LOST OR STRAYED

Evening Post, Volume XC, Issue XC, 7 October 1915, Page 5

LOST OR STRAYED

PARCELS AND MAILS FOR SOLDIERS COMPLAINTS OF NON-ARRIVAL AND DELAY. The non-arrival of parcels intended for the front was again referred to by the Hon. G. Jones in the Legislative Council yesteiday afternoon. Mr. Jones said it had been stated, ou good authority — the authority of returned soldiers, indeed — that parcels intended for the men had never reached them, and that they were really being misappropriated by others at Caiio who were not entitled to them. People would be sending large numbers of Christmas parcels by the next transports for the boys at the front, and he suggested that the Government should cable to some ieliable person at Cairo — for that was where the trouble occurred — asking him to see that parcels sent by the steameis were transferred to the vessels which took the men to Gallipoli. Whether the statements made were true or not, it seemed to him that some supervision of such large numbers of parcels should be instituted, not only in regard to those leaving on the next transports, but in -regard to all parcels. It might, indeed, be wise to hjave a detective on the spot, to discover whether these parcels were being misappropriated. Hon. Sir Francis Bell : You have Colonel Rhodes ! Mr. Jones : If we have Colonel Rhodes, what is to prevent the Government sending him a cable asking him to see that these parcels reach their destination ? Sir Francis Bell said a good deal of interest was being taken in the matter, and Colonel llhodes had gone to Egypt to see that the mails reached' their destination. Personally, he thought there would be less trouble if the parcels weie sent through the Mayor. It wa-s quite possible, however, for a ship to stop at Egypt and then go on to Gallipoli with parcels intended for the sick and wounded in Egypt. He thought that parcels now addressed from here for soldiers at Anzac would reach their destination. "In some cases," he added, "the soldiers have returned, and the question of whether the parcels would be returned was. I suppose, settled on the spot." The same matter was also the subject of a question asked by Mr. A. S. Malcolm (Clutna), in the House of Representatives. Mr. Malcolm asked the Post-master-General whether, in order to ensure the safe and speedy delivery of parcels to our soldiers at the front, he would direct that all parcels should in the first instance be sent to the General Post Office, Wellington, and arrange that there they should be packed in suitable air-tight tins, to be addressed at the Post Office in such, a way that the address could not become illegible. Mr. Malcolm pointed out that the tins them-selves-would probably be of great value to the soldiers, and a charge could be made in New Zealand to cover {he cost. Sir J G. Ward replied that all parcels for our Forces in Egypt were sent to the General Post Office, Wellington, for despatch. He was not prepared to requiic that they be packed in airtight tins. But he had had submitted to him an extract from the Board of Trade Journal of the sth August, in which certain precautions in the packing of parcels were recommended, as, for instance, that small parcels should be sent in preference to large ones, and that it would bo prudent to divide any large matter into two or three small packages, even where it might be desired to keep it in one piece, and co forth. Replying to a similar question by Mr W A. Veitch (Wanganui), the Post-master-General said he was aware that many cases were reported in which letters, parcels, and cablegrams sent to members of the Expeditionary Forces had not been delivered. But these reports were not so numerous now ; and letters announcing arrival of packets had been received contradicting previous letters of complaint He was satisfied that the best was being done to dispose of letters and parcels, and to assure the speediest delivery of cable-messages, and that matters had much improved in respect of all three.