TERRITORIAL MORALITY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 10441, 22 April 1912, Page 3

TERRITORIAL MORALITY.

ALLEGED DRUNKENNESS IN CAMP.

The motion passed by the Christchurch Prohibition League on Friday night, containing, as it does, an implication that there was a considerable amount of drunkenness at the Templeton camp, has aroused considerable indignation among the men who were there, and who state that, without: making any definite charge, it gives an impression as to the conduct of the camp which is totally contrary to facts"!' 1 A conversation with a group of Territorials put the matter in a perfectly clear light. As one man said, speaking to a reporter, it was ridiculous for anyone to assert that, in 450 men, there was not one whose habits were questionable. No sensible man would make such a statement. But to say there had been drunkenness at camp was untrue. What had given rise to the rumour was probably this:—The night the men left Christchurch a few of,them, with mistaken ideas of the meaning of the word manly, did their best to give the impression that they were intoxicated, in order to bear out their reputation of being "rollicking, manly young fellows," as they thought. None of them were really drunk, and probably there were not more than two or three who had had any drink at all. After the men were in camp, it was certain ,thirt no drink had been procured. But a number had Icept up a pose of being " fast," and it was probably these lew who had been observed by some person of feeble perception, who had carried out a report that there had been drunkenness at the camp. All were agreed that the general morality of the camp had been really very good. If there were any recalcitrant spirits, they kept 'to themselves, and it was certain that no man who had been respectable outside of camp had had any temptations to forsake his moral • standards within it.

A number of officers, including Lieu-tenant-Colonel Smith, who were spoken to on the matter denied the allegation utterly. They said a strict lhok-out had been kept for that sort of thing, and the younger non-commissioned officers, many of whom were on friendly and intimate terms with the men. would have discovered the drinking if it had occurred. No man with sufficient backbone to keep himself free from evil in any ordinary school or athletic club could have come to any harm in any of the Territorial camns.