LEAVE CANCELLED

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3043, 2 April 1917, Page 6

LEAVE CANCELLED

6 SOLDIERS' EASTER HOLIDAYS ' COMPLAINT FROM TAUHERENIKAU The' men of the Twenty-seventh Reinforcements, at present in camp at Featherston, have been informed that they will get no Easter leave. They had been told originally " that, like other they would have leave over the _ Easter , holidays, froip Thursday till midnight Monday, but it was announced on Friday last, that this concession had been caucellcd. The reaßon given was the* inability of the Railway Department to provide - trains for the troops, particularly on ■ Monday, owing to the races. Keen indignation is expressed by the soldiers i at the preference thus given to civilian i holiday-makers. The Twenty-seventh Reinforcements i. entered camp'rather less than a month 1 ago. and the decision of the military i authorities in the matter of the leave i may be due in part to disinclination to ■ give a prolonged holiday to a new draft. It has been explained previously that' . tho training staff considers it desirable i that recruits should be kept at work i fairly closely until they have assimi- , lated military rrtutine and grown ac- . customed to camp discipline. What- . ever the reason, however, there is a . very sore feeling amongßt 'the men, . and it is hoped that the matter will re- , ceive further consideration from the • authorities. NO LEAVE FOR THE 27th's. (To the Editor.) i Sir, —I am a member'of the Twenty--1 seventh Reinforcements; and am writ- ■ ing the following on.behalf, of my fel- ■ low-comrades. To-day we were told i by the officer commanding our companj; ■ that tl<® usual leave for Easter, viz., ' from Thursday until Monday midnight, had been officially cancelled. - We have now been in camp some three weeks and three days, no complaint has been > made that/we have been conducting ourselves in anything but a satisfactory 1 manner, yet no" week-end leave has ■ been granted us, and, on top of this, comes the bombshell "no Easter ' leave." 1 When at Trentham we were informed that Easter leave was to be granted as above. On that information most of the chaps .were looking forward to, and arrangements made for a visit to their wives or friends as tho case may ; be. The reason given for leave being stopped is that not sufficient - trains (not sufficient, mind you) are available. If . such is the case,, why should we. who are soldiers doing our duty for King and country (perhaps dead in twelve months), be denied transport by trains_ when such are available for 1 races, civilians, and festivities' of various kinds. _ Again, it is not necessary " to hare trains to go to our destination, if the train.transport is the real excuse.—We are, etc., SOLDIERS,27ths. ' EASTER AT TAUHERENIKAU. 1 (To the Editor.) . Sir,—There has been great consternation caused among the men at the above' camp on account of tlio' men being given to_ understand ■ that because of insufficiency of railway rolling stock they are not to be allowed leave away from the camp, with the exception of those who aro prepared to spend their time and hard-earned pay at the Taulierenikau races. If this is true, it is a crying shame, and will causo hitter feeling against tho Government, especially as while at Trentham a largo number of the men were ■asked for their addresses in'the event of their haying Easter leave, and many under this impression have made arrangements,. accordingly. Surely this section of our are not go'ing to be treated so harshly.- They will have sufficient hardships to put up . with after embarkation and in tho trenches. Trusting better conditions will prevail,—l; am, etc., | . SENEX.' .