A QUESTION OF SOBRIETY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17424, 19 September 1918, Page 5

A QUESTION OF SOBRIETY

ALLEGED REFLECTION ON OFFICER. CHARGE AGAINST MILITARY I'OLiUk.iiAN. (Peu Ukited Pbess Association.) . WELLINGTON, September 18. A district court-martial sat yesterday Ji-rnl to-day to tiy Corporal William Arthur U Oriuant, oi the i\ew Zealand Military Fouce, on charges of making a lalse accuse tion against a superior omcer, knowing such accusation to bo false, it is alleged rh.iti accused told lour members of tne forces, uiciudmg au ollicer, that on tho night of August i, 1910, Captain (Jnaries Gray, assistant provost-marsnal of the Wellington district, had been drunk while in the execution of his duty. ,Evidence was given to the effect that on tho nignt of August 1 Captain Gray called on Corporal D'Oridant to take him in a patiol launch and patrol round a vessel in ; the harbour. Corporal D'Oridant remarked, when he spoko to Uaptain Gray on the telephone, that " he could nearly smell it over the wires," and later, when he returned irom patrol work, he said he was right: Captain Gray was "full," and had to be helped out of tho launch. Evidence was given by several persons regarding the sobriety of Captain Gray on tho night in question. Captain John Cecil Hill, assisatnt provostmarshal at Headquarters, Wellington, said : that on August 1 he instructed Captain Gray to. give D'Oridant 28 days' notice, subsequently D'Oridant met witness, andstated that he wished to make a complaint Witness told D'Oridant to make it through his immediate superior officer, Captain Gray. D Oridant said -wished to go to a higher authority, and said he had various charges to make, one of which was against Captain Gray of drunkenness. Captain Hill stated that Captain Gray was an excellent officer, of tho highest character, in whose conduct witness had never discovered the least irregularity. Captain Gray was examined at considerable length. He stated that he had taken no alcoholic liquor during August 1. Ho took a launch on the patrol journey, and when getting off the launch slipped and waa steadied by D'Oridant. He took the corporal to the guardroom, and had some cooversation with him regarding his hours of ' duty. On a previous day, when he got home, he found that he had lost a minutesheet given to him by Captain Hill. Tho sheet was left on the table without an enu 8 ?P®' could have been read by anybody. He rang up the guardroom and said the paper sent to him—the minute referred ■' to —referred to a delay in getting a crew. On the night of August 1 witness was instructed by Captain Hill to dismiss D'Oridant, . and he sent the corporal a letter ' accordingly on August 2. Witness sent for D'Oridant on August 15, and asked if he had any charge to make. The corporal replied : " None whatever."