CONDITIONS ON RETURNING TROOPSHIPS.

Press, Volume LI, Issue 15395, 28 September 1915, Page 5

CONDITIONS ON RETURNING TROOPSHIPS.

TO THE EDITOR OF "THE PRESS." Sir,—Yery rightly the people of tho Dominion have put forth every effort to make the lot of thb returned wounded or invalided soldier as comfortable and as pleasant as possible. It seems certain, also, that the attention given the wounded and sick in the hospitals in Egypt and elsewhere is all that could be desired. From statements made to mo by returned soldiers it seems very doubtful if the same can be said of their treatment on the passage from Egypt to the Dominion.

The statements which havo caused these doubts in my mind are most disquieting, and, if true, call for immediate investigation and remedy. lam told that not only is the food supplied on board the transports of the cheapest kind, but the meals are served to the men in a most unappetising manner. It is alleged that the principal dish is mutton stew, usually very greasy, varied by roast beef, curry and rice, and fish. Breakfast consists ordinarily of stew and some liquid that may be either tea, coffee or cocoa—the soldiers have some difficulty in determining exactly what it is. They get no meat on Fridays, only fish. The pudding usually provided is rice and pudding, varied occasionally bv prunes" and dried apricots. Butter and jam aro reported to be good in quality, but there are complaints that during the greater portion of the passage, the bread is sour. The men who make these complaints havo been in the firing-line, and have had experience of bully beef and biscuits, and. consequently, have become accustomed to bard tack, but they find tho ship's meals most unpalatable. A minor complaint made is that with the exception of those in the ship's hospital, the wounded and sick soldiers, atter cleaning up their quarters, have to remain on deck from 9 a.m. to noon, while inspection of _their quarters is being made. This is no hardship whon tho weather is fine when coming through the tropics, but is den cidedly so when wearing the New Zealand coast. One ' returned soldier summed the matter up by stating that the returning wounded did not get as well treated as regards food as travellers bv steerage on the New Zealand coastal steamers.

I am not in a position to state of my own knowledge whether or not these statements are true, but from the description given me of the dietary. I say unhesitatingly that it is a most unsuitable one for wounded o r sick soldiers, especially after the dietary of the hospitals. * I am told that some of the men made representations to the ship's d<jctor regarding the unsatisfactory nature of the food supplied, but that no alteration resulted. The returned soldiers compare tho class of food they received with the list of stores and supplies for the ships for which tenders were called, and allege that they never cot some of the articles of food with which, they assume, the ships were proSir, that in the interests of the good name of the Dominion, it will be possible to have these matters investigated and remedied if it be found that the state of affairs on board the transports carrying returned wounded and sick soldiers is as has been stated. Yours, etc., ~ F. G. M. BRITTEN. Papanui, September 27th.