dec., 1907 " That was all the satisfaction Flyger got. What "Truth" however, wants to know, is there any *™ h a* all m Flyger's allegations, «* J^, 016 the whole corps Samuels called Flyger a WASTER, A LOAFER, AND A ROTTER. These terms' were used to thai trooper, so it is said, m the presence and m tbe hearing or the Heretaungas, and it is claimed that Samuels cannot deny that he used such language. ThiSj paper does not want to be unduly severe with Samuels, but it cannot very well overlook the fact that m the Heretaunga Rifles he has a lot of cringing toadies and tale^carriers, and on the same/ night that Flyger. left camp others did likewise, but their insubordination or absenteeism, or whatever it. is called, was not questioned. Further against the fairness of Captain Sammy's "generalship" of th» Heretaungas it is alleged that he has always shown a great deal of spite 'to the men under him, aiud has never hesitated, when doubting a man's statement, to call him a liar. Corporal Smith on one occasion was branded a liar by Samuels, aud "•Truth" now offers this advice t» Sammy, and that is to go oareful, otherwise he might come to grief. Smith resigned from tho volunteer's because, when he told Samuels that he had been absent from duty on account of the death of a niece, "Sammy" turned on him and branded him a liar, whereas, if Smith had biffed Samuels across the jaw. it would not have been more than "Samdel" richly deserved. Then, again, there was Corporal Sehock, he absented himself from duty because he had to earn his daily, bread, and was reduced m rank, or suffered some such indignity. Of 1 course, the fact that a man absented himself from duty to earn his daily bread did not appeal to a man of • Samuels' disposition. He is an employer of labor and others earn his bread for him, anyhow, when one comes, to think of it, there is not much dignity m a ginger r pop manufacturer leading a "DO OR DIE" BODY OF BRAVES who like leather beds when out camping. Now that there is. a split, m the ranks, and everything is anyhow, the Heretaungas, who hitherto have kept their tongues quiet, are now letting them wag, and the more they wag the more ridiculous does Sammy look as Captain. They tell how. When camped out at Karori, some of the braves got out m. the bush/ and commenced firing blank ammunition. Captain "Sammy" was savage and swore that . the braves were using ball. His hext move was to sound the retreat, and drdered the men to their tents to .get out of the way & f flying balls, just as a bit of cali/so or canvas or whatever tents are made of could stop the progress of a bullet. 'Truth" is just about sick of the viciousness of the volunteers m anf ? around Wellington. Of the 81 Wellington members of the Heretaunga Rifles, 27 are prepared to resign if Captain Sammy does not get out, It is alleged he resigned when Talbot was exonerated over the selling of ammunition, but doubts exist about the tendering of any resignation, notwithstanding Sammy's assertion that the Department would not accept his resignation. The Heretaungas declare that he DID NOT OFFER TO RESIGN and prefers to pose as a cocky captain df a gay corps more noted for its turkey quill than anything else. "Sogering" is m a parlous, state anyhow, and now that the Heretaungas are out for their Captain's gjoJe, -^Tru.t.h" will \ie low and say, '/muffin." The position is really amusing.