he general's wishes." I shall never forget that
morning. The general came to the office in his uniform. As a rule he wore
plain clothes unless he was on some special duty. I was not surprised at
the state of mind he was in. The paragraph, on the face of it, and in the
absence of any acknowledgment of the general's letter, and considering
the tenor of their interview early in December, appeared to be in the
nature of a direct insult, almost premeditated. I sent off an orderly to
the Government offices with a letter from the general requesting an
interview with Mr. Playford as soon as possible.

The answer came back that the Minister was ready to see General Owen at
once. Off went the general. I returned to my room, sat down, lit a pipe
and began to think. It was not long before I heard him return. I didn't
wait to be sent for. I walked straight into his room. He was in such a
temper that he could hardly speak. I felt that his interview must have
been a very painful one. So it had. It had not been long. He told me the
only few words that had taken place. The general appeared to have made
some remark to the effect that it seemed to him that if the paragraph in
the newspapers had been supplied by the Minister, or with his approval,
such action was a direct insult, not only to himself personally, but also
to the uniform he had the honour to wear.

The answer the general received from Mr. Playford fairly astonished me.
It was something to the effect that "if the general had asked to see him
to insult him, the sooner he left the room the better, or he would _kick_
him out." Nothing would suit the general for the moment but to send for
the representatives of the Press and give them an account of the
interview. I succeeded in altering his mind, and suggested that he should
see the Chief Justice and the Governor first, and obtain their advice as
to what action he should take.

This he did, and, as far as I remember, the unfortunate incident was
never made public.

The general made his plans for returning to England at once. General Owen
subsequently filled many important appointments. He was selected some
years afterwards as Commandant of the Colony of Queensland. He was
determined to get back on the South Australians and show them that there
were other people in the world who appreciated his services, even if Mr.
Playford and Co. had not done so. He afterwards commanded the artillery
at Malta, and for a time was Acting-Govern