RIOTS IN CAMP.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 75, 5 May 1914, Page 10

RIOTS IN CAMP.

DISORDER AT TAKAPAU. GUARD TENT ATTACKED. 4 MOUNTED POLICE CHAEGE MOB. Serious rioting occurred in the Territorial encampment at Takapau, near Dannevirke, "on Sunday evening. It seems that the men in camp there had several well-founded grievances, but instead of voicing their complaints in the proper way several hundreds of them caused one of the worst disturbances known in the history of the Territorial scheme. Rioting, stone-throwing, vol-' leys of bad language, and charges of mounted police composed some very ugly scenes. HOW TROUBLE ORIGINATED. men's grievances appear to be due partly to mismanagement by the Railway and Defence Departments, and, Ik a lesser degree, to misunderstanding x " en the part of the men as to the amount ,cf clothing they were allowed to have •in. camp, and to' the rough weather which has prevailed. The trouble '. originated over the facts that the xneu "•were obliged to spend 11, 15, and up to' 17 dayi attending camp as against nine . aad 13 required under the Act, wiihout being paid for the extra days; that they were provided with insufficient changes of clothes for wet weather; sixd that the food in some cases w;;s insufficient—all of which complaints appear to bo based on fact, and certainly reasonable enough. The increased ' attendance forced upon the men in camp is, it appears, the fault of the Railway Department/ which has declined to carry the Territorials other than on the dates it stipulated. . As a result, men ar;e be'ing kept in camp for extra days, -and the Defence Department has no authority to pay the Territorials who are required to serve Yi days under the Act. It is mostly the country men who arc putting. in the four extra days to make «p their training. GxiOWING TO A HEAD. - - ' As the men were provided with only one uniform, and were under the impression that they were not allowed to take mufti into camp, they were soon experiencing the discomforts of wet clothing, as most of the weather which has prevailed during the camp has been cold and wet. Saturday last was a par-, ticularly trying day. A southerly gale —which blew down many tents —and heavy showers of cold rain made matters decidedly unpleasant for the. Territorials. Most of the men bore the discomfort cheerfully, but there was the usual quota of agitators. On Sunday -there was "trouble seething in the pot'' among some of the companies of the various regiments, and the commissariat arrangements brought the concoction to boiling point. When some men were unable to obtain tea, and others did not get enough, the leaders of the agitators marshalled their forces and started a mock procession through > *.the lines of the regiments, to the accompaniment, of considerable noise, in which the principal refrain was, '' We want tucker. We're going home on Friday." MET WITH FIXED BAYONETS. The affair assumed a more serious as-, ;_.--■ peet when, in the 11th (Taranaki) Regiment's lines the malcontents diseovei'ed the guard tent, in which were several territorials under arrest. One of the prisoners was a man who, it was stated, -had been arrested for refusing to discard mufti for his uniform, which he declared was wet. The release of this man was. demanded and refused, and then the crowd rushed the guard-tent and tried to pull it down. The guard met the attack with fixed bayonets, but several of the tent-ropes had 'been loosened when a patrol of mounted police ap-' peared and repelled the attackers. Then the noise increased. The sth Regiment's Band tried to drown the voices of the leading agitators by music, but the malcontents shifted to the parade ground, and Bedlam seemed to have broken loose *. in the darkness. HEADQUARTERS BESIEGED. ■ -'. The next move was-to the headquarters tent, oa which, to the cry of, "We're -colonials, and we won't stand this," about 500 men rushed. There they were met by Colonel W. G. Malonc, officer .commanding the 11th (Taranaki) Regi- . ment. The men's spokesman declared: "Colonel, we are on strike, and we want a decided answer. When are we going - home?" On the Colonel asking for the name of the speaker, there was hooting ! and the throwing of one or two missiles, j ..After some altercation, Colonel Mai one i paid that as no members of his regiment were there, the men could '' please get out." At this stage Colonel Chaytor, officer commanding the division, appeared. "If any man has complaints he should come in right" away, and he will get an answer," s-aid Colonel Chaytor. This was followed by hooting and cries . f0 l Don't touch them!" "We're as good men as you!" "Stick together!" "Unity is strength!" "No work tomorrow !" A man then stated the complaints, and the crowd was pressing in when the mounted x>olice rode through them, causing a stampede. ' AN UGLY SCENE. An ugly scene ensued (says the "Evening Post's" reporter). The demonstrators withdrew fifty yards and took up a menacing attitude, hooting, yelling, and throwing occasional stones. Amongst the cries, punctuated by bad language, were "Come on, you scabs!" "Make your charge!" "Stone them!" The *nounteds charged several times and were met with volleys of stones and cries of " Pull them off! '' " Brain the b—s! '' etc. One mounted man was struck by a big fctone on the knee and obliged to dismount. The rioters also threw stones on the galvanised iron picture building, in which service was being conducted by the Bishop of Waiapu, disturbing the proceedings. After several further exciting skirmishes, in which more stones were thrown, the mounteds were withdrawn and matters quietened considerably, the rioters flocking round Colonel Chaytor, who did his best to pacify them and ascertain their grievances. Tho Colonel, however, had extreme difficulty in getting these, as .many of the men tried to speak at once, and some used insulting terms and adopted a threatening attitude. Finally,

when quietness had been obtained, individual men voiced the complaints. ORDER GRADUALLY RESTORED. When tlie men explained their grievances regarding clothing and their detention in camp , for longer than the period required by the Act, Colonel Chaytor explained that the Government intended to provide a second uniform, but had not been able to do so yet. He did not think it was intended that the men should not take a change of clothing. The extra days were occasioned by the Railway Department, and he had made representation on this matter, which the Government was considering. A deputation from the men then interviewed Coloi-el Chaytor in the headquarters tent. About 2000 men waited outside, and occasionally made wild stampedes through someone crying that the mounted police were charging again. Colonel Chaytor promised that every complaint made in the proper way would be considered, and the disturbance, lich had lasted for about two hours, then ceased. FIXING THE BLAME. It is considered that the trouble regarding the footl was caused by faulty distribution of rations in one or two regiments. The fact that the camp was being held too late in the season, when bad weather should have been expected, aggravated the grievances. Although it is impossible to fix the blame generally, it is stated that the 11th and 9th Infantry Regiments were most concerned. In exercising in the field during the storm on Saturday morning, the troops experienced a trying time, and, although the majority put up with j the conditions good-humoiiredly, many resented having to work under such conditions, and ventilated their opinions freely. The members of D Company, 9th Regiment, Hawko's Bay, became particularly restive, and about midday some 70 men broke away from the officers and dashed towards the camp. Their officers pursued them and called to them to come back. T,he men replied that they would not return unless they were marched back to camp straight away. The officers agreed, and accordingly took the troops back. On Monday a divisional camp order was issued, in which it was stated that the officer commanding the division believed that the majority of the men who were present at the trouble were spectators, and did not actively participate in the disturbance. The men were warned, in the order, that presence at a scene of disorder rendered them guilty of insubordination equally with those who took an active part in the disorder. The order added that every grievance brought forward properly would be carefully considered, and no man would be penalised for making* a complaint in a proper way. ENQUIRY TO BE HELD. A court of enquiry has been set up to investigate and report on the disturbance. The president is LieutenantColonel G. F. C. Campbell, officer commanding the Wellington coast defences, and the members of the-court are Major A. H. Herbert, 9th:;• (Wellington-East Coast) Mounted Rifles, and Major J. W. j Esson, sth (Wellington) Regiment. The rioting was not the only exciting episode in the camp on Sunday night. Later in the night a hurricane swept over the camp for half an hour, and blew down several tents. On Monday the-"strike leaders" of the camp tried to get the regiments .to abstain from paTading, but they failed signally, ,all the units turning out, SUNSHINE AND PEACE. Press/ Association. TAKAPAU, May 5. , The sun is smiling on Takapau to-day, as if specially for the occasion of Sir Tan Hamilton's visit this afternoon. The change is most acceptable to the troops after the adverse conditions: which have prevailed almost continuously since the men came into camp. The trouble of Sunday night subsided, and on Monday evening peace reigned, and the thing which is most troubling malcontents is what is going to happen to them. An enquiry is being held into the affair. The programme for the afternoon is an inspection by the General, while- tomorrow there will be.a big field day. -